Staff Member Spotlight – Auni Khandaker
We love introducing our incredible team to you. Here we feature Auni Khandaker, Educational Director at All My Children Daycare #4.
Auni Khandaker is the Education Director at All My Children Daycare #4 (Jamaica). She has been working at AMC #4 since January 2018. So far, she has had a very exciting journey with the children, parents, families, and staff at AMC. Here is a brief overview about Auni’s background, education, experience, and philosophy.
Background and Education
Auni is a graduate of Hunter College, where she received a BA in Psychology, including an English & Spanish minor. She obtained a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education from City College and has a permanent professional teaching certification in Early Childhood Education.
Auni is in the process of working towards her Special Education Certification. She has had experience in teaching for eight years. She also has supervisory experience as an Education Director for almost 6 years. Prior to becoming the Education Director at AMC, Auni was a Pre-K teacher for seven years. During her time as a teacher, she worked closely with other teachers and administration to instill a love of learning within her students.
Philosophy
Auni has experience in planning, developing, and implementing a developmentally appropriate curriculum. She does this by aligning the NYC standards, Common Core Learning Standards, and the Head Start Frameworks; and by addressing the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive needs of the individual students.
She believes in the importance of rigor in which children learn critical thinking, problem solving, open-ended questions, and analytical skills. Auni believes that all children have the capacity to learn respect, make individual choices, and learn in an active, hands-on learning environment.
As an educator, Auni has learned to work with children from diverse backgrounds and developmental levels. She has worked with autistic and gifted/talented children. In addition, she has also worked with adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities. She has discovered that since individuals have different learning styles, temperaments, and strengths, learning instructions have to be carefully planned to accommodate their needs.
Auni believes that all individuals, provided with the opportunity, have the capacity to learn and grow. She also believes that by giving children empowerment to take responsibility for their learning is far more meaningful. Applying and integrating these core elements has shaped Auni to be an effective educator.
Making a Difference
Working closely with her colleagues and administration made Auni realize how integral a positive environment is for faculty, staff, and most importantly, students. Her goal is to engage faculty and staff to support the students intellectually and emotionally through developmentally appropriate practices. It is Auni’s passion not only to coach teachers in shaping our children into life-long learners, but to support them in showing kindness, compassion, and love toward one another.
As a dedicated Educational Director, Auni strives to maintain a positive relationship with students, parents, and faculty at all times. Mutual respect creates an environment where all children feel comfortable in their own skin, and where children have no fear of judgment or making mistakes. This is essential to creating an environment that is conducive to learning.