Released: October 28, 2021
Deyanira “Deya” Contreras
Santa Fe Community College announces Deyanira “Deya” Contreras was selected as Director of Kids Campus. Contreras, an experienced bilingual early childhood educator and administrator, began her role as director on October 25.
“Deya brings a wealth of early childhood classroom teaching experience and administrative experience to her new role as the Director of Kids Campus,” Director of the Early Childhood Center of Excellence (ECCOE) Catron Allred said. “She is a caring and thoughtful leader, and I know that Kids Campus will grow and thrive in the years to come under her leadership.”
Kids Campus at the ECCOE serves as a learning laboratory and demonstration site for those studying early childhood education as well as offering a five-star nationally accredited program through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the highest level of accreditation
Kids Campus serves children 2 months to 5 years old. With a capacity to serve 138 kids, Kids Campus offers tuition-based programs for infants, toddlers and 2-year-olds and free Early PreK and PreK classrooms for 3 and 4 year- olds.
Contreras brings 15 years of experience in the early childhood field – eight years as an infant, toddler, early pre-K and pre-K bilingual teacher and seven years of administrative experience as a director and assistant director. She also has worked as a faculty member since 2018 in the SFCC Teacher Education program. Contreras has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood multicultural education from New Mexico Highlands University and a master’s degree in early childhood education from Grand Canyon University.
Contreras said, “I look forward to leading Kids Campus. Early childhood education provides a significant positive experience for our children as it helps them develop their social, language and cognitive skills. Early childhood care and education is more than preparation for kindergarten. It offers the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.”
Michelle Rosen-Hatcher, who retired last summer was the Kids Campus Director since 2016. Allred said, “Michelle was a wonderful Kids Campus director, and we thank her for her time and dedication to the families and children she served. Under her leadership, Kids Campus was able to stay open during Covid and provide high-quality childcare for the families in our community. We wish her well in her next adventures!”
For more information, contact Catron Allred at catron.allred@sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1321.
For more than 35 years, Santa Fe Community College has been the gateway to success for individuals and the community by providing affordable, high quality educational programs that serve the social, cultural, technological, and economic needs of a diverse community. SFCC is a designated Best for Vets and Military Friendly school. The college serves more than 12,000 students per year in its credit, noncredit and adult programs. For further information, visit sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1000. Follow us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn.
