STAFF BIO’S
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Patience Montessori was born out of a lifelong passion for children. After a stint in IT, Patience switched to childcare and re-discovered her calling. During an internship at a Montessori School for her director training, her belief and confidence in the Montessori Method was cemented. She saw that children are significantly more advanced, balanced, better at interacting with others and, as adults, more successful in life. With her son Alaric as the first student, Patience is now living her dream of running a Montessori school. Patience Montessori is run, first and foremost, the way any discerning parent wants their child nurtured and educated. In addition, Patience is providing the Boulder community with a quality, multicultural childcare center that provides for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years. When Patience has a moment to herself she enjoys spending time with her family and relaxing with a good book. |
Amy Haywood Ms. Amy, singer, storyteller, writer, and mother of two, grew up in Asia and sang in bands throughout high school. She has two degrees in Education and English Literature with a minor in Music from Guilford College. She has been teaching Musicare since 1987. In 1999, Amy and four other Musicare instructors created Camp Oonie Koonie Cha, an early childhood music camp in Winston-Salem. Musicare and Camp OKC, nourish Amy’s profound interest in children. Amy and her music partner, Claire Valine, have won two Parents’ Choice Awards for children’s music recordings. They have five works in total. Amy resides and teaches in Boulder, Colorado. She is working on publishing “Miss Ellie”, the story from her “Rockin in the Rabbit Hole” CD. |
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Laura graduated from the University of Denver with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Music Performance. In addition to teaching Musicare and Music Together, Laura is a member of St. Martin’s Chamber Choir and Harmonia and performs regularly with these groups. She recently completed her Orff Certification Level 1 and is excited to bring some new ideas into her teaching. Laura loves experiencing music as part of her everyday life, and is delighted that she can share this experience with your children. |
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Susan Sears Smith has been working in Early Childhood Education since 1998; and as a Montessori educator and administrator since 2001. She received two AMI Montessori certificates: Assistants to Infancy (Birth to Three) and Primary (Three to Six). Susan has worked with infants, toddlers, primaries and adolescents in Boulder and Jefferson County and internationally in Prague, the Czech Republic. She has her M.Ed. with a Montessori Specialty, M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language and a Level IV Professional Credential with Infant Toddler Endorsement with the State of Colorado. Susan’s passions include cooking and baking using whole foods and alternative sweeteners, walking, reading, cross country skiing and traveling. |
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Ann Meijer is a native of Sweden. She has experience in many different areas that make her a wonderful asset to this school. The Montessori philosophy was an early part of Ann’s life. As a teenager, she helped out in a Montessori School. When her own children started attending a Montessori school, Ann started teaching using the Montessori Method herself. While in Sweden she joined up with other parents and started her own Montessori School Co-Op where she was the director. Not only does she have many years of Montessori experience but she was also a nurse in a Neurosurgery unit. In her spare time she enjoys skiing, golfing, reading a good book and being creative with watercolors. Her 3 children and 4 grandchildren are a big part of her life. |
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Miss Athena joins us from Lyons Community Montessori, where she has been a lead teacher in their Primary Room for the past four years. Prior to her work at Lyons Community Montessori, Miss Athena taught at Central Elementary and Spengler Elementary School in Longmont. Miss Athena is an AMS-certified Montessori teacher, and is group-leader qualified. Miss Athena spent 14 years in Holland and is fluent in Dutch. Her multicultural background combined with her passion for children makes her a strong and effective teacher here at Patience Montessori School. During her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family. |
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Dawn’s first profession of thirty three years was massage therapy working with adults and autistic children. Subsequently she decided to become a yoga teacher and has thoroughly enjoyed this avenue of her life. She is currently a yoga teacher and is also studying to work with primary aged children. When she retires she would like to eventually have a school of her own in Boulder County in which she envisions having gardens and a fish pond. Her favorite sound is waves and children laughing in the back ground. She says that “when you hear this, you know all is right with the world.” |
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Vera grew up in Napa CA. She received a BA from Sonoma State in Environmental Studies in 2005. She is passionate about preserving the health of our planet for future generations. She has worked at summer camps as well as worked as a docent leading school children on hikes at a preserve in Penngrove CA. She worked at ZD Wines in Napa Valley as a receptionist, and then as a Recycling Coordinator in Rohnert Park CA. Then she decided to study holistic nutrition and became a certified nutrition educator. Currently she is studying Environmental Leadership at Naropa University. Some of her favorite activities include singing, hiking, yoga, cooking, learning about the natural world and being with her friends and family. |
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Michelle is really happy to be working at Patience Montessori. She brings with her nine years of experience of working as a lead teacher in elementary 6-9 Montessori classrooms in both public and private Montessori schools. Some highlights of Michelle’s career include working for five years at Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, a dual language public Montessori school in Denver as well as working abroad at the International Montessori School of Prague in the Czech Republic. Michelle has also worked as a drama teacher for children in D-9th grade, creating, writing, and directing plays with children, and running drama camps for the Montessori School of Denver. |
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Naz is originally from Iran. She is a wife and a mother of a three year old son. She was an early childhood teacher for twelve years in Iran. She believes that each child is a jewel that must be nurtured in order to develop his or her potential. She believes that service to mankind, and children in particular, is a form of worship. She has a BA in psychology from Baha’i University in Iran. Her Montessori training was from the Montessori Educational Center of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado. She is fluent in Turk and Farsi with some knowledge of Arabic. Her son speaks English, Turk and Farsi. |
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Emily, originally from Sudbury MA, is currently a student at CU Boulder. She is working towards a degree in Child Psychology and development with plans to attend law school next spring. She has worked with children from 6 months to 13 years of age for the last seven years. She is fluent in Spanish and spent the past year working at a bilingual elementary school. In her free time she enjoys spending time with loved ones, singing, writing music, and going on hikes with her two puppies! |
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Manuela was born and raised in Germany. Being the oldest of five siblings, young children have always been a big part of her life. While primarily living in Europe, Manuela and her husband (an American citizen) raised their seven children bilingual, and as a family contributed to their local Bavarian community by founding a Baseball team, and organizing daily vacation activities for children of all ages for the past 10 summers. From 1984 until 2003, Manuela was a stay-at-home Mom, and in addition provided licensed daycare to infants and toddlers at their house in Germany. When their youngest son started school, she decided to independently teach English to Kindergarten children, which she has done successfully until they relocated to Colorado recently. As part of an integration program Manuela also tutored Non-German children, and has experience in after-school supervision of Elementary School students. Manuela earned her Assistants to Infancy Diploma with Montessori Europe, and is excited to contribute to the care, education, social development and ultimately to the happiness and achievements of the children here at Patience Montessori. |
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The vast majority of Kimberly’s 15 years of experience working in early childhood education programs she has spent at NEYC accredited schools. She is passionate about working with this age group because she believes this is when the child strives for independence and self-mastery. As an early childhood educator, she believes, it is her job to provide a setting that allows for this while meeting each child’s individual needs. In her free time she enjoys reading, practicing yoga, playing the guitar, drawing, painting, mountain biking, snowboarding, and backpacking. |
Patience Schutrumpf
