Staff

Directors: Susan Pavelko and Amy Donegan

Susan and Amy are the owners and directors of Duck Pond Learning Center in Branford, Connecticut and a mother and daughter team.  Both are professional educators and life-long residents of Milford, Connecticut. 

Susan Pavelko is a well-respected educator with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Southern Connecticut University and a master’s degree in teaching with a focus on early childhood education from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.  She also studied primary progressive education in London, England and is a 2008 graduate of the Kindergarten Transition Institute in Connecticut.

Susan’s strong commitment to children is evident throughout her career.  She is the past president of Kids Count, a United Way Agency, a certified grant writer, and a certified facilitator of an award winning national literacy program called Family Read (formerly Motheread).  She is a frequent presenter of workshops for early childhood educators and a grant coordinator for a Discovery grant from the William Casper Graustein Memorial Fund that addresses issues of families with young children.  Susan is also a board member for the Branford Early Childhood Collaborative  (BECC).  Susan has been a classroom teacher, a remedial resource room teacher, the director of a learning center for school age children, an education consultant, and a validator for NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children).

Amy Donegan is often the first person you will talk with and meet when you contact Duck Pond Learning Center.  Amy has a dual bachelor’s degree in elementary and early childhood education with a minor in child psychology from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.  She was a preschool teacher and also worked as a childcare specialist and then a quality assurance analyst for a human resources company before joining the family child care business in 2007.  She and her husband, Jim, are the parents of a young son, Tucker, who is a student at Duck Pond Learning Center.

Amy is also a certified facilitator for Family Read and a 2009 graduate of the Parent Leadership Training Institute. Amy has been a youth leader for teenagers in her church as well as a mentor to a young child in an elementary school. Amy has been a vice president of SAEYC (Shoreline Association for the Education of Young Children) and participated in many Kids Count events. When not working, Amy enjoys sailing and skiing with her family.

Duck Pond Learning Center Staff

Duck Pond Learning Center is proud of the well-educated and experienced early childhood team of teachers.  Our statistics speak to the high quality and reputation of the program. The average tenure of our teachers is eight years, with four being in the program for fourteen years or longer.  Our teachers have more than 180 years of combined experience in childcare and education!   They have degrees in early childhood education, child development, elementary education and social work.  In addition every teacher is CPR and First Aid certified and most have certificates in medication administration.  Befitting their education and experience, Duck Pond teachers are given the independence, encouragement, and support to creatively develop and implement an “education through play” curriculum in response to the developmental needs of the children.  High motivation, dedication, and professionalism are reflected in their tenure and testimony of parents at Duck Pond Learning Center.

School Closings