Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Cubas.
Hi Rachel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
My husband started the school with his mother and sisters in 1996. Pflugerville was a teeny town and FM 685 was mainly pastureland. After graduating from UT, I joined the team as a teaching assistant in 2005. I was waiting on admission to graduate school with the ultimate goal of becoming an English professor. I loved to teach, but Montessori was a foreign concept. The school changed my path, however. I fell in love with Montessori and guiding preschool-aged children. First, I earned my primary degree in Montessori education–followed by my master’s in Elementary education and then a Montessori elementary degree. During this period, I also had three wonderful children. My husband’s sisters and mother retired. I assumed the directress position and added a larger garden, sheep, and chickens to the already amazing and thriving school.
Would it have been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Dividing my 20s between my children, my education, and school took most of my sleep for that decade. I was young, however, and sleep could be sacrificed! Running a school, being a teacher, and being a mom required a bit of research, even outside my graduate classes. I had to learn the psychology of connecting with people as a boss, their child’s teacher, a co-teacher, or, in my children’s case, as a present and loving mom! It was business; it was psychology, it was rewarding and exhausting and so worth it. During COVID, I watched our other preschool neighbors shutter their doors. Some amazing schools didn’t re-open. We weathered that situation entirely due to our loyal, hard-working, and level-headed teachers and the support from our dedicated parents. It was a fearful and new time, but we clung together like ants in a rainstorm to survive.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I guide children in their education and adults in their development as teachers. I make sure the wheels and mechanics of the school run smoothly, from glamorous things like unclogging toilets to enjoyable things like planning the school garden. Directing a school means sorting, filing, and organizing paperwork for all children and staff, which can be gratifying if done with a meticulous method in mind! School directors should be passionate and present. Your job is to be out of your office and interact with your children, teachers, and parents. You are the scaffolding for the school’s success. I am most proud of providing that support to my students, teachers, and parents in a hidden but ever-present manner. Of course, our micro-farm sets us apart from most schools. Parents, children, and teachers love the idea of taking care of the chickens and feeding the sheep each morning! In the spring, we love to stop and smell the herbs in our garden and take cuttings–or to catch worms as we work in the soil.
What matters most to you? Why?
Learning environments will only work if the teachers and children feel supported and safe. Parents trust schools when they know their children learn from adults who love and patiently guide them. We are also outside playing for about 4 hours a day. Our playground and school grounds incorporate various kinds of gross motor and fine motor opportunities. We run, jump, climb, dig, build, laugh, sing, imagine, and even recite the poems for the next recital at school–it’s encouraged and supported!
Pricing:
- 8 am – 12 pm: $900
- 8 am – 2:30 pm: $950
- 7:30 am- 4:30 pm: $1025
- 7:30 am – 5:00 pm: $1125
- 7:30 am – 5:30 pm: $1225
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Rachel Cubas
