Ellen Arzouni, Baymonte’s Individual Program of Instruction Teacher, Shares Her Story

My passion is for kids and their success. The heartbeat of what I do is to not only help them build their reading skills through the Barton program, but to encourage them in their walk in life. I was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Scotts Valley when I was three. I have lived in Scotts Valley since then. I was in a family with three boys and two girls. I met my husband Peter at church. We got married and had our first daughter. She currently lives in Scotts Valley and is an amazing mom of two wonderful boys.

We felt God’s call on our lives to go to the mission field. We went to the Ivory Coast, West Africa for one year. Our second daughter was born there and is currently serving in a missions capacity in Africa. This was an amazing time in our lives. We fell in love with the African people and the joy they possess regardless of financial status or worldly goods. We worked in a Bible College there and were completely blessed by this experience.

We returned to the states and God led us to Baymonte. Words cannot express our gratitude to Baymonte and the staff for the care the staff invested in our children. Not only that, but I had the privilege to work at the school.

For the past fifteen years I have been honored to teach in our IPI (Individual Program of Instruction) class. This class uses the Barton program and is a phonics based, multi-sensory program for those kids who need some assistance with their reading. This program has resulted in many children who previously struggled in reading to develop those skills in a way they understand. There is nothing like seeing a student “light up” when they are able to read a word that they could not at an earlier time.

I want my students to know how deeply God loves them and how incredibly special they are. I am so incredibly blessed by each child that sits across from me every day. I thank God every day for the opportunity to be part of such an amazing team.

 

Two Baymonte families had this to say about Ellen:

“Her expertise is greater than helping a child with their learning needs. She has the incredible gift of seeing the emotional and spiritual needs of the child and how that affects their learning. Through Ellen’s attention, love, care, and expert teaching, kids not only progress in their reading, but keep the love for learning and feel valued.”’

“Ellen has had such a huge impact on my son’s success at Baymonte. She has always provided him with a safe and encouraging environment to work in. She has instilled confidence in him to succeed in areas of education that are difficult for him. I don’t know what our family would do without her!”