Jasmine has had a passion for working with and teaching young children for as long as she can remember. She has been in the field of teaching and Early Childhood Education for over ten years. Jasmine graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Education degree and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She began her career with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. During her tenure there she had a chance to guide elementary school children through the public education system. After moving to Toronto, she realized her passion was teaching young children, specifically the preschool age where these formative years have a huge impact on every aspect of later life. She enrolled in the Early Child Education program at Seneca College and graduated with distinction as a Registered Early Childhood Educator (R.E.C.E).

Jasmine’s numerous placements through Seneca combined with post-grad employment experience gave her the opportunity to spend time in various daycare programs throughout the city. This experience gave her much insight into the current daycare situation in Toronto, and what she found was a lack of quality child care spaces with an emphasis on educational development.

Many facilities have the “big box store” mentality when it comes to the educational needs of a child, large facilities with improperly trained staff and a lack of empathy for parents. The few quality centers that did exist contrast sharply with the previous model: individual attention, knowledgeable staff, parental involvement and a genuine caring for the development of the child. However, the waiting lists for these facilities stretch into the multiple year range, so much so that parents must register when the child hasn’t even been named yet!

Recognizing the lack of quality childcare spaces in Toronto, Jasmine was motivated to start her own preschool with the philosophies that she knew worked well with young children. After building the core curriculum, she set out to find a suitable space that would feel like a second home to the children enrolled. After looking through office spaces, store fronts and industrial areas, she came back home one day and realized the best space for her preschool would be one right in the neighbourhood: a warm house with a spacious backyard, where parents can simply walk their children to child care and continue their commute to work. And so began the first step in a long process to see her vision through. The culmination of her hard work is Aspiring Academics Preschool.