About The Founder
Natacha V. Beim
Natacha V. Beim is an early learning expert and the Founder and CEO of CEFA Early Learning, Canada’s private school for children ages one to five. Our proprietary curriculum features a unique blend of core subjects, such as reading and math, combined with fine arts, including yoga and music, providing children with the freedom to learn and grow through play.
At just 21 years old, Natacha V. Beim understood what kind of teacher she wanted to be. She knew that research into early childhood education demonstrated how experience-based brain development sets a course for future learning, health and behaviour.
Beim realized that age-specific curricula aimed at engaging and teaching the whole child were needed, so she searched for a school doing just that. When she couldn’t find it, she began creating a curriculum of her own.
“I always wanted to be a teacher, to help others find their passion in life. My goal with CEFA is to create an incredible opportunity for children to not only explore and learn, but to discover how they can contribute to the world.”
Natacha Beim
A New Methodology
Beim opened the doors to Canada’s first junior kindergarten school — CEFA Early Learning® — in West Vancouver in 1998. She was only 26, but her own multifaceted education had provided her with a solid foundation upon which to build her dream. Born in Uruguay and raised in Montréal, Beim was a published poet at the young age of 16, spoke three languages and had pursued interests as a teacher, ballerina, model, journalist, painter, writer, theatre actress and runner.
She brought this dynamic perspective into play when creating the early learning program at CEFA. Through an open-source learning model, that encourages educators to continually contribute to curriculum development, CEFA has created a creative, contemporary, and advanced program that incorporates the most up-to-date philosophies.
“CEFA Teachers are great thinkers,” explains Beim. “They’re trained to question ‘what and why’ they teach their students.”
As a pioneer in the field of modern education, Beim is a sought-after speaker, educational leader, and writer who shares her progressive views with educators and parents around the globe. She continues to pursue studies in the field of developmental psychology, focusing on the early years, to continually evolve CEFA’s leading curriculum.
Beim now resides in Vancouver, Canada where she divides her time between research, writing, speaking engagements and her most important accomplishment to date – being a mom.