Ellis Spotlight: Sarah Bukhari
- Ellis
- Oct 9
- 2 min read
Sarah Bukhari joined Ellis in November 2022, and it didn’t take long for her to feel at home. Already part of the Jamaica Plain community, she was thrilled to be placed close to her family, and the match turned out to be “perfect,” she says.
Originally an elementary school teacher in Pakistan, Sarah moved to the U.S. in 2012 and faced the challenge many immigrant educators know well: her teaching credentials didn’t transfer. While she earned her certification, she tutored students privately, taught English as a Second Language, and babysat young children, gaining diverse, hands-on experience that set her up for success at Ellis.
“It took three months to get certified in early childhood education, but as soon as I did, I was placed at Ellis,” Sarah recalls. She began as a floating teacher, then moved to an assistant teacher working with toddlers in the Cedar classroom and now teaches both toddlers and preschoolers. By the end of this year, she will complete her lead teacher certification. Her background in curriculum development and elementary education has been a natural fit for this age group, where Sarah helps students in this crucial developmental phase.
“This is where their programming really ramps up, and you get to watch them build these foundational skills through engaging learning experiences,” she says.
What sets Ellis apart, she says, is its focus on social-emotional development. “When I first learned about [this part of Ellis’s curriculum], I learned so much about my own social-emotional development,” she explains. It’s the biggest difference she sees in the curriculum compared to her teaching experience in Pakistan. “They had a strict focus on the academics, without the same regard for a child’s social and emotional milestones,” she says. “It was very by the books.”
For Sarah, every day at Ellis is a learning opportunity. She embraces professional development, collaborations, and training offered in-house, taking advantage of hybrid and online options that fit her busy life as a mother to a 12-year-old and a 20-month-old.
“Early education is here to stay for me,” she says. “I want to keep progressing, learning, and moving upward, especially with the support Ellis offers and with my son Mohamed by my side.”
