Front Office Staff
Ms. Heather – Ms. Heather works in the front office at MEA. She functions as the Director and office manager. She joined MEA in the spring of 2005 and has been a pillar of strength, continuity and joy. Heather has a sunny disposition and always sees the positive aspect of a situation. Prior to joining MEA, Ms. Heather worked as a lead toddler teacher in traditional preschool environment. Ms. Heather was an in-home daycare provider for several years. Ms. Heather is the mother of a college aged son, Nikolai.
Ms. Karen - Ms. Karen is MEA's Director of Enrollment and Staffing. Ms. Karen is AMS Montessori Certified Instructor and completed her training at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado. Ms Karen has been a primary directress at both Keystone Montessori and Montessori Educare Academy. Ms. Karen believes in the benefits of Montessori and has three children that have all attended Montessori schools. Ms. Karen's son, Braedon, graduated from Ms. Kim and Ms. Anny's class in 2010. Ms. Karen's favorite areas of the classroom are math and language.
Ms. Brandee – Ms. Brandee works in the office and is MEA’s former director and current facility administrator. Ms. Brandee founded MEA out of a desire to have a more nurturing academic Montessori environment for her children. Ms. Brandee has a Chemical Engineering degree from Texas A&M and an MBA from Harvard Business School. MEA is her home away from home and a true labor of love.
Pre-Toddler Staff
Ms. Vikki – Ms. Vikki is a lead teacher in one of our toddler classes. Ms. Vikki began working at MEA during the summer of 2004. Ms Vikki began working in our infant program where she taught sign language, object permanence and worked to build their gross motor skills. Ms. Vikki holds three bachelors degrees, a teaching certificate, and is working on her Infant/Toddler Montessori Training. Ms Vikki has two grandchildren that have attended MEA.
Ms. Elaine - Ms Elaine joined MEA in January of 2006 to assist in our toddler program. She has worked in both our infant and toddler environments and is very gentle and grandmotherly to our students. Ms Elaine has three grandchildren she enjoys caring for.
Ms.Sarahita - Ms. Sarahita comes from a family of educators, so she feels right at home in this environment. She graduated from UC Irvine with a major in Psychology and Social Behavior with a minor in Education. She loves poetry and the writings of author, Claude Brown. Ms. Sarahita will be working as an assistant in Pre-Toddlers with Ms. Vikki.
Ms. Padma - Ms Padma works as a volunteer and substitute in our pre-toddler classroom. She has three children who have attended and graduated from Montessori programs.
Toddler Staff
Ms. Michelle - Ms Michelle joined MEA in March 2009 after moving from Ireland, where she lived for 11 years. She completed her Montessori Training in Dublin. In addition to working in a Montessori environment, Ms. Michelle has also worked with children who have special needs. Ms. Michelle is originally from Scotland.
Ms. Vicki - Ms Vicki is an assistant in our toddler classroom. She has assisted in a Montessori based Sunday school for the past 5 years. She also has twins in the fifth grade at Kyrene de la Cerritos. Ms Vicki joined MEA in 2006.
Primary Staff
Ms. Pam – Ms Pam joined MEA in January of 2003. She has worked with toddlers, pre-toddlers, and primary aged students. Ms Pam completed her AMS training and was awarded her AMS Certificate in 2005. program Ms. Pam's warm and loving spirit creates a nurturing and fun environment for the children in her classroom. Ms. Pam is the Montessori directress for classroom 5.
Ms. Carla - Ms. Carla co-teaches in one of our primary classes. She joined MEA in February of 2003 and has almost 25 years of teaching experience, most of which has been in a Montessori classroom. For the past 16 years she has worked as a lead Montessori teacher for 3-5 year olds and obtained her training under the direction of an AMS certified teacher. She earned her B.A. in English from Trent University. Ms. Carla also has a minor in Spanish and reinforces the children’s weekly Spanish lessons.
Ms. Kim - Ms. Kim is the Montessori Directress for classroom 7. She joined MEA after moving here from Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2003. Ms. Kim began working in a Montessori environment in 1999 and completed her NCME/AMS Montessori training shortly after. Ms. Kim tutors many elementary aged students using Montessori methods. Ms. Kim has led both toddler and primary classes during her tenure at MEA. Her favorite area of the classroom is Language.
Ms. Jennifer - Ms Jennifer joined MEA after moving to Arizona from Albuquerque, NM. She completed her AMS/NCME training in 2003 and was subsequently awarded her cerfificate. She began by revamping our aftercare program and then leading a summer class. Ms Jennifer is the Montessori Directress for Classroom 8. Ms Jennifer's favorite areas of the classroom are math and sensorial.
Ms. Anny – Ms. Anny is an assistant teacher in our primary program as well as MEA’s primary Spanish teacher. She speaks Spanish fluently and enjoys sharing her knowledge with our students. Anny joined MEA in August of 2003 and has earned the love and admiration of MEA’s students and teachers. Ms Anny has worked in our toddler and infant programs and also taught our summer elementary classes and Spanish immersion program.
Ms. Melissa - Ms. Melissa joined MEA in 2010. After owning her own successful business, she went to work with young children, including working as a Behavior Intervention Coach in the Kyrene school district. She is married and has two boys.
Ms. Sue - Ms. Sue joined us in 2010 working as an assistant in Room 7 with Ms. Kim. She has a background in the credit and customer service business. Her career as an adult trainer spanned 20 years and three countries. Her life experience as a mother of twins and a grandmother of four makes her a perfect match for our primary program. Two of Ms. Sue's grandchildren attend MEA.
Ms. Kathy – Ms. Kathy joined MEA in January of 2004 as a co-teacher in our primary program. Ms. Kathy has worked in a Montessori environment since 1995 where she began as an assistant teacher at Ahwatukee Foothills Montessori. She obtained her AMS certification through CMTE/NY in 1998. Ms. Kathy’s favorite areas of the classroom are sensorial and math. She has mentored many future Montessori instructors.
Aftercare
Ms Christine – Ms Christine is a Kindergarten Montessori graduate and has worked with children of all ages at MEA. Ms Christine is the daughter of an AMS Montessori Certified teachers. Ms Christine is currently leading our primary aftercare program. She is a student at ASU and is majoring in English and literature. Ms Christine attended the 2009 AMS Conference where she participated in 9 different Montessori related courses and was selected to do an internship with a Montessori magazine.
Ms. Jacey - Ms. Jacey works in our Toddler Aftercare program. She joined MEA in 2009 and has worked with all of our age groups. After graduating from Desert Vista High School she traveled to Egypt to study Arabic. She is a freshman at ASU studying Economics. Jacey's patience and flexibility are an asset to all age groups here at MEA.
Ms. Nicole - Ms. Nicole is working with our Toddlers in aftercare. She is originally from Scotland and is a senior at Desert Vista High School. Her lovely personality and abundant patience will be an asset with our Toddlers.
Ms. Abbey - Ms. Abbey recently joined MEA to work with our Primary students in aftercare. She is currently a sophomore at ASU working on her degree in Special Education. Our primary students love her kind heart, sense of fairness, and playful nature.
Ms. Brittney - Ms. Brittney is working in our Toddler aftercare program. She graduated from Desert Vista High School in 2010. In addition, she completed the Early Childhood Education program at EVIT and worked as an intern with the Head Start program.
Mr. Nolan - Mr. Nolan is the newest member of our After care staff. He is currently a Junior at Desert Vista High School. His little brother, Braedon, just graduated for MEA's kindergarten program. Mr. Nolan attended a Montessori school when he was younger. He loves racing motocross, working on his pilot's license, and he is considering attending the US Air Force after graduation.
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