Princeton Montessori School
487 Cherry Valley Road | Princeton, New Jersey 08540
609-924-4594 | Email Us
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Faculty | Infant & Toddler
Meet the Infant & Toddler teachers
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When not at school, Vandana enjoys long walks and spending time with her two children. She practices meditation and says it is the key to her daily life.
Vandana received an MBA with specialization in Human Resources and a BS in Environmental Science from St. Joseph’s College of Business Administration, India and holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ. She is a field consultant and an Infant/Toddler instructor for PCTE.
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Melissa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexico and is also a Licensed Certified Nurse Assistant in Pennsylvania. She holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ.
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Delmy generously shares her love of music and cooking in her everyday interactions with the children. She enjoys introducing the children to her native Spanish through song and dance and special classroom materials in Spanish.
In her spare time, Delmy enjoys spending time with her four grown children, relatives, and friends. Frequent trips ‘home’ to Guatemala keep her connected to her extended family.
Delmy studied Montessori Philosophy and Child Development through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ.
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Two of Maris’s three adult children attended the Princeton Montessori school when they were younger. Her nurturing, joyful, and kind disposition is an asset to the team.
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Outside the classroom, she loves spending time with her family, which includes going hiking, visiting new places, and cooking with them. Sandhya has spent 12 years pursuing Bharatnatyam, an Indian classical dance.
Sandhya majored in microbiology at the University of Bombay. She holds a Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential for Infant/Toddler and an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ.
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When not at school, Chiara enjoys exploring what mystery and beauty nature holds by spending time outdoors and camping with her two school-aged children. She loves cooking healthy nutritious food, and also enjoys playing the piano together with her family. Chiara is bilingual and fluent in Italian.
Chiara received her Bachelors in Education with a focus in Child Development from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ. She also holds certification as Holistic Health Counselor.
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She holds an AMI Montessori Diploma(3-6yrs) from the institute de formation Maria Montessori in Geneva, Switzerland.
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In her free time Rebeca loves outside activities, especially hiking and she enjoys cooking. She is very involved with her church, especially the children’s ministry.
Rebecca received her nursing degree in 2014 in Brasil.
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Outside of work, Raphaelle indulges in nature photography and enjoys exploring different cultures through travel. Having lived in France, Burkina Faso, the Netherlands, Canada, and now the USA, she values meeting new people and cherishes gatherings with loved ones.
Raphaelle holds teaching diplomas for elementary and primary education from France, with experience mainly in ages 3 to 8. She also possesses an AMI diploma for ages 3 to 6 from the Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia in Vancouver and is currently undergoing her AMS internship to become a certified infant/toddler teacher.
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Vanita received a BS in Early Childhood Education from City College of New York, and an MS in Education from Bank Street College of Education in NY. She holds an American Montessori Society credential from West Side Montessori Teacher Education Program, NY.
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When not at school Shemi loves to travel around the world and explore new places and countries with her husband and son. She practices sustainable living and truly believes in giving back to nature. She enjoys crafting and yoga. She loves gardening and growing her own fruits and vegetables.
Shemi holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE) and an Early Childhood credential through Christopher Academy, Scotch Plains, NJ. She has a Bachelor Degree in Functional English from Calicut University, Kerala, India and Masters Degree in English from Pondicherry University, India
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In her free time she enjoy reading, cooking, music, relaxing at the beach, and spending time with friends and family.
Mira received a BA in Arts and Education from Egypt and holds a Collins workshop certification for best practices of teaching Math, reading and writing inside the classroom. In 2016 she completed the Cambridge Global Learner training conducted by Cambridge International Examination.
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In her free time, Olena enjoys reading and sports, especially running. She likes to hike and explore the local area with her daughter.
Olena holds a B.A. in Accounting and Audit from the National Academy of Statistics.
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In her free time she likes to garden an to sing.
Oleksandra has many years of experience working in Ukraine.
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Elena enjoys working in the Toddler program because of the amazing, rapid growth that occurs during this period of a child’s life and the unique relationships she is able to form with each child. She brings enthusiasm and energy to the classroom and loves singing and dancing with the children.
In her free time, she enjoys being with her family and friends and taking long walks with her dog. Elena is also a translator for Ukrainian teachers when they come to the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE) to study.
Elena received a BS and an MS in Chemistry from Byelorussian State University, Minsk, Belarus and an MA in Teacher Education from Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Haifa, Israel. She holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ.
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Outside of the classroom, Sanchita is a music enthusiast, dance lover, and avid traveler. She a proud mom of two daughters.
Sanchita holds a B.A. and a B.Ed. from the University of Mumbai, India. She also has ESL Certification.
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Outside of school, Alona is a freelance photographer. In the summer, she enjoys travelling abroad in search of breathtaking pictures, and her work can be found in local restaurants. She also helps with her daughter’s photo collection in raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She also volunteers at SAVE Animal Shelter.
When at home, she enjoys gardening, cooking Italian food, and making Italian desserts.
Alona holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ. She is a PCTE Instructor and Field Consultant and a frequent parent workshop presenter on the topic of Preparing a Montessori Home Environment for the Young Child.
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She enjoys spending time with her family and going to the gym.
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Sue enjoys living a healthy lifestyle and listening to classical music, both of which can be found in her classroom environment. She also loves taking in the beautiful aura one finds in the Princeton area!
Sue received a BS in Business Administration from Alexandria University, Egypt, and holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ.
Sue joined Princeton Montessori School in 2008 and is a conference teacher, PCTE I/T Instructor, and Field Consultant.
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As a family who loves to travel and discover new places, Marcia took full advantage of living in Mexico City and Madrid, Spain to travel to different cities to enrich the experiences for her children. She especially enjoys hiking and biking with her family.
Marcia holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from IPAE, Peru. She holds an Assistant Teacher certification from The Pan American Montessori Society and has completed the Montessori Assistant teacher course, and the Child Development and Montessori Philosophy courses through PCTE. Marcia completed a ESL class at Hunter College, NYC.
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On the weekends, Olga enjoys long walks, and swimming and biking with her husband and two sons. She is also known for raising chickens and gathering their eggs for her family and the community.
Olga received a BA in Special Education from the Universidad los Libertadores in Colombia, South America and holds an American Montessori Society credential in Infant/Toddler through the Princeton Center Teacher Education (PCTE), NJ.
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Shomaila has three young daughters and outside of school, she loves to travel, bake, go for long walks and enjoying time with her family.
Shomaila holds a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Karachi University, and an AMI Montessori Primary and Toddler Training Diploma.