Elementary Team

Samantha is thrilled to join the Kindergarten team at Innovative School this year. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, Samantha recently relocated to Bay Harbor Islands. Before starting her college education, Samantha took a gap year in Israel, where she volunteered with refugee children at a community center. It was during this time that she discovered her true passion for early childhood education.

Samantha holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Sociology from Hunter College and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Hunter’s School of Education. She brings over fourteen years of experience working with children, including the past five years at the 92nd Street Y Nursery School in New York, as well as student teaching across six NYC public elementary schools.

Outside of the classroom, Samantha enjoys playing tennis, solving puzzles, scuba diving, and spending time with her rescue dog, Winnie. She is also excited to become a part of the Temple Beth Sholom community and congregation!

Samantha Borisoff is a 24-year veteran educator.  She earned her bachelor's degree from UCF in Early Childhood Education (Birth- third grade).  She started her teaching career at Hillel Jewish Day School before switching to Miami Dade County Public Schools.  She grew up in South Florida, and calls Miami Beach her home.  Teaching, fitness, spending time with her family and travel are Samantha's passions.  Samantha is very excited to join the team at the Innovative School of Temple Beth Sholom. 

Marley Penson was born and raised in Miami Beach, FL and attended the Innovative School of Temple Beth Sholom as a child. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and her Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Florida. Go Gators! Growing up, Marley was deeply connected to Temple Beth Sholom. During her time at UF, Marley worked at a local temple creating and teaching enrichment activities that connected students to Judaism and the world around them. Outside of teaching, Marley loves to travel, cook, and go to the beach. As a lifelong learner herself, Marley is very excited to begin her teaching journey at the Innovative School of Temple Beth Sholom!

Rachel has been a Miami Beach resident since she was 2 and ½ years old. She graduated from Ransom Everglades High School in 1996 and then The University of Miami in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Education.   In 2002, Rachel earned a Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Reading and Learning Disabilities and graduated with Honors from the University of Miami.  Rachel began her career teaching 3rd grade at North Miami Elementary and went on to teach at South Pointe Elementary, then Temple Beth Sholom and finally has been teaching at North Beach Elementary since 2013.  Rachel has been an active congregant of Temple Beth Sholom since 1983.  She is currently co-chair of the Social Justice Network, has led Direct Service Projects, has been a Mitzvah Day Captain and has been Vice President on the Board of Trustees. Rachel is on PACT’s Executive Committee as the Vice President of Media Relations and PR. Rachel is also Vice President of Fundraising for the National Council of Jewish Women.  Through all of this community involvementRachel recognized that a major issue in the community is food insecurity.  Rachel learned about and became involved with Food Rescue US- South Florida. For over three years, every Sunday at 8 am Rachel goes to Whole Foods and “rescues” excess food and delivers it to Lotus House or drops the food at a community fridge run by Buddy System US. In addition, to receiving The Emerging Leader Award from NCJWRachel was recognized as a “Woman Worth Knowing in Education” on Miami Beach, awarded Teacher of the Year and the Rookie Teacher of the Year at North Miami Elementary, and was earned the Outstanding Associate Teacher’s Award at the University of Miami. When Rachel finds spare time, she loves living a plant-based lifestyle, enjoys exercising (she is addicted to her Peloton bike and treadmill) and loves spending time with her husband Michael, as well as with her greatest accomplishmentsher children Max and Ellie, and their 100-pound puppies Lincoln and Duke.  

Rachel Adams grew up in the northeast and has been a resident of Miami Beach since 1999.  She and her husband have two boys who spent their early years at TBS.  Rachel joined the TBSIS family in 2009 as a teacher at The Foundation Level, working with ages 2 through Pre-K, and currently is with the Older-Two year olds.    She studied Computer Science and Information Technology on a University level and went back to school for her degree in Education, specializing in Early Childhood Education.  She has earned the Child Development Associate Credential, and loves working with children. She enjoys contributing to the next generations of learners and hopes to make a positive difference for our community through collaboration and commitment to being a life-long learner.

Shari Baier, originally from Miami Beach, has a rich artistic background shaped by her experiences living in Israel and traveling through Africa. She earned her BA in Fine Arts from Florida International University, specializing in painting and art history. Her career as an art director in various galleries and PR for the Miami Art Museum led her to Los Angeles, where she collaborated with the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Gene Autry Museum, and Cirque du Soleil.

Patricia Tobon was born in Colombia and moved to the United States more than 25 years ago. She has a bachelor's degree in Communications and Journalism, a certification in Special Ed Tech, and is a certified yoga instructor for adults and children. Patricia is a mother of two young women, ages 23 and 20 who started their school years at TBS. She has more than 15 years of experience working with children as a school teacher at the Innovative School and Portland (ME), and as a yoga teacher. She is passionate about learning, reading, and outdoor sports like kayaking, scuba diving, and biking. 

Andrea Martinez was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia. She graduated from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.  She has had a diverse career serving as a psychologist in various educational settings. She also worked as a school psychologist and offered early child education workshops for parents and taught psychology at a local university. In 2003, she moved to the United States to learn English and now resides in Miami Beach with her husband and two teenagers.  Andrea was actively involved as a board member in the PTA of her children’s school and enjoys an active lifestyle including going to the gym, paddle boarding, and rollerblading.  

Darryl began her career in District 5 in Manhattan as a second grade teacher. Darryl retired as Superintendent of District 2 35 years later. In between Darryl worked as a Staff Developer, Principal and Deputy Superintendent. As a staff developer, Darryl trained groups of teacher, led staff district wide development, and developed classroom libraries in all schools. Darryl's expertise includes Pre-K- High School. Darryl led PS158, a Blue Ribbon School, for more than 10 years. With the help of an extraordinary team, 158 became a model school in both mathematics and literacy with visitors from the State Education Department and from schools all over the country and world. With a team, the school revamped the Special Education program to a fully inclusive model. While working as a Deputy Superintendent, Darryl was responsible for supporting and rating 50 elementary and middle school principals.

When Pre-K expanded in the district, Darryl created a developmentally appropriate literacy program followed by all. Darryl also designed professional development for new principals which included a new principal support group. Darryl holds a Masters in Teaching and Learning from City College and a Masters in Education from Teachers College in Curriculum and Instruction. In addition, Darryl holds state certification in reading/special education. After retiring from the Department of Education, Darryl continued to work as an Education Consultant for school leaders, teachers and schools in New York City. She moved to Miami Beach with her husband Joe and her dog Zelda to be close to her family.  

Sandy Lanes is a pedagogical consultant specializing in early childhood progressive education through a Reggio-inspired lens, working with schools nationally and abroad. Until 2019, she was the Curriculum Director at the Bender JCC of Greater Washington ECC in Rockville, Maryland for 13 years, which she helped to transform from a traditional preschool to a Reggio-inspired program. In her tenure, the school was chosen as a lab school site for JCCs. Over the past 25 years, Sandy has been a keynote presenter and workshop facilitator at conferences and preschools. You can hear Sandy interviewing experts in early childhood education on her podcast, Awakened to Reggio.

Nancy Amar is an Occupational Therapist (OT) with more than 20 years of experience and whose greatest passion is working with children of all abilities. Although her name is Nancy, the children endearingly call her “Miss Mancy”, which inspired the name of her company. She completed her studies in Canada and received a BSc in Occupational Therapy from McGill University and a BSc in Exercise Physiology with a Minor in Psychology at Concordia University.

Her multiple collaborations and partnerships with schools, clinics, museums, and educational institutions have made her a renowned and respected member of the Miami child development community. In addition to providing individual therapy, she designs and teaches growth mindset classes for children of all abilities with the main purpose of teaching valuable life skills, while exploring empowering life lessons of compassion, oneness, acceptance, and kindness.

She leads yearly workshops for teachers in schools and offers classes for parents on Intentional Parenting. 

Nancy believes that Autistic children and other developmental challenges have profound lessons to teach us, and she is passionate about advocating for their full inclusion in society. She has appeared on The Today Show and is currently writing a book entitled “I Come with a Message.” Nancy is dedicated to empowering and making every child become the best version of themselves. She has spoken at summits, presenting alongside speakers such as Temple Grandin and Dr. Barry Prizant about Autistic children.

She recently opened a non-profit organization to provide vocational skills training to Autistic young adults and to educate the community about integration. Currently, she is teaching a Transitional Skills Program at Kesher, a school that caters to students with learning disabilities and developmental delays. She is also in the preliminary stage of opening a Beyond ASD Center in the coming year to further employment opportunities for the ASD community.

The name of her foundation is Beyond ASD, because…
A-wareness S-hifts the D-efinition!

Jess has been in education for nearly two decades. After getting her master's in Childhood and Special Education from NYU, Jess began her teaching career at the prestigious P.S. 158 on Manhattan's Upper East Side.  While there, she taught 3rd grade ICT and 4th grade General Education, before supporting students as a Literacy Interventionist. Jess also applied her passion for content-area work while teaching social studies to grades 2-5.

After leaving P.S. 158, Jess began her coaching career. She supported teachers in their planning and implementation of reading and writing, in both elementary and middle schools. From there, Jess joined the world-renowned Columbia Teachers College as a Staff Developer, where she worked for many years. There, she supported hundreds of teachers in their practice across the country. She also co-authored the new Units of Study in writing, along with Lucy Calkins and her colleagues at The Reading and Writing Project at Mossflower.

Jess started Jessica Mazzone Literacy as a way to support districts, schools, teachers, and students in building a life-long love of reading and writing. You can also follow her on instagram @lovetoteachliteracy for tips, tools, and charts.

Jess lives in Connecticut with her husband and three children.