STAFF

Ayodele Mellor | Program Director & Founder

Ayodele Mellor has been teaching Spanish in the Wilmington area since 2003. She attended Universidad Tec de Monterrey, Campus Cuernavaca in Morelia, Mexico and in 1999 was accepted into the NC Teaching fellows elite teacher prep program at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. There, she earned a Bachelors Degree in Spanish along with her K-12 teaching license. In 2008 she earned a NC Early Childhood Credential to work with preschool-aged children and in 2023 earned her level 2 Administrator’s Credential from NC Division of Child Development.

She served as department chair of Spanish 1 and also taught Spanish 2 at Laney High School from 2003 – 2006. After the birth of her son, she began working exclusively with preschool aged children. She founded the popular Best Amigos Preschool Spanish Program, which educated over 400 children since 2007. She is passionate about language immersion programs & enjoys immersion curriculum development and creating unique learning experiences.

She resides in Wilmington with her husband and five children, ages 7-17, and in her rare free time enjoys riding her Elliptigo bike, reading about historic America and traveling.

Onsite Director of Activities

Directora Noemi is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico but she grew up in Rocky Point, NC. Her parents are from Oaxaca, Mexico and she grew up in a bilingual household. She attended Heidi Trask High School and graduated from NC State University where she majored in International Studies and minored in non profits and political science. Her mother was a teacher in Mexico and she always dreamed of being a teacher and helping guide the new generation. She connects well with our students and families and very loved. In her free time she likes to travel, do art, dance and make desserts. She enjoys sharing Mexican culture with others and has helped our school with our annual Day of the Dead Festival.

Lead Teacher Pre-K 2 Class & Afternoon School Teacher

Maestra Mery is from La Habana, Cuba. She graduated from the Universita of Quimica in 2004, studying industrial pharmacy. She worked in the Tropical Medical Investigation Institute (IPK) and arrived to Miami, Florida in 2015 where she lived and worked as a medical assistant and took early childhood courses. Mery has been a dedicated teacher with our program since 2019 and also has a son who graduated from our school. She is passionate about spending time with him and working with children. In her free time she enjoys sports and reading a good book.

Assistant Pre-K 2 Class

Maestra Sandra has been a part of our schools since 2022, initially helping as a substitute and later as an assistant teacher. She is originally from El Salvador and has previously worked in cleaning services for many years. She currently resides in Rocky Point with her husband and four children. She has two grandchildren and enjoys teaching and sharing her culture and knowledge with our students. In her free time she likes to spend time with her family, read and cook her specialty- pupusas, a traditional dish from El Salvador that she often sells to our teachers. We love her laid back personality and love how much she helps keep our school organized and clean. We are thankful for Maestra Sandra!

Lead Teacher Pre-K 1 Class

Maestra America is originally from Lima, Peru. She studied educación inicial (early childhood education) at Universidad Garcilazo de la Vega in Lima, Peru and later worked as a kindergarten assistant. She moved to New York City in 2005 and worked as an esthetician for 12 years. After the birth of her daughter, she and her husband wanted to move to a quiet place to raise a family and settled in Wilmington to focus on teaching and raising her daughter. When her daughter began school in Fall 2020, she very eagerly began working with WBPS. America brings much creativity and excitement to her classes and she believes that children learn best through play.

Lead Teacher Young Pre-K Class

Maestra Suzy is originally from La Habana, Cuba. She graduated from the University of La Habana in 2002 and studied Accounting and Business. She moved to the US and first lived in Miami, Florida where she took care of infants from 6 months to 24 months old. She has been married for over 20 years and has a daughter who attends UNC-Wilmington. In her free time she enjoys reading and spending time with her family. She believes that children are a treasure and enjoys sharing the Spanish language with them. Suzy has been a part of our team since 2019 and is a very loved teacher here!

Young Pre-K Assistant Class

Maestra Wendy is originally from San Isidro del General, Costa Rica. Wendy lives in Wilmington with her husband and son, who also attended our school and now attends Gregory International School in downtown Wilmington. While in Costa Rica Wendy worked as a nanny, a babysitter and here locally at her church nursery for four years. She has been a substitute at our school since 2019. Wendy enjoys cooking, exercising, reading, going to the beach, and working with kids. She is CPR/First Aid certified and has her completed NC Childcare Background Check/Fingerprinting. She is loved for her hardworking, reliable and caring personality and we love having her as a part of our school!

Lead Teacher – Toddler Class

Maestra Lucia (known as Lucy) is originally from Aguascalientes, Mexico. She came to the United States with her husband in 2004, first living in Houston, Texas and the moving to North Carolina the following year. She is mom to three grown children, now ages 28, 26 and 21, who graduated from Ashley and Laney high schools here in Wilmington. She has worked mostly in house cleaning and food service, including in the food service department at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. She has worked with our school since 2024 and always wanted to be a teacher, as 3 of her 5 sisters are teachers, but she never had the chance. In her free time she enjoys cooking, cleaning and going to mass and spending time with her family. Lucy is known for her patient, playful and loving interactions with our students and she thoroughly enjoys getting to know all of them!

Assistant- Toddler Class

Maestra Silvania is originally from the Dominican Republic where she studied at Colegio Ana Delia Jorge and was owner of a clothing store. She now lives in Wilmington and is married and loves being a mom to her twin boys, who are eleven years old. In her free time she enjoys cooking and cleaning and she has a talent for keeping our toddler room spic and span. She has been with our school since 2021 and she is very loved for being such a patient, energetic and dedicated teacher who takes care of and loves on our toddler students!

Floating Teacher/Staff Support

Maestra Lizbeth was born in Rocky Point, NC where she graduated from Heidi Trask High School. She grew up in a bilingual household as her parents are from Oaxaca, Mexico. She currently attends UNCW as a senior. She is majoring in social work and minoring in psychology. She would like to have a career in social work when she graduates. Her bubbly and positive personality make her a favorite among our support staff!

Summer Volunteer

Mollie M. is a rising 6th grader and has attended WBPS since she was 4 years old. She is an honor student at Blair Elementary, a member of student council and safety patrol and she loves helping at her school and also helping at WBPS. In her free time she enjoys doing art, jumping on her trampoline and helping take care of her little brother (and sometimes her big brothers!)

Summer Volunteer

Zoe M. is a rising 10th grader at Laney High School and sister to 4 siblings. She has been learning Spanish since she was 4 years old. She plays the viola in the orchestra and is an honor student at Laney High School. In her free time she enjoys playing with her two cats, Midnight and Luna. She wants to be a pediatric dentist when she grows up. This is her fourth year helping in the toddler room this summer and she is looking forward to helping!

Charles Mellor | Van Driver and Maintenance

Charles Mellor (a.k.a. Señor Charles) is the father of 5 awesome kids and co-owner of Wilmington Bilingual Preschool. He drives the summer camp van for our school age students and helps keep our students safe on their field trips. You may see him from time to time delivering water or on the weekends doing maintenance at our school.