I have been a happy Floridan for the past 5 years now. I moved from Connecticut to be closer to my family. I have an A.S. in Science with a focus on Early Childhood Education.  Currently, I am continuing my education and achieving my bachelor's degree in education.  This will be my third year with Pinellas County Schools and extremely excited to be a part of a special experience here at Garrison-Jones Elementary. A few fun facts about Ms. Kim: I love The Peanuts, dark chocolate, and my newfound hobby, fishing.  

Mrs. Shaw is a graduate of Florida State University and is certified to teach PreK to 3^rd grade and Music K–12 in Florida. She began teaching in the DL VPK program at Garrison Jones in the 2017-18 school year and absolutely loves to be a part of the program!

Mrs. Shaw has two grown children that both attended Pinellas County Schools and graduated from UF and USF. She teaches private music lessons (oboe students), gardens, and paddle boards in her spare time!

Sra. Brito graduated from St. Petersburge College where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with ESOL endorsement. She worked at Ridgecrest Elementary Center for Gifted Studies as a 1st Grade teacher with gifted learners in a Spanish Imersion program. In 2013 she optained a Gifted endorsement and graduated from the University of South Florida receiveing a Master’s Degree in Gifted Education.

Sra. Brito is passionate about learning, helping students believe in themselves, and succeed in dual language programs. She has been at Garrison-Jones Elementary since 2014. Teaching Science & Math in Spanish inspired her to pursue her Masters in this area in 2016.

Teaching kindergarten has been an enlightening experience. She is passionate about technology, STEM, and dual language education. Her students learn early on that “if they believe...they will achieve.” Her knowledge of dual language pedagogy was strengthen by participating in a cohort certificate program along with other dual language teachers at Garrison-Jones and recieved a Certification.

She hopes to continue to inspire children to discover their strongest abilities and develop a love for learning throughout their life journey.

Señora Skeim is a graduate of the University of South Florida. At the beginning of her teaching career, she taught at Tarpon Springs Middle School. After 10 years there, she transferred to Garrison-Jones Elementary when her daughter started kindergarten. She has been with the Garrison-Jones famil; for over 28 years. She is happily married and has two daughters. On her free time, she enjoyes the beach, cooking and traveling.

She is overjoyed with the opportunity to have started the Spanish Dual Language program at Garrion-Jones Elementary. Spanish is very dear to her. She was born in Cuba and brought up in Costa Rica by missionary parents. Her middle school and high school years were in the Miami/ Dade area.

Ms. Hash graduated from USF with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, and a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership. She is also endorsed in ESOL and Gifted.

She is thrilled to have joined the Dual Language program and to be continuing to teach 1st grade. She started her career over 14 years ago. She is passionate about teaching Reading and English Language Arts.
 
Ms. Hash lives in Largo with her dog, Sunshine. Her daughter is a Senior, at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. 
 
Ms. Hash enjoys traveling, spending time with her family/friends.  She also enjoys visiting her daughter at school, going to the beach, and relaxing while reading a good book.

Sra. Arguelles graduated from FIU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and an ESOL endorsement. Her career as a teacher started in 2010 working for Miami Dade County Public Schools. During her time there, she had the opportunity to experience teaching in several different grade levels of the elementary years.

Sra. Arguelles started her journey at Garrison Jones in January 2018 as a 4^th Grade teacher for the Dual Language Program. Most recently, she is enjoying teaching 2^nd Grade for the same program.

Sra. Arguelles enjoys spending time with her family. She has a daughter that is also a student at the school and is in the Dual Language Program. In her free time, Sra. Arguelles and her family enjoy going on their boat on fishing trips or just cruising the bay area.

Mrs. Ashley Scavino graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Journalism. She worked for several years as a newspaper reporter and later returned to school at the University of West Florida, where she earned a Master's degree in Education Curriculum and Instruction.

Mrs. Scavino has been teaching since 2004 and has taught at Garrison-Jones since 2013. She has experience teaching special education, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. 

Mrs. Scavino is married and has two sons who attend Garrison-Jones. Her children are enrolled in the Dual-Language Program.

When she is not working, Mrs. Scavino enjoys traveling, running, and spending time with her family.

Sra. Kogan graduated from St. Petersburg College where she obtained a degree in Elementary Education and is certified to teach Spanish at all grade levels.

She is excited to continue her career as a Dual Language teacher. She values the opportunity to teach Spanish since she came to the United States from Argentina.

Sra. Kogan is married and has two daughters. 

In her free time, she enjoys walking on the beach, reading, and spending time with her family.

Ms. Hamilton graduated with high honors at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg with a degree in early childhood education. There she obtained a reading endorsement and certification in ESOL and exceptional student education. In 2018, she joined the Garrison-Jones family teaching 1^st grade, and eventually joined the Dual Language program teaching 3^rdgrade in 2020.

Reading and writing have always been a huge passion in Ms. Hamilton’s life, so teaching these subjects is nothing but a dream come true. Growing up in north Texas, one of her favorite childhood books was “Charlotte’s Web” because her family friend had a pig on their farm.

 One of her favorite quotes is “a child who reads will be an adult who thinks.”

In her spare time, Ms. Hamilton loves playing with her two Australian shepherds, Juniper and Calypso. She loves baking, crafting, and traveling. 

Sra. Carrasquillo, graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao, where she got her degree in Elementary Education.

She is a graduate from Cambridge College, where she received a Masters in Education. 
Sra. Carrasquillo has been a teacher in Puerto Rico for 12 years and 7 years at Garrison-Jones.
She is excited to be part of the Dual Language Program. 
 
Sra. Carrasquillo is married, and enjoys spending time with her husband and her Shih-Tzu named Sassy.

Mrs. Ward is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Elementary Education. She taught for 7 years in St. Petersburg before taking some time off to be a stay at home mom. Mrs. Ward returned to the classroom in 2014 here at Garrison-Jones and has taught Kindergarten, 3^rd grade and the past 4 years in 4^th grade. She is also certified to teach ESOL and P.E. and is Reading endorsed.

In her free time, Mrs. Ward enjoys spending time with her family and watching sporting events (especially Seminoles and Buccaneers)! Her two sons are in 8^th and 11^th grades and both attended Garrison-Jones from K-5. She is looking forward to the 2021-2022 school year!

My name is Mariangelie Vazquez Llanis.  I am married to Alexander Cintron Marrero who is a teacher too.  We have two boys: Alejandro and Diego Armando.  Alejandro is a musician and he will start his college studies in Aeroespacial Engineer next fall.  Diego Armando loves baseball, and he is part of the Dual Language Program of our school.

I have 22 years of experience as a primary and elementary level teacher. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Preschool, Primary, and Elementary Education at the University of Puerto Rico, in the Bayamon Campus. Years later, I completed my Master’s Degree in Curriculum of Primary Level. Last summer, I completed the Dual Language Master Certification from UCF.  I feel privileged to be a teacher. Being able to serve our country through the magisterium is for me a great honor.

Three years ago, I came to the United States after passing the ordeal of Hurricane Maria. This experience allowed me to reach Garrison Jones Elementary School, where I work as a fifth-grade teacher in the Dual Language Program. It is here that I have had to face different and new challenges that have made me a stronger person. I realize that it is permissible to learn, dream, fall, and get up, regardless of age, language, or any barrier or limitation that we have as individuals. I think, “When you want, you can, you just need the desire to do it”.

The Dual Language Program is a perfect opportunity to connect with students that come from different parts of the world.   I enjoy seeing students progress in their Spanish language skills at the same time they learn Math and Science.

Mrs. Valentino graduated from Kent State University in Ohio with a bachelor’s degree in English. She received her teaching certification from Notre Dame College in Ohio and her master’s certificate in TESOL from Cleveland State University. Mrs. Valentino taught High School Language Arts in Ohio before moving to Florida in 2011 with her family. After her twins started kindergarten in the Dual Language program at Garrison Jones, Mrs. Valentino became certified in Elementary Education K-6 and returned to teaching in 2014.

In her free time, Mrs. Valentino enjoys spending time with her husband, twin daughters, and her 2 adult sons. She also enjoys traveling, paddling, biking, and of course, reading!