Our Team
Sloan Wilburn
Sloan’s career in early childhood development began in 1997, when she earned a bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies from Eastern Kentucky University in 2001. The Lexington area has been home most of her adult life, and she’s dedicated to providing a high quality, nurturing, learning environment for the children in our community.
Sloan’s experiences range from a classroom teacher, instructing early childhood professionals as a CDA Instructor, and leading teachers as an administrator in a child development center. In these roles, She has been part of teams supporting children with vastly diverse backgrounds and abilities. Sloan believes that children have the greatest chance of reaching their full potential when families and educators work together. She is so excited to work with the teachers and families at The Learning Tree, where every child will be celebrated.
DIRECTOR
Rachel Harden Hislope
LEAD TEACHER / WILLOW ROOM and ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Rachel graduated from Berea College in 2018 with a degree in child development and family studies. She has spent 6 of her 7 years in childcare working with infants. She is passionate about facilitating new growth and development for young infants and aims to provide a safe and nourishing environment for them to do so.
Rachel and her family are new to Lexington but are not unfamiliar with the city. Her husband is starting residency at the University of Kentucky and their 19-month-old daughter is a part of The Learning Tree family as well! In Rachel’s spare time, she loves spending time with her family and taking care of her many plant babies.
Charlotte Tenney
LEAD TEACHER / TULIP ROOM and ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Charlotte is originally from West Virginia. She came to Lexington to vacation and fell in love with the area and has now lived here for more than thirty years.
Charlotte received her psychology degree from the West Virginia Wesleyan College. She has worked with young children since college. Her favorite part of teaching is seeing children grow and learn. She loves the arts, music and theater. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, camping, gardening and crafting.
Viky Arroyo
LEAD TEACHER / SPRUCE ROOM
Hola! My name is Viky and I was born and raised in the small town of Shelbyville, KY. I moved to Lexington to attend BCTC to start my nursing career, but after getting a job in a daycare, I fell in love working with children and decided to change my course. While I’m not currently in school, I plan to start attending soon to pursue my career as a child occupational therapist or child behavioral therapist. Art, being outside, and reading are some of my favorite pastimes inside and outside the classroom, along with dancing and singing! Finally, I’m excited to start teaching to expand your child’s creativity, imagination, and understanding!
Lauryn Taylor
LEAD TEACHER / MAPLE ROOM
Lauryn was born and raised in Kentucky and moved to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky. Lauryn initially was pursuing a degree in special education but changed course after working at a childcare center. In the childcare center setting, she developed a passion for teaching young children and decided to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education instead, which would still allow her to work with children with disabilities. Lauryn has been working in childcare for three plus years. Her favorite thing about working with children is watching them hit new milestones throughout the year. Lauryn also enjoys sports, spending time with loved ones, reading, and recently has developed a love for cooking.