About The Academy
Located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, The Alexandria Academy of Fine Arts and Science was created by co-founders Anne Craner and Amy High in 2001. Both women shared an extensive background in education and a vision to bring together young teachers with the knowledge and ability to inspire children with a real love of learning.
Judging by our continued growth, the Academy has filled a need in the Old Town community. We have quickly built an excellent reputation among parents wanting to give their young children an appreciation for the arts, foreign language, and science.
The Academy's faculty has been an integral part of its success because they all bring an overflowing, infectious enthusiasm for the subject matter to their classes. Even the most reserved children can't help but get involved!
Judging by our continued growth, the Academy has filled a need in the Old Town community. We have quickly built an excellent reputation among parents wanting to give their young children an appreciation for the arts, foreign language, and science.
The Academy's faculty has been an integral part of its success because they all bring an overflowing, infectious enthusiasm for the subject matter to their classes. Even the most reserved children can't help but get involved!
Academy Co-Founders
Anne Craner earned her BA and MA in art history at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish. From 1983 to 1996, she was a research associate in the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was a curator at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. She has taught Spanish and French at Old Town Montessori and CHAW in D.C.
Amy High received her BA degree from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and her MA from the University of Virginia. A member of the American Classical League and the Classical Association of Northern Virginia, Amy regularly studied Latin in Rome. She taught Latin at Paul VI and W.T. Woodson high schools and in Fairfax County elementary schools, and she tutored countless area students. Amy died suddenly in September 2003 at age 39. The Amy High Latin Scholarship has been set up by her husband, Tim Gale, to enable Latin students to continue their studies in Rome with the Pope's Latinist, Father Reginald.
Instructors
Ellen Daniels Cremer: Writing and Reading Instructor
Ellen has been working with children for more than 20 years in a variety of educational establishments. Currently, Ellen is a teacher in a local independent school. Of course, she loves sharing her love of writing and reading with her students!
Rachel Lessard: Director of Little One Academy, Science, Art and Knitting Instructor
Rachel received her BA in English from San Diego State University, and certification in Teaching English as a Second Language. She has been an autism interventionist for the past six years, a private tutor for ten years, and worked as an early intervention and behavioral consultant for both the Phoenix School District and in private practice in San Diego. With a background in choral music, Rachel also brings her experience as a violinist and love of music to the Little One classroom.
Alicia Mathó: Spanish Language Instructor (Isabella & Ferdinand)
Of Peruvian heritage, Alicia has M.A. in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from the Universidad de Alcala Henares in Madrid, Spain where she was a merit scholar. She received her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh where she majored in Political Science and Spanish, graduating with honors, with a minor in Latin American Studies. At the University of Pittsburgh she was also a Center for Latin American Studies Ambassadors Fellow and received a full-tuition merit scholarship. At the elementary school Gredos San Diego El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain, Alicia worked as an English teacher for first-sixth grade students, adapting teaching methods and instructional materials to meet the diverse needs of her students and performing evaluations by assessing students’ work and oral ability. Previously, Alicia worked as a research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hispanic Language and Literature where she collaborated with professors to integrate aspects of Hispanic culture in language acquisition lesson plans, also incorporating technology and other multi-media forms. She also worked as a research assistant at the University’s Political Science Department and as a fellow at the Center for Latin American Studies. Alicia interned at Save the Children in Guatemala City, Guatemala where she aided in third-stage health presentations to local community leaders in the Department of Nevaj, assisted in bilingual teaching methodology workshops for local teachers and helped in the establishment of an education center for children and teens displaced as a result of natural disaster. She fully shares our passion for teaching children Spanish and the culture of Spain and Latin America and we are delighted to have her as part of our teaching staff.
Terri Yang: Chinese Immersion Instructor
Terri is fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English and received her B.S. degree from the University of Taiwan and a degree in education. Ms. Yang has been teaching Mandarin at after-school programs in Virginia public schools since 2007 and has been teaching at the Alexandria Academy of Fine Arts and Science since early 2008.
Testimonials
"Thank you for everything you and everyone at LOA has done for our son over the past year and a half. We've been thrilled with the school, and are so sad to see it ending. As he walked out the door this morning to go to school, he said 'I'm going to school to see all my friends.' I asked him who his friends were, and he replied 'everyone!' He has loved it there so much, and it's been such a good place for him. Thanks again for everything."
"Our daughter thrived at Little One Academy and we are so happy that she had the opportunity to be a student of both Miss Rachel and Miss Terri."
"Just wanted to let you know how much our daughter enjoyed Little One Academy. She thinks the world of Miss Rachel and Miss Terri! Just this morning she was singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider in Chinese!!! Bravo Miss Terri! Thank you both for making preschool fun for the little ones and a relaxing transition for the parents as well. I never worried about her in your care."
Anne Craner earned her BA and MA in art history at the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. She is fluent in English, French, and Spanish. From 1983 to 1996, she was a research associate in the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was a curator at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. She has taught Spanish and French at Old Town Montessori and CHAW in D.C.
Amy High received her BA degree from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and her MA from the University of Virginia. A member of the American Classical League and the Classical Association of Northern Virginia, Amy regularly studied Latin in Rome. She taught Latin at Paul VI and W.T. Woodson high schools and in Fairfax County elementary schools, and she tutored countless area students. Amy died suddenly in September 2003 at age 39. The Amy High Latin Scholarship has been set up by her husband, Tim Gale, to enable Latin students to continue their studies in Rome with the Pope's Latinist, Father Reginald.
Instructors
Ellen Daniels Cremer: Writing and Reading Instructor
Ellen has been working with children for more than 20 years in a variety of educational establishments. Currently, Ellen is a teacher in a local independent school. Of course, she loves sharing her love of writing and reading with her students!
Rachel Lessard: Director of Little One Academy, Science, Art and Knitting Instructor
Rachel received her BA in English from San Diego State University, and certification in Teaching English as a Second Language. She has been an autism interventionist for the past six years, a private tutor for ten years, and worked as an early intervention and behavioral consultant for both the Phoenix School District and in private practice in San Diego. With a background in choral music, Rachel also brings her experience as a violinist and love of music to the Little One classroom.
Alicia Mathó: Spanish Language Instructor (Isabella & Ferdinand)
Of Peruvian heritage, Alicia has M.A. in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from the Universidad de Alcala Henares in Madrid, Spain where she was a merit scholar. She received her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh where she majored in Political Science and Spanish, graduating with honors, with a minor in Latin American Studies. At the University of Pittsburgh she was also a Center for Latin American Studies Ambassadors Fellow and received a full-tuition merit scholarship. At the elementary school Gredos San Diego El Escorial in El Escorial, Spain, Alicia worked as an English teacher for first-sixth grade students, adapting teaching methods and instructional materials to meet the diverse needs of her students and performing evaluations by assessing students’ work and oral ability. Previously, Alicia worked as a research assistant at the University of Pittsburgh’s Hispanic Language and Literature where she collaborated with professors to integrate aspects of Hispanic culture in language acquisition lesson plans, also incorporating technology and other multi-media forms. She also worked as a research assistant at the University’s Political Science Department and as a fellow at the Center for Latin American Studies. Alicia interned at Save the Children in Guatemala City, Guatemala where she aided in third-stage health presentations to local community leaders in the Department of Nevaj, assisted in bilingual teaching methodology workshops for local teachers and helped in the establishment of an education center for children and teens displaced as a result of natural disaster. She fully shares our passion for teaching children Spanish and the culture of Spain and Latin America and we are delighted to have her as part of our teaching staff.
Terri Yang: Chinese Immersion Instructor
Terri is fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English and received her B.S. degree from the University of Taiwan and a degree in education. Ms. Yang has been teaching Mandarin at after-school programs in Virginia public schools since 2007 and has been teaching at the Alexandria Academy of Fine Arts and Science since early 2008.
Testimonials
"Thank you for everything you and everyone at LOA has done for our son over the past year and a half. We've been thrilled with the school, and are so sad to see it ending. As he walked out the door this morning to go to school, he said 'I'm going to school to see all my friends.' I asked him who his friends were, and he replied 'everyone!' He has loved it there so much, and it's been such a good place for him. Thanks again for everything."
"Our daughter thrived at Little One Academy and we are so happy that she had the opportunity to be a student of both Miss Rachel and Miss Terri."
"Just wanted to let you know how much our daughter enjoyed Little One Academy. She thinks the world of Miss Rachel and Miss Terri! Just this morning she was singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider in Chinese!!! Bravo Miss Terri! Thank you both for making preschool fun for the little ones and a relaxing transition for the parents as well. I never worried about her in your care."