TODDLER Classroom, Ages 18 months - 3 years

Felice DiMartino, Lead Teacher
B.F.A., New York University
Toddler Lead Teacher Certification, The Center for Montessori Teacher Education in New York (CMTA)

Felice has been with Amherst Montessori School since 1997.  In response to the call from the community, Felice helped to create our Toddler program in 1998. Prior to working at AMS, Felice worked as an Assistant Primary Teacher in a Montessori classroom in Arizona. 

When not leading our Toddler classroom, Felice enjoys spending time with her two teenage daughters, being outside at the beach and in the ocean, skiing, sports, and biking. She also enjoys landscaping projects and practicing yoga.
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Kathy Holmes, Classroom Assistant

Kathy has worked in early childhood and special education for over 20 years. She spent nine years working for the South Hadley school system and worked at WeeFriends Preschool for five years. She joined us at AMS in 2008. She has received training in early childhood and special education through the University of Massachusetts as well as The Rising Stars Assistant Montessori Training. Kathy has her Lead Teacher Preschool certification from the Department of Early Education and Care.

Kathy enjoys spending time with her four children, cooking, and baking.
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Kristie LaFlamme, Classroom Assistant
B.A., Westfield State College

Kristie has worked in early education for the past three years.  Kristie joined AMS in June 2008.  She earned a BA in Psychology and a minor in Sociology from Westfield State College before beginning to explore Montessori education.  Besides working as an assistant in the Toddler Program, Kristie also serves as the Toddler Camp Director, always bringing a quick sense of humor and love of children to her work.  Kristie is proud to work in a community "where children can embrace life and learning through the discovery of their surroundings". 

When not working with Toddlers, Kristie enjoys spending time with her son, boating and exploring Vermont.
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CHILDREN'S HOUSE Classrooms, Ages 3 - 6 years

Children's House I

Laura Grace, Lead Teacher
B.A., English Literature and Elementary Education, Middlebury College
Masters of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies of Preschool Education and Child Development
American Montessori Society Early Childhood Certified Teacher

Laura joined us at AMS in 2007. She has been a Montessori Directress for 15 years, teaching ages Birth through Kindergarten.  Laura's professional interests are childcare quality, identification and inclusion of students with special needs, and designing indoor learning environments.

Her personal interests include organic gardening, vegetarian cooking, knitting, singing, and spending time with her husband and son.
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Jason Berry, Classroom Assistant

Jason started his career at AMS as a volunteer in 2000, when he was fourteen years old.  In 2005 he became a teaching assistant in the Children's House classroom.  He has taken course work at Western New England College, Springfield Technical Community College, and Holyoke Community College. 

Jason is passionate about music (particularly Hip Hop), playing basketball, and his son who is currently enrolled in the Children's House program.
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Liz Hambelton, Classroom Assistant
A.S., Early Childhood Education, Westfield State College
B.S. in Sociology

Liz has worked in education for fourteen years.  For ten years she worked as a Teacher Director for the Holyoke, Chicopee, & Springfield Head Start.  She has been here at AMS since 2006. 

When not at Amherst Montessori School, Liz enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and son, Dylan, who is currently enrolled with our Elementary program.
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Christine E. Mariani, Classroom Assistant
A.S., Child Studies
B.A., Mount Ida College

Christine has been at Amherst Montessori School since 1995.  Prior to working at AMS Christine worked as a nanny for two years, and did four years of work study at Longfellow Preschool at Mount Ida College. 

Christine enjoys reading, snowmobiling, scrap-booking, camping, and NASCAR. She also loves spending time with her husband, Rico, her dog, Jake, and her two step-daughters, Samantha (20) and Rachel (16).
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Children's House 2

Michelle Risch, Lead Teacher
B.S., Sociology, James Madison University     
Children's House Lead Teacher Certification, New England Montessori Teacher Education Center (NEMTEC)
E.M.T., Chabot College

Michelle has worked in education for nearly nine years.  She worked as a Children's House Assistant at Cedar Creek Montessori in Berkeley, CA for six years before joining us at Amherst Montessori School.  She began her career at AMS as a Toddler Assistant in 2005.  After two years in the Toddler room Michelle chose to earn her training as a Children's House Lead Teacher. 

In conjunction with being a Montessori Teacher, Michelle serves as a high school field hockey and softball coach.  In her spare time Michelle enjoys spending time with her community of family, friends, and dogs when not teaching or coaching sports.  She also loves being outdoors hiking, camping, and exploring.  Michelle has a love for architecture and construction and enjoys bringing that love into her classroom.
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Rachel Roberson, Classroom Assistant
B.A., University of Massachusetts
Sociology with an independent concentration on education and inequality, Education minor

Rachel has been a teaching assistant at Amherst Montessori School since 2007. In addition to working as an Assistant in Children's House II, Rachel directs the school's Aftercare Program.

Prior to working at AMS, Rachel worked for four years as an assistant teacher at UMass Early Center for Education and Care. Rachel’s interests include art, beading, photography, and reading.
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Jonathan Sellers, Classroom Assistant
B.A., Hampshire College
Five College Buddhist Studies Certificate, Hampshire College

Jonathan's studies at Hampshire College focused on Childhood, Youth, and Learning.  Jonathan spent time as a volunteer teacher in India and has student taught in the U.S. in both 2nd and 4th grades. He joined us here at AMS in Fall 2008.

He is passionate about holistic living (local food and business support), book binding and craft making, and cycling for sport as well as a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. Jonathan grew-up with Montessori in his life, as his mother has been an Elementary Montessori Teacher for 15 years in Princeton, NJ.
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ELEMENTARY, Ages 6 - 12 years

Nicole Fuller, Lead Teacher
B.Sc, English Literature and Physical Anthropology, University of Toronto
Elementary I and II Lead Teacher Certification, Toronto Montessori Institution

Nicole discovered her love for teaching when she began working at the Toronto Zoo in 1999 in the education department.  For five years, she led workshops and curriculum-based tours at the zoo for children in grades K-12.  Nicole began her training as a Montessori educator in 2005, and found that the philosophy meshed perfectly with her own beliefs in how she was raising her young daughter.  She was a Lower Elementary directress in Toronto before getting married to a Boston resident and moving to Massachusetts in 2007.  After teaching Elementary at Amherst Montessori School in the 2007-2008 year, she taught for a year at Zanetti Montessori School in Springfield.  She returned to us in 2009 as the Lead Teacher for our Lower Elementary program.
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ADMINISTRATION

Tamara Sheesley Balis, Head of School

B.A., Principia College

Lower Elementary Montessori Teaching Certification, Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies

Primary Montessori Teaching Certification, Montessori Teacher’s Institute

 

Tamara began her teaching career as an public elementary school teacher in 1994 and has been in love with education ever since! She joined Amherst Montessori School in 2008 as the Head of School. She has earned both her Primary Montessori Teaching Certification from the Montessori Teacher Institute in Norwich, Connecticut and her Lower Elementary Montessori training from the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Before joining the AMS community, Tamara served as Director of The Boyd School: A Montessori Children's House in Reston, VA.  Tamara wrote and produced the two-hour educational DVD, “Bringing Out the Brilliance in Your Infant: Montessori at Home."   Tamara spent nine years in the classroom as a teacher, and serves as a consultant for Montessori teachers and schools, as well as serving as Head of School at AMS.

In conjunction with her work at AMS, Tamara is the mother of two happy daughters.  She enjoys spending time hiking, reading, dancing, skiing and visiting the beach and mountains with her husband, Christos and two beautiful girls.

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Julie Johnson, Assistant Head of School
B.A., New College of California
Primary Montessori Teacher Certification, Montessori Training Center of Northern California
Certified Infant Touch and Massage Instructor, International Institute of Infant Massage

Julie moved to the Amherst area and joined Amherst Montessori School in 2008.  She has eight years of experience working with children, seven and half of which have been spent in Montessori schools.  She completed her Association Montessori International (AMI) teacher training in the spring of 2002 from the Montessori Training Center of Northern California.  Julie worked at Santa Cruz Montessori School in Santa Cruz, California and at Pine Grove Child Development Center in Falmouth, Maine before coming to AMS.  She has worked in both the classroom as well as in school administration. 

When not at AMS Julie enjoys spending time with her animals and family, working in her garden, providing services as a doula, and volunteering with the Prison Birth Project.
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Laura Miller, Director of Admissions & Institutional Advancement

B.A., Smith College

Laura joined us in January 2009 as Amherst Montessori School's first Director of Development. In that role she helped to establish a robust annual fund, and set the stage for an ambitious capital campaign for a unified campus. She transitioned into the role of Director of Admissions & Institutional Advancement in July 2010, and now tends to our families from their first inquiry through their transition into AMS alum! She also oversees all of our marketing, communication, and event planning, as well as our annual appeal and other fundraising events.

Laura is a passionate home cook and avid runner. She lives in Greenfield with her children Isabel (CH1) and Samuel (entering Toddler in Fall 2011!), husband Rick, and flock of backyard chickens.

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Ann Marie Crane, Office Manager
B.A., The Evergreen State College

After graduating from The Evergreen State College, Ann Marie managed the finances of two charter schools in Arizona before joining AMS in 2006. Attending an innovative liberal arts college has given Ann Marie an appreciation for progressive forms of education, and she is thankful for the opportunity to continue to apply her expertise in a student-centered educational setting.

When not crunching numbers, Ann Marie enjoys photography, kayaking, and supporting others with their technological dilemmas.
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SPECIALS

Leticia Davies, Music & Movement

As the oldest of four in a military family, Leticia grew up all over the world, sometimes living on the East coast near Washington D.C. and sometimes living in Europe and Mexico.  Singing in English and Spanish, Leticia began composing as soon as she learned to play the guitar at the age of 12.  After high school and two years at San Diego State University, Leticia moved to Seattle and the University of Washington.
In 1991, Leticia moved east and settled in Northampton, MA.  After marrying and having children, she began to play music "for a different audience" in 2000.  Leticia honed her high energy, multi-lingual music for children by playing at The Family Center in Amherst, UMass's Music for Families series, and at local preschools where she is now a regular performer with children of all age groups.  Leticia's third recording "Gone Daisy" was released in 2004.

Leticia is the music teacher and second teacher in the classroom at The Learning Playground in South Amherst.  She joined Amherst Montessori School in January 2009 as our weekly music teacher.  She also teaches folk-based guitar privately to adults and children.
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Kathryn Richardson, Spanish
B.A., Hampshire College

Katie is a graduate of Hampshire College with a BA in Art and Music. She currently works in the Early Childhood program at the Hartsbrook School. While running a small business making and selling artworks in glass and metal, she is also working on her M.Ed at UMASS in the BEM (Bilingual, ESL, Multicultural) program.  She has lived and studied in Mexico and has taught children of various ages in diverse settings throughout her college and post college career. 

When not teaching, studying or creating, Katie enjoys traveling, yoga, scuba diving, reading and singing.
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Nicole Daviau, Art
B.F.A., The College of New Rochelle

Nicole graduated from The College of New Rochelle with a Bachelor in Fine Arts and a minor in Women's Studies. Her work has been shown in The Castle Gallery in New York and the Arno Maris Gallery, among others. In addition to teaching sculpture and drawing she also creates installations and is presently working on a series of felt pieces.

When not making and teaching art, she loves to chase after her energetic two year old, read, and cook (especially desserts).
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