HISAO IHARA-Founder and Director

Hisao Ihara was born and raised in Japan and lived in the United States for more than 20 years. He holds a MFA in Digital Art from New York State University. As a professional artist, he has experience showing his artwork as well as giving lectures and workshops in America and internationally. He returned to Japan in 2013 and was the principal of a preschool in Hokkaido Japan for three years. He is currently the director of the Association of International Early Childhood Education, which provides workshops and seminars on early childhood education to teachers and parents. He is also the Japanese representative for the World Forum Foundation, an organization that promotes the ongoing global exchange of ideas on quality services for young children. His passion is to combine his art background with his interests in early childhood education. 

ANN NISHIGAYA-Founder and Principal

Ann Nishigaya was born and raised in the United States and has more than 20 years of experience working with children. She holds a BA from the University of Washington and a MA in Early Childhood Education from the University of Sheffield in the UK.  She was the Education Director at an international school in Tokyo for 9 years before deciding to found Tokyo Children’s Garden.  Ann has also been on the board of directors for the past 7 years for the Tokyo Association of International Preschools (TAIP), an organization dedicated to the professional development and promotion of international schools in Japan. Through her positive experiences in international school education, she wanted to give more children the opportunity to experience the love of learning from an early age. By providing a learning space for students, teachers and parents, she hopes that by introducing them to a different way of learning and sharing, they too are inspired to change the world. Having experience in inquiry based learning in three different countries, including experience in the International Baccalaureate program, has given Ann a unique perspective on how children learn best. She believes that changes in the world start in the classroom and is very passionate about professional development for teachers and presents at workshops and seminars in Tokyo and around Japan. 

Vickie Robbins-teacher

Vickie was born in the UK. She has a Cache Level 3 diploma in Childcare and Education and a BA (hons) in Early Years Education from the University of Essex in the UK. She has five years of experience working with children aged 0-8 years in UK preschool and elementary school settings. She moved to Japan in 2015 in order to gain experience teaching abroad. Since arriving in Japan she has taught English in elementary and junior high school settings.
 

Felicity Crawford-advisor

Felicity Crawford is an associate professor of Special Education in the Integrated Elementary and Special Education Department at Wheelock College, Boston. She has taught for many years in preK-12, and university, classrooms in a variety of international classroom settings

Her research interests include teacher ideology, the social context of urban special education, and examining the experiences of students from diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds in urban special education classrooms. Her most recent study focuses on the academic experiences of adults with dyslexia who are enrolled in higher education institutions in the Eastern Caribbean.