A safe & nurturing learning environment.
Please get in touch with any questions or concerns!
Brilliant Start Academy
901 Liberty Bell Drive
Amherst, OH 44001
Phone: 440-960-0777
Fax: 440-960-0778
Email: info@brilliantstart.net
Hours:
Monday - Friday:
6:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday - Sunday:
Closed
Miss Kelly is married with two children. She holds a BBA from Ohio University and an MBA from Ashland University. She has over 30 years of business experience. Miss Kelly has chosen to use this experience to start a learning center for young children. Brilliant Start Academy is designed around her belief that all children should be given the best possible start in life and be given the opportunity to learn while being cared for in a rewarding and enriching environment.
Miss Angel has been with Brilliant Start Academy since 2019.
Miss Angel has six daughters and six sons. She enjoys reading and helping her children with their school work and making crafts.
She enjoys working with children and loves to “see the smiles on their faces and how happy they are.”
Her favorite children’s books are the Dr. Seuss books. “I read them to my own children and they try to read them with me.”
Miss Samantha came to Brilliant Start Academy in 2020 with two years of child care experience.
Miss Samantha has a sister and two dogs. She enjoys going to the race track and playing with her puppy.
She loves working with the children and says, “What I love most is teaching them and seeing them grow from infants to toddlers.”
Miss Samantha’s favorite children’s book is ‘Chicka Chicka Boom Boom’ by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault. “It has numbers and ABCs” and the kids find it very entertaining and it is very helpful for learning the alphabet and numbers.
Miss Cheyanne has a two-year certificate in Marketing and Management. She had a year of child care experience before coming to Brilliant Start Academy in 2017.
Miss Cheyanne has two sisters. She enjoys reading, relaxing with friends and family, and watching movies.
Miss Cheyanne works with children of all ages. She says her favorite thing about working with children is: “I like watching the children learn new things and accomplishing their goals.”
Miss Cheyanne’s favorite children’s book is ‘The Jungle Book’ by Rudyard Kipling. “It was one of the first books that I learned to read. I enjoyed reading about Mowgli’s adventures. I also enjoyed looking at the pictures while I read the book. When it was turned into a movie, I was excited and it soon became one of my favorite movies.”
Miss Jessica has a two-year Early Childhood Education certification and had four years of childcare experience prior to joining Brilliant Start Academy in 2020.
Miss Jessica lives with her boyfriend and her cats. She enjoys video games, shopping, and napping.
Miss Jessica says what she likes the most about working with kids is, “I love the feeling of working on a skill with a child and when they finally understand it.”
Miss Jessica’s favorite children’s book is ‘The Little Engine that Could’ by Watty Piper. She likes this because “It’s really cute and teaches a good message.”
Miss Madison had two years of day care experience and 20 years of babysitting and nanny experience before joining Brilliant Start Academy in 2020.
Miss Madison lives with her daughter, Scarlet, and her dog, Bella. She enjoys taking long walks with her daughter and her dog. She also loves rides and roller coasters and “very much loves sleeping” in her free time.
She loves working with children because “I enjoy watching them learn and grow. It is such an amazing experience to watch them do something you taught them.”
Miss Madison’s favorite children’s book is ‘Velveteen Rabbit’ by Margery Williams. “I used to beg my parents to read it. We went through so many copies growing up. It’s my favorite because it reminds me of how happy my childhood was.”
Miss Mackenzie has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies with a minor in Nonprofit Studies. She came to Brilliant Start Academy in 2018 with twelve years of nanny experience.
Miss Mackenzie is married to her husband John and has a pet turtle named Jellyman. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and spoiling her nieces and nephews.
Miss Mackenzie enjoys working with children. What she enjoys the most is that “every day is something new, whether it be watching them play and interacting with each other or when they can say your name for the first time.”
Miss Mackenzie’s favorite children’s book is ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak, which is an imaginative story about a young boy who gets in trouble and through his “wild things” adventure, gains an understanding of why he was punished, and decides the best place to be is at home with his mom. Mackenzie has this book in the classroom but she says, “I can recite the entire book from memory. It has been my favorite book since I was a small child.”
Miss Breana graduated from the LCJVS with a focus on Early Childhood Education. Miss Breana began working for Brilliant Start Academy during her senior year in the program along with working in the JVS childcare program.
Miss Breana lives with her mom, dad, brother (Billy), and her dog (Rover). She enjoys hanging out with friends, watching television, and taking Rover on car rides.
Miss Breana’s favorite thing about working with children is “I love watching them grow and learn new things; watching them become excited about learning.”
Miss Breana’s favorite childhood book is The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister, which is a story about the joy of sharing. “I love that book because it gives such a good message to the children.”
Miss Julia has been with Brilliant Start Academy since 2016. She has worked in several classrooms but has found her place in the PreK3 classroom with the four and five-year-old children. She uses a variety of methods and activities to engage the children in learning and improving social skills daily.
Miss Julia has one child. She enjoys spending time with him and the rest of her family. She also enjoys working out and traveling.
Miss Julia enjoys working with young children and “being a part of the children’s growth and learning and watching them grow daily.”
Miss Julia’s favorite children’s book is ‘Crazy Pizza Day’ by Bonnie Dobkin, which is a book about a restaurant that lets the customers pick any toppings they want on their pizza. Miss Julia enjoys reading this book to her class and they are always attentive and engaged during the reading. “Every Wednesday for pizza day I read it to the children and they love it. It’s a silly story.”
Mr. A.J. has a Bachelor of Arts in Youth Ministry with a minor in Education. He has been with Brilliant Start Academy since 2014 with over four years of childcare experience prior to joining our team.
Mr. A.J. enjoys spending time with his wife Kat and their three children, Andy, Bekkah, and Sophia. He also enjoys camping, woodworking, house renovations, video games, and working in the yard and in his garage.
Mr. A.J. enjoys working with children because “there is something new every day. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have. There’s always the possibility of something or someone surprising you. One of the coolest things is when a child teaches you something new.”
Mr. A.J.’s favorite children’s book is ‘The Book with No Pictures’ by B.J. Novak. It is also his children’s favorite book because it “shows that you don’t need pictures, movies, video games, phones, or computers to express yourself or have fun.”
Miss Jamie is a licensed teacher with an Intervention Specialist licensure. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education (PreK-3). Miss Jamie has experience subbing in elementary schools and has been with Brilliant Start Academy since 2009.
Miss Jamie lives with her husband, Kyle; her three children: Megan, Alex, and Katie; and her dog and cat, Bandit and Izzy. She enjoys spending time with her family, taking walks outside, and family movie nights.
Miss Jamie enjoys that, “Children are creative, loving, curious, and extraordinary. They always find a way to bring joy in your life, even when it is a rough day. They find ways to bring a smile to your face each day.”
Her favorite books are the ‘Froggy’ series by Jonathan London and Frank Remkiewicz. “I love how they always say and call out the character Froggy’s name. Every time I read these to the children and express his name or other parts of the book, the children seem so engaged and enjoy it. Also, the series has a great number of topics that are perfect for children to learn about.” She also likes ‘The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything’ by Linda D. Williams, which is a fun-to-read Halloween story with repeated passages and fun noises to make.
Miss Kelly has a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration. After completing her degrees, she has taken several programming and early childhood education classes throughout the years. She is a founder of Brilliant Start Academy.
Miss Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband, Kerrick, and their two high school children: Alex and Spencer. She enjoys watching her daughter, Alex, participate in her many athletic endeavors, and her son, Spencer, perform on the choir stage, and she looks forward to seeing him in play and musical productions in the near future. She also enjoys travelling, taking pictures, and being creative.
Miss Kelly enjoyed working in a corporate environment but wanted to make a change after having her first child. She wanted to do something that would make a difference in the lives of children. She decided to create an educational, quality child care center in which all children had the same opportunities to learn and grow in an enriching environment. “Watching children come through our center and see the impact that we have on their development has been extremely rewarding and humbling. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of all of these children’s lives.”
Miss Kelly’s favorite childhood books are ‘Winnie the Pooh’ by A.A. Milne and ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go’ by Dr. Seuss. Winnie the Pooh shows that not everyone is perfect, and that it is okay to be imperfect. The characters all have differences but, together, they navigate through their struggles and figure out how to cope with change, overcoming fear, depression, etc. and enjoying their lives together. ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go’ shows that life is about the decisions we all make and that nothing is set. Things can always change and sometimes life is good; sometimes there are struggles; sometimes it is boring; sometimes it is exciting… but it is always worthwhile and everyone has their own path.
Miss Carolynn has a Bachelor Degree in Accounting. She continued her education and has completed several early childhood education classes. She has been with Brilliant Start Academy since we opened in 2008.
Miss Carolynn loves her life. She enjoys traveling, collecting lake glass, visiting the capitol buildings and national parks, and spending time with her family. She has four adult children: Bryce, who is a dentist; Austin, who is in school to be a firefighter; Dylan, who is an entrepreneur; and Dakota, who is a real estate agent. With all of their busy schedules, they still find time to get together regularly and even travel together when they can.
Miss Carolynn enjoys working with children. In her words: “I love talking to them; seeing them grow as people and watching their excitement when they learn something new.”
Miss Carolynn’s favorite books are anything from Dr. Seuss. She loves the rhythm of them and the messages in the stories.
