Faculty & Staff

Gabriele Kazakevich is NYS licensed general and special education teacher with over 10 years of experience working with children. Mrs. Kazakevich has been with Smiles Around Us/ Southfield Institute family for over 10 years.

Ms. Yuliana Goldman-Vorotilo is a NYS licensed teacher with Masters of Education from College of Staten Island. She has over 10 years of experience as an educator.

Born and raised on Staten Island. Experienced Science teacher (NYC DOE, retired). Mother of one daughter, grand mother of 2 girls,pet guardian of 2 Chihuahuas. Love my family. Enjoy teaching

Serhiy graduated from the Ternopil National Economic University and has experience teaching in the Ukraine on courses such as, "Doing business with the help of the Internet." Currently, Serihy also works at the Self-Reliance Saturday School of Ukrainian Studies in Manhattan as both a teacher and a member of the Graduate Exam Commission

Erica Acierno received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English & Early Childhood Education/Students with Disabilities and continued on to receive her Masters of Education in Literacy from Wagner College. She has been a teacher for over fourteen years. She was a substitute teacher for the DOE for eight years and for two years worked for NYCID After School Academic Enrichment Program. She was also the lead teacher of Dartmouth at Ivy Prep Early Learning Academy. Last year she began her teaching career at Smiles Around Us Academy where she had one of the three year old programs. She is currently working for Southfield Institute as the first grade teacher. Erica specializes in finding the unique learning styles of all her students with a focus on literacy and reading. Erica enjoys reading, spending time with family but her greatest joy is watching her students grow and develop academically.

Jessica started her teaching experience eight years ago as a pre-school assistant and quickly found that she had a passion for working with children. With her dedication and classroom management skills she was quickly promoted to leading her own pre-k classroom. As her teaching journey continued she found herself teaching all age groups from two years old all the way through eighth grade. All of her experience has brought her to Southfield Institute where she is a proud kindergarten teacher. Jessica is always looking to grow as an educator and is currently completing a master program in early childhood and special education at Touro University. With the experience she has gathered over the years Jessica strives to create a safe and nurturing environment for all of her students so they can not only learn, but thrive.

Tatyana is a creative art teacher with over thirty years of experience. Her role as an art teacher combined two of her passions, working with kids and working with art.
Tatyana likes to expose the students to a variety of different materials and to help them have positive experiences in the art class. Her goal is to support students in understanding artistic concepts and building their creative abilities.

Annet Sokol is a graduate of the Macaulay Honors Program with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She has many years of experience teaching students to embrace their academic strengths, tackle their weaknesses and achieve in grades K-12. She specializes in Language Arts and has helped many students prepare outstanding applications to enter their dream middle, high school, and college programs. 

Nicole finds working with children to be the most fulfilling type of career. She started out as a camp counselor, became an afterschool teacher, and a licensed substitute, before taking up a long-term position with Southfield Institute. Nicole strongly believes in building a better community within her classrooms. She places an emphasis on bringing out the best of each student in school, and is often eager to share opportunities to help our larger Staten Island community with volunteer service.

Vincent is a graduate of Wagner College and has 14 years of experience teaching physical education. He is also a baseball coach at Monsignor Farrell High School. Vincent stresses to his students and players the importance of exercise and physical activity while also teaching them teamwork and discipline. He strives to bring out students’ potential in the classroom and on the baseball field.

Born in El Salvador, the second of three brothers, and a private school valedictorian. With a full scholarship from the University of El Salvador, Daniel earned his degree and went on to become a lawyer. In 2011, Daniel was appointed Minister Counselor at the Embassy of El Salvador in Belize. In 2012, Daniel obtained the authorization to practice as a notary and, that same year, began his career as a university professor in the Faculty of Legal Sciences in El Salvador. After earning a Master's degree in Business Law, Daniel moved to the United States, to live with his wife and children who were born here. In addition to working as a Spanish teacher, Daniel currently works as a notary with Salvadorans, and a soccer coach.