Staff Requirements

Since we are not a school, we do not require certified teachers. We require that all leaders and assistants that work with the children have the following qualifications:

• Experience with young children (our staff has teaching, tutoring and/or extensive babysitting experience in NY and Japan).
• Dedication to the Japanese language and teaching of culture.
• Patience and engery for helping young children adjust to group environment and to help teach good social and life skill.
• Creativity: Working with young children requires the ability to change the agenda based on the energy of the group and age of the children. It also requires staff to think “out side the box” to provide the most stimulating environment for learning.
• Dependability: The children focus better when they know the staff and the schedule. The staff works together to discuss books, craft ideas, games and inventive ways to teach through play.

Regular Staff

Sumie Takashima
Founder/Director

Sumie’s experience in childcare begins in 1989 working as a camp counselor for disabled teenagers. In addition to various summer camps, she worked as a babysitter, assisted with teen job training, and provided group childcare in upstate NY and Chicago. In recent years Sumie has been working in theatre production and design, and now with her son, she is rediscovering her passion for working with children.

Born in the U.S. to an American mother, Sumie grew up with English as her first language. After the birth of her son, she and her husband decided to relocate to Japan to immerse the child in Japanese. The temporary move proved successful, however created a need to maintain and build on language skills after returning to NY.

Sumie has created this program to keep the Japanese language and culture strong for families of Japanese background here in the city. From her own experience studying foreign languages, she feels the most effective and natural way to learn language is repetition through immersion. NYCNDA’s program, designed with this in mind, also provides a great opportunity for non- Japanese children to learn Japanese through group play. She hopes that in the future NYCNDA will become not only a language resource for children but an integral part of the community for anyone interested in the Japanese culture.

Hobbies: Adventure and foreign travel, carpentry and reading.
Native language: English
Foreign language: Spanish, basic Japanese
Certified in Infant and Child First Aid and CPR
Currently pursuing Child Development Associate certification for Infants and Toddlers.
NY State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS): SUNY Health and Safety Certified
OCFS: SUNY Medication Administration Training Certified
Child Development Support Corp Training Institute: Understanding Different Temperaments in Infants and Toddlers/Working with Mix-Age Groups

Miwa
Japanese Language Administrator, volunteer helper

Miwa, mother of 2, joins the NYCNDA staff utilizing her many years of office experience in Japan to help maintain the company’s Japanese correspondence through phone and email. She has also taken over the position of text translator, helping to add and maintain Japanese text on the website, for flyers and in publications. She is on-site on Saturdays as support staff and volunteers at the Kana group. Miwa believes it is a great opportunity for young children to be exposed to other languages.
Hobbies: Scuba diving, tennis, traveling
Native language: Japanese
Foreign language: English

Yuko
Instructor

Yuko joins NYCNDA to help children living in a diverse city find interest in traditional Japanese songs/hand play and Japanese language. In Japan she was a pre-school teacher and also taught at special school for student teachers for pre-school, daycare and nursery school. She has several years of experience in early childhood education. Yuko has also spent a lot of time for volunteering, including supporting foreign children living in Japan to learn Japanese language and lifestyle, and joining JICA to participate in early childhood education in Honduras.
Hobbies: Travel, talking with people
Native language: Japanese
Foreign language: Spanish, studying English
Certified in Infant and Child First Aid and CPR

Etsuko
Leader

Etsuko graduated from Queens Conservatory of Music in 2007. She teaches piano to children as young as 4 years old and has joined the NYCNDA staff to enhance her work with children on a creative level.
Hobbies: Cooking, African dance, listening to music
Native Language: Japanese
Foreign Language: English
Certified in Infant and Child First Aid and CPR

Take
Helper

Take joins NYCNDA as a recent graduate of Linguistics at Queens College. He continues to lead group activities with students and fellow alumni that are interested in the Japanese culture. He is enthusiastic about working with the staff and kids at NYCNDA to educate about the culture and language of his country.
Hobbies: Music
Native language: Japanese
Foreign language: English
Certified in Infant and Child First Aid and CPR

Kaori
Helper

Kaori joins NYCNDA after several years experience of babysitting a Japanese-American child. She is a recent graduate of Hunter College, CUNY with M.A. in Theatre degree. She has been introducing Japanese performing arts and culture through her activities of Japanese classical dance (nihon-buyo) and Japanese/Okinawan style singing in greater NY area. It is always a great pleasure for her to find creativity and imagination in children.
Hobbies: Piano, Jogging
Native language: Japanese
Foreign language: English

Noriko
Volunteer cultural event planner

Noriko donated many hours when not in school to helping NYCNDA get a strong start and also volunteered once a week to lead the playgroup. Now Noriko and Crystal work together to plan cultural events for families to enjoy. Noriko believes that persistence and patience are most important in early childhood education. She is here in NYC studying English.
Hobbies: Experiencing new places, museums, concerts and musical theatre.
Native language: Japanese
Foreign languages: English, some Spanish
Certified in Infant and Child First Aid and CPR

Crystal
Volunteer support staff/Cultural event planner

Crystal’s interest in the Japanese culture grew while studying Asian art and film. She lived in Japan to gain a better cultural understanding and then applied this experience to her work, adapting Japanese anime for American broadcasting companies. Now a fulltime mom, Crystal joins the NYCNDA team to continue working in a creative environment and to expose her daughter Mika to her father’s language and culture. Crystal can be found on weekdays helping the group run smoothly and also behind the scenes researching and planning cultural family events with Noriko.
Hobbies: Martial Arts
Native language: English
Foreign language: Conversational French and Japanese.

Erianna, RN
Health consultant

Now a registered nurse, our former On- site manager Erianna and her son join the NYCNDA team periodically to provide health updates and tips. She is also hosting our new INFO FORUMs for new moms. Previous experience is in the private and public sectors of childcare and early childhood education. Before her own labor and delivery, Erianna trained as a doula (labor assistant) and plans to continue her training as a nurse midwife. She believes it is crucial in today’s world to speak a second language and supports early childhood bilingual education.
Hobbies: Cooking, baking, reading, baby wearing
Native Language: English
Foreign languages: French, some Spanish
EMT Certified in First Aid and CPR
NYS Registered Nurse (RN)

Eri
Artist

Eri began working with the NYCNDA team since its opening and has helped with translations and email and phone correspondence with parents. As an artist, Eri is the talent behind the original Japanese style sketches used in our advertising and merchandise. Working with NYCNDA provides a great platform to connect art, children and psychology as she pursues her education in Art Therapy. While bilingual/cultural experience give children great perspective, Eri believes it is important to help define and maintain a child’s identity.
Hobbies: Painting, music and cooking
Native language: Japanese
Foreign languages: English