The Challenge

She saw children flourish because the systems around them were designed with children in mind. Years later, while working inside public education, Simone encountered another reality. She saw talented and deeply committed educators working inside systems that were often overwhelmed, fragmented, or disconnected from what children actually needed. She witnessed children struggling academically, behaviorally, socially, and emotionally—not simply because of individual ability or effort, but because the structures around them were not always equipped to respond effectively.

Teachers needed more support.

Families needed stronger partnerships.

Leaders needed practical systems.

Children needed adults to understand that behavior communicates need.

And schools needed a way to move beyond isolated programs and begin examining the entire system surrounding the child.

Simone recognized a persistent gap: The gap between what schools do and what children need to thrive. ImaNia Educators was created to help close that gap.

Experience From the Classroom to Organizational Leadership

Simone brings a perspective shaped by experience across multiple levels of education.

Her professional background includes work as an early childhood educator, childcare administrator, nonprofit executive director, elementary educator, special education teacher, department leader, transition teacher, youth educator, trainer, consultant, and organizational leader.

Her public-school experience has included teaching students with a range of learning, behavioral, developmental, and social-emotional needs in elementary and middle school settings. She has taught and supported students in self-contained and specialized educational environments and has worked directly with Individualized Education Programs, intervention systems, instructional planning, behavior supports, multidisciplinary teams, and families.

Before entering public education, Simone spent many years in early childhood and child-development settings, including leadership of a church-based preschool program. Those experiences shaped her understanding of developmentally appropriate practice, high-quality adult-child interactions, family engagement, organizational culture, and whole-child development.

Because she has worked both inside classrooms and at the organizational level, Simone approaches educational improvement differently.

She does not begin by asking: “What is wrong with this child?”

She asks: “What does this child need—and what must the adults and systems around this child do differently to provide it?”

A Whole-Child, Systems-Based Approach

Simone’s work is grounded in the understanding that academic performance cannot be separated from a child's behavioral, emotional, physical, developmental, relational, and environmental experiences.

Her approach examines the systems surrounding children including:

* leadership;

* instructional practice;

* educator capacity;

* routines and expectations;

* learning environments;

* behavior and intervention systems;

* family partnerships;

* organizational policies and procedures; and

* the use of data to identify and respond to student needs.

This philosophy is reflected in ImaNia Educators’ Whole Child Systems Circle™ and the I.M.A.N.I.A.™ Framework, which help organizations identify gaps, understand needs, align systems, interpret behavior as communication, implement solutions with integrity, and continuously assess and improve their work.

The goal is not simply to introduce another program. The goal is to build stronger organizations around children.

Education & Professional Credentials

Simone began her undergraduate education at Essex County College before transferring to Spelman College, where she spent three years studying Sociology and Child Development. While at Spelman, she earned her Associate of Arts in Humanities/Liberal Arts from Essex County College through transferred coursework. Upon relocating to New Jersey, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Thomas Edison State University, building upon the undergraduate foundation she established at Spelman. She later earned a Master of Arts in Teaching in Special Education from New Jersey City University and a Master of Divinity from Drew Theological School.

She holds New Jersey educational credentials that include:

• Standard Elementary School Teacher, Grades K–6

• Standard Teacher of Students with Disabilities

• Preschool through Grade 3 Certificate of Eligibility

• English as a Second Language Certificate of Eligibility

Her interdisciplinary preparation allows her to bring together education, child development, organizational leadership, advocacy, human development, and the ethical responsibility institutions have to the children and communities they serve.

Leadership Rooted in Both Expertise and Humanity

Simone’s perspective has also been shaped by years of leadership in ministry and community-based organizations. Those experiences reinforced something she had already learned as an educator: transformation depends on relationships.

Policies matter.

Curriculum matters.

Data matters.

But people ultimately implement systems.

For sustainable improvement to occur, organizations must develop the adults who serve children—not simply hand them another initiative. That is why ImaNia Educators works alongside leaders, educators, organizations, and families to strengthen both people and systems.

From Experience to Impact

After decades of working with children, educators, families, schools, churches, and community organizations, Simone founded ImaNia Educators to bring those experiences together into a comprehensive approach to educational transformation.

Today, her work focuses on helping schools, early childhood programs, nonprofits, emerging educational organizations, and community partners strengthen areas such as:

• Organizational and School Transformation

• Special Education and Inclusive Practices

• Educator Training and Professional Development

• Leadership Development and Coaching

• Behavior and Intervention Systems

• Early Childhood Quality Improvement

• Family Engagement and Parent Advocacy

• School and Program Start-Up Readiness

• Nonprofit and Educational Organization Development

Through consulting, training, coaching, and implementation support, Simone helps organizations move from identifying problems to building practical systems that improve the everyday experiences of children and the adults who serve them.

The Work Is Personal

For Simone, educational equity is not an abstract concept. It means ensuring that a child's opportunities are not determined by whether they happen to enter the classroom of an extraordinary teacher, attend a well-resourced school, have a parent who understands how to navigate complex educational systems, or encounter an administrator willing to challenge ineffective practices. Children should not have to be lucky to receive what they need.

Strong educational systems make high-quality experiences intentional, consistent, and sustainable. That is the work of ImaNia Educators.

Bridging the Gap Between What Schools Do and What Children Need to Thrive.

Because when the systems surrounding children become stronger, educators are better equipped, families become stronger partners, organizations become more effective—and children have a greater opportunity to thrive.