About Minnieland Academy

Early childhood education strengthens children academically so they can start school ready to learn, and develop social skills and curiosity they’ll need to succeed in an ever-changing world. Thousands of families in Northern Virginia trust their children’s early education to the 60 schools owned and operated by Minnieland Academy. Minnieland’s schools provide quality early childhood education and care for working families with children from infants to age 6, plus The Youth Zone before and afterschool programs and Camp Edventure summer camp programs. Minnieland also operates seven private schools: The Merit Schools of Stafford, The Merit School of Manassas Park, The Merit School of Prince William, The Merit School of Arlington, Manassas Christian Academy, Manassas Christian School and Apple Tree Preschool and Academy.

Our Educators

Rosemary Burton, Ph.D.

Byline BIO:
Rosemary Burton, Ph.D., has over 30 years of experience developing training, curriculum and standards in early childhood education. Dr. Burton is Vice President of Accreditation and Industry Relations for Minnieland Academy, which provides quality education and childcare at 60 locations in Northern Virginia. Learn more at Minnieland.com.

Broadcast BIO:
Our nation faces a growing demand for quality early childhood education to help kids learn skills they will need to succeed. Our guest today is Dr. Rosemary Burton, who has spent more than 30 years training early childhood educators and developing curriculum and standards. Dr. Burton is Vice President of Accreditation and Industry Relations for Minnieland Academy, which provides quality education at 60 locations in Northern Virginia. Learn more at www.Minnieland.com. Welcome, Dr. Burton. How has the need for early childhood education changed in recent years?

Full BIO:
Rosemary Burton, Ph.D., has over 30 years of experience developing training, curriculum and standards in early childhood education. Dr. Burton is Vice President of Accreditation and Industry Relations for Minnieland Academy, which provides quality education and childcare at 60 locations in Northern Virginia.

Dr. Burton began her professional career in 1974 after receiving her B.A. in Elementary Education and Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. While working full time as the Administrator of a chain of childcare centers, she earned her M.Ed. in 1988, and her Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education in 1995 from George Mason University with specialties in Child Development and Staff Development.

Dr. Burton is deeply committed to the emotional, social and intellectual development of children. Her extensive knowledge of the way children learn has helped her to lead a team of education specialists to develop the curriculum for Minnieland’s programs, including the STEM focused Kindergarten Tech. Dr. Burton oversees Minnieland’s in-house training department, the development of Minnieland’s program curriculum, and the maintenance of both national accreditation and state licensing procedures as they relate to the overall operations of each center and their staff.

Dr. Burton is a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Northern Virginia Community College. She has adapted and currently teaches a series of three early childhood courses that prepares childcare providers for the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Dr. Burton is also an accomplished author. She has had articles published in Dimensions in Early Childhood, Reaching Troubled Children: One Teacher’s Stories, Journal of School Psychology, A Social-Emotional Intervention Program for At-Risk Four-Year-Olds, the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Are You My Friend? A Qualitative Analysis of an Intervention Program for At-Risk Four-Year-Olds, and Child Care Information Exchange, It’s Time to Stop Defending Play. Dr. Burton has also co-authored a book, Social and Emotional Prevention and Intervention Programming for Preschoolers, published by Kluwer-Plenum in 2003.

Dr. Burton has been featured as a conference presenter for the World Forum Foundation, Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education (VAECE), the Virginia Child Care Association (VCCA) and George Mason University as well as other national and international childhood conferences. Learn more at Minnieland.com.

Zach Mural, Ph.D.

Byline BIO:
Zach Mural, Ph.D., is a professional educator and trainer with over 20 years of youth development experience. Dr. Mural serves as Vice President of Education Minnieland Academy, which provides quality education and childcare at 60 locations in Northern Virginia. Learn more at Minnieland.com.

Broadcast BIO:
Our nation faces a growing demand for quality early childhood education to help kids learn skills they will need to succeed. Our guest today is Dr. Zach Mural who has worked more than 20 years in youth development. Dr. Mural is Vice President of Education for Minnieland Academy, which provides quality education at 60 locations in Northern Virginia. Learn more at www.Minnieland.com. Welcome, Dr. Mural. How has the need for early childhood education changed in recent years?

Full BIO:
Zach Mural, Ph.D., is a professional educator and trainer with over 20 of youth development experience. Dr. Mural is Vice President of Education for Minnieland Academy, which provides quality education at 60 locations in Northern Virginia. He is also the father of a toddler who has been enrolled in a Minnieland school since she was an infant.

Dr. Mural holds a Master’s degree in Youth Development from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology from Michigan State University. In addition to providing training, Dr. Mural is an Expert Online Training faculty member, a columnist for Park and Rec Business Magazine, and a volunteer afterschool endorser for the Council on Accreditation. He previously worked as a camp director, camp counselor, and as a YMCA branch and program director, supervising afterschool programs, a teen center, and camps, and multi-site school supervisor. His education, real world experiences, and passion for helping everyone who works with youth are the foundation of all of his professional endeavors.

Dr. Mural continues to share his knowledge and passion for working with youth at numerous professional and academic conferences such as: the National Afterschool Association Annual Conference (NAA), The American Camp Association Annual Conference (ACA), The Best of Out of School Time Conference (BOOST), The American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Conference, and the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Annual Conference. Learn more at Minnieland.com.