ABOUT NICOLE

Nicole L. Stokes is the Early Childhood Director at Temple Kol Ami as of July 2022. She brings her firsthand experience to TKA as a Master Teacher with over 25 years of classroom experience in elementary & early childhood education.

Nicole earned her B.S. in Elementary Education from S.U.N.Y at Fredonia in New York. Her first teaching position was with the Head Start Program in NY prior to relocating to Phoenix in 1998. Upon arrival in Arizona, Nicole spent the next ten years of her career at Tesseract School where she taught Kindergarten, Fourth Grade, and Pre-K in a team-teaching model. She also served as the Early Childhood Coordinator of Tesseract’s ECC Program. In 2008, she went on to pursue her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a focus on Administration through Northern Arizona University. While doing so, she returned to the classroom at Pardes Jewish Day School for the next fifteen years teaching Kindergarten, First, and Third Grade.

In 2019, Nicole was selected as a Teacher Leadership Fellow, where she implemented a school-wide initiative focused on Responsive Classroom and the social-emotional needs of the students within the school. She continued on, and pursued a M.A. in Educational Leadership at Brandeis University and graduated in May of 2021. Nicole has held multiple positions and certificates throughout her professional career including but not limited to: Early Childhood Director, Pre-school Assistant to Lower School Head, NYS Teaching Certification, AZ Teaching Certification, Bullying Prevention Committee Chair, Dance & Pom Coach, Events Coordinator, Enrichment Teacher, Private Tutor, Enrichment Coordinator, Genius Coach, as well as Lower School Dean.

Nicole’s family, working with students, and serving in the community is what fuels her soul and keeps her continually inspired. When she is not working with children, she loves spending time with her husband Derek, their son Bryant, two older sons, extended family, and grandchildren. In

her free time, Nicole loves utilizing the creative side of her brain decorating, organizing, and designing spaces for different venues and projects. She also enjoys reading, shopping, traveling, writing, relaxing with their rescue pup, and sinking her toes in the sand on any beach.