Junior Preschool Teacher & Music & Movement Teacher

coming soon

4 Day Teacher

Mrs. Punater has been a teacher at LANK for 3 years. She has a diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education from the University of Mumbai, and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Maryland. She currently teaches the 4 Day program at LANK and has also taught kindergarten and first grade before becoming a part of the LANK community..

Mrs. Punater is passionate about working with younger children in their formative years to inculcate within them a love of learning, independence, compassion and development of social skills as they get ready for kindergarten and beyond. She looks to connect with each student individually to understand their uniqueness, and she strives to help them grow in their natural area of interest such as dramatization, art, general knowledge, working with numbers, etc. It would not be a surprise to hear kids laughing along with her, playing games and enjoying their learning experience.

When not in school, Mrs. Punater enjoys travel, shopping and binge watching shows on Netflix. She is fluent in 4 languages, is a certified yoga instructor, loves outdoor sports and has taken up running passionately over the last year, recently completing a half marathon.

Junior Preschool Bridge Teacher

Mrs. Art has been a teacher at LANK since 2010 in the Junior Preschool Bridge program. Mrs. Art is passionate about instilling a love of learning in her students and is honored to be their first teacher. Children at this age are full of wonder and excitement and she enjoys creating the ideal environment for children to learn and thrive. The biggest gift she can give her students is to help foster a lifelong love of learning. Outside of school, Mrs. Art enjoys running on Reston’s many trails, reading a good book and spending time with her family.

Preschool Teacher & Explore and More Teacher

Mrs. Frinks lives in Reston with her husband. She has two daughters. When her youngest daughter entered elementary school, she decided to turn her love of children into a second career and feel fortunate to have found a place in the LANK family. She went from taking care of adults in the human resources field to taking care of children, which she find more rewarding – and much more fun! She has taught at LANK for over 14 years including teaching in every program. She loves offering children the opportunity to explore a variety of materials and their natural environment and she likes to incorporate aspects of the Reggio Amelia approach in our curriculum. She feels very strongly about “process over product,” our play-based philosophy, and making learning meaningful through children’s interests and hands on experiences.

Pre-K Teacher

Mrs. Usmani joined the LANK community in 2020 as a 5-day teacher. She obtained her Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy, French, and Economics from The University of Karachi. She also received her credentials in Early Childhood from the Northern Virginia Montessori Institute in 2019. She has 27 years of teaching experience and has taught various levels at different schools in her home country and in the USA. Prior to moving to the United States she also provided private tutoring to students in elementary school. Her passion for teaching blossoms from her love for children. Their innocence and desire to discover are a few of the many reasons that she chose this career path. She hopes to support her children academically while also inculcating virtues like grace and courtesy through playful activities. Mrs. Usmani loves traveling the world and has visited many countries. She hopes to visit Australia soon!

Preschool & Pre-K Teacher

Mrs. Fang-Weeden teaches the four- and five-day programs at LANK and first joined the school community as a parent. Her love and respect for LANK’s teaching environment when her children were preschoolers has come full circle with Mrs. Fang-Weeden returning as a teacher! She has a legal background as a barrister with a Master’s Degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University, England and has taught in a variety of educational settings over the last decade.

Mrs. Fang-Weeden’s approach as an educator is rooted in the perspective that each learner is unique with individual learning preferences and styles. Her teaching methodology supports her young learners as active participants in the classroom and project decisions follow the children’s interests, curiosity and developmental readiness to acquire new skills. She is a strong advocate of nurturing children’s growth as problem-solvers and independent thinkers through play-based learning. She believes that education should be experienced as a continuing interaction between all those involved in the school community. In her free time, Mrs. Fang-Weeden enjoys training in a variety of sports, reading, spending time with family and friends and attending art exhibitions.

Floater

coming soon

Preschool Teacher

Mrs. Barbaro has been a part of the LANK staff for many years. She started teaching our Bears & Cubs program for future LANK students and their caregiver. She is a Board Certified Music Therapist, and when not at school, continues to maintain several music therapy clients, and also teaches music classes for kiddos and their caregivers. (You can sometimes find her teaching at Herndon Library.) In her free time, Mrs. Barbaro enjoys spending time with her family, photography, gardening, and crafting.

Preschool Teacher & Explore and More Teacher

Mrs. Roesch has been a teacher at LANK for 11 years. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from Florida State University. Mrs. Roesch has taught Elementary school for 10+ years but loves teaching at LANK the most. She feels that pre-school is the age when children are curious about the world around them. They are engaged learners, who ask questions, solve problems, and feel pride. At this age a child’s imagination is magic! She loves being a part of a child’s “Ah Ha” moment in the learning process. She also loves to dance, sing and play lots of fun games with her class.
In her spare time, Mrs. Roesch loves to cook for her family, spend time with her husband, three grown children and their cute Boston Terrier Bella. She also enjoys shopping and watching a good Hallmark Movie.

Junior Preschool Teacher

Carolyn Frames has been teaching at LANK since 2000, as a Junior Preschool teacher. She is a mother to three grown children and understands that early education provides a foundation for a lifetime of learning. Her greatest joy is to see a child’s smile as they encounter new experiences and discover a love of learning. As their first teacher, Carolyn strives to create a loving environment where children can learn, experience new challenges, and develop their emotional and social skills. She thinks it is important that a child feels safe and cared for, and she feels incredibly lucky to share this important time in their lives.
Outside of work, Carolyn loves spending time with her three sons and husband. She enjoys watching movies, visiting the local farmer’s market, and hiking the many trails of this area.

Assistant Teacher

Mrs. Sanchez works in the Junior Preschool Program. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master’s Degree in Drawing and Painting from the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. Her daughter graduated from LANK in 2022. When not in school, she enjoys travel, painting and spend time with her family. She loves the outdoors and is a summer fanatic who can be found by the pool or sunny beaches. She is also a professional cookie baker.

Assistant Teacher for JPB & Preschool Teacher

Mrs. Page is a former LANK parent. She has a heart for early childhood education especially for children with special needs. Before working at LANK, she worked for FCPS as a substitute in their special education preschool program. When not at school, Mrs. Page loves spending time with her family, reading, and going for long walks.

Preschool Teacher

coming soon

Pre-K Teacher

Wendy Banga teaches the Four Day Program at LANK. She has two children who both attended LANK. They had such a great experience, she decided to teach at LANK! She has been teaching at this school for over 11 years. Mrs. Banga has a passion to make a difference in the lives of young children. At LANK, we know that play is a child’s most important work. She works to create and maintain an environment where all children can have fun and also grow and thrive. Seeing the kids laugh, learn and play while exploring the world around them is what is most important to Mrs. Banga. When not teaching, she loves to cook, shop and try new restaurants. She also has two cats named Meika and Maui.