Faculty and Staff

Toddler Program

 

Aarthy Anbarasan

Toddler Lead Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
aanbarasan@shrewsburymontessori.org

Unable to ignore her curiosity for human development, even though Mrs. Anbarasan started her academic training in science, she later changed career paths to pursue a Maters degree studying sociology. Upon arriving in the U.S., she discovered the magic of the Montessori and her favorite age range, the toddlers. She is an experienced Montessori Toddler Lead Teacher who is skilled at setting up a nurturing environment to guide children to uncover and take ownership for their innate independence and creativity from early on in their educational careers. SMS is incredibly fortunately to be able to obtain Mrs. Anbarasan as our founding Toddler Lead Teacher to start the school’s Toddler program. Apart from working with children, Mrs. Anbarasan enjoys cooking, spending time with her family, and caring for her collection of indoor plants. Mrs. Anbarasan has a AMI A to I (birth to 3 year old) Certification from Montessori Training Center Northeast (CT), a Master of Arts in Sociology from Annamalai University (India), and a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Fashion Technology from Reach Institute of Fashion and Information Technology (India).

Patricia Braunegg

Bilingual Assistant Toddler Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
pbraunegg@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Braunegg received a B.A. in Romance Languages from Boston College, an M.A. in Teaching from Tufts University, and spent a year studying in Nantes, France. After teaching French at the high school level for many years, she happily discovered Montessori, and is currently working towards her Infant-Toddler certification through Cambridge Montessori Institute.  She is delighted to be part of SMS’ Toddler team.  In her free time, Mrs. Braunegg loves spending time with her family, practicing yoga, singing, and being outdoors.

Children’s House

 

Brenda Alfreds

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
balfreds@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Alfreds has 20 years of experience as an Assistant Teacher guiding children through the Montessori Method of learning at the Shrewsbury Campus. Brenda assists in all areas of the classroom and helps make a happy, healthy, and safe environment for the children to learn. Her hope is that all children have the opportunity to learn in a supportive environment!

Kathy Falcucci

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Auburn Campus
kfalcucci@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Falcucci joined the SMS team in September of 1997. She has an associate degree from Newbury Junior College of Business. Kathy holds a Preschool Teacher certificate through the MA Department of Early Education and Care. She has worked in Children’s House since her start in 1997. Before coming to SMS, Kathy was a stay at home mom raising her three boys. In her spare time, she likes visiting wineries and spending time at North Beach in NH.

Kathy Finn

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
kfinn@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Finn attained her Montessori Children’s House (3-6) credential through the AMS certified New England Montessori Teacher Education Center. Kathleen holds her Director I and Lead Teacher certificate through the MA Department of Early Education and Care. Mrs. Finn has worked in the MetroWest area as a Montessori Lead Teacher and Director for over 20 years. She loves working with children as “they are full of possibilities!”.

Sonika Gupta

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
sgupta@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Gupta has over 20 years of experience working with children as an educational support professional. She has a Master’s degree in Human Development and holds her Lead Toddler/Preschool Teacher Certificate through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. She loves going on long walks, listening to music and cooking Indian cuisine

Lauren Kennedy

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
lkennedy@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Kennedy has twelve years of experience as a Montessori Assistant and Children’s House Lead Teacher. She is certified through North American Montessori Center. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Rehabilitation Services with a Concentration in Gerontology. Her mother, Mrs. Michalak, worked at SMS for more than thirty five years and her two children are SMS alumni. Mrs. Kennedy loves teaching and helping each child to be successful and lifelong learners. She enjoys going to baseball games and vacationing on Cape Cod with her family and three dogs.

Jeannie Korona-Treveloni

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
jtreveloni@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Treveloni has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Framingham State College. She earned her Montessori Children’s House (3-6) credential through the AMS certified New England Montessori Teacher Education Center and holds her Lead Teacher certificate through the MA Department of Early Education and Care. She has worked in the Metro West area as a Montessori Lead Teacher for over 19 years. Ms. Treveloni works to uncover each child’s full potential.

Christine Manzi

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
cmanzi@shrewsburymontessori.org

After completing her internship at SMS in May 2012, Christine was offered a Lead Teacher position in the Children’s House program level. She received her AMS certification through the New England Montessori Training Center in Newton, MA and has been approved by EEC as a Preschool Lead Teacher. Christine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Nichols College. She is the mother of two Montessori children, enjoys good pizza, and plays sandpit volleyball.

Shloka Shroff

Children’s House Teacher
Auburn Campus
sshroff@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Shroff joined SMS as a Children’s House lead in September 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Early Childhood Education from the University of Mumbai, India. Shloka holds her Director I and Preschool Lead Teacher certificate through the MA Department of Early Education and Care. She also holds her 3-6 Montessori teaching certification from the Center for Montessori Education in NY. Mrs. Shroff has taught in various capacities over the last 18 years. She also ran a home-based daycare when she lived in Buffalo, NY. In her downtime, Mrs. Shroff enjoys spending quality time with her family, traveling, listening to music, and gardening.

Debra Shupe

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
dshupe@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Shupe grew up in northern New York and received her Bachelor of Arts in Early Education from SUNY-Potsdam and a Master of Science in Deaf Education from the State University of New York-Geneseo. She attained her Montessori Infant, Toddler, and Children’s House (0-6) certification through the St. Nicholas School in London, England. Mrs. Shupe loves to incorporate nature into the daily curriculum of Montessori education through gardening and observation as a means to tap into all the five senses. Mrs. Shupe enjoys skiing, riding horses, biking, and traveling.

Kiera Valentine

Children’s House AssistantTeacher
Shrewsbury Campus
kvalentine@shrewsburymontessori.org

From her experience taking care of her sister born with Autism from nine years and on, Ms. Valentine recognized her passion to work with children. As a result, she pursued her studies in Early Childhood Education with a special focus on special needs children. For her first job out of college, she took a job working with high risk children and families. Three years ago, she had the experience fostering two children. Professionally, she has broadened her experiences working with children in a number of Early Childhood institutions in the past seven years in capacities such as a Toddler Lead Teacher and Preschool Lead Teacher. Her experience with children allows her to recognize the value of Montessori education and motivated her to join the SMS community. Ms. Valentines earned an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Rasmussen College (FL).

Lower Elementary

 

Christine Abysalh

Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
cabysalh@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Abysalh joined the SMS community as a Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher in September 1999. Previously, she had volunteered in Holden Public Schools and worked for Shrewsbury Public Schools in the Special Education Department as a Child Specific Aid. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and traveling to the sandy beaches of Maine.

 

Krista Maynard

Lower Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
kmaynard@shrewsburymontessori.org

Miss Maynard began her career at SMS in 2011. After working as a Lower Elementary Assistant and finding a passion for the Montessori philosophy, she pursued her Montessori certification. She completed her training in Elementary I (6-9) in 2015 from the AMS certified Montessori Education Teacher Training Collaborative and has enjoyed being a Lower Elementary Lead Teacher ever since. Krista graduated from Salve Regina University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business Administration and furthered her schooling in Elementary Education at Worcester State University. We are fortunate to also have Miss Maynard help chaperone the 6th Year students on the Bahamas trip for four years. In her free time, she loves cheering on all Boston sports teams.

Giovanna Pritsoulis

Lower Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
gpritsoulis@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Pritsoulis is originally from Lima, Peru and has been living in the United States for the last 20 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and a Master’s in Human Resources. Giovanna is a certified Montessori Children’s House and Lower Elementary teacher with 17 years of experience in New Jersey. In addition, she built a successful World Language Department focusing on Spanish at her prior school where she taught and oversaw the program for all students from Children’s House to Upper Elementary.  She recently moved to Massachusetts to be close to family. Mrs. Pritsoulis enjoys traveling, dancing, and trying new and healthy cooking recipes.

Susan Sabacinski

Lower Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
ssabacinski@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Sabacinski began her Montessori journey in September 1986 as an assistant teacher at the Children’s House of Auburn. She began as a Lead Teacher at SMS in Lower Elementary in 1997. She attended Mass College of Art and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Worcester State University. In addition, she holds her 6-9 Montessori teaching certification from Seacoast Center. Mrs. Sabacinski is the proud parent of three and her youngest is an SMS graduate. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, knitting, and spending as much time as possible with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

 

Erita Smith

Lower Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
esmith@shrewsburymontessori.org

Grew up in an international family of an American father and an Indonesian mother, Ms. Smith describes herself as a “third culture child” who is multi-national and multi-lingual. Inspired to teach in ways that can enable herself to truly follow the child, she has sought out experiences working in a number of progressive schools that pride themselves in project-based pod style learning. For the past three years, she led her own classroom at SPH International School in Jakarta, Indonesia. With families in MA, she looks forward to coming home. In addition to be excited to undergoing her Montessori training at Lexington Montessori this and next summer, Erita is well versed in the International Baccalaureate and British Cambridge curricula. She looking forward to integrate all her experiences to become a new age Montessorian. Ms. Smith is earning her AMS Elementary I Certification at the METTC Center (MA). She has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from University of Wisconsin-Parkside (WI).

 

Emilee Spampinato

Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
espampinato@shrewsburymontessori.org

Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education, Emilee is excited to join SMS as a Lower Elementary Assistant to start her teaching career. To become a teacher owning her classroom has been a dream Emilie single-heartedly pursued and she has gathered experiences along the way. She worked with early childhood education at Wonder Years Learning Center for sevens prior to joining SMS. She is eager to meet her students and learn more about Montessori this school year.

Upper Elementary

 

Talia Harris

Upper Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
tharris@shrewsburymontessori.org

Having attended Montessori schools from first to sixth grade, Mrs. Harris intimately understands the deep impact a Montessori education can have on a child or life. Steamed from her desire to truly see and meet students’ needs, she devoted her career to working with students with special needs for the past decade. Mrs. Harris is no stranger to independent schools and culture either, as she served as the Lead Teacher at Manville School in Boston whose mission is centered around helping students with learning differences for six years. “Following the child” is her educational mantra, and she is excited to contribute her skills and experiences to her SMS classroom as a Montessori teacher. She looks forward to receiving Montessori training and deepening her experience at SMS. Her favorite subject to teach is science and enjoys hiking in the mountains, spending time with her family and friends, as well as baking and cooking. She has a Master of Science in Integrated Elementary and Special Education from Wheelock College (MA), and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Hartwick College (NY).

Beth McGillicuddy

Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
bmcgillicuddy@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. McGillicuddy started working at SMS as an Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher in 2006.  She has completed the Intro to Montessori and 3-6 Overview at the Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative.  Mrs. McGillicuddy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Affairs from Assumption College. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, going to the beach, and is an avid Red Sox and Patriots fan.

Michelle Meyer

Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
mmeyer@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Meyer has joined SMS having served as a technology and digital arts instructor with Empow Studios, often spending her summers leading local area camps. Recently, she also worked as an assistant in Shrewsbury Public and Worcester schools. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from Ithaca College. She loves creative arts, performing, travel, and spending time in her garden

Judith Regan

Upper Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
jmregan@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Regan joined SMS in September 1998. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Regis College. Prior to becoming an Upper Elementary Lead teacher in 2001, she spent two years as an Upper Elementary assistant and one year as a Children’s House teacher. She has Montessori certification for ages 0-6 from London Montessori Centre and Montessori Elementary I and II certification from Seacoast Center. Mrs. Regan enjoys spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, reading, and vacationing at Martha’s Vineyard.

Co-Curricular Teachers

 

Grace Coberly

Music Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
gcoberly@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mx. Coberly is thrilled to be joining the SMS team as the Shrewsbury Campus music teacher. Raised in a musical family, they have always believed that music is the key to forming strong communities. They completed a double major in Music and Linguistics at Haverford College, where they wrote two senior theses on children’s music socialization. An experienced singer and composer, Mx. Coberly studied chorale conducting at the Eastman School of Music and also in Milan, Italy. They play ukulele and melodica and are learning piano and guitar. Mx. Coberly has a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Linguistics from Haverford College (PA).

Kristin Combs

Art and Gardening Teacher
All Campuses
kcombs@shrewsburymontessori.org

Kristin Combs graduated from Connecticut College with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Studio Art. She has taught both art and academic subjects to preschool through ninth grade children for more than 20 years. She joined the SMS community as a parent in 2011 and as a teacher in 2012. Before becoming the Art and Gardening teacher in 2018, she has worked in several roles at SMS, including Music assistant, Children’s House trainee, and occasional substitute. She is the parent of one SMS alumna and one current Upper Elementary student. Outside of school, Mrs. Combs enjoys knitting, gardening, house renovation projects, and watching her children’s sports and music activities.

Cindy Erle

Librarian
Shrewsbury Campus
cerle@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Erle joined the teaching staff at SMS in 2018. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern University, Masters of Education, Elementary 1-6, from Anna Maria College, and a Masters of Education, Library K-12, from Cambridge College. Mrs. Erle taught fifth and sixth grades and served as librarian at Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury before moving on to the Nashoba Regional district as a school librarian in elementary and middle school. She retired from teaching in the public sector after 22 years. Of course, she loves to read in her spare time, but she also enjoys spending time with her family, weaving, rug hooking, scrapbooking, and all crafts.

Mark Kobel

Technology Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
mkobel@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mr. Kobel joins Shrewsbury Montessori School after teaching Technology/Engineering for 36 years. He received his bachelor and master degrees from Fitchburg State University and a STEM certification from UMass Boston. He has taught T/E classes including digital photography, digital video production, vex robotics, graphic arts, auto maintenance, woodworking, drafting, 3D computer modeling, and 3D printing all with a focus on helping students to develop skills for solving real-world problems. When not at SMS he enjoys music, gardening, photography, home maintenance projects, and playing guitar.

Kaye Glass

Music Teacher
Auburn Campus
kglass@shrewsburymontessori.org

“Kookie” began sharing music with Shrewsbury Montessori children in the fall of 1981 as an outreach program specialist for the Performing Arts School of Worcester at the Auburn campus as well as the Shrewsbury facilities. She has developed and led music workshops and contributed to programs for all ages at numerous locations in the US as well as in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Since 2014 she has been contracted with the Girl Scouts of America as a National Volunteer Partner, assigned as a Music Coordinator for GSUSA National Conventions. Since April 2020, she has contributed to music program design and presented at several World Association for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts “zoom” events for adults and girls all over the world. Kookie is a stained glass crafter, woodcarver, a reader and loves to travel. She is a composer, plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, autoharp and recorders and loves to share the fun of music wherever she goes.

Aurélia Layec

World Language Teacher, French
All Campuses
alayec@shrewsburymontessori.org

Grew up as a native Parisian, Mrs. Layec had a passion for education. She started her educational career teaching elementary and middle school students for five years in the French education system.  Upon moving to the U.S. in 2010, for seven years, she served as a Second Grade Lead Teacher in a premier French dual immersion school in Salt Lake City in Utah, created an immersion curriculum to teach American children core subjects in French. Since moving to MA in 2018, she taught French language lessons in private settings. Mrs. Layec is excited to join the SMS community to share her passion for the French language and culture with students. In her spare time, Mrs. Layec enjoys sewing, hiking and traveling. Mrs. Layec has a Masters of Science in Sciences and Techniques of Physical and Sports activities (STPS) from University Montpellier I (France). She has a Bachelor of Science in STPS from University Paris Lacretelle Paris V (France).

Support Staff

 

Jenna Bird

School Nurse
Shrewsbury Campus
jbird@shrewsburymontessori.org

Bringing with her a wealth of experience, Ms. Jenna Bird has gained the majority of her experience as an Emergency Room nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital. Ms. Bird graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2017, and is currently studying to achieve her DNP- FNP degree at UMass Amherst. In her free time, she loves to read, walk her dog, Lucy, travel, and take Orange Theory classes. Due to her love for children, she applied to the School Nurse position at SMS. She looks forward to meeting and getting to know all the students and families.

Kyra Delano

Administrative Assistant
Shrewsbury Campus
kdelano@shrewsburymontessori.org

Kyra grew up in western New York where she graduated from SUNY Fredonia with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She is a classically trained clarinetist, playing since age 10. She is an avid reader and loves the theater. At home, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé and spoiling her two dogs, five cats, and the quaker parrot.”

Nick French

Administrative Coordinator
Shrewsbury Campus
nfrench@shrewsburymontessori.org

Nick French grew up in Central Mass, and graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in Business Management. Nick is taking on the role as the Administrative Coordinator to manage the school’s information databases, implement marketing initiatives, coordinate events, and fill in to support the administrative team when and where necessary. During his free time, Nick likes to go rock climbing, snowboard at Wachusett Mountain, and spend time with his two French bulldogs Tucker and Izzy.