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.

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 has 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 6 – 15, and in her rare free time enjoys couponing, reading about historic America and traveling.

PK1 Lead Teacher

Maestra Azucena is originally from Cajamarca, Peru. She studied Early Childhood Education in Peru and has taught preschool age children in both Peru and Stamford, Connecticut. She began working with Wilmington Bilingual Preschool in June of 2021 and is an expert at creating unique games and educational activities for our students! In Spring of 2022 she earned her NC Early Childhood Credential from Haywood Community College. We are happy to have her as a part of our team!

PK2 Lead Teacher

Maestra Viviana is originally from Colombia, South America where she studied preschool education and graduated from the University de San Buenaventura in Cali, Colombia in 2009. In Spring of 2022 she earned her NC Early Childhood Credential from Haywood Community College. She currently resides in Wilmington with her husband and two sons. She has a passion for her profession and brings much patience and experience to the classroom. We are excited to work with her at our full time school!

Toddler Lead Teacher

Maestra Jainmi is originally from Venezuela where she worked for many years as an infant/toddler teacher. She also lived for many years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she became a master chef. Her passion, personality and confidence with the children shines through in her work and they affectionately call her “Maestra Mimi.” In her spare time she loves baking and selling cheesecakes and tres leche cakes. We are excited to have her as a part of our team this school year!

Young Pre-K Lead Teacher

Maestra Keila is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She came to the United States as an Au Pair, working to care for children and families in the Wilmington area for 2.5 years. She is creative, caring and always shows initiative and enthusiasm when working with young children. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband, trying out new restaurants and walking her dog. We are happy to have her on our team!

Young Pre-K Assistant

Maestra Yesenia is originally from Rocky Point, NC. She is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish and Mixteco, which she learned from her parents who are from Oaxaca, Mexico. She graduated from Heidi Trask High School and began working with Wilmington Bilingual Preschool in 2020. She has a preschool aged son who attends our school and has been a dedicated, loving and trustworthy teacher of our 1 & 2 year old students.

Kindergarten Teacher

Maestra Karla is originally from Piura, Peru where she studied nursing. She moved to Wilmington in 2018 and began learning English at Cape Fear Community College. She worked with the NC Pre-K program at Childcare Network and began working with Wilmington Bilingual Preschool in January of 2021. In Spring of 2022 she earned her NC Early Childhood Credential from Haywood Community College. She is an adoring mother of two pre-teen children and believes that children are intelligent and have the ability to learn languages quickly. Karla is known and loved by families at our school for her caring and patient demeanor.

Pre-K 1 Assistant

Maestra Gaby is originally from Honduras where she studied education and worked as a teacher. She is patient, energetic and loves teaching our 3-4 year old students. She currently resides in Wilmington and has two children, ages 7 & 10.

Pre-K 2 Class Assistant

Maestra Vanessa is originally from El Salvador. She began working with WBPS in February of 2022. Vanessa is known for being very responsible and reliable. She has a quiet but friendly demeanor with our students. She takes English classes at Cape Fear Community College and currently resides in Leland with her husband.

Toddler Assistant

Maestra Willvelys is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was a dedicated staff member of Forest Hills Elementary School since November of 2014. She began taking Early Childhood Classes at Brunswick Community College and started working with Wilmington Bilingual Preschool in the summer of 2021. She has two teenage children and her patient, sweet demeanor makes her perfect for working with our 1 & 2 year old students.

Toddler Assistant

Maestra Rosy is originally from Guatemala where she was a physical education teacher. She began working with WBPS in January of 2022 and has been a loved team member ever since! She is known for her upbeat, energetic personality and positive attitude with our students. Rosy is caring and reliable and our students and staff love having her there for them!

Summer Camp Leader/Afternoon Teacher

Maestra Monserrath is a senior at UNCW studying Child Psychology. Her parents are from Mexico and she grew up speaking both English and Spanish. As a child growing up in Wilmington she preferred English but as she got older recognized the value of being bilingual and made an effort to retain her Spanish. She enjoys working with children and understanding how they think. She has worked as a babysitter, private tutor and youth group leader. At UNCW she is active with the Centro Hispano and the UNCW Ritmo Latin Dance team, as she loves salsa dancing. We are happy to have her as a part of our team!

Office & Floating Staff Support

Maestra Nathalia is originally from Venezuela and came to the United States when she was 9 years old. As a child who had to learn English as a second language she understands and empathizes with the process of language acquisition that our students go through. She has worked in the NC public school system as a teacher assistant and also worked at Wilmington Bilingual Preschool in the summer of 2021. Her upbeat, energetic and hardworking personality make her a favorite among staff and families!

Office Assistant & Student/Staff Support

Maestra Alejandra is originally from Colombia where she worked as an executive assistant. You will see her all around the school, helping with staff projects in the office, assisting families and working with students. She is known for being resourceful, knowledgeable and very hardworking. She is the person everyone wants on their team!

Floating Teacher/Office

Maestra Alessandra Y. is originally from El Salvador. She came to the United States as a child and had to learn English, so she understands the process of learning a second language as a child. She currently resides in Wilmington with her 1 year old son. She began working at WBPS in the summer of 2022 and everyone loves her energy and positivity with our students!

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.