Meet Us

Kim Turnbull

Executive Director & Founder

Kim has been an early childhood educator for over twenty years. She founded Brooklyn Schoolhouse in 2015, serving as Lead Teacher of its first class before continuing on as Director. She is also the co-founder of Alexandria Schoolhouse, a sister school to Brooklyn Schoolhouse in Alexandria, Virginia.

Before starting Brooklyn Schoolhouse, Kim was Lead Teacher at Beginnings Nursery School from 2009–2015. Prior to Beginnings, she taught at City & Country School, the Sarah Lawrence College Early Childhood Center, ABC Cassidy’s Place, and Central Park East 1 Elementary School. She earned a BA in Literature and Painting from Sarah Lawrence College in 2004 and a dual MS in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Sarah Lawrence College in 2009.

In 2010, Kim completed Reggio Emilia’s First International Summer School program, spending the summer in Reggio Emilia, Italy, immersed in the preschools’ philosophy and pedagogy. Kim believes that joining children in the joyful and exciting processes of discovery is key to instilling a lifelong love of learning. She believes deeply in inquiry-based learning and in the power of play, curiosity, and wonder in the process of learning.

Kim is also deeply engaged in the work of protecting childhood in an increasingly digital world. She is an active member of Parent Technology Collaborative NYC and participates in a number of parent and education groups working to reduce the role of screens in schools and protect children from the influence of Big Tech. She is passionate about creating childhoods that leave ample room for play, creativity, connection, independence, and real-world exploration.

Kim’s son attended Brooklyn Schoolhouse throughout his preschool years and is now in elementary school. Experiencing the school both as its founder and as a parent has deepened her appreciation for the importance of creating a warm, thoughtful, and developmentally appropriate early childhood experience for every child and family in the Brooklyn Schoolhouse community.

Jasmin Rodriguez-Schroeder

Education Director

Jasmin Rodriguez-Schroeder joined Brooklyn Schoolhouse as a classroom teacher in 2022, and began as Director in 2024. Prior to this role Jasmin taught in a range of classrooms, including Montessori and bilingual settings, and attended Waldorf schools while growing up in Los Angeles. She earned a B.A. in Art History and German Studies at Swarthmore College and graduated with an M.S. Ed in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College in 2022.

Jasmin is passionate about building community between children, teachers, and families. She believes in meaningful and joyful early education filled with play and exploration. Of utmost importance is being child-centered and developmentally informed, melding theory and practice into meaningful experiences.

One of Jasmin’s favorite parts of teaching is slowing down and rediscovering the world anew alongside each child. Outside of the school, Jasmin loves fostering her own creativity by playing cello, and learning new skills such as sewing and biking.

Ju-milia Garrett

Teacher

Ju-milia Garrett joined Brooklyn Schoolhouse in 2023, bringing more than a decade of experience caring for, supporting, and learning alongside young children and their families. Her work with children began in 2013 through long-term nannying and babysitting, experiences that shaped her deep appreciation for the relationships, trust, and consistency at the heart of early childhood.

At Brooklyn Schoolhouse, Ju-milia approaches teaching with warmth, curiosity, and attentiveness to the individual child. She values creating environments where children feel known, capable, and confident in expressing their ideas, while supporting their independence, social-emotional development, and relationships with one another. She is especially drawn to the ways children communicate their thinking through play, conversation, creative materials, and everyday experiences, and believes careful observation and listening are essential to meaningful teaching.

tony soll

Music

Tony Soll began singing with the enthusiastic children of the Brooklyn Schoolhouse in January of 2023. Inheriting his family’s love for music, he played bass and guitar with blues, rock and folk bands, including with John Hammond, the Neville Brothers and several Irish groups. After graduating from CCNY with a BA in world history, he worked in publishing for several years before receiving an MS in Education from Bank Street College where he taught in the School for Children for 11 years. After helping to begin an alternative public school he came to Brooklyn Friends School, teaching middle schoolers, English, History and math. Although retired now, he is still there once a week with his guitar.

At Brooklyn Schoolhouse we sing songs from the vast folk music tradition exemplified by Pete Seeger, as well as tunes by such writers as Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Guy Davis, Ella Jenkins and Tony. Some are stories, others are “zipper songs” where the children suggest what words to “zip” into the verses - foods, colors, animals - depending on the subject. Many songs have hand and body motions to correspond to the story. We sing songs of the seasons and songs that expand on the classroom curricula. We build community spirit while having fun and working together to create a “joyful noise”.

Laura Araman, LCSW, MS Ed

Child Development Consultant

Laura Araman, LCSW, MS Ed. started her career as a kindergarten teacher and has continued to work in Early Childhood in a number of different capacities as a special educator and clinical social worker. She has had the opportunity to support children, families and teachers in a wide variety of settings including schools, child care settings and homes as a Developmental Therapist and Child Development Specialist. She leads developmentally focused workshops and provides individually focused sessions to support the individual strengths and challenges of children. Laura sees the opportunities for growth and success when a child’s individual needs are understood, when strengths are built on, and when families are strong collaborators. Laura received her MS in Early Childhood Special and General Education from Bank Street College and her MSW from Columbia University’s School of Social Work. Her BA is from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sara Soll

Advisor & Consultant

Sara Soll has been an Early Childhood Educator for 50 years. Most recently she retired from Brooklyn Friends School after 35 years, as a teacher, administrator and the Director of the Family Center at Brooklyn Friends. Before Brooklyn Friends, she worked in Beth Elohim Preschool and Terrific Twos, a Parent Coop, and at Bellevue Hospital working in the Child Life programs. Sara earned her BS in Early Childhood Education in 1972 at City College of New York and completed her MS in Early Childhood Special Education at Bank Street College of Education in 1997.

Sara considers herself very lucky to have known at a very early age that she wanted to be an Early Childhood teacher. The commitment to each child as an individual guides children as they become learners, adapt to group experiences, and learn to respect the feelings of others. The children become confident, curious, motivated and competent learners as they practice social skills and become valued members of the classroom community through varied, open-ended opportunities to play, experience and experiment. In partnership with families, Sara has never tired of being a part of this extraordinary time in the lives of children.

Jane Racoosin

Advisor & Consultant

Jane Racoosin has been the Director of Beginnings Nursery since 2005 and took ownership of the school in 2011. Jane has over twenty-two years of teaching experience and has had extensive training in the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education. She has attended workshops at Reggio-inspired schools in St. Louis, Missouri, Boulder, Colorado Northampton, Massachusetts, and has attended two study tours in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Currently Jane is the exhibit chair of the 2015 New York City initiative to bring to New York The Wonder of Learning Exhibit, the traveling exhibition of the infant-toddler centers and preschools of the municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy.

In 2010 Jane presented “Living in spaces: Children translate their ideas about iconic architectural spaces through various artistic media” at the Educating the Creative Mind Conference at Keene University where Howard Gardner was the keynote speaker, and The European Early Childhood Research Conference in Birmingham, England. Jane received a BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont, a Masters in Early Childhood Education and a Masters in Supervision and Administration from Bank Street College. She has served as an adjunct lecturer in the department of Early Childhood Education at Hunter College and has a seat on the Board of the College of Education and Social Services at The University of Vermont.

Laura Sedlock

Advisor & Consultant

Laura Sedlock is the Director of the Pre-Primary Program at Blue School in New York City, and was the Educational Director at Beginnings from 2008-2014. She has also been an adjunct lecturer in the department of Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. Laura has over fourteen years experience in the field of early childhood education, having taught at the Bank Street School for Children, City and Country School, P.S. 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and Beginnings Nursery School. Laura has a BA in English from Wesleyan University and a Masters in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Bank Street College. Before entering the field of childhood education, Laura taught English to adults in New York and Indonesia, where she lived for four years. Laura grew up in New York City, where she attended the Bank Street School for Children and the Fieldston School.

COLLEEN GODDARD, PhD

Advisor & Consultant

Colleen Goddard, Ph.D. works as the Early Childhood Specialist at Corlears School. She has over 22 years experience in early childhood education. Colleen received an Excellence in Teaching Award from the NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute in 2009. She also received a Parent’s Choice Award for Excellence in Educational Programming for a film she wrote and performed in, which addresses the social-emotional and psychological aspects of childhood cancer. She has worked as a contributing writer for the New York State Early Learning Guidelines as part of the New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council and has been published by Psychology Today Online and Changing Minds.Org.  Colleen presents parent and teacher educational workshops and roundtables, at early childhood schools and centers, on a variety of topics related to human and child development. Colleen also works as an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Hunter College, Brooklyn College and with the NYU School of Professionals Studies CDA Program and as a fieldwork supervisor for New York University graduate students in general and special education programs. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development with a Specialization in Early Childhood Studies from Pacific Oaks College and earned an additional Master’s Degree in Human & Organizational Development from Fielding Graduate University where she completed her Ph.D. in Human/Child Development - her dissertation examines the significance of transitional objects at the beginning and end of life.