GREEK SCHOOL FACULTY

EIRINI IATROU

I was born and raised in Greece. I hold a bachelor's degree in Greek Philology and Linguistics and a Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics, both from the University of Athens. My graduate studies were fully funded by the Greek State Scholarship Foundation (IKY). Upon my graduation in 2000, I taught Modern Greek, ancient Greek, and Latin to elementary, middle, and high school students in Greece for 10 years. In 2010, I moved to Maryland with my family. Shortly thereafter, I joined the teaching staff at the Greek School of St. George working with students of all ages, from pre-kindergarteners to elementary, middle, high school, and adult students. I am also the Director of the Greek School of St. George since 2014.

MARIANNA LIONTIRI

I was born and raised in Greece. I hold a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Peloponnese, School of Philology, having specialized in Classics. After my graduation, I started my teaching career in the private sector. I have been living in DC, since 2019 when I joined the Greek School of St. George. I have worked with children of all ages from preschoolers to teenagers.

In addition, I took courses in journalism, creative writing and teaching Greek as a foreign language.

I am very interested in obtaining a Master's Degree in Special Education in order to better meet the educational needs of the children who learn Greek as a second language.

My goal is to help children acquire and become fluent in Greek. 

VASSILIKI KALOGRANI

I was born and raised in Oropos of Attica, Greece. In 2003 I obtained my bachelor's degree in psychology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. In 2011 I obtained a master's degree in Elementary Teaching from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland and the teaching certification from the state of Maryland. Since 2007 I have had the pleasure to teach the Greek language, history and tradition to students of various grades through Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

VOULA KLEFTOGIANNI-KIRIAZIS

I hold a diploma of preschool education, activities and expression for children aged 0-6 years old, certified by the Νational Εducational Certification Organization, Greek Ministry of Education. I also hold a certificate of proficiency in English from the University of Michigan and an English language Teaching Licence from the Greek Ministry Education. I speak fluently Greek and English. I worked in Greece as a preschool and kindergarten teacher from 2006 since 2012. From 2012, since I moved to USA I have been working as a preschool and Kindergarten teacher at St. George Greek School and Preschool. I have also worked in many Greek schools in the area. I am married and I have two children.

CHRISTINA AVGERINOU

I was born and raised in Athens, Greece. I attended the University of the Aegean where in 2004, I earned my bachelor's degree in Social Anthropology and two years later I successfully completed my master's degree. In 2016, my family and I moved to the United States. I have been a staff member of Saint George's Greek Preschool since 2019 while in 2021 I joined Saint George Greek School. Teaching the Greek language to young children has been extremely fulfilling to me as I get to work with amazing children and share with them the Greek language and culture. I especially enjoy teaching children to develop independence, self-esteem, and problem-solving skills.

ALEXIA VOGDOU

I born and raised in Kozani. Initially, I entered the Air Force Academy in Thessaloniki. However, my love for philology prompted me to study English Language and Linguistics. After completing my studies in 2017, I completed the two-year postgraduate program "Teaching of English as a Foreign Language" of the Hellenic Open University. Part of my master's thesis was selected and published in an EFL journal of the European Union. At the same time, I completed the "Adult Education" and "Counseling-Psychotherapy" program of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens. In addition, I am an author of children's books & collection of poems. At the same time, I am studying at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Currently, I live in Washington serving at the Embassy of Greece. I am a mother of six young children. I especially love Greek History and Byzantine music and the richness of our unique conceptual language.

SOFIA ANTONIADOU

I was born and raised in Greece. I hold a bachelor's degree in International and European Economic Studies from the Athens University of Economics and Business. When I moved to Virginia with my family, I began teaching Greek at the Greek School of St. George as well as other Greek school organizations and since then teaching the Greek language and culture became my passion.

KIKI MYSEROU

I was born and raised in Piraeus. When I married my husband, we moved in US and now I live with my husband and our two daughters in Virginia. I hold a Bachelor Degree from Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Greece. Also, I completed the Program Routes in teaching Modern Greek and I am a certified teacher of the Greek as a second/foreign language from the Center of Greek Language in Greece. Ι have ten years experience in teaching Greek as foreign/second language to children of different ages. I am currently working at St. George Greek School and Greek Preschool. 

ANNA MARTINI

I hold a bachelor's degree from Pedagogical University as teacher of elementary school. Also, I have certifications on special education/CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. I have a lot of teaching experience in the Montgomery County Public Schools. I joined St. George Greek School in 2009 I enjoy hiking, going on long beach walks, and watching tennis/ soccer matches. 

TAXIARHOULA ANASTASIOU

Ι was born in Maryland and raised in both the United States and Greece. I was a student in the Greek Public School System for 10 years. When I returned to the States, I received a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics from the University of Maryland, in College Park. After graduating in 1996, I moved to Greece, where I worked as an Elementary teacher at an International School. Additionally, I taught English as a second language in private schools and foreign language centers for six years. I have experience working with students of all ages, from kindergarten to high school. Last year, I moved back to Maryland, and I have been teaching at Montgomery County Public Schools since. Moreover, I am also a teacher at several Greek schools of the area. 

ELENI KADDA

I was born in Kalavryta and raised in Patras. I hold a bachelor's degree in Media & Communication from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as well as a Master Degree on International Relations from IBEI in Spain. Language teaching and pedagogy though has always been my passion and I have been a teacher of Modern Greek and Spanish as a second/foreign language both for adults and children, for more than five years. Sharing knowledge on Greek culture and language, within the Greek community of Saint George has been extremely fulfilling and engaging.

EVY TZANAVARA

I was born and raised in Greece. I am a Greek language teacher and a preschool teacher within St George's education ministries since 2014. I have had the pleasure and honor to work with different parishes in the DC metro area for almost 10 consecutive years. I hold a B.S. degree in Finance from George Mason University, an A.A.S. degree in Business Management, and a A.S. degree in Business Administration from the Northern Virginia Community College System. After the birth of my children, I became fascinated with the learning development of children. Since then, I study the teaching methods and techniques related to them. Also, having to raise bilingual children, I started researching all about second language acquisition and heritage languages. All of the above guided me to obtain the Routes in Teaching Modern Greek Language Certification and become a certified language teacher for Greek language schools operating abroad. 

ELLI DAVOU

My name is Elli Davou and I was born in Athens, Greece. Although I initially studied Nursing, I started teaching in various capacities in 2004, and I became a full-time high school teacher in 2009. In 2013 I moved to the US and continued to pursue my passion for education, by teaching Greek as a foreign language. My strong belief in students' abilities is what brought me to the field of education in the first place. Thus, I am fully committed to create a learning environment in my class that will help each and every student reach their full potential.

I hold two bachelors in Nursing and Education, two masters in Public Health and School Counseling, and a PhD in Nursing with emphasis in Health Education. I have attended various seminars and online courses about several educational topics, which include but are not limited to teaching Greek as a foreign language.

KONSTANTINA MATARA

I was born and raised in Sparta, Greece. I hold a bachelor's degree in Physiotherapy, a Master of Arts degree in Pediatric Physiotherapy and a Master of Arts degree in Special Education. In addition, I hold a diploma of Pedagogical and Teaching Competence, from ASPETE (School of Pedagogical and Technological Education), in Greece and I am a certified Adult Trainer. I have been working in the domain of education for the last six years with adults and children with special needs. I am married with two children and I live in Maryland with my family since August 2023."

SOPHIA ALPOS

 I was born in Kefalonia Greece and grew up in Athens. I am involved with the Greek community since I moved to the United States in 1995.

I have been a teacher of Modern Greek as a second/foreign language for twenty years at Greek Schools in the Washington DC and Northern Virginia Area. I have taught many different levels, from Preparatory to Novice High.

I have successfully completed the Routes in Teaching Modern Greek, a one-year program by the Center for the Greek Language. I am a certified to teach Greek Language as a second or Foreign Language abroad. I have attended various seminars for heritage language, education, intercultural education, and distance learning.

I have along with Papaloizos Publication, presented at NECTFL in NYC in April 2021.

I love to keep myself updated with new teaching methodologies. I am member of NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) and ACTFL (American Council on The Teaching of Foreign Languages). I live in Arlington, VA with my husband Elias and we have three children Christos, Alex and Thalia.