Nurturing Captains of Joy and Play

This year, Garcia-Meza was named the 2025 Family Child Care Provider Champion by the Children’s Council of San Francisco, an honor that recognizes her commitment to high-quality early education.

When Garcia-Meza became a parent, she couldn’t find a preschool that offered bilingual education with Spanish as the language of instruction. So she created one.

At Las Mañanitas, play-based, outdoor, and bilingual learning form the foundation for early childhood development. Children learn through play, outdoor exploration, and cultural immersion. 

The school’s mission is rooted in three goals:

1. Provide a high-quality learning environment where the Spanish language is uplifted.
2. Create meaningful work opportunities for educators whose first language is Spanish and who share authentic connections with their communities.
3. Foster generosity so that children learn early that what they have is meant to be shared.

Garcia-Meza emphasizes the importance of uplifting communities — especially those who speak Spanish. She recalls Proposition 227, which mandated English-only instruction in public schools and sought to limit the use of Spanish, underscoring the need for allyship and cross-cultural understanding.

This commitment extends beyond the school. Through her foundation, Garcia-Meza has launched mini free libraries in high-potential neighborhoods, starting with eight across San Francisco’s southeast quadrant, to promote early literacy and access to books.

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Garcia-Meza’s drive to lift communities and their literacy is guided by her own familial experience. Her mother was once given an IQ test in English, a language she didn’t yet know as a recent child immigrant from Mexico, and was placed in special education. Her father, who immigrated from Japan, lost his first language by the time he  was 10. 

“I’m a child of immigrants,” Garcia-Meza said. “I grew up trying to be the teacher I wish my parents had.”

CAPTAINS OF JOY AND PLAY

Garcia-Meza says that she and her husband, a medical device entrepreneur, have learned through their work that play and failure are essential. Good scientists and researchers try, fail, and try again.

“Neuroscience shows that we learn more when we engage all our senses,” said Garcia-Meza. “Kids learn through touch, smell, movement. When children play as their whole selves, they learn in the most effective way.

“As adults, we often stop playing and stop taking risks. But we need to play for our mental health. We need connection, joy, and a little adventure. Kids are the captains of their own joy, play, and imagination — and we can learn from them.”

WORK OF THE HEART

Garcia-Meza, a School of Education graduate and Dean’s Circle member, said the university helped her integrate her full self — personal, cultural, and spiritual — into her academic and professional life.

“What I loved about being a USF student is that my whole person was invited into the academic setting as part of the discourse,” she said. “Now, seeing my son as a sophomore at USF, I see those same values in how he thinks about others, in his mental health, politics, and studies.”

To USF education graduates preparing to enter the classroom, Garcia-Meza offers simple but heartfelt advice:

“Don’t be discouraged,” she said. “Think about the teacher you would have wanted for yourself, or for someone you love, and try to be that teacher. Get a group of like-minded people around you. It’s hard work and it’s beautiful work. If it makes your heart sing, do it.”

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