Olympia, WA -- (SBWire) -- 10/30/2014 --The Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International recently awarded a prestigious Bammy Award to Jody Martin, Vice President of Education at Crème de la Crème Preschool, for her contributions to early childhood education. The Bammy Award is a cross-discipline honor created in 2012 to identify the good work being done in the field of education today.

A former preschool teacher with 30 years of experience in education, Martin believes the Bammy Awards are important because they shine a light on the collaborative and tireless efforts of individuals committed to advancing the quality of education throughout the country.

According to Errol St. Clair Smith, executive producer of the Bammy Awards, which was presented to 25 educators and education professionals including Martin, the idea was to raise public awareness of the “amazing things” that education professionals are doing on behalf of children.

“At Crème de la Crème Preschools, I’m fortunate to see firsthand what can be accomplished by talented people pulling together to make a difference in the lives of children,” she said. “Thankfully, parents are more aware than ever about the importance of early learning, so they quickly grasp our continually evolving and innovative programs from infancy through kindergarten.”

Crème de la Crème Preschools -- an educational company known for its groundbreaking preschool, childcare and after-school programs since 1980 – was once described by TV’s Good Morning America as a “Disneyland” because of theme park-like campuses featuring picturesque wooden bridges, koi ponds and gazebos … and “Harvard” because of the emphasis on early childhood education.

“We try to blur the lines between fun and learning, continues Martin, “by incorporating proven team teaching techniques within stimulating half-hour class rotations capitalizing on how children learn best. As our parents will attest, bored students are never an issue at Crème de la Crème Preschools.”

Peter Lungo, COO, of Crème de la Crème states, “I am so proud of Jody and all of our teachers and school teams. Awards like this are another way that teachers are shown how much of an impact they have on the future leaders of tomorrow.”

An influential “who’s who” of presenters and honorees attended the Washington DC red carpet event, including Gary E. Knell, CEO of National Geographic; Governor Bob Wise, president, Alliance for Excellent Education; and Timothy P. Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics.

“I was proud to accept the award, which is really a testament to the wonderful, talented and dedicated teachers and staff at Crème de le Crème Preschools,” she added. “For us, it’s all about seeing children actually look forward to learning, and parents thrilled knowing they are making a wonderful investment in their child’s future through early learning programs.”

For more information about the programs offered by Crème de la Crème, including infant, toddler, preschool, pre-kindergarten, private kindergarten, go to http://CremeDeLaCreme.com (http://cremedelacreme.com/preschool-award.html) or call 1-800-374-5715.