Janise Allyn Smith grew up in Southern California and has lived in Maryland since 1979. Her three children all graduated from Silver Spring Nursery School. She joined the staff as the 2's teacher in 1992, when her youngest child entered the 4's class. In 1996, she became the school's director and, in 1997, she began teaching the 3's class as well. In 2005, she reduced her teaching load to the 3's class only and began focusing more of her time on her work as director of education.
Janise received an AA in Sociology from Santa Barbara College and worked with troubled teens in group homes for about three years. She completed the Montgomery Child Care Association 90-hour certification class in Early Childhood Education in 1995 and earned an AS degree in Early Childhood Education from Montgomery College in 2003. She also teaches parent education classes throughout the DC area.
