Our Team

Christine Ammirati is very excited to return to the Rock Spring community for another year! She was a Dinosaur parent in the mid 90s, served as RSCP Director from 2000-2009, and re-joined the RSCP community in 2022 as Director.  Mrs. Ammirati graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Wharton School Bachelor of Science degree and a B.A. in Chinese.  As a State Department spouse, Mrs. Ammirati has lived and taught in China, Taiwan, New York, San Francisco, and Hong Kong where she chaired the learning-through-play Preschool Playgroups Association for 2 years.  Mrs. Ammirati spent her RSCP hiatus accompanying her husband Joe to Williamsburg, VA where she earned a Masters in Education from the College of William and Mary.  She has taught 3rd and 1st grade in Williamsburg, 2nd grade in Marin County, California, and most recently taught kindergarten at Kent Gardens Elementary in McLean for 7 years.  Christine and Joe live with their 2 dogs in Falls Church City and Warrenton.  Their daughter and son both live nearby in Arlington.

Emily is joining RSCP this school year to provide administrative and classroom support. Emily is an Arlington native who spent her childhood around the DMV. After graduating from James Madison University she had the opportunity to work in various corporate and non-profit jobs that included marketing, fundraising, and administrative support. As an adult she enjoyed living in San Francisco for several years with her husband, but ultimately they decided to move back home. After returning to Arlington and having two children, she became a stay-at-home parent. During that time Emily volunteered as a room parent, classroom aide, and PTA board member.  Emily is thrilled to join the RSCP community and looks forward to getting to know all the children and their families as she settles into her role. You can find her at school on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. 

Maggi Holloway will be teaching the Panda and Polar Bear classes. This is her third year as a Rock Spring teacher. Before that, she served as Board Secretary while her children attended RSCP. Before getting involved with Rock Spring, she taught in Prince William County, then took a break to take care of her three kids, all of whom are Rock Spring graduates. She  is looking forward to a great year!

​​Ms. Martha has been working at RSCP for the past 23 years as the lead teacher in the Bunny, Beaver, and Bear classrooms. This year she will be teaching the Sun Bear and Beaver classes. Ms. Martha, who has a BS in Spanish from State University of New York at Brockport, began working with children in the 1990’s at Head Start in NY State, then moved to the DC area where she worked as a lead teacher for 2-year-olds at First Baptist in DC. She later worked for Arlington DHS as a resource mother for pregnant teens and as a lead teacher for Project Family. Ms. Martha has also worked as a second language tester and interpreter for APS. Ms. Martha has also worked at Westover Baptist as a lead teacher for 3-year-olds.  Ms. Martha enjoys spending time with her family– her husband, her daughter, and son (an alum of RSCP Beaver class 2001).

Ms. Ana is excited for her third year at Rock Spring in the Bunny Classroom! Ana is a local, raised in nearby Falls Church City and graduated with her Bachelor's in English from Christopher Newport University. She earned a Master's in Education from Marymount University and holds an active PK-6 teaching license from the state of Virginia. Ana has worked in elementary schools, a Primrose School, and ran a local Arlington preschool playgroup with 20 families while being a stay at home mom for 4 years. She has three kids: Claire (current Pony), William (1st grade, extinct Dinosaur) and Emma (5th grade at Discovery Elementary). Ana is married to Steve, an active duty Air Force pilot, and while their family schedule is always up in the air, their family is settled and retiring here for good! She enjoys a beautiful .8 mile commute to school walking up the creek from her house and loves seeing Rock Spring families at Chestnut Hills park and around the neighborhood!

This is Ms. Stephanie’s third year teaching the Penguin class. Stephanie holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, and a Masters in Library Science from Wayne State University. She spent over 12 years working as a children's librarian in several public libraries around the country before taking time off to care for her three children. Stephanie looks forward to another year of creating a welcoming and engaging environment for the Penguins and their families.

​​Saira Smith is returning to Rock Spring to teach our Pony Class this year.  Ms. Saira has been the lead teacher for both 2-year-old and 3-year-old classes at Rock Spring for the past 3 years, and was our Resource Teacher from 2017 - 2020.  Prior to that, Saira's son, Parker, attended RSCP in the Bear and Bunny classes. She also served on the board as Secretary.  Saira also has an extensive work history in the service and restaurant industry. Saira grew up in Arlington and continues to live nearby with her husband and son Parker.   Saira has a wealth of knowledge and experience that she will bring to another fun year with the Ponies!

​​Jennifer Wallace is looking forward to another year at RSCP as the Dinosaur teacher this fall. Ms. Jennifer earned a B.A. in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina and a teaching certification for preschool through 4th grade. She taught a mixed age 3-5 year-old class at Higher Horizons Head Start in Falls Church for 9 years. From 2002-2014, Ms. Jennifer taught at Falls Church McLean Children's Center, teaching a 4-year-old preschool class. She joined RSCP in 2015 and has experience teaching 3-year-old and 4-year-old classes. She uses an interactive, hands-on approach to play-based learning, and is looking forward to collaborating with families to create a warm, nurturing, stimulating environment where children feel free to create and explore.

Rkia Raiq is returning this year as the Dinosaur Class Assistant Teacher. Ms. Rkia has been involved with the RSCP community for over twenty years, first as a nanny for two former RSCP families where she actively participated in the classroom as both a co-oper and substitute teacher, then in assistant teaching roles. Ms. Rkia has also led RSCP's Summer Camp for several years. Her many years of experience with young learners and her love of all children make her an excellent assistant and a warm presence in the classroom.

Janice McCoy is returning to Rock Spring as a Teaching Assistant (filling in for co-opers, subbing as needed, helping out on the playground, etc) for a third year after being a Rock Spring parent for five years. Before having kids, who are now in elementary school, she lived in New York City, working as a college writing instructor and museum educator. She has a degree in English and Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia, and grew up locally in Fairfax County, the daughter of a preschool teacher. She looks forward to a year of fun and learning with the Rock Spring community.

Lora has a RSCP alumni, Tyler (5th grader at Haycock) and a current RSCP Dino, Henry, as well as dog, Dobby (who she considers her third son). She was lucky to have been exclusively a stay-at-home mom for 9 years as her children grew, but was so excited to have the opportunity to come back to the Rock Spring  community last year as both a parent and an employee. Before becoming a mom, she earned an Interior Design degree from Florida State University, and worked in both the fields of lighting design and interior design. She use to spend her free time (what’s that?!?) doing anything artistic: taking art classes at The Torpedo Factory, decorating cakes for friends and family (which she shortly considered as a career change), and crafting of all varieties. She is looking forward to getting messy and making memories with all the precious children and families here at Rock Spring.