Meet Our Staff!

The Director of the First Fulshear Early Learning Center is Jill Samoff. 

Ms. Samoff has been with the school since 2017 and has directed private preschool for 25 years. She studied business management and education at Angelo State University. She is married to Randy and has 2 children and 2 step children. She lives in Fulshear. 

Karla Martin is the Curriculum Coordinator for our school and the Lead teacher for the older 4’s Pre-k class. She studied at the University of Texas San Antonio and has 12 years of teaching experience in preschool. She has been with First Fulshear since 2017.  She is married to Randy and has 2 sons. 

Kathy Beattie is the Teaching Assistant for the older 4's Pre-K class. She has 7 years experience in early childhood. She is married and has 3 children.

Laura Golden is our younger 4's Pre-K teacher. She has her B.S. and M.S. in education and reading education from University College of New York Oneonta. She has 20 years experience teaching preschool and kindergarten. She is married and has 2 children. 

Emma Cross is our younger 4's class co-lead teacher. She studied education at The University of South Hampton in England. She has several years of teaching experience. She is married and has 4 kids.

Teresa Nichols is our Kinder Bridge Teacher. She has her EC-6 certification from the University of Houston Victoria. She has 27 years of teaching experience. She has a sweet dog named Daisy. 

Silvia Esquivel is the teaching assistant in the 3's class. She has 13 years experience teaching at FUMC. She is married and has 2 sons.

Darlene Buchfinck is our Lead 2 year old teacher. She holds degrees in liberal arts, business and accounting and has taken many hours in child development. She has several years experience in early childhood and has worked for FUMC for 3 years. She is married and has 2 children.

Maria Soto is the teaching assistant in our 2 year old class. She has 12 years experience teaching, all those at FUMC. She is married and has 3 children. 

Leslie Calderon is our lead after care teacher. She is studying education in college. 

Lauren is our after school coordinator and Music and Movement teacher. She is a May graduate of Texas A & M. She enjoys spending time with family and friends and traveling.

Jennifer is one of our after school teachers. She was a student athlete in HS and loves playing and coaching sports. She served in the Navy straight out of high school. She has 2 dogs and enjoys traveling. 

Natascha Atayde is one of our after school teachers. She is studying education at Lone Star College.

Whitney is our 3's class lead teacher. She is a graduate of Texas Southern University. She has over 10 years experience working in both Fort Bend ISD and Katy ISD. She is married and has 2 children. 

Abby Gallegos is one of our After school teachers. She is currently attending online classes in pursuit of her elementary education degree. She has over 5 years experience in child care and is a new Mom.