A Special Place for Fun & Learning

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About Us

We are Iana Nikolskaia and Violetta Levina, partners and founders of Shining Stars Academy. We were brought together through a shared background in Jewish education and united by a sincere desire to create a nurturing, inclusive environment where children of diverse backgrounds can grow, discover, and thrive within the atmosphere of friendship, support and understanding. What began as an idea has grown into a meaningful mission and a trusted community for families.

Violetta Levina brings more than 37 years of experience working with children and managing both private and non-profit childcare facilities. She holds a Child Care Development Administrator Certificate and Site Supervisor Permit from City College of San Francisco, an Infant/Toddler Development Certificate from the Children’s Council of San Francisco, a BA in Teaching, a Preschool Teacher Qualification, and a Music Certificate from the Ministry of Culture of Belarus.

Violetta is a music specialist with deep expertise in developing children’s auditory skills and vocal abilities. Her work supports creativity, motivation, emotional expression, and joyful engagement. She also leads specialized physical activities that stimulate muscle development, sensory receptors, vestibular function, gross motor skills, and early speech development.

Iana Fitzpatrick (Nikolskaia) has more than 16 years of experience in childcare, a Master’s Degree in Pedagogy, and 18 Early Childhood Education units from City College of San Francisco. As a professional educator, she designs and implements Montessori environment, age-appropriate curriculum, including physical activities, infant muscle building activities, arts and crafts, early literacy and numeracy, and projects focused on shapes, colors, and creative exploration. Iana places special emphasis on emotional intelligence, fostering a safe, happy, and respectful classroom environment where children feel confident, supported, and excited to be themselves and learn.

Shining Stars Academy was officially licensed and opened on May 12, 2023 (Mother’s Day).

Shining Stars Academy welcomes children of all backgrounds, ages 0 — 5 years old. We are a large Family Child Care with a fully equipped, safe playground for outdoors. Our preschool is located in Sunset, San Francisco in a safe, family-friendly neighborhood with free parking always available for easy drop in and pick up.

Meet our founders

Violetta (Vika) Levina

Iana Fitzpatrick

Our Philosophy

At Shining Stars Montessori San Francisco, we believe children learn best in a carefully prepared environment that fosters:

Independence

Respect

Confidence

Focus

Love of learning

We combine authentic Montessori principles with strong academic foundations to ensure every child is fully prepared for a smooth, stress-free Kindergarten transition.

From the first day of children's life, they are curious learners, immediately investigating the sights, sounds and feel of their surroundings. Even before walking and talking, they are already exploring their own abilities and what the world has to offer them. Though much of a child’s play and learning is self-motivated and self-directed, it is still important for caregivers to offer opportunities for caregiver-initiated activities and learning in Montessori environment throughout the day, as well. Children of all ages are given opportunities to learn through experiences with stories, songs/music, art, science, dramatic play, sensory materials, number and letter activities and the outdoors. Even children younger than 2 years, tend to choose to participate in the above activities so our activities are tailored to the interest, abilities, as well as, the ages of the children in our care.

A Montessori environment that sparkles curiosity while honoring the highest standards of traditional education.

Our experienced pedagogical team nurtures confident, independent, and joyful learners.

Our preschool provides high academic standards of educational approach to make sure our graduates succeed at school and in future life. Fully certified experienced professional teachers invite the students in an ongoing dialogue introducing new ideas and concepts to familiarize children with nature, provide music and movements lessons, math, shapes & colors, speech development, arts and crafts.

The children are provided with an environment full of opportunities for exploration and discovery. Our hands-on environment is educational and fun for children! We value our multicultural environment and love to celebrate all national holidays, cultural events and traditions of the families at our preschool.

Health and Safety of our children is our first priority. All the team members have Pediatric CPR/First Aid and CA Child Care preventative Health & Safety Certificates. We also have special germs preventative methods. We provide homemade organic hot healthy meals plus snacks.

Programs Overview

Infant Program
(0–2 years)

Sensory development, movement, early communication and motor skills.

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Toddler Program
(2–3 years)

Practical life skills, language development, coordination and independence.

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Preschool Program
(3–5 years)

Montessori academics including early math, literacy, science, and creativity.

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Benefits of Daycare

There are many benefits of staying in daycare instead of transitioning to transitional kindergarten. Every child learns at their own pace. Saying in daycare gives children the time, support and stability they need to truly thrive — without rushing the process.