We’re here to welcome the first week of May to a brand new Faculty Feature! Meet one of our teacher assistants, Layla Gibson, who joined SDFAS in December 2022. Layla
administers classroom support to ensure a cohesive, successful and nurturing environment. Working with 2 classrooms equips Layla with an excellent versatility, an astute mind, and a heart that yearns to love and know each student. She prides herself in building relationships with her kindergarteners and sustains that connection by giving them a safe space to be themselves.
Over the past 5 months, Layla describes her experience at SDFAS as pleasant and rewarding. She cites her coworkers as a welcoming cohort to whom she is grateful for, and enjoys the freedom and encouragement she receives to practice her French and any other languages she’s learning while working at SDFAS. She was recruited by Sophie Ricouard, and through her dedication, Layla has established a strong and loving relationship with her students. During class activities, students light up in her presence, and habitually strike up lighthearted conversations with ease. She offers them care and gives them daily affirmations to remind them they are loved and makes them feel cherished–even when they make mistakes. Layla describes the most heartwarming interactions she’s had with children are when they seek her for comfort. She credits these moments as a signifier of her students’ genuine trust in her.
Through her love of human connection, Layla’s goal of becoming a professor in French or English has shifted to becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has 2 adopted cats from Serbia, and has a passion for languages. As an impressive linguist, Layla can speak English, French, Serbian, Russian and Portuguese. She masters her skill by surrounding herself with media from different cultures and languages. This outstanding skill gives her the unique opportunity to connect with students who can feel right at home every time they speak to her.
