Tom Thumb Preschool is located in Mohegan in the Town of Yorktown, NY

Tom Thumb Campus

Meet Shawn Brophy

Shawn Brophy – Tom Thumb Owner & Campus Manager

Shawn Brophy

Shawn Brophy is the Tom Thumb Preschool Owner and Campus Manager. Shawn has been involved with Tom Thumb Preschool since 1993, working on Graduations and Spring Shows.  Shawn is the proud father of a daughter that’s also a 2004 Tom Thumb graduate.  As a small business owner with over 30 years of experience, he has founded and operated several New York businesses.

Shawn has attended the University of Delhi and completed a two-year program in plumbing and electricity. He has also completed a one-year course of study at the Institute of Audio and Video Research in Manhattan. Shawn was the audio technician for Limelight in New York City. Shawn currently works with event planners and international conferences to manage and implement the lighting, sound, and video facilities at the Edison Ballroom to ensure successful shows.

Shawn is on the Tom Thumb Campus every day. Please don’t hesitate to say hello to him.

Tom Thumb Directors

Tom Thumb’s academic and child development programs are led, managed, improved and run by our two Directors, Nancy and Lisa. The Directors collaborate with Nancy Brophy, Founder, to ensure Tom Thumb continues to grow, deliver more value, and provide Excellence in Education that we are known for over 50 years.

Nancy Cappello

Nancy has B.S. Degree in Elementary Education from Pace University and a M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Fordham University. She taught at All Aboard Day Care for 1 year and join our staff in 2003. Nancy became an Assistance Director in 2014 and Director in 2020.

Lisa Cancro

Lisa has B.S. Degree in Elementary Education from Pace University. She also has a New York State Certificate of Qualification for Nursery, Kindergarten and Grades 1 through 6. She was previously a Kindergarten Teacher and Substitute Teacher in the Valhalla School District for 6 years. Lisa joined our staff in 2010, became an Assistant Director in 2014 and a Director in 2020.

Tom Thumb Is a Private School That’s Different

Nancy Brophy

Tom Thumb Preschool was conceived and designed by Nancy Brophy. Her vision for over 54 years is to create a secure and fun learning place where children want to learn.  Tom Thumb Preschool is a private school and was never a franchise. Our primary emphasis is learning by the Power of Play. We make learning fun in a comfortable group environment and social interactions.

We focus on “Kindergarten Readiness” and develop essential “lifetime skills” used for school success. Throughout the years, Tom Thumb has become synonymous with “Excellence in Education” in the Lakeland School District area

At Tom Thumb,  we learn from our students and continuously look for new and better ways to improve and add to our programs to make learning fun and a memorable experience.

Your child’s best interests are always our priority. We continuously focus on developing warm and caring relationships between students, teachers, and assistant teachers. Our goal is for our pupils to be secure, comfortable, and immersed in a receptive learning environment.

Tom Thumb staff works together to provide an enjoyable year of growth, learning, fun, and achievement. Our children interact with each other and our staff to discover the world around them.

Working with children is perhaps the most fulfilling experience one can have. We set our standards and expectations high to make every day an adventure for students. All of our children are important not only to us but to our society. Our students are the builders of the future.

There is a Chinese proverb that says, “If you want happiness for a lifetime — Help the next generation.”