As a part of the North Seattle College Cooperative Preschool Network, each of our classes is assigned a Parent Education Instructor by the NSC Child + Family Education Division to advise teachers and help parents build parenting skills.
Our parent educators:
- Provide formal parent education for at least one hour each month at the monthly parent meeting.
- Attend All-School Board meetings and the business portion of the parent meetings, serving as a resource to the group regarding business and organizational concerns.
- Participate in the classroom, working with children and parents as well as assisting the teacher.
- Consult with and advise the teacher on classroom organization and curriculum.
- Serve as a resource to individual parents regarding particular concerns.
- Act as a liaison between parents, teacher, and NSC.
- Assist on a teacher evaluation committee.
Meet our Parent Educators
Yvonne Ontiveros, Toddlers
Kristina Weidert, Pre-3’s
Kristina is entering her 4th year with the Sandhurst community. She also teaches at the Queen Anne Co-Op and provides parent support at Mary’s Place Homeless Shelter. She received her BA in Sociology from Davidson College in North Carolina, has her Masters in Social Work from UW as well as WA Certification in School Social Work. Prior to this work Kristina was an elementary school counselor for 7 years. Her focus has been on social emotional learning, encouraging empathy as well as centering the child’s experience with a social justice lense. So, if you want to talk about feelings, she’s your girl! Kristina is excited for the opportunity to walk with parents along this amazingly rewarding and challenging journey while building a long lasting, supportive community along the way. She is also a mama to two small kiddos and a goldendoodle therapy dog in training!
Betty Williams, 3 to 5’s
Betty has a BA in Psychology from Vanderbilt University and an MSW (with an emphasis in working with children and families) from the University of Washington. She worked in the child care field for many years as an infant, toddler and preschool teacher, program supervisor, and center director. She taught classes in Early Childhood Education and Parent Education Classes as a part-time instructor at Seattle Central and Edmonds Community Colleges. Since 2004, she has been working as a full-time instructor in Parent Education at North Seattle College and serves as the Parent Ed Program Coordinator.
Her vision for Parent Education is to provide a balance of opportunities for parents/caregivers to share concerns, discuss challenges and strategies, and receive information from the field of early childhood education. The vision of our parent education program is to build supportive, diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in which children grow, learn, and thrive.