Our Team
Rita Chow-Mores “Mrs. Rita” - Teacher
Originally from Hong Kong, Mrs. Rita first started working with our school some thirty-five years ago, coming to Kona and attending the School of Early Childhood Educationand getting her degree from the University of the Nations.
She helped to pioneer one of YWAM's first preschools run in Chinese using the newly published preschool curriculum.
Rita worked here on the Big Island with Tutu and Me, a program designed to train local families in child development to help enrich their family environment.
She has also staffed the teacher training programs at the University of the Nations, and continues to mentor our student teachers to this day.
Ruth Golden “Mrs. Ruth” - Preschool Director
Our Director originally came to this preschool in 1987 as a student teacher. Since then, she went from leading a class of 32 three years old to leading classes of mixed age groups and teaching kindergarten.
She has helped to pioneer preschools in New Zealand, Samoa and Australia. After working in Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, Ruth returned to be preschool director here in Kona for ten years as each of her own five children went through the school program.
For many years, Ruth focused on training school leaders who went on to start teacher training programs in Tanzania, Switzerland, Brazil, Korea, India and Australia. She currently leads the School of Early Childhood Education, discipling our future teachers.
Ruth has a passion for developing learning communities that involve parents & strengthen families while creating beautiful spaces for children to flourish as they discover the joyful wonder of being a lifelong learner.
Karen Cunningham “Ms. Karen” - Teacher
Ms. Karen comes from a family in missions and brings her experiences from the nations with her into the classroom.
She has taught here on the BIg Island, in Romania & Singapore as a part of a movie production team, and in Hungary & Ghana, developing a pop up preschool that ran for just a few short months while parents trained for leadership in far flung places all over the world.
Karen has worked as a part of a team that pioneered new preschools in Auckland, New Zealand and in Hong Kong. She helped to develop school staff, training them in skill for working with young children.
Since training (in 1987) Karen has spent over thirty years working with young children and practicing the art of teaching.
**Missing Your Photo** - please send in with your application to teach with UofN Kona Preschool asap :)