Teachers and Staff
Children’s House
Toddler Room 101
Teacher Beth Omane-Stancil begins her third year here at MCS. She completed her Infant/Toddler training at the Center for Montessori Education in New York in 2004. Beth has taught toddlers in a Montessori setting for 10 years. She has also taught as an assistant in the Primary level for one year. Beth is originally from New York City, and attended Oneonta State University for two years, then transferred to Hunter College in New York. Beth has two children, Samuel and Rachael. Her daughter Rachael is in Lower Elementary as a third year student.
Intern/Assistant Robin Hill grew up in Springfield, Ill. She graduated from Illinois State University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Special Education. She has taught children of all ages with a variety of special needs. She took her Early Childhood Montessori training from the Institute of Advanced Montessori Training at the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Md. She then taught two-year olds at the Barrie School for two years before moving to Durham. She is currently working on her Infant/Toddler Montessori certification. She is married and has two children, ages 22 and 13.
Children’s House Room 102
Teacher Sue Ferrari has over 25 years of Montessori experience and this year begins her 12th year at MCS. Sue received an AMI Primary 3-6+ Montessori Diploma in 1978 from the Montessori Teachers’ Training Center of St. Louis. Sue also holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design in Product Design from North Carolina State University where she graduated with honors in 1975. Sue spent six years working and teaching in Beirut, Lebanon, from 1978-1984. Sue attended the second assembly of AMI’s Educateurs sans Frontières in Spain in 2005 and will attend the third assembly in July 2011. In the summer of 2009 Sue completed her Master’s Degree in Montessori Education from St. Catherine University in St. Paul. Favorite Montessori thought: “The prepared environment should be ‘the keys to the universe,’ not the universe itself.”
Assistant Kifaya Jassim is beginning her eighth year in Room 102. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic and Religious Studies from the University of Baghdad in Iraq. In 2008, Kifaya received her Early Childhood Credential from the state of North Carolina. She was certified by the North Carolina Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development.
Children’s House Room 201
Teacher Mari Lindsay has 26 years of experience working with young children. She holds an AMS 3-6 Montessori Primary credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education. From 1986 to 1998, Mari worked as an assistant teacher and then as a lead teacher at Lakeside Presbyterian Pre-School and Kindergarten in Erlanger, Kentucky. Through Durham Technical Community College, Mari completed 21 hours of training in Sign Language I and received her North Carolina Early Childhood Credential I and II (EDU 111 & 112). She has extensive training and experience as a wildlife rehabilitator. Mari is beginning her 14th year at MCS. Favorite Montessori quote: “He must find out how to concentrate, and for this he needs things to concentrate upon…Indeed, it is just here that the importance of our school really lies. There are places in which the child can find the kind of work that permits him to do so.”
Assistant Juliana Longiotti grew up in New Jersey and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Prior to becoming an assistant in Room 201, Juliana was a substitute teacher at MCS for four years and also a graphic designer for a firm in Durham. She has a son that was an MCS student from primary through his second Lower Elementary year. In her free time, Juliana enjoys photography, cooking, running, and being outdoors with her family.
Children’s House Room 202
Teacher Adam Miller begins his eighth year at MCS and his fifth year in Room 202. Previously, he worked in a three-year-old classroom at the Learning Tree Day Care in Erlanger, Ky. He also worked as a private duty gardener at Carol Woods for two years, and as a landscaper in Northern Kentucky for eight years. In the summer of 2006 Adam received his AMS Primary 3-6 Montessori Credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education. Favorite Montessori quote: “The child’s first instinct is to carry out his actions by himself, without anyone helping him, and his first conscious bid for independence is made when he defends himself against those who try to do the action for him.”
Assistant Insaf Abdulla begins her ninth year working at MCS. She joins Adam in Room 202 this year after working as an assistant in Room 101 for eight years. Insaf was raised in Kuwait and has lived in the United States since 1991. Insaf has her Associate’s Degree in Office Systems Technology from Durham Tech and a Bachelor’s Degree in Arabic and Islamic studies from Kuwait University. She is the mother of four daughters and one son.
Intern Harpreet Singh joins MCS for his first year. Harpreet attended East Carolina University majoring in Psychology and minoring in Anthropology. After working for almost three years with the Boys and Girls Club and three years of research in School Psychology, Harpreet chose education as his career path. He was attracted to the Montessori system because he feels it gives children the time and space to fully understand a concept and allows children to develop academically and socially while still gaining independence and confidence. He believes this is crucial to the development of successful all-around leaders. Harpreet is a part of the Sikh religion and also enjoys playing and watching sports (especially Duke Basketball) and hanging out with his family and friends.
Children’s House Room 203
Teacher Kathy McHugh holds an AMS 3-6 Primary credential, which she completed through the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education in 1989. Kathy has worked at MCS since 1982 and is the mother of two MCS alumni. In 1997, Kathy created the first MCS all-day Montessori classroom. Kathy enjoys quilting and Contra dancing.
Assistant Godha Gopalarathnam completed her AMI Montessori Primary diploma in 1996 from the Indian Montessori Training Center in Bangalore, India. She has been working with children in Montessori schools since her undergraduate years. Godha has experience working as a co-teacher and a lead teacher in Montessori schools in North Carolina. She has her Bachelor of Science, with a major in Zoology. She enjoys science, reading, listening to music, and loves working in a Montessori classroom.
Children’s House Room 204
Teacher Beth Duffy joins MCS for her fourth year. Beth received her AMI diploma from the Ohio Montessori Training Institute and her Master’s degree in Education from Loyola. She also holds her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education K-3 and has completed her reading certification. Beth’s four daughters attend MCS this year at the Primary, Lower and Upper Elementary levels.
Assistant Jessica Sherman completed her AMS Primary 3-6 Montessori Credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education while interning with Sue Ferrari at Montessori Community School during the 2010-2011 school year. Upon graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007 with her degree in Early Childhood Education, she has worked in the public sector as a lead teacher with the State More At Four Program and the Federal Head Start Program. She is thrilled to return to MCS to teach and work alongside Beth Duffy. Favorite Montessori quote: “The exercise which develops life, consists in the repetition, not in the mere grasp of the idea.”
Primary Assistant
Primary Music/ Primary and Lower Elementary Resource Support Puja Mitchell grew up in Baltimore, Md. and received an undergraduate degree in Music at Towson University in her home town. She joined MCS in 2006 - as assistant and music teacher. She has completed her Montessori AMI training in both Lower and Upper Elementary and holds a Master’s of Montessori Education and is looking forward to all the teaching opportunities MCS will offer. Puja enjoys traveling, hiking, and teaching. She also enjoys the town of Chapel Hill where she, her husband, Brian, and their dog, Abby, call home.
Primary Late Day Program
Primary Late Day Coordinator Jami Park holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Southeastern Oklahoma State University. In June of 1999 she completed her American Montessori Society Birth to Toddler (0-3) credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education. Jami came to MCS in 1996. Jami worked as an assistant in Room 102, before starting the Primary Late Day Program. Favorite Montessori quote: “The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities.”
Primary Late Day Teacher Shahnaz Khan begins her 13th year at MCS. A native of Bangladesh, Shahnaz attended the University Women’s Federation College from 1987-1990, where she majored in Philosophy. Shahnaz is married and has three children. Shahnaz finished her AMS Primary 3-6 Montessori training in 2008 at the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education. She is excited to be a part of the Montessori Late Day Program with Jami. She is looking forward to a fabulous year. Favorite Montessori quote: “The children are initiated into the virtue of patience and into confident expectation, which is a form of faith and a philosophy of life.”
Elementary
Lower Elementary Room 301
Teacher Catherine Swanson returns for her fourth year at MCS. She has been a Montessori teacher since 2002, and has taught both Primary and Lower elementary. Catherine graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from UNC-Chapel Hill. She received her 6-9 NCME certification from the Montessori Teacher Training Institute in Clemson, S.C., and holds a 3-6 AMS certification from the Montessori Education Centers Associated in Clarendon Hills, Ill. She enjoys reading, running, and the outdoors.
Teacher Debbie Fixsen returns for her third year at MCS. Debbie has two children who attended the Montessori Artgarden primary program. She graduated from Brown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature and earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has completed the AMS/MACTE Elementary I certification program at the Seacoast Center in N.H. Debbie is an avid reader, hiker, and animal lover. Favorite Montessori quote: “If the idea of the universe be presented to the child in the right way…… it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying.”
Lower Elementary Room 302
Teacher Keturah Russell returns to MCS for her 17th year as a lower elementary teacher. Keturah graduated from Meredith College with a Bachelor of Art in Psychology in 1992 and received her AMS 6-9 Elementary Credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education in 1992. She completed her internship here at MCS in 1992 and has been here ever since. Keturah is the mother of a daughter in Room 602 and a son in Room 301. She enjoys singing, riding her horses, reading, and playing guitar with the children. Favorite Montessori quote: “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.”
Teacher Jennifer Tobolski holds a Bachelor of Art in Sociology from Montana State University (2001) in Bozeman, Montana, an AMI Elementary diploma from the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee (2003), and a Masters in Education from Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. (2004). This is Jennifer’s ninth year of teaching and her sixth in room 302. She has two children one of which is an elder in 102, the other is currently too young to enroll at MCS. Jen and her family enjoy being outside riding bikes, hiking, camping, swimming, and doing all of those things families often enjoy doing together, often surrounded by water. She writes, “I believe Maria Montessori was a visionary. It says something that the method she created over one hundred years ago is still successful today. It has been amazing to watch these children evolve and see how the Montessori method prepares them for life. I have high expectations for children and I have seen them live up to our shared expectations over the years.”
Lower Elementary Room 303
Teacher Don Henchel has 30 years of Montessori teaching experience and returns for his seventh year at MCS. He has a Bachelor of Arts in History from North Carolina Wesleyan (1973). Don holds an AMS 3-6 Primary credential from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in New Rochelle, N.Y. (1982), and an AMS Elementary 6-9 Credential from the Seacoast Center in Scituate, Mass. (1994). He spent 20 years at the Montessori School of Raleigh and four years at Follow the Child Montessori School, also in Raleigh. He enjoys dialoging with his wonderful wife, hiking, watching movies, listening to music, anthropology and watching his sons grow into conscious young men. Don notes: “I believe in interdisciplinary education, cosmic curriculum, dialogue, meaningful and purposeful work, and keeping a healthy perspective on how each student learns. My strengths and experience are with the cultural curriculum, classroom management, research, and in keeping the balance between structure and creativity.” Favorite Montessori quote: “…you yourselves must be filled with wonder and when you have acquired that you are prepared.”
Teacher Shelly Lyons has 11 years of experience in Montessori classrooms. She spent eight years at the Athens Montessori School in Athens, Ga., and one year at the Swannanoa Valley Montessori School in Black Mountain, N.C. This is her third year at MCS. She has a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from the University of Georgia and holds an elementary state teaching certificate in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Shelly also holds an AMS elementary I credential from the North Carolina Center for Montessori Teacher Education. Besides teaching she enjoys camping, biking and hiking, creative writing, reading, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and spending time with her two sons, who also attend MCS. Favorite Montessori quote: “ The first duty of the educator, whether he is involved with the newborn infant or the older child, is to recognize the human personality of the young.”
Upper Elementary Room 601
Teacher Melissa Lee returns for her sixth year at MCS. Melissa holds an AMS Upper Elementary (9-12) credential from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education at the College of New Rochelle in New York. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Framingham State University in Massachusetts, along with Massachusetts and North Carolina Public School Elementary certification. Melissa has worked in public and private schools in North Carolina and Massachusetts. Outside the classroom, she enjoys running, reading, cooking, and being active outside as much as possible. A favorite Montessori quote: ”One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.”
Teacher Jeff Kishpaugh returns for his second year at MCS. Before coming to MCS, Jeff was an upper elementary teacher at Swannanoa Valley Montessori School in Black Mountain, North Carolina and at Spruce Pine Montessori School in Spruce Pine, N.C. Jeff took his coursework for Montessori training at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in New York. Jeff got his Bachelor of Arts from Emory University and also did graduate work in Scotland. He enjoys meditation, walking, games, and being out in nature. Favorite Montessori quote: “Let us give the child a vision of the whole Universe… We should walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the Universe and are connected with each other to form one whole unity.”
Upper Elementary Room 602
Teacher Michelle Reader returns for her 12th year at MCS. Michelle received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Centre College in Danville, Ky. (1996). She is a graduate of the Washington Montessori Institute of Loyola College in Timonium, Md., where she received the Association Montessori Internationale Elementary 6-12 diploma along with a Master of Education in 2000. Outside the classroom, Michelle enjoys singing in a local chorus, bicycling, hiking, reading, geocaching, and spending time with her partner and their little boy. Favorite Montessori quote: “The secret of good teaching is to regard the child’s intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination.”
Intern Frances Morgan begins her seventh year at MCS. She has completed her coursework for Upper Elementary certification at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education, New York and is now completing her internship in Room 602. Frances has served as an assistant at the Primary and Upper Elementary levels. She graduates from North Carolina State University this December with a Bachelor of Arts in English (Language, Writing and Rhetoric). Frances thoroughly enjoys playing piano, reading, yoga, and her two wonderful adopted dogs, Wardy and Monty.
Elementary Assistant
Primary and Lower Elementary Resource Support Puja Mitchell grew up in Baltimore, Md. and received an undergraduate degree in Music at Towson University in her home town. She joined MCS in 2006 - as assistant and music teacher. She has completed her Montessori AMI training in both Lower and Upper Elementary and holds a Master of Montessori Education and is looking forward to all the teaching opportunities MCS will offer. Puja enjoys traveling, hiking, and teaching. She also enjoys the town of Chapel Hill where she, her husband, Brian, and their dog, Abby, call home.
Elementary Late Day Program
Lower Elementary Late Day Supervisor Rana Albishtawi has worked as a teaching assistant for 12 years at Glenwood Elementary School in Chapel Hill. Before that, she worked as a nurse’s assistant in Kuwait for two years. Rana holds an Early Childhood Education Credential certificate. Originally from Jordan, Rana is a mother of two. She is fluent in Arabic and English, and enjoys children. Rana begins her 10th year in the MCS Late Day program.
Upper Elementary Late Day Supervisor Philippe Derfeuil grew up speaking French and Spanish. Philippe received his Licence from the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France, in 2000. Philippe plays chess in various chess clubs in the Triangle area and coaches the MCS Chess Club. This is Philippe’s ninth year at MCS. Philippe is married and has two young girls, Claire and Louise.
Middle School
Room 603
Teacher Peter Piché has been a Montessori guide since 1997 and has been a teacher at MCS since 1999. He has Montessori training at Primary, Elementary, and Adolescent levels. He is dad to Ben and Kayla - students at MCS. Presently, Peter is the guide for Humanities and Language Arts in Montessori Community School’s Adolescent Program for seventh and eighth grade, a program that he conceptualized and founded for the school in 2005. In his spare time he enjoys vegetable gardening, exercise, and reading. He is also a USA Hockey referee.
Teacher Michèle Widd-Williams has been a guide in the MCS Adolescent Community since its inception in 2005. She is a guide in Science, Spanish, French, and Mindfulness and is also the staff advisor for Cool Beans Café, our student-run business. Michele holds a Bachelor of Science and Master in Chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology and earned her Montessori Lower Elementary Diploma from the North American Center for Montessori Education 2005. She has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Latin America and is fluent in Spanish, French, and Italian. Her son graduated from the MCS Adolescent Program last year. In her free time she enjoys playing the guitar, singing, reading fiction and “young adult” novels, and SCUBA diving.
Teacher Melanie Leyden has been a Montessori guide since 1997 and is beginning her fourth year as the Math guide in the Adolescent Program at MCS. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and earned her Montessori Elementary Diploma (6-12) from the San Francisco Bay Area Teacher Education Center. Prior to her Montessori career, Melanie taught Middle School Science both in Canada and in California, and enjoyed being a counselor at a boarding school for challenging teens located in the Cascade Mountains. Melanie finds pleasure in the outdoors, playing hockey, cooking, gardening, and running.
Specials
Art
Art Teacher Holly Dykes returns for her third year as the K-8 art teacher at MCS. Holly holds a Bachelor of Art from Duke University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from UNC-Chapel Hill. She also has a K-12 North Carolina public school credential in art and a 6-9 Montessori credential. Holly taught lower elementary and art at MCS in the early 1980s when the elementary program was just getting started. Since then, she has taught children and adults at Montessori Children’s House of Durham, Durham Arts Council and the Women’s Exchange and was elementary program director at Chiaravalle Montessori in Evanston, Illinois for 10 years. Holly has been teaching and administrating for 30 years.
Pottery teacher Levy Vargas is an artist originally from Bogota, Colombia. He received his Masters in Fine Arts in 1997 with a major in sculpting. He has taught art and creative expression for several years to children and adults. He will be teaching Elementary and Adolescent Art Studios this fall.
Music
K-8 Music & Elementary Choir Karen Anne Richardson holds a Bachelor of Music,
Honors Music Education (Voice) from the University of Western Ontario, as well as Primary and Elementary Montessori diplomas from the Toronto Montessori Institute for Teacher Training. Karen has been a classroom teacher at the Children’s House, Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary levels. Also a certified Musikgarten instructor, she has taught music classes for infants through elementary aged children in a variety of settings: the Durham Arts Council, her former home studio, Duke Hospital and MCS. Karen has completed her Orff Level I teacher training and this summer, will be embarking on ukulele teacher certification. She currently teaches K-8 music at MCS as well as private piano lessons after school. Both of her children have attended MCS since they were toddlers and this begins Karen’s 13th year here.
Physical Education
Kindergarten, Elementary & Adolescent PE Teacher Sabine Howe received a Bachelor of Physical Education from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Sabine has 25 years experience teaching physical education to kindergarten through 12th graders and has coached soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, and track and field. Her interests include jazz dancing, kayaking, skiing, tennis, playing the guitar, and traveling. Sabine coaches the MCS Soccer Team and Jazz Dance Club. Sabine begins her 11th year at MCS and has two daughters.
Spanish
Children’s House & Elementary Spanish Teacher and MCS Chess instructor Philippe Derfeuil grew up speaking French and Spanish. Philippe received his Licence from the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France, in 2000. Philippe plays chess in various chess clubs in the Triangle area and coaches the MCS Chess Club. This is Philippe’s ninth year at MCS. Philippe is married and has two young girls, Claire and Louise.
Adolescent Spanish Teacher Michèle Widd-Williams has been a guide in the MCS Adolescent Community since its inception. She holds a Bachelor of Science and Masters in Chemistry from Stevens Institute of Technology and earned her Montessori Lower Elementary Diploma from the North American Center for Montessori Education 2005. Michele is herself the product of a Montessori elementary education, having attended Montessori schools in Mexico and Puerto Rico. She has lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe and Latin America and is fluent in Spanish, French, and Italian.
Administration
Head of School Cathy Constantine has been in the Montessori field for the past 26 years, as both a teacher and administrator. She began her teaching career in Children’s House. She opened her own school: Casa Dei Bambini, which is still in existence. This school is a modified Montessori program for children with learning differences and special needs. She received her 3-6 training from Northeast Montessori Institute in 1987, and continued to advance her studies by completing her 6-12 training from Seacoast Center for Education. She also taught at both these levels for four years each. She is a graduate of Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a degree in Human Development and a minor in Early Childhood Intervention. Cathy has also been a teacher trainer for the Seacoast Center for Montessori Education.
Elementary Program Director Judy Martell has been involved in Montessori education since 1981. She holds a Masters in Montessori Education from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and certification for teaching ages 6-9 and 9-12 from Xavier and CMTE/NY, respectively. She has taught for many years, initially at Montessori Community School, and later at Montessori Children’s House of Durham. From 1995 to 2005, Judy was Head of School of the Montessori Children’s House of Durham. Judy joined the MCS Administration team in 2007. Judy has particular interests in student and teacher observation, materials development and presentation, and organizational structure and management. She has been a co-owner of Mandala Classroom Resources, a Montessori elementary materials company, since 1986. Judy has three adult sons (Montessori alumnae). She enjoys Tai Chi, writing, and hiking.
Business Manager Chrissy Moore earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Elon University. Chrissy has over 15 years of experience in Accounting and Benefits Management and has worked almost exclusively with nonprofit organizations for the last 11 years. Chrissy and her husband, Dennis , have one son who is currently enrolled in a Montessori Curriculum. She enjoys reading, gardening, and cooking.
Director of Marketing and Communications Deborah Shah has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Business Administration from Kenan-Flagler Business School. She has over 15 years of corporate advertising and marketing experience. She served for 4 years as MCA Vice President and has many years of non-profit experience and/or board service with the American Heart Association, Lineberger Cancer Center, and the North Carolina Childrens’ Hospital Kids Cards program. A long-time parent at MCS, her daughter is in the Adolescent program and her son is in Lower Elementary.
Office Manager Cindy Zajic has a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of Colorado and did post-graduate studies at the University of Colorado and North Carolina Central University. She also holds a North Carolina Middle Grades teaching license. Cindy began her Montessori career in 1981 at The Post Oak School in Houston. Over the years, she has been involved with several private schools and has worked in many different administrative roles. She has also taught in the public school system. Cindy has an adult son that was a Montessori student and a husband that is employed at an area Montessori school. After living in Colorado for ten years, CIndy and her family now enjoy spending as much time as possible at the beach.
Facilities Manager Jay Fitzgerald returns for his second year at MCS. He brings a strong background in customer service and real estate, maintenance and management of properties, and loves fixing stuff! He appreciates the endless opportunities to apply his knowledge and skills here. He has a junior in high school, Hailey (a former MCS student), and a junior at Appalachian State University, Jason. He and his wife Susan will celebrate their 25th anniversary this fall.
Maintenance Assistant Jeffrey Upchurch joins us this fall assisting Jay with maintenance items. Jeffrey is a retired communications worker who wanted to re-join the workforce with a part time job. We feel very fortunate to have him in our midst! He loves the Blue Ridge Parkway and The Outer Banks of North Carolina.
