Reno Preschool Staff | Creative World Children's Academy

Susan Baker is our Assistant Director.  She earned her Masters Degree with honors and has received the Outstanding Alumni Recognition from UNR.  She is retired from the Carson City School District after 29 years of service as a Speech Pathologist with the Early Childhood program. 

Susan is certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association, the Nevada State Board of Examiners for Speech Pathology and is licensed by the Nevada State Board of Education.  She was voted Teacher of the Year in 2008 for her service to young children at the Early Childhood Center in Carson.  

Nikki Podnar is our four-year-old (Stars) teacher.  Nikki married last summer and she and her husband are the proud parents of two dogs and a bunny.

Mrs. Podnar graduated from UNR with a dual degree in Elementary and Special Education, with a minor in psychology.  She s licensed by the Nevada State Board of Education for both K-12 as well as Special Education.

Nikki found that young children were her forte after doing her internship in a kindergarten classroom.  She has been trained with the Nevada K-12 Standards as well as the Nevada Pre-K Curriculum Standards and applies them to her lesson plans.  She understands the importance of implementing these criteria in her instruction to enhance her student’s social, emotional and educational development.

Edith Duerr is our teacher in the two-year-old (Moons) room.  She is originally from Washington State and moved to Nevada after she married in 2011. 

Mrs. Duerr has been working in the childcare industry for more than 13 years and is passionate about nurturing little ones to become well-developed children.  She believes in a hands-on curriculum and utilizes a multi-sensory approach to teaching.

Edith’s has a strong music background and plays the piano. Her previous experience includes serving as the Choir director and head of the Children’s Program at her church. She brings her talents to the classroom with songs about numbers, ABCs, and silly melodies as well.

Sylwia Snyder (pronounced Sylvia) is a co-teacher in the three-year-old classroom.   Sylwia was born and raised in Poland, where she received her degree in French Language.  She studied and lived in Paris, France for a year to complete her practice training and worked as an Au Pair in Europe (London, Paris) USA (Philadelphia, Phoenix) and Asia.  Sylwia is married and she enjoys hiking, camping and meeting new people.