Faculty
Talia Gil – Nursery
Ms. Gil graduated from Schain Teachers' College, one of the finest teachers' colleges in Israel, in 1975 with a degree in early childhood education. She taught in Israel for 13 years.
Since arriving in the United States, she has taught Jewish Studies at the Rabbi Erwin Zimet Hebrew Day School and at the Hebrew Afternoon School, in Poughkeepsie. At the Hebrew Afternoon School, Ms. Gil also prepared high-school students for their Regents Exams in Hebrew. Ms. Gil has been teaching at Maimonides since 2002 in various capacities including teaching Hebrew and Judaic studies at the two’s through third grade level. She also teaches Hebrew to adult learner education consulting business.
Zina Rosenbaum – Pre-K
Mrs Rosenbaum was born and educated in South Africa. She joined the Maimonides Academy Faculty in 1994. She is a graduate of a Jewish day school, has a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Witwatersrand and a degree as a children's librarian from the University of Cape Town, in South Africa. Mrs. Rosenbaum has taught elementary grades in South Africa, served as Head Teacher at the Nursery level of the Stamford Jewish Community Center and previously taught 3-year-olds at the Children's Center of Danbury. Currently, Mrs. Rosenbaum serves as the Pre-K Head Teacher and teaches a special afternoon class with both 3 and 4 year old children..
Cynthia Haym – The Twos and Mommy & Me
Cynthia Haym earned her Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Psychology from Queens College and Master's Degree in English from Western Connecticut State University. She has been teaching for over ten years. Her passion for education, language and theatre arts has led her to dedicating the last ten years to developing and teaching Theatre courses to children of all ages, focusing on the value of each phase of a child's development. "I have learned to pay particular attention to the student's different needs by becoming an active listener, and striving to respect timing and individuality." As teacher and theater director, "I developed lesson plans involving purposeful themes for children ages 2-15." The work proved to be highly stimulating and challenging and continued to further her passion and appreciation for working towards an educational goal within a community
Grace Martinez - Teachers Assistant
Ms. Martinez was a childcare provider for many years before joining Maimonides Academy at the Miry Brook Road location in 2004 as a substitute teacher. From the onset, the staff, students and parents were enamored with Ms. Grace, as she's affectionately known. Soon after, she permanently joined the faculty as a teacher's assistant. Her children were also students at Maimonides. She has worked with all preschool age groups. Grace is currently working in all the Pre School classes. She is a certified Nursing Assistant and looking into pursuing certification in early childhood development. Grace lives in Danbury with her husband, 3 sons and chihuahua Picachu. The MEE Program is thrilled to have her continue on staff at our new school.