Our Staff … Our Family
Sr. Zainab Abdul-Qaabidh
Principal
Sr. Zainab was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She attended an Islamic school from KG through Grade 6 where she graduated Salutatorian of her class. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Business Administration, graduate degree in General/Special Education and advanced certificates above her Master’s in School Building Leadership and School District Leadership. Sr. Zainab currently holds dual licenses as Special Education Teacher, School Principal (K – 12) and Superintendent in New York and North Carolina. MashaAllah, she has over 20 years of experience as an educator.
Sr. Zainab lives with her husband, sixteen year old son and a thirteen year old daughter. She enjoys spending time with family, drawing, cooking, reading Quran and traveling.
Sr. Anjum Khan
Kindergarten Teacher
My name is Anjum Khan, and I have a master’s degree in Special Education along with two Graduate degrees (Education and Accounting/Business Management).
I am qualified licensed teacher and have 15 years of teaching experience and continued utilizing after moved to America. I worked as a substitute teacher in Maureen Joy Public School and volunteered with Parkwood Elementary School. In 2014 I became the part of the Al Huda Academy family. Past 9 years I have been teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten.
I have specialties in painting, baking, and interior design.
Sr. Fatima Shaikh
KG Teacher’s Assistant
I am very thankful to Allah SWT for all the blessings He has bestowed upon me. I want to use these blessings to enhance the creative minds and hearts of our students and open their way of thinking in a very colorful and artistic manner. In my leisure time, I love to sketch, do arts and crafts, paint and use my creative thinking in cooking and gardening. I also love animals.
Academically, I graduated high school from Pakistan as pre-medical student. I have completed pre-school foundation, ECE and Infant,toddler and twos certificate. Along with this, I am perusing my ECE associates degree. Alhamdulilah, I started my educators journey with Al Huda Academy in 2020 as Kindergarten science and social studies teacher at the age of 20.
Sr. Asima Jeelani
Grade 1 ELA/SS Teacher
My name is Asima Jeelani. I was born and raised in Hyderabad, India and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Osmania University, Hyderabad. I began my teaching career in Saudi Arabia and taught there for 4 years until I moved to UAE. Subsequently, I taught Social Studies to 7th and 8th graders for over 5 years and was an after-school tutor for more than 8 years. After moving to the US, I worked as a preschool teacher for 2 years while earning my associate degree in Early Childhood Education.
As I begin my second year at Al-Huda Academy as a Grade 1 homeroom teacher, I continue to believe in the importance of intentional teaching and purposeful learning in early childhood. What I love most about my job is the interaction with an incredible diversity of students and an opportunity to leave an impact on their young minds. I especially enjoy experiencing the a-ha moment when kids learn a new skill or concept for the first time and watching them flourish thereafter.
My goals have always been to inspire kids to love learning, and perhaps more importantly, to make them believe in their capabilities and challenge them to strive to achieve their best. Insha’Allah.
Sr. Keisha Colter
Grade 2 ELA/SS Teacher
Sr. Sayema Azizi
Grade 2 Teacher’s Assistant
This is Sr. Sayema’s first year working at Al-Huda Academy.She graduated from the University of Maryland in Baltimore County majoring in Graphic Design. In 2014, she taught as a substitute at the Universal Academy of Pittsburgh which led her to teaching Islamic Studies. She believes every child is special and has the potential to achieve their goals. Alhamdulilah, Sr. Sayema has three children; two of them have been students at Al Huda for three years. They love being here. She is happy and excited to be part of the teaching staff and looks forward to working with your child inshaAllah this year.
Sr. Zohra Harizi
Grades 2 – 3 Religious Studies Teacher
Sr. Zohra was born and grow up in Algeria (North Africa) where she received her education. She has been teaching since 1986. She has 20+ years of experience as French Langage Teacher in Middle School and the rest as Arabic and Quran Teacher.
Sr. Zohra is a wife and mom of 4 kids. In her leisure time, she loves cooking and baking.
Sr. Amena Jabbi
Grades 3 – 4 Math/Science Teacher
From the smallest mainland country in Africa to the halls of Al Huda Academy, Sr. Amena is well-traveled individual and has visited multiple countries, her favorite being Brazil. She has a Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She enjoys being outdoors, reading and baking. She loves working with children and has a passion for helping others. This is Sr. Amena’s fifth year teaching Math and Science.
Sr. Sakeena Ali
Grades 3 – 4 ELA/SS Teacher
As salaam alaikum. My name is Sr. Sakeena and this is my third year at Al Huda Academy. I have worked in the educational field for over 10 years and hold my Bachelor’s degree in Integrative Studies with a concentration in English and Early Childhood Education. I held positions such as a exceptional children’s parapro, private tutor, preschool teacher, and early childhood grades teacher. I also hold my TESL certification and have taught in international schools abroad. My hobbies include baking, traveling, spending time with my family, and writing short stories. I am thrilled to be a part of the Al Huda family.
Sr. Aiysha Murtaza-Ahmad
Grades 5 – 7 ELA/SS Teacher
Sr. Aiysha has been a member of the Al-Huda community for the past 8 years. She is currently the ELA teacher for Grades 5,6 and 7. She also teaches Social Studies to students in Grades 6 and 7. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from SUNY-Stonybrook. She is in the process acquiring her Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction. Sr. Aiysha loves to read and spend quality time with her family. She is passionate about instilling critical thinking skills and a love of learning in her students while they develop a strong Muslim identity. She seeks to empower Al-Huda’s youth with 21st century knowledge and technological skills to become world class citizens.
Sr. Aisha Shaikh
Grades 5 – 7 Math/Science Teacher
A fun-loving teacher who likes to see his/her student see grow with positive energy can be the biggest asset a parent can dream for. I love seeing children learn and grow while they enjoy their knowledge. Keeping this moto, I have been teaching since 1994 while I was finishing my Bachelor of Science and enrolled in Master of Education. Since graduating from M.Ed in 1998, my journey of more than 2 decades included responsibilities ranging a vast range from elementary teacher to School Principal. Under my supervision, sometime in their life most of my children have flourished to their maximum extent and currently working as either software engineer, mechanical engineer, family physician, psychiatrist, or charter accountant in different states of the USA and in Pakistan. I joined Al Huda School in 2019 for teaching Math/Science and can say proudly that I truly love working with children. I am very excited about this upcoming year and looking forward to another exciting, fun, and knowledge-filled year.
Sr. Soumayya Khabbazeh
Grades 3 – 7 Arabic/IS Teacher
Sister Soumayya Khabbazeh was born and raised in Amman Jordan. She earned her undergraduate degree in lab sciences from the University of Jordan, then moved to the United States with her family in 1993. Sister Soumayya had over 20 years of experience teaching Arabic and Islamic studies at various Sunday schools and Islamic Centers before she joined the faculty of Al-Huda Academy in 2010 teaching Arabic and Islamic studies. She earned an ijazah in Qur’an recitation in 2010 and has been teaching various Tajweed classes since then. Sister Soumayya also has significant experience in planning and executing fundraising events, and she is co-founder and owner of “EventThis”, which is an event planning corporation. She is the owner of Zumurrud Events which is an event planning company.
Sr. Hekma Mohamed
Grade 4 – 7 Quran Teacher
Sister Hekma was born and raised in Egypt. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and has over 25 years of experience teaching Arabic, and Quran at various Sunday schools and Islamic Centers before joining the faculty of Al-Huda Academy. She has studied online from different colleges overseas. She has completed 2 tajweed rules courses. She has her ijazah in Quran and Qaidah Nooriniyah. She earned her Quran Ejaza from Jordan institute . She is currently studying the rules of Arabic grammar (Nah’l) and working on her second Ejaza of completing the Quran Memorization inshallah. She has been in Al-Huda Academy for 12 years now and loves teaching and working with students to memorize the Quran.
Sr. Dina AbdalKarim
Electives/IS Teacher
My name is Dina Abdalkarim, I am religious studies teacher for kindergarten and 1st Grade. This is my second year at Al-Huda Academy. I am an Egyption and I graduated from Al-Azhar University in Cairo with B.A in Arabic and Islamic Studies department of Shari’a and Law. I have Diploma in Interpretation (Tafsir) of the Qur’an and Ijazah in Al-Qaida An-Noorania. I also volunteer at CIMS (Conveying Islamic Message Society). I enjoy practicing Dawa online in my free time. I love teaching kids and seeing their smiley faces. I also love listening to the Quran, reciting it and read all types of sharia books.
Sr. Lamia Hasan
Religious Studies Teacher’s Assistant
Sr. Lamia graduated from Ain Shams University’s Faculty of Commerce. She worked in Egypt as an accountant at Baby Home School and then later on at Middle East Travel Agency. After immigrating to the United States, she worked at Little Blessings Daycare for two years. After moving to North Carolina, she worked as a substitute teacher for Durham Public Schools for one year then went on to become a teacher’s assistant working with autistic students from kindergarten to second grade from 2008-2015. She currently works as a teacher’s assistant for Arabic and Quran. Sr. Lamia is married and the mother of three children. She also volunteered as a Sunday School teacher of Arabic and Quran.
Sr. Jesmin Begum
Religious Studies Teacher’s Assistant
This is Sr. Jesmin’s second year as a Teacher’s Assistant at Al Huda Academy. She completed her master’s degree in Physics in Bangladesh. While in Bangladesh she was an elementary school teacher. She moved to the US in 2001. She lives in Cary with her husband and 3 sons. She likes to spend time with her family and other people. She likes to read the Qur’an and learn from lectures in her free time.Sr. Jesmin is looking forward to having another good year!
Sr. Samah Kassem
Administrative Assistant
Sr. Meriem Bakour
Pre-K Teacher
Sr. Barbara Urquia
Grade 1 Teacher’s Assistant
Sr. Halima Mohammed
Grades 3 Teacher’s Assistant
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