Happy Days was started by the Salciccia family in 1995. Since day one, it has been a place where young children can learn and develop so they can participate in their own learning process. Our administrative staff is vigilant about following current Early Childhood Education guidelines, so we can bring the best experience to local families.
Mary Ellen
Mary Ellen works as a director for our program. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Early Childhood Education from UCSC. Having worked with children locally for more than 20 years on an individual and group basis, she is an expert at teaching infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and after-school age groups.
Toby
Toby has experience working with children of all ages, ranging from infants to sixth graders. In the past, Toby worked at Camp Campbell Outdoor Science School, specializing in entertainment, safety supervision, and conflict resolution. Toby has also worked in after-school childcare centers at Boulder Creek Elementary School and San Lorenzo Elementary School as a music enrichment specialist. Music, rhythm, and creative movement are his special passion, and he loves teaching these subjects in the classroom.
Andrea
Andrea began teaching preschool in 1996 and has been a teacher at Happy Days since 2005. She takes great care in creating an exciting learning environment for children by doing projects, playing games, and engaging them in science, math, building, reading, and cooking activities. Andrea is the oldest of 7 children, whom she helped raise while growing up. She now has 3 children and 5 grandchildren of her own. She loves being a grandma. Andrea has many hobbies that occupy her free time: crafts, sewing, baking, building and fixing things, making gifts, games, puzzles, and reading, to name a few.
Kristina
Kristina has worked at Happy Days since 2007. She began working as an aide, then a teacher and now also works as an office assistant. Her favorite thing about working with children is getting to know them individually, they are all so unique and special! She has two children of her own who attended Happy Days from infancy through Pre-K and are now in elementary school.
Alejandrina
I’ve been working with children for 15 years and I’m proud to say that I love my job. Happy Days reflects a home environment that helps with the development of a child as they spend so much time away from home. This gives us the opportunity to meet their personal needs and aide in their development.