Objective

In the Preschool, our objective is to help children develop intellectually, physically, emotionally and artistically so that they acquire a life-long love of learning. In order to ensure this, children are immersed in a bilingual trans-disciplinary program that allows them to explore, inquire, question and reflect upon the world around them through participation in authentic and significant learning experiences.

General information
Suzanne Keen

Originally from Grantham, N.C., Ms. Suzanne Keen received a B.S. degree in Elementary Education (K-6) with a specialty in teaching reading (K-adult) from East Carolina University in 1991. She was also awarded a master’s degree in English as a Second Language from the University of the Americas-Puebla in 1996. She has attended conferences sponsored by ASOMEX (American Schools in Mexico), the Tri-Association (American Schools of Central America, Colombia, Caribbean and Mexico) and Basic School conferences held in Virginia, sponsored by the Basic School Eastern Consortia. She has also attended conferences of the OMNI (Optimal Match Network Institute) in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Department of Overseas Schools.

She has experience teaching in elementary, Spanish and ESL settings. She was both a teacher and the English coordinator for the Commerce Department of the American School of Puebla and worked as an English teacher in the Language Center for the Volkswagen plant in Puebla.

She is a member of both the Language Committee and the Editorial Committee for the American School World magazine, and the coordinator of the Evaluation Committee. She is currently serving as the Academic Director and coordinates the PYP program for the preschool department of the American School of Puebla. She is also certified to give workshops, participate in authorization visits and act as a consultant for the PYP program of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

Sylvia Sofía Bretón Márquez

She was born in Puebla, Mexico and is an alumna of the American School of Puebla. She graduated as an Elementary Teacher from the Vicente de Paul Center of Colegio Esparza in June of 1975. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in Education with honors from the Escuela Normal Superior Benavente in August of 1999, and completed a master’s degree in Basic Education Development at Universidad Iberoamericana in April of 2003. She has also attended courses such as Education for the 21 Century in September of 1996 and Training for Principals and for Coordinators at the University of the Americas – Puebla; Preschool Education, offered by Alabama University, in January of 1999, and courses offered by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

She has been a teacher at the preschool, elementary and junior high levels, and has been a coach for the girls’ junior high basketball team at Colegio Esparza. She was the Preschool Academic Coordinator of the American School of Puebla for ten years and Preschool Director of Development and Administration from 2001 on. Currently, she is the coordinator of the Emergency Brigade Committee and oversees emergency procedures at the Las Animas Campus. She is also a member of the Addiction Prevention Committee, handling communication between the committee and parents.

She participated for nine years in the organization of National Conferences for Coordinators of Spanish Teachers for the American Schools in Mexico Association, (ASOMEX), and has given pedagogical training workshops for several youth groups. Sylvia is an active member of the Editorial Committee of the American School World magazine. She is an adviser in Exodo, an association for teenagers. She is also the author of the “Orientaciones Didácticas” section in the book Las Más Hermosas Canciones Escolares, published by Gil Editores in 2004.