Meet our faculty & staff
We believe any school is only as good as its faculty. These individuals are the essential link between the child and the educational philosophy, the learning materials and the prepared environment. They need to be dedicated, committed "guides" and, through observation, continuously striving to know each child as an individual and must also have the ability to work well within the school community of teachers and parents. Our teaching and administrative staff reflects these attributes bringing a diverse educational background and a long term commitment to MCMS.
Children's House I |
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 Guide Anna has lived in Madison, WI for 38 years. She graduated from UW Madison with a degree in Early Childhood Education, and later attended the Midwest Montessori Institute in Milwaukee where she received her Primary level Montessori training in 1991. She taught several years in Janesville, WI before returning in 1993 to Madison and MCMS where she has been teaching ever since. Anna and her husband have 3 children attending MCMS, ages 6, 10 and 14. She and her family like to explore different Wisconsin parks where they enjoy hiking, biking and camping. |
 Assistant Kim grew up here in Madison, graduating from West High, and she received her assistant and lead teacher qualifications from MATC. She has been on staff at MCMS since August 1992. Kim worked with Toddlers for 3 years and then moved on to work with the Primary Full Day program for many years. After two years spent as Melissa’s assistant in Children’s House, she is now joining Anna’s class as the assistant. Kim feels very fortunate to be part of such a wonderful school community for so many years and she is excited to continue working and growing here at MCMS. Both of her children have completed the Children’s House program here. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, scrapbooking, camping and spending time with her family. |
Children's House II |
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 Guide Susan is a native of Milwaukee and graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a BS is Speech Pathology/Audiology. While in her Master's program she enrolled her daughter in a Montessori school and decided she would like to spend her working days in a Children's House environment. After completing the AMI primary training at the Midwest Montessori Training Institute, she started working at MCMS in 1988. Since that time she has worked in various Montessori settings in Wisconsin including public Montessori in Milwaukee, a rural setting in Janesville and a suburban setting in Fox Point. She is very happy to be back with old and new friends at MCMS. |
 Assistant This is Meghan’s second year at MCMS and she is very excited to be part of the MCMS team. She grew up in Madison and has lived here most of her life. She has a BS in Elementary Education and ESL (English as a Second Language) from Edgewood College. Meghan has worked with children for 12 years in various childcare, preschool and classroom environments. In her free time she enjoys cooking, reading, being outside and spending time with family and friends. |
Preschool Full Day Program |
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 Team Teacher Mary Beth has enjoyed working at MCMS for the past 22 years. She graduated from Edgewood college with a degree in Early Childhood: Exceptional Needs and Kindergarten. Before coming to Madison, Mary Beth worked at the Developmental Achievement Center in Rochester, MN and as a private in-home aide to a young child. Her hobbies include collecting vintage children’s books, antiquing and bird watching. |
 Team Teacher Mary McCusker began as an assistant in a Primary (Children’s House) classroom at MCMS in the fall of 2007. Prior to joining MCMS, Mary taught in a preschool, and afterschool program and had a position as a Home Visitation Teacher. She attended UW Madison with a major in Early Childhood Education |
Lower Elementary (LE) |
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 Guide Mary came to Montessori later in life and completed her Elementary Montessori training in Milwaukee in 2004 after previous careers in the legal and human resources fields. She was raised in Indiana and Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis with a degree in Business Administration and an emphasis in writing. She has a daughter Jacki, and a son-in-law Ted, who live in Tucson, Arizona, where Mary lived for nearly two decades prior to beginning her career as a Montessori educator. She spent her first year as an educator working with upper elementary children. This will be her fourth school year working with lower elementary children. |
 Assistant Johanna Kenney has spent the majority of her life in the Montessori environment. Born and raised in Chicago, Johanna entered Near North Montessori at age two and graduated 8th grade only to return in 1997 as a middle school teacher. Johanna earned her Masters of Education with a focus on the Montessori adolescent from Goddard College in Vermont and joined the MCMS community as an adolescent guide in 2005. She loves her current position in the Lower Elementary and is extremely grateful for the opportunity to experience the younger Montessori child. It's very helpful in raising her own two children, both of whom attend MCMS. |
Lower Elementary (LE) |
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 Guide Kate joined MCMS in 2008 as the Upper Elementary assistant after completing her Elementary Montessori training in Milwaukee and receiving her Masters of Education degree. Kate had previously worked in writing and editing in the corporate world. In 2009, Kate became the Guide in one of our Lower Elementary classrooms. She is excited to continue working with children in such a fulfilling environment and looks forward to a wonderful school year. |
 Assistant Marisol joined MCMS during the 2009-10 school year as a classroom assistant in Lower Elementary. She is completing her Associate's Degree in Elementary Education and is interested in continuing on to receive her Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. Marisol finds that her work in the classroom is a great opportunity to apply the skills she is gaining through her schooling. She has chosen education as her career because she has always been grateful for her own educational experiences; Marisol wants to give back to a school community. Marisol is fluent in English and Spanish. |
Upper Elementary (UE) |
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 Guide Carrie is starting her 11th year teaching Upper Elementary at MCMS. Upon receiving her AMI Elementary Montessori diploma, she taught Lower Elementary at Milwaukee Montessori School for one year, where she opened the third Lower Elementary class with 12 first year students. Carrie holds a BS in Business Administration and an AB in Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis. In her first job after college, she taught high school mathematics at University School in Milwaukee. She also coached high school volleyball and basketball for many years. |
 Assistant In his fourth year here at MCMS, Walt is joining the Upper Elementary class as the assistant, after spending several years working with younger students in the Full Day Program. Walt has worked with kids of all ages for many years and enjoys learning along with the children. He moved to Madison in 2007 from Connecticut with his wife, who works at UW Madison in the field of education. Walt will also continue his work in the Elementary After School Club this year. |
Elementary Physical Education |
Elementary Art |
 Teacher Alicia holds a BA degree in Sociology. She has been an avid athlete all her life, running track and field at UW Madison and playing on a professional basketball team in Sweden. Alicia is the founder of My First Sports youth classes and facilities throughout Wisconsin. She has two children attending MCMS, one in Elementary and one in the Adolescent program. This is Alicia’s eighth year here at MCMS. |
 Teacher Laurie Rossbach is teaching art for a fourth year at MCMS. Laurie has a BS in Art from UW Madison and has worked as a professional artist and art teacher for over 16 years. As well as teaching, Laurie owns “The Green Parasol” boutique and participates in Madtown Liberty Players political theater group. Laurie lives in Madison with her son Rowan (3). |
Spanish Language and Culture |
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Thistle Pettersen Teacher Kristine "Thistle" Pettersen will be joining us this year as the new Spanish Language and Culture Teacher at MCMS. She taught Spanish for five years at the University of Michigan while working on her Master's degree in Spanish that she received in 1997. Since then, she worked for Centro Hispano of Dane County for three years as the Lead Youth Programs Coordinator and as a volunteer interpreter for immigrant families gardening at Drumlin Community Gardens. In addition to being passionate about Spanish language and culture, Thistle loves biking, gardening and folk music. |
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Adolescent Program |
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 Guide Scott’s background is in Environmental Education and he came to MCMS from Nature’s Classroom Institute (NCI) four years ago. Stop by and visit the Adolescent program anytime. They would love to show you the class garden and the class lunch business. |
 Guide Kirsten is starting her fourth year as an Adolescent Guide here at MCMS. She grew up in Boston. Kirsten has a BS in Environmental Biology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction from UW Madison. Kirsten loves to travel, garden and be outdoors. |
Administration |
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 Head of School Vicki was born and raised in the Milwaukee, WI area. After obtaining her Bachelor degree in Elementary Education, she experienced a Montessori classroom firsthand and immediately fell in love with the philosophy. In 1998, Vicki began working at a private Montessori school in Milwaukee, and soon after completed her AMI elementary training for ages 6-12. She went on to pursue two Master degrees, one in Education and one in Educational Leadership. In 2007, Vicki and her family moved to California, where she became the Associate Head of School at a private Montessori school in Santa Barbara. It was during her time in CA that she obtained her primary training (ages 3-6) through North American Montessori Center. In 2009, Vicki became Head of School at MCMS. She shares her family’s enthusiasm for being back in the Midwest and is happy to have joined the community here at MCMS. |
 Head of School Emeritus Dorothy received her elementary education degree in 1957 and taught fourth grade in public schools until 1960. In 1970, Dorothy was introduced to the Montessori Method of Education while living in the Netherlands, where her four children attended a Montessori School. Inspired and intrigued, Dorothy took a position as an Assistant to a Primary Directress at Montessori Children’s House in Madison in 1977. Dorothy received her AMI Primary Teaching Certificate in 1978, launching her long career with MCMS. Dorothy was a Primary Directress until 1990, when she “retired” from the classroom to devote her energies to Administration. In that role, she worked to grow the school from two Primary classrooms to the comprehensive range of programs offered today. Dorothy retired as Head of School in 2006, but enjoys her present role as a Board member, where she can keep in touch with the school’s excellent staff, wonderful children and committed community of parents. |
 Facilities and Office Manager Laura attended UW Stout in Menomonie, receiving her BS in Early Childhood Education. She moved on to UW Eau Claire where she was certified in Elementary Education. After her daughter was born, Laura became interested in Montessori education. She worked as office manager at a Montessori school in Houston, Texas and enrolled her daughter in the same school beginning at the age of 18 months. When the family moved to Madison, Laura sought out a Montessori school where her daughter could continue and they found themselves at MCMS. This will be Laura’s 17th year here at MCMS. |
 Director of Education and Admissions Meghan has been with MCMS since 1993, first as a Primary Guide and now in Administration. She attended Macalester College in St. Paul, MN where she graduated with a degree in Studio Art. She received her Primary Montessori diploma from the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota in 1991. After teaching for several years in Minnesota, Meghan moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and was fortunate enough to discover MCMS! She lives in Baraboo and enjoys the beauty of this part of the state. |
 Director of Development Tracy joined the MCMS community in 2009 as Director of Development and is excited to continue in this newly-expanded role for the 2010-2011 school year! She obtained her AMI elementary training while working at a private Montessori school in Milwaukee. Her knowledge of and passion for Montessori education combined with her strong technology and organizational skills are a great asset to the Development position. Prior to finding Montessori education, Tracy attended UW-Madison, receiving her BA in Psychology and Social Welfare. |
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| Photos courtesy of Amy Jester Photography | |