Growing into Greatness: Awarding Top Early Childhood Educators in Columbus

The ideal teacher at BFA has a genuine passion for teaching, a deep understanding of child development, the ability to inspire and motivate their students, and a commitment to lifelong learning. As a company, we are committed to fostering the growth of our teachers as well, and we believe that the very best teachers deserve the highest of accolades for going above and beyond for their students. To honor this belief, BFA has developed its most prestigious teaching award yet:

The Balanced Family Academy Growing into Greatness Award.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023 RECIPIENTS!

Amber Moss

FIRST PLACE WINNER

Academy: Upper Arlington Treehouse
Age Group: Pre-K
Years of Service: 8

Amber is an exceptional educator and is known for her extraordinary ability to connect with each of her students. Amber is an incredible leader and role model to her colleagues.

Amber graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelors degree in early and middle childhood studies with a focus on early education. Amber also has an associates in sciences and art. Amber has been working with children for 10 years with kindergarten, pre-k, preschool and 1-2 year olds. Amber’s true passion is in the pre-k age group. Her main focus in the classroom is for the kids to learn healthy social and emotional skills, and works diligently to prepare them academically for kindergarten.

Amber has a twin sister who is a high school math teacher and a younger sister who is an elementary school teacher. She a dog named Lucy and a cat named lefty. Amber likes being outside, going on hikes and visiting the other states. It is a goal to travel to all 50 stares. Her favorite animals are sharks and she loves the marvel universe with Ironman being her favorite! Her favorite hobbies are reading and crocheting.

“Amber goes above and beyond to support our family and our son. She has provided her observations and feedback to his doctors, to his parents and even agreed to submit an overview of our son to UA schools so he can be best placed next year. All of this support has reassured us that we are in the right classroom.” -BFA Parent

“Amber is so willing to share suggestions on how to make sure each child succeeds in the class. She listens to parent concerns and does her best to adapt to those requests as the child grows in their time as a Monkey. There is a lot of emotional growth happening at the Monkey age range child. She sets realistic boundaries that they can respond well to and frankly we use at home as well..” -BFA Parent

“Amber is able to accommodate varying learning styles, abilities and interests of the students. She can handle unexpected situations, such as disruptions and can remain calm and make changes on the spot. Anytime I’ve had feedback or a concern about my child, Amber has always listened and been responsive. She has given her honest perspective and suggested ways of doing things differently or things we can try. It is never a one size fits all approach.”

“Amber goes above and beyond for her class. She always makes sure that every student feels comfortable and confident in her classroom. Amber also shows the upmost respect for teachers and parents. She is so willing to train any employee that comes into the building. I love that I can rely on Amber to show up each day and with a positive attitude. She works really hard to collaborate with our curriculum director to ensure each one of her students is successful in her kindergarten readiness lessons and is really invested into each one of her children.”- BFA Administrator

“Amber is a wonderful person inside and out. I feel confident in my children's care, and learning and development in pre-school. I have one child in first grade, and Amber is the teacher he still likes to come back to see and I feel that's because she leaves such a huge impression on children.”- BFA Parent

Chelsea Casale

SECOND PLACE WINNER

Academy: Grandview 5th Ave
Age Group: Pre-K
Years of Service: 10.5

Chelsea started her journey at Balanced Family Academy in 2013 in the Piglets room at GVS. She traveled to the 5th Ave Kangaroos room in 2014 and since then has spent time in all the rooms including our School Age program during the pandemic. Chelsea has been teaching in the Monkeys room for 3 years now and has loved every minute of it! Her favorite part of teaching is answering her student’s random questions and helping them learn something new in those moments! She has loved getting to know all of the families and kiddos over the past 10 years and looks forward to many more years with Balanced Family Academy.

“I can not say enough about how incredibly wonderful Chelsea is. One of the big reasons I decided to wait a year to send my daughter to kindergarten was because I wanted her to be in Chelseas class. I knew that Chelsea would prepare her for kindergarten and set her up for success in her next class.” -BFA Parent

“As a parent herself, Chelsea understands the importance of building strong bonds with the families at the 5th Ave center. A moment that sticks out in my mind, is when Chelsea was a virtual learning teacher during covid. She had children from three different school districts as well as several schools, and she took it upon herself to create her very own LDBB email to make herself available to communicate with families since she did not see them at drop-off and pick-up due to that all taking place at the front door. She mastered every schedule for every child (with grace) and the parents were BEYOND thrilled with her ability to help each child fulfill all assignments while still having some sense of normalcy..” -BFA Administrator

Caileigh Ervin

THIRD PLACE WINNER

Miss Caileigh started with LDBB/BFA in August of 2015. She began as a kitchen staff member and then in July of 2017 decided to jump into the classroom! Caileigh found her passion working with toddlers, and has been growing with them ever since. When the pandemic hit she helped with @home families and at our 5th Avenue center as well. Caileigh is highly skilled in creating enriching curriculum centers that keep toddlers engaged and challenged.

Academy: Grandview Station
Age Group: Toddler
Years of Service: 8.5

“Ms Caileigh is so loving and patient with her kids. You can really tell she truly cares for each individual student and knows what makes them special”- BFA Parent

“Ms. Caileigh has such a warm presence whenever we interact with her. It is really bittersweet that Harrison is moving to a new class soon!”- BFA Parent

“These kids are changing daily and she is always willing to try new things and meet the kids where they are on that particular day- BFA Parent

Kristin Williamson

FOURTH PLACE WINNER

Academy: Grove City
Age Group: Pre-K
Years of Service: 1

Kristin has been a teacher at BFA Grove City for one year. She is so passionate about childcare and has so much enthusiasm about BFA! She goes above and beyond each and everyday building personal connections with families and staff. She is positive, professional, dependable, respectful and gives 110% everyday!

“Kristin is passionate about BFA and her role as a Preschool teacher. Since the day she started she has been devoted to the company, continuously going above and beyond each and every day.” - Grove City Administrator

“Kristin’s positive interactions start with the moment you walk in the door. She greets each child in her classroom—and not in her specific classroom. Her energy is bright and welcoming to every child. She provides positive reassurance to children all day long. We tend to show up at various times and kids are always listening to what she has to say to them. My daughter gets excited daily to see her and show her something new. She does the extra mile by attending outside sporting events for kids in her class—not many would do that. We happen to live by one of her family members and she will always stop and say hello if we are outside. We have been at a few daycares prior to BFA and we have never felt as comfortable and trusting with a provider than we have with Kristin.”- BFA Parent

Nina Snyder

FIFTH PLACE WINNER

Academy: Upper Arlington Clubhouse
Age Group: Toddler
Years of Service: 2

“We have seen a lot of teachers at BFA over the years and have been with some amazing ones! Nina stands out to us because she is consistently excellent with Cam and us. She thinks of him by providing certain coloring pages to him to make his day, helps him feel comfortable in the classroom, and is always so kind with her feedback about it. She is excellent at communicating with us as parents - not just the generic "He had a great day" but tells specific stories and touches base appropriately about any specific issues. She is one of those teachers that we will be so sad to have to move on from!”- BFA Parent

Originally employed at Junior Explorers, Nina began as a teacher at BFA in fall of 2021. Nina is from Columbus, OH, but her family is from Cambodia. Nina explored several majors in college, and found that her true passion was working with children. Nina is happily married and has a pet Shiba Inu and a cat. In her free time, Nina loves baking and trying out new restaurants. Nina’s favorite part about being a teacher is watching the kids reach their milestones and seeing the smile on their faces everyday.

“Nina is always spreading positive energy just by her natural personality and way of interacting with parents and students alike. She has the unique ability to connect with kids and adults.”- BFA Parent

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Anthony Colazzo

GRANDVIEW 5TH AVE
In the fall of 2015, Mr. Anthony began his career at LDBB/BFA with zero experience in an early childhood center, and a genuine love, passion and curiosity for working with children. Throughout the years, as his knowledge of Early Childhood Development has increased, Mr. Anthony has sought to stay true to himself as a teacher, while learning how to better support those around him. At the end of the day, he has worked hard to see his classrooms grow in every dimension of early childhood, while remembering to always have fun, as that is the love language of children! Success in eyes means two things, that his classroom learned something, and they had fun doing it.
Jessica Kauffman

CLINTONVILLE
Miss Jess joined Balanced Family Academy in April 2022, where she jumped into one of our toddler classrooms as an Assistant Teacher. Jess immediately brought warmth, kindness and years of experience to the room. After a few months in our Piglet Classroom, she was promoted to Lead Teacher in our Kangaroo Classroom, where she has helped create an incredible environment where kids can learn and thrive. If you have a chance to see her circle time, where she plays her guitar and sings familiar songs each day, or a classroom transition where she engages all friends with a simple (but always ridiculously cute) hallway game or marching song, you will see how much pride and joy she gets from her job as a Lead Teacher. Before joining BFA, she brought five years of experience working with children, as well as two years in AmeriCorps leading their afterschool program, and two years as an instructor for Stuart’s Opera House After School Music Program, where she led small band groups and helped children learn to play music. When not at BFAC, Miss Jess is typically found spending time with her husband Kyle and son Levon, or playing music with her husband in their band.
Jaison Council

DUBLIN INNOVATION
Jaison began at BFA in September of 2022. Before starting his journey at BFA, Jaison was a teacher assistant at West Liberty-Salem High School and has many years experience in babysitting. When not at work, Jaison enjoys watching football, playing video games, and spending time with his wife and two dogs. What Jaison loves most about BFA is the relationships he has built with his students and co-teachers. Getting to see their smiling faces is the highlight of his day. Jaison feels grateful for the opportunity to help his students grow and learn daily. He looks forward to his continued growth at BFA and continuing to be the best teacher for his preschool class.
Banicha Howard

GRANDVIEW STATION
Miss Banicha joined the LDBB/BFA team in 2018 as a pre-k teacher. She brings such a creative, fun energy to the classroom and you can always count on her to be down on the kids level engaging with them. In addition to being a rockstar in the classroom, she goes above and beyond to be supportive to her co-workers and spreads positivity throughout the school!
Jenna Ketch

GRANDVIEW 5TH AVE
While Jenna has been teaching and coaching for many years, she began her journey with Balanced Family Academy about five years ago. Jenna originally began working with toddlers but found that her true love was working with pre-k students. Jenna finds incredible joy in supporting dynamic young people through learning their letter sounds, numbers, writing, or being able to identify and working through big emotions. In talking about her pre-k students, Jenna says “This stage of life is so short and being able to be a part of that experience for my students is the most rewarding and meaningful thing I have ever been a part of.
Amy Alaniz

GRANDVIEW 5TH AVE
Amy has been with Balanced Family Academy for 6 years. She absolutely loves being a teacher and sharing her love of learning with her students. She has worked with the toddlers for over 3 years and loves working with this age group. Amy is passionate about planning fun activities and art projects for her class.