The Village Nursery School Farmington, CT

Our Teachers

Discover why our dedicated and nurturing teachers make

The Village Nursery School special

Jean Van Hoof

Mrs. Van Hoof returned to school for her masters in Early Childhood Education when her youngest went back to school ,"because I just loved that age and adored working with them!"

Today, she has many years of experience, having worked as a certified teacher in the state of Connecticut for a variety of school settings, including public and private schools.

She and her husband have two daughters and live in Farmington. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and swimming.

Marilee Dabkowski

Mrs. Dabkowski was born and raised in West Hartford. When her youngest child started school, she returned to school and earned degrees in Early Childhood Education and Child Studies.

She has always had a love of and respect for young children, and has enjoyed teaching them for 28 years, most recently at Renbrook School in West Hartford and Chase Collegiate School in Waterbury.

Mrs. Dabkowski is very excited to join the Village Nursery School community and to be teaching the Pre-K class with Mrs. Van Hoof.

Mrs. Dabkowski and her husband live in Middlebury, CT and have two sons, a daughter, and one grandson. In her free time she enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, yoga, swimming, tennis and puzzles.

Song Kim

Mrs. Kim was born in South Korea and raised in California. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Adolescent Development from San Francisco State University. She has spent the last 10 years working with children. She worked at the Early Childhood Education Center in San Francisco and Academy School in South Korea.

She loves children and she thinks every child is an angel that can make all people happy. She is very excited to work with little angels in VNS! She truly believes that “children are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Mrs. Kim recently moved to Connecticut with her husband! She lives in Bristol with him. She enjoys hiking and traveling! It is her first time living in the east, she looks forward to exploring Connecticut!

Jennifer Wagner

Mrs. Wagner was raised in Pennsylvania and received her BS from Marietta College in Ohio with certifications in Elementary, Kindergarten, and Special Education.

She taught in Brazil before returning to the states and moving to New York City – which is where she and her family lived before moving to Farmington in 2015.

Mrs. Wagner has her master’s degree in early childhood and curriculum from Fordham University, and has had opportunities to work with children of all ages. But her true love, she says, are children ages 3-5.

Mrs. Wagner and her husband run marathons -- but her entire family, including her three children -- compete in triathlons!