We are pleased to introduce our faculty. Their training, experience and dedication provide the fertile ground in which our students blossom.

Every Montessori guide is a generalist fully trained in the entire curriculum at one or more levels. In the Montessori tradition guides are well-rounded individuals who have degrees and experience in a wide variety of subjects. Since guides come to Montessori from such a wide variety of disciplines, we encourage you to get to know these folks at school-wide events and class functions to find out more about the writers, philosophers, world travelers, public servants and professional artists in our midst.

Toddler

Susan Kenndy, Guide:  Susan began her Montessori career as the parent of two Montessori students.  She went on to receive her infant and toddler training from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education and has now worked with infants, toddlers, and their parents since 1993.  She became an MCS parent in 1996 and is thrilled to be joining MCS as our Toddler guide.  Her daughters, Wesley and Jamie, graduated from MCS in 2001 and 2004.

Anna Bryant, Assistant:  Anna joined us at MCS in 2008 after working for two years as an assistant in both Toddler and Children’s House Montessori environments in Richmond. Anna received a BFA from JMU in 2004 and has also worked as an art instructor in schools and museum programs.

Denise Pesonen-DeVore, Assistant: is trained as a therapeutic riding instructor. Denise grew up in the Charlottesville area and worked in an early child development center in Maine for a year prior to joining us at MCS in November of 2008.

Children’s House 1

Kendal Poleykett, Guide:  Kendal has been a member of the MCS community since 2002 when her eldest daughter entered our Children’s House program. Kendal began working at MCS in 2004 and attended Montessori training for ages 3-6 at Northeast Montessori Institute in the summer of 2006. She  completed her practicum year during the 2006-2007 and has continued as a co-guide in this classroom since then.

Erin Schweitzer Moore, Guide:  Erin received her Montessori training for ages 3-6 from The Montessori Institute Northwest in Portland, Oregon and her MEd from Loyola College in Maryland, both in 2002.  She served as a Children's House guide at MCS for three years, from 2002 to 2005.  She then spent four years in Charleston, SC, continuing to serve as a Children's House guide, as well as coordinating the Afterschool Program and assisting in Elementary.  Erin is thrilled to return to Charlottesville and MCS for the 2009-2010 school year, now as both a Children's House guide and a Toddler parent!

Children’s House 2

Janice Chapman, Guide:  Janice is a lifelong resident of the Charlottesville area who began working in the afterschool program at MCS in 1993 and joined the Children’s House classroom staff the following year. She went on to obtain Montessori training from the Virginia Center for Montessori Teacher Training and has been a Children’s House Guide at MCS since 1998. Janice began furthering her training in the summer of 2008. She will complete the Montessori Elementary training at Washington Montessori Institute in the summer of 2010 and will obtain her MEd from Loyola in 2011.

Sue Alston, Guide:  Sue received her Montessori training for ages 0-3 and ages 3-6 at MECA Montessori in Chicago in 1999. Like many Montessorians, Sue was inspired to take Montessori training by her experiences as the parent of two Montessori educated daughters. She worked in a Montessori school in Wisconsin for two years before moving to Charlottesville. Sue has been an MCS parent since 2000 and she joined our staff in 2001. Her daughters, Helen and Lyndsey, graduated from MCS in 2004 and 2007.

Children’s House 3

Micaela Raine, Guide: Micaela began working in the afterschool program at MCS in 1995. She went on to obtain Montessori training from the Advanced Institute for Montessori Studies in 1997 and served as a Children’s House Guide at MCS until 2001, when the first of her two children was born. Micaela worked in the summer program at MCS in 2005 and returned to MCS full time in 2006 as a guide and a parent.

Deborah Norton, Guide: Debby has been working in Montessori schools since 1990. In 1993 shereceived both her 3-6 training from the Washington Montessori Institute and an MEd from Loyola College. In 1995 she returned to WMI to assist with teacher training and album reading. In Charlottesville, Debby served as a guide at the Montessori School of Charlottesville from 1991 to 1997, and enjoyed working with toddlers for a year at Frost Montessori School. She took time off to have two boys and run a home daycare from 1997 to 2003. Debby was a 3-6 year old guide at University Montessori School, while her son, Paul, was a student there. She followed her children, Will and Paul, to MCS in 2008.

Children’s House 4

Laura Leva, Guide: Laura began working at MCS in 2005 and attended Montessori training at Northeast Montessori Institute in the summer of 2006. Laura completed her practicum year at MCS and earned her diploma for ages 3 to 6 in 2007. In 2008 Laura led a group of children, along with her co-guide, to create this new classroom community within our school. This year Laura is also an MCS parent as her daughter joins our Toddler Community.

Shawn Carey, Guide:  Shawn joined the staff at MCS in 2001 and her daughter joined us as a student in 2006. She has a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Special Ed, and completed her Montessori training for ages 3-6 at the Montessori Training Center of New England in 2008. Shawn is also the Director of Afterschool Programs at MCS.

Lower Elementary 1

Mary Lou Robson, Guide: Mary Lou’s career in Montessori began with an assistant position in a Children’s House in Charlottesville in 1974. She went on to obtain training for ages 3-6 at the Atlanta Montessori Institute and to serve as a Children’s House guide at Montessori School of Charlottesville for three years before moving to the west coast. Mary Lou received her elementary training (ages 6-12) from Washington Montessori Institute in 1980 and worked as an elementary guide in the Virgin Islands for 15 years before returning to Central Virginia. She has been a guide in this MCS classroom since 2003.

Robert Hale-MacKinnon, Guide: Robert is an artist who worked in art instruction and art therapy for four years before receiving his M.Ed. in Special Education from Portland State University in 2002. He received his Montessori Elementary Diploma in Bergamo, Italy in 2003. Robert taught Montessori Elementary (ages 6-12) in Oregon for three years. He and his wife, Elizabeth, spent two years at Hershey Montessori Farm School as houseparents and faculty. Robert joined the faculty at MCS in 2008 and his daughter joins our Children’s House program this year.

Lower Elementary 2

George Logan, Guide:  Prior to joining the Montessori movement, George obtained his MEd from William & Mary and directed educational programs at a state museum of archaeology and history in southern Maryland. George completed his training at Washington Montessori Institute in 2006 and joined the MCS community as a staff member and a parent the same year.

Heather Donaldson Cormons, Guide:  Heather received her Montessori training for ages 6-12 from Washington Montessori Institute and began working at MCS in the 2000-2001 school year while she completed her MEd from Loyola. She moved from the Charlottesville area in 2003, but returned to guide our elementary summer program in 2005. Heather has also pursued specialized training in reading instruction and worked as a resource teacher and consultant. She returned to Charlottesville in 2006 and resumed her position as LE2 guide in 2007. This year Heather is also an MCS parent as her daughter joins our Toddler Community.

Upper Elementary

Jean Peters, Guide:  Jean attended a Montessori Children’s House as a child and has been a Montessori guide since 1994. She obtained Montessori training for ages 3-6 from the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota and worked as a Children’s House guide in Minnesota for several years. She received her MEd from Loyola in 1999 and her Montessori Elementary credential (ages 6-12) from the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee in 2002. Jean then worked as an elementary guide in Minnesota until she joined the MCS family as a guide and a parent in 2007.

Kim Grover, Guide:  Kim began substituting as an assistant at Montessori School of Charlottesville when her sons attended there. She attended Montessori training for ages 6-9 at Seacoast Center for Education in 2007 and completed her certification in 2009. Kim worked in Lower El at MCS for two years before moving to the Upper Elementary classroom.

Tamra Dougherty, Specialist-Assistant:  Tamra received her BS in Education from Longwood in 2007 and worked in a Montessori school in Atlanta for a year before joining the staff at MCS in 2008.  Tamra holds state teaching credentials for PreK through 6th grade, Math and Science for 7th & 8th grade, and Algebra I.

Middle School

Corey Borgman, Guide:  After earning an MFA from the Pratt Institute, Corey worked in a Montessori summer program in Brooklyn. Corey joined the MCS staff in 2004 and obtained her Montessori training for the adolescent level from the North American Montessori Teachers Association at Hiram College and the Hershey Montessori Farm School in Ohio in 2005. Corey completed the Permaculture Design Course with the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network in 2007.

Montessori Middle School programs seek to offer a variety of adult role models to their students. At MCS, many of our faculty members give lessons in Middle School in their area of expertise. Our Middle School students also work with Artists in Residence such as African Drum Ensemble Instructor, Darrell Rose. Students make individual choices for internships with local people who work in business, education, research, nonprofits or the arts. MCS Middle School students also have the opportunity to be mentored throughout the school year by members of the MCS staff who have expertise that relates to class businesses, Maria’s One Stop Shop and Pizza Fridays.

Specialists

Alma Scheible, Ecology:  Alma has worked with elementary students at MCS for over 20 years. Alma assisted long-time LE1 guide, Estra Roell, in the classroom for many years including the years when our Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary was established. During Ecology sessions, Alma guides mixed-age groups of students in a series of ecology projects and lessons in areas such as gardening, bird feeder and nesting box maintenance, composting and recycling. She also provides Physical Education instruction and facilitates students’ outdoor play during recess.  

Emily Hunt, Art:  Emily joined the MCS community as a parent and a staff member in 1997 and has worked in our Elementary classrooms and as a specialist since that time. She received a BA in Art History from UVa in 1977 and was formally trained in painting and sculpture. She completed an intensive summer studio art program at VCU and studied under the renowned portrait artist, Nickodemus Hufford. Emily has worked with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to maintain an educational partnership between MCS and the museum. She is also a long-time public servant who has served in local government in Nelson County and on a task force of Central Virginia art supporters studying resources for art education in the state. Emily’s daughter, Heddy, graduated from MCS in 2005.

Victoria Redfearn Cave, Orff-Schulwerk (music and movement):  Victoria graduated from Indiana University in 1993 with a BA in Music Education. She then began teaching music, movement and choral studies to children of all ages at various independent schools in Washington, DC and at the Levine School of Music. She also served as music director for the Washington Opera’s Summer Opera Camp. Victoria completed her Orff Certification at George Mason University and received a scholarship from the Carl Orff Foundation to study music and dance pedagogy at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria in 1999. She is currently a summer faculty member of the Orff-Schulwerk Training Program at George Mason, training other music and movement instructors. Victoria joined the MCS family as a parent and began teaching Music and Movement here in 2004. She also serves as the Co-curriculum Director at MCS.

Linette Molina-Dofflemyer, Spanish: Linette is a state certified Spanish instructor for all ages who received her BA in Spanish in 1992 and MEd in Secondary Education in 1994 from Virginia Commonwealth University. Linette taught all levels of Spanish instruction in Richmond area schools for 10 years. She has extensive experience with Spanish curriculum development and is the co-founder of  "Espanolización", a county wide Spanish immersion program in Chesterfield. Linette worked part-time for five years while raising her daughter and started her own business, Charlottesville Spanish Services, which served children and adults. She joined the faculty at MCS in April of 2007 and her daughter joined us as a student in 2008.

Ryan de Rose, PE and Adventure Outings:  Ryan holds numerous certifications related to fitness and outdoor learning experiences. He is a wilderness first responder, NOLS educator, and canoe instructor and has training in substance abuse prevention, Leave No Trace, survival, and business & risk management for camp program professionals. Ryan began working with the MCS Middle School in 2007. He completed the Permaculture Design Course with the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network in 2009.

Kim Wilkens, Technology: Kim received a BA in Computer Science from Texas Lutheran College in 1987. Her experience includes 12 years at IBM, starting a technology consulting business with her husband, and technology teaching and curriculum development. Kim became an MCS parent in 2001. She began providing tech support to MCS staff in 2002 and went on to provide support for technology teaching. Since then Kim’s role has grown to include developing and teaching our technology curriculum for Upper Elementary and Middle School and teaching Middle School workshops on use of technology for creative expression. Kim also offers parent education on internet safety and other topics related to technology in the home and the classroom.

Gail Hunger, Math Education Consultant:  Gail obtained her BA and Masters in Math Education from Virginia Tech and has 20 years of experience teaching math to grades 5-12. She also has experience with training teachers in math education, and has taught in the Math Specialist Project at UVa, which is working to implement reform in mathematics instruction in the state of Virginia. Gail joined the MCS community as a parent in 2002 and became a member of our staff in 2006 bringing a process approach to this subject in her work with our Upper Elementary and Middle School.

Faculty Leadership

Wendy Fisher, Head of School:  Wendy joined the MCS family in 2003 as a consultant, and then was hired as the Director of Education. She was named Head of School during the 2005-2006 school year. Wendy joined the Montessori Movement as a young mother in the late 1980’s and is the parent of five Montessori educated children. She obtained Montessori 3-6 and 6-12 training from the Washington Montessori Institute, as well as Montessori Adolescent training from the North American Montessori Teacher’s Association. Wendy worked as a classroom guide for over ten years before becoming an administrator and a Montessori consultant. She has pursued independent school management training and serves on Virginia Association of Independent Schools and American Montessori Society accreditation teams. Wendy is also an Examiner for Association Montessori Internationale Training Centers administering oral exams for students seeking their Montessori Elementary Teaching Credential. Wendy holds the American Montessori Society seat on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Council for Private Education.