Founder

Claudia Hernandez, the school’s founder, was born in Mexico and came to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was 15 years old. She attended high school in the East Bay and graduated from Hayward State University with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts. Claudia holds a State of California Teaching Credential plus a Special Education Credential and spent eight years in the classroom teaching Spanish immersion kindergarten.

In 1999, Claudia co-founded the parent cooperative Spanish immersion preschool, Mi Escuelita. During her four years working with Mi Escuelita she held positions as head of the curriculum committee, teacher, and most recently program director.

Claudia started her own Spanish immersion school, Centro Armonia, in 2004. She has a relentless passion for bilingual education and has developed unique skills to help young children learn a first or second language. Claudia now has a staff of teachers and teacher aides helping to implement her Spanish immersion vision and practices. Today she is reaching a larger audience by training and overseeing her staff to carry on her unique ability to motivate young children to reach their potential with speaking Spanish as well as learning to read, write and do math in Spanish.