Spring 2024 Educators

Cindy Cogdell is a veteran educator with a special education background. Her expertise lies in modifying and adapting to the needs of individual students. She incorporates real-world applications into her program plans. 

This fall, she heads up our program offerings in three weekly sessions. Her plans include a “STEAM through the Lens of Music” session, a Social Studies session with a Financial Literacy focus, and an ELA session with a focus on story building, all for 6-9 year olds. 

Additionally, Cindy provides private and small group tutoring in a variety of subjects, as well as preparing learners and their families who plan to transition back into formal school settings.

Heidi Little is a singer-songwriter, educator, and humanitarian known for her work in conscious music and social emotional learning (SEL). She is founder of the Center for Advancement in Social Emotional Learning (SEL), where she focuses on curriculum design, educator training, and advocacy for children’s rights and peace.

Heidi is leading three weekly sessions in the fall program – a preschool music and SEL combination, a large-group theater program for all 6-9 year olds, and a theater and SEL combination for teens and tweens.  

All of her class and workshop offerings through the Center for Advancement in Downtown Bastrop can be found on her website, and she is available for additional private and small group music and voice lessons.

Andrea Eames is an author and poet from New Zealand with a MFA in Creative Writing. Her second novel, The White Shadow, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2012. Her new novel, A Harvest of Hearts, will be released in February 2025. You can purchase her novels HERE.

Andrea is also an educator and plans to homeschool her little one as well. She will lead two weekly sessions in the Fall program – our pre-school ELA sessions as well as the tweens and teens group in an Intro to Poetry and Literary Device offering.

She is also available for private ELA tutoring services from kinder to university levels.

Evelyn Jimenez has developed a Preschool Arts & Crafts program that incorporates Spanish language learning and will also lead an English Language Arts session for beginner readers. As a homeschool educator with three years of experience, she has been deeply involved in early childhood education, teaching both her own and other children.

Evelyn played a key role in creating a local Mom’s Morning Out (MMO) program, which focuses on essential preschool skills like STEM concepts, reading, and arts & crafts. Her teaching philosophy centers on the power of learning through play.

She emphasizes education as an integral part of a child’s daily life, making learning both engaging and natural.