MONTESSORI COUNTRY SCHOOL - Key Persons
Amy was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, but considers the entire West Coast her home as she's lived everywhere from Long Beach, CA, to Suquamish, WA.
She enjoys traveling near and far, cooking delicious food and finding amazing restaurants, and spending quality time with her loved ones. Having worked with children in one capacity or another for most of her life, Amy found a new and deeper understanding of child development when she completed her Montessori training in 2011, and considers the classroom to be one of her favorite places in the world. She is looking forward to the upcoming school year and being back at the wonderful Montessori Country School!
Job Titles:
- Infant & Toddler Assistant
Caitlin was born and raised in Seattle, the child of two educators. Her mother ran a Montessori school out of her home so Caitlin, quite literally, grew up in a Montessori classroom.
After graduating from the University of Rochester with a degree in English Literature, Caitlin moved to Boston where she lived and worked before earning a Master's degree in Elementary Education from Simmons College. After teaching first grade in Boston at a charter school, Caitlin returned to the Pacific Northwest and taught third grade in the Bellevue School District before moving to Kitsap County.
After starting a family, Caitlin focused on raising her children. Much to her delight, she recently returned to the classroom as the Infant and Toddler Assistant. Caitlin has 5 children, 3 of whom began in the Huckleberry classroom and continued on to the elementary program. The Montessori Country School community has been an important and beloved part of her life for the last eleven years.
When not in the classroom, Caitlin is most often found shuttling her children to various sports and activities. She lives in Indianola and loves spending time at the beach, getting outside to exercise, and gathering with friends and family.
Cheryl earned her BA in Developmental Psychology from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. She was introduced to Montessori education in 1997 when she began her work as an Assistant at Montessori Country School. She earned her AMS Primary Teaching Certification through the Montessori Education Institute of the Pacific Northwest. Cheryl took a sabbatical from MCS when her daughter was born; she taught part time for a local preschool. During this time she earned a Master's in Teaching and K-8 Teaching Certificate. Cheryl went on to teach third grade at a Montessori inspired elementary program in Kitsap County. Her passion for teaching is motivated by the excitement children have about learning. She believes it is an honor to witness the moment at which a child makes a new discovery and finds a new level of independence.
Cheryl grew up in Santa Cruz and Paso Robles, California. Outside of teaching, Cheryl enjoys knitting, reading, hiking and camping, traveling, and swimming in Puget Sound with her family. Her daughter is a 2007 graduate of Montessori Country School.
Job Titles:
- Lower Elementary Assistant
Born in Seattle but raised in Mississippi, Cley has always considered themselves a Washingtonian. They first moved back to Seattle in 2014 where they earned a BS in Marine & Conservation Biology and Chemistry at Seattle University.
From watching infants as an adolescent in their church's nursery to instructing TaeKwonDo and self-defense classes, Cley has always had a passion for and connection with children. Throughout college, Cley worked as a substitute for Associated Recreation Council at before-, after-, and pre-school programs across Seattle. They also served as a Teaching Assistant for general biology and ecology courses at Seattle University. More recently, Cley has been providing private childcare to various families on Bainbridge Island for the past three years.
Aside from childcare, they've worked with clams and salmon at the Suquamish Tribe, helped coral restoration efforts in the Florida Keys, and raised oysters, sea cucumbers and abalone with Puget Sound Restoration Fund and the Seattle Aquarium. While new to Montessori, Cley very much looks forward to learning more about Montessori education and is excited to combine their passion for marine science with their passion for empowering younger generations.
Courtney Scott Olmsted has two children, Sawyer and Lincoln, in the primary program at Montessori Country School. She loves the way the Montessori method respects children as individuals, and encourages their independence. Courtney and her husband, Andy, moved their family to Bainbridge Island from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and they are thankful to be part of the wonderful, supportive Country School community.
Courtney loves to volunteer her time to support the causes that are close to her heart. She currently volunteers with climate change action, common sense gun reform, and get out the vote organizations. She previously served as an MCS auction co-chair and parent room representative.
Courtney earned a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. Courtney has held Marketing and Business Development Executive roles in the clinical research participant protection field. Since having kids, she has found the role of "Mom" to be her very favorite. In her free time, Courtney likes to read, cook, organize, go boating, and plan family trips. Courtney joined the MCS Board in 2022.
Cydnie has been teaching since 2019 and joined MCS in 2023 in the Spruce classroom. She received her BA in Early Childhood Education with a certificate of teaching for grades 1-3 in 2022 and recently started her Montessori certification.
Originally from New Jersey (not like the TV show), Cydnie grew up going to the beach and as a busy athlete. She moved to Washington in 2015 and now lives and loves it in Poulsbo.
She enjoys hiking, kayaking and road trips. She also loves reading, painting and gardening. It is her dream to have a little farm with some farm animals someday!
Job Titles:
- Communications & Development Manager
Dorothy is delighted to be a part of Montessori Country School both as a parent and member of the staff. She loves getting to know MCS families, and to share the stories of our school with the community. She is excited to help create wonderful events that support our school and bring families together.
Prior to life on Bainbridge Island with her family, Dorothy lived in New York City for over a decade. She pursued a career in marketing, public relations and events, leading print and digital efforts in the magazine publishing and hospitality industries. Dorothy graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Art History.
Elaine and her husband moved to Bainbridge Island in 2000. She holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine. Elaine worked as a Technical Writer in several high tech companies until her daughter was born. Her daughter started at Montessori Country School as a toddler and finished as a 5th grader. Being a parent volunteer in the classroom and school office allowed Elaine to discover how much she enjoys being at school and watching her daughter and other students blossom into confident and compassionate people. Elaine joined the elementary staff in 2011, and she has enjoyed getting to know all the students, siblings, parents, and grandparents when they come through the office. Elaine loves to sew, read, bake, and spend time with her family and friends.
Elizabeth, a Colorado native, spent much of her childhood nurturing a love for the outdoors. After graduating with a BA focused on multi-cultural anthropology and gender identity, she went on to begin her career working in early childhood education in Ethiopia as a volunteer teacher. After her return to the United States, she was introduced to the Montessori philosophy as an assistant in a Montessori classroom. She immediately fell in love with the Montessori method and quickly realized her life's calling. She returned to school to obtain her International Montessori Certification for the Primary level. She went on to teach at a public charter school in Denver and later, internationally, at a school in Albania.
Elizabeth most recently completed her second Montessori certification for Infants and Toddlers at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado. She later returned to MECR in a different capacity as one of their teacher trainers. Elizabeth is deeply passionate about working with families with infants and children of toddler age. In 2016, Elizabeth was asked to be a part of the American Montessori Society's inaugural cohort for the Emerging Leadership Program.
Elizabeth loves living on Bainbridge Island and being part of the Montessori Country School as both a teacher and a parent. She is excited to raise her children in the same place where her husband grew up. When she is not in the classroom, she spends her time taking walks, reading, traveling, and struggling to learn how to both knit and play ukulele.
Ellie Montaperto is an Island girl through and through. She grew up on Whidbey Island and has lived on Bainbridge Island for 17 years, raising two children with her husband Greg. Ellie graduated with a BA from The Evergreen State College and has since had a varied professional career. She became passionate about education while serving a year with Americorps. She's worked in public school classrooms as an ELL and Special Education Para and has worked as a Museum Educator at the Burke Museum, Seattle Maritime Museum, and the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum. She has a special interest in languages, multicultural learning, and history. Her first exposure to Montessori was through living in Italy and learning about the woman on the thousand lire note.She's excited to join the Montessori community and continue learning alongside your children.
Emily Browne is proud to be the first alumna to join the MCS board. Emily grew up on
Bainbridge Island and attended Montessori Country School from preschool through second grade. Emily is now a licensed elementary teacher currently working for the Bainbridge Island School District. With a background in art, she has worked at many non profit organizations including Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and taught elementary art at MCS in 2019. Emily holds a Masters of Art in Teaching from USC, a Masters of Fine Art from Montana State University, and a BA from Drew University. Emily joined the board in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Reading & Language Specialist
A Seattle native, Hollind graduated from Gonzaga University with a BA in Elementary Education and an endorsement in Special Education. She has focused her 25 year career on teaching and educational support. This includes serving as an Assistant Director at a K-5 school in the early 90s, where her responsibilities included hiring and training teachers, managing school admissions, and curriculum design. Hollind has developed a deep respect for Montessori education during her time as an assistant in the Lower Elementary classroom. She especially appreciates how the Montessori classroom is thoughtful and beautiful, yet simple in its design. She values the way in which the classroom fosters curiosity and success among the students. Hollind lives on Bainbridge Island with her husband and daughter (a former MCS student), where she enjoys reading, gardening, cooking with friends, and traveling with her family.
Isobel Coney is a teaching artist, living and working on Bainbridge Island since 2001. A former parent of Country School students, she was educated and taught in public school in the United Kingdom before moving to Bainbridge Island. She graduated from the Scottish College of Textiles and has a postgraduate diploma in Textiles from Manchester Metropolitan University. She also has a Postgraduate Certificate in Art Education from Goldsmiths College, London.
Isobel has worked in the textile industry, and as public-school teacher in London, including work in the studio of fashion designer Zandra Rhodes. One of her most important goals as an art teacher is to give all students opportunities to make art in their own unique ways, learning new skills and techniques through their work. She encourages each student to respond to their own creative instincts and become more confident sharing their ideas and creations.
Isobel has taught all age groups, in many different settings, schools, and public events during her twenty years in the Pacific Northwest. She progresses her own textiles and ceramics work and has exhibited in local galleries.
Jaclyn was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. After earning her BA in History from University of California at Berkeley, she embarked on a fellowship teaching in Oakland public schools. For six years, Jaclyn taught high school and elementary students with special needs.
First as a parent, then as an educator, Jaclyn discovered and fell in love with Montessori education. This newfound professional curiosity led to work as an Education Specialist at a Montessori school. During interim summers, Jaclyn pursued AMI Elementary training with Montessori Northwest.
In 2016, Jaclyn, her husband and two daughters moved to Bainbridge, returning to her husband's native home. She was thrilled to join MCS in 2016 as both a parent and an Upper Elementary teacher. They have thrived in the natural beauty and warm community of the island. Jaclyn enjoys spending time with family and friends, running, hiking, camping, climbing, reading, cooking, and learning how to tend a yard.
Joelle has always considered herself a Pacific Northwesterner, even during her middle childhood years in Texas and Alabama. She lived in Portland for the majority of her Pacific Northwest years, until moving to Bainbridge Island in 2007.
Joelle credits her parents with starting her Montessori career when they enrolled her in Childpeace Montessori in Portland when she was 2.5 years old. Despite a few interruptions, Montessori education is where Joelle has returned again and again, and she relied deeply on its methods and materials when homeschooling her older children for 12 years. Joelle also has a Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education, and is certified to teach in Washington. She is beyond joyful to be teaching in the Montessori classroom again.
Joelle lives in a local cohousing community with her partner and their combined four children (two of whom are MCS students), while their oldest daughter (a former MCS student) is off in Bellingham for college. In her spare time, Joelle is a reader, knitter, swimmer, and sewist, loves learning languages, and is often seen walking or biking for transportation around the island.
Karla first became acquainted with the work of Maria Montessori while studying Philosophy and Comparative Religion at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she graduated with Honors. Karla came to MCS in 1987 to work as a classroom assistant; she loved how the philosophy of Montessori translated into the actual classroom experience and received her Montessori certification shortly thereafter. After serving as a classroom teacher, she became the Associate Director in 1991. Before coming to MCS, Karla worked as the Executive Director of the American Cetacean Society in San Pedro, CA.
Karla's time outside of school is spent hiking, climbing, indulging her passion for books and music, trekking in the Himalaya, and doing volunteer work for street dogs in India and Nepal.
Job Titles:
- Assistant
- Primary Assistant
Kate came to know Bainbridge Island over the years during summer visits to her brother and his family. The natural beauty, peaceful ambience and creative vibrancy of this special island made it an attractive option for settling into life in the USA after growing up in Beirut, Lebanon and a career as an Early Childhood educator in international schools around the world.
Kate has a BA in English Literature/History /Art History from Trinity College in Washington DC and a Master's degree in Elementary Education/Art Education from Columbia University in New York City. She has worked with children from two and a half to ten years old as a classroom teacher, Art teacher and as a school administrator. Kate is excited to join colleagues and children in this authentic Montessori learning environment. She looks forward to expanding her knowledge and understanding of how children best learn and is eager to participate in purposeful, enriching and joyful learning experiences with the young children in her care.
Outside of school, Kate cherishes time with family and friends, pursues artistic endeavors, reads novels and history, enjoys walks in nature and listens to music. She strives to appreciate each day as it comes and to contribute to making the world a kind and humane place for life.
Katie Nicholas graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in music and has been a music educator for over 20 years. Her primary instrument is the violin and she was invited to play with her orchestra at Carnegie Hall when she was 17. This was also the year she opened a private violin studio and began working to share her love of music with children.
During school, Katie had the privilege of playing under the the great Jazz violinist, Darol Anger, who opened her eyes to the world of non-classical music. Katie began incorporating folk music, composing techniques, and folk fiddling into her practice and study. Subsequently, she spent many years performing Irish fiddling and her compositions around the Seattle area. By 2018, her love of being creative and working with children led her to co-found Storysong a music and movement class for children and their caregivers on Bainbridge Island.
Katie's Montessori classes are largely influenced by Carl Orff and Zoltan Kodaly who use singing, stories, percussive instruments, and movement to illustrate musical concepts and engage children. She believes that music creates community, is essential for well-being and should be fun for children!
Job Titles:
- All School Support Assistant
Kim comes to us from Seabeck, WA and has lived in Kitsap County since 1997. She developed her passion for the Montessori philosophy as a teacher at The Farm Montessori in Poulsbo. She also has teaching experience in the public schools and the Silverwood School. When her boys were younger, Kim was an active school volunteer, working with the staff and students to develop an environmental education program in her boys' elementary school.
Kim grew up in California and graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara. She holds a Master's degree in Public Health Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a teaching certificate from Western Washington University. Outside of school, Kim loves to travel to see her boys, Brandon and Finnegan, and extended family with her husband, Greg.
Kim also enjoys exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Some of her favorite things to do include hiking in the Olympics, paddleboarding on the Hood Canal, and skiing Crystal Mountain. She looks forward to supporting your child and the greater MCS community to the best of her ability.
Linda Waterman is passionate about non-profit work. A native of New Orleans, Linda volunteered with the non-profit NO/AIDS Task Force (now CrescentCare) in the 1990s. She was a law student intern at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office and Bay Area Legal Aid -San Francisco in the early 2000s.
In 2008, Linda and her husband Andrew drove from Berkeley, California to Chiapas, Mexico to pursue their dream of working abroad. In Chiapas, Linda helped launch an NGO to benefit and educate women weavers in the small mountain villages surrounding San Cristobal de las Casas. In late 2013, Linda and Andrew returned to the States to pursue a different dream-starting a family.
Linda developed a deep appreciation for the Montessori Method in early education when she attended the MCS Parent/Toddler class in 2018 with her son Ziggy.
Linda holds a Juris Doctor from New College of California School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University. Linda's additional interests include baking, cooking authentic Louisiana recipes, and expanding her collection of books written by African American women. Linda joined the MCS Board of Trustees in 2020.
Mairead Shutt and her husband Jason came to Bainbridge Island in 2007 to be caretakers on a small farm. They loved living on an island so much that they stayed and had three children. Truman, Desmond, and Geneva came to MCS in 2020.
Mairead has been a non-profit leader and fundraiser for several non-profit organizations including the Bainbridge Schools Foundation, IslandWood, and the Trust for Public Land. She is currently a bookkeeper and stay-at-home parent. She has a Masters in Business Administration with a speciality in non-profit management. Mairead loves to hike and explore this beautiful corner of Washington State.
Mary McCormic-McInnis came to MCS in January of 2022 and returns for her practicum year as she works towards her Early Childhood Montessori certification through MEIPN. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the Evergreen State College, where she studied printmaking and French. She began her professional career out of college teaching at a collaborative arts preschool in Olympia, followed by 10 years working as a professional baker.
Mary spent years volunteering at Odyssey Multiage program, where she came to appreciate the wonders and great joy that children find through learning together. Her professional career also included working with teens and adults with disabilities through Visualize Kitsap and as Life Enrichment Director of Madrona House, studying and training on best care practices for caring for people with dementia. Before MCS she taught for several years at Scrappy Art Lab. When not at MCS, she plays guitar and sings in the local trio, Songbird.
Mary has lived most of her life on Bainbridge, where she still resides with her husband and teenage sons. In her free time she loves hanging out with her family, and any dogs she can find and swimming in the Salish Sea.
Meghan has been a member of the Montessori Country School community since 1993 when her oldest son joined the toddler class. She has served as a room representative, French teacher, substitute teacher, and head teacher. Meghan received her undergraduate degree in Art History from the University of Colorado, her Montessori training from the Rocky Mountain Training Center, and her Master's in Education with an emphasis on early childhood from Seattle University. Her years of teaching and parenting have strengthened her belief that the first twelve years of life are profound. She considers it an honor to spend time in the presence of young children, following their lead.
When she is not in the classroom, Meghan spends most of her time with her children, Benjamin, Maxwell, and Rebecca, and her husband Kris. She loves to spend time at her cabin on the Olympic peninsula, reading novels, and enjoys gatherings with her extended family.
Michael Wynne-Jones is an alumni parent of three MCS students, and is a strong advocate for multi-age learning and the Montessori model. He believes in education priorities in which foundational concepts such as numeracy and literacy are taught from an early age, and thematic learning in which a subject in the real world is studied from multiple academic perspective such as language, geography, social structure, wildlife, all at the same time.
Mike previously served as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees, drawing on experience as Treasurer of various other non-profits including the Parent Teacher Organization at Odyssey, where he was an advocate for multiple programs against the closure of Commodore Options School in 2018. Professionally he is the Group Head of Model Validation at Chubb insurance, managing a team of actuaries in the US and India. Previous experience includes roles in electronics engineering, computer science, software design, financial regulation and risk management. His board skills in addition to financial supervision include governance, leadership, and management.
Mike's external interests include chilling by mountain lakes, coastal exploration, mapping, data science, languages, cooking and cultural diversity.
Patrick Sheldon and his wife Jennifer arrived on Bainbridge Island in 1990. Their daughters, Madeline and Larkin, came to MCS when they were toddlers and then went on to complete their Montessori education at Voyager Elementary School. Patrick has been a trial lawyer for nearly 40 years and is now a Shareholder at Forsberg & Umlauf in Seattle. He primarily defends health care providers in courtrooms throughout Washington State. A native Western Washingtonian, Patrick enjoyed out of state experiences after completing high school in Tacoma graduating with a BA degree from the University of California, Berkeley before going on to obtain his J.D. law degree at the Georgetown University Law Center. He started his legal career as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Warren G. Magnuson in Washington, D.C. Patrick enjoys most sports, particularly the Seattle Mariners, reading and playing with his dogs at the family's property on Hood Canal. Patrick joined the MCS Board in 2018.
Patty Christensen joined the MCS Board in 2019. She has a long history with the school. Her mother, Dorothy King, founded Montessori Country School with a friend in 1972. Patty knew in high school that she was destined to work with young children. She received a BS in Sociology from the University of Washington and a Montessori teaching certificate from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) in the early seventies. She was a Montessori Primary Classroom teacher for several years in the Seattle area before moving to Bainbridge Island with her family in 1986. Her mother retired from MCS and Patty became the teacher and Head of School for what was then a one-classroom schoolhouse. She saw the school through many years of growth and feels honored to have been part of the phenomenal MCS community. Her dedication to the children never faltered. She is thrilled to be serving on the MCS Board and pleased to be, once again, a part of Montessori Country School. She is committed to serving the school in anyway she can and supporting the Head of School and staff in giving the children and parents the joy and wonder of an authentic Montessori education.
Zach Bohonos is the teacher's assistant in the Maple Classroom. He lives and works on Bainbridge Island, living with his wife, Aubrey and their two cats. Zach did most of his growing up on Bainbridge, later traveling to Winnipeg Manitoba to attend University. After completing his Bachelor of Arts and a Public Fire Paramedic program, he moved back to Washington to be closer to family and the magical, beautiful environment of Home.