Head of School - Amy - she/her/hers
Amy has spent sixteen years working in Montessori education and was a Montessori child until the age of eight. During college, she realized an intention to work with children in an alternative pedagogy. At this point, Montessori re-entered Amy’s life, and she began working as a Primary assistant in a Denver-area Montessori school. In 2003, she received her AMI Primary diploma from the Montessori Institute of San Diego, where she started and directed a new demonstration classroom for the teacher training program. She has a wide variety of experience working in Montessori as a classroom guide, an administrator and as a Positive Discipline™ consultant. Amy lives in Golden and enjoys practicing yoga, mountain biking, camping and spending time outdoors with her family.
Director of Community Integration & YCC Guide - Claire - she/her/hers
Mrs. Claire grew up as the middle child with an older and younger sister in a military family. Her early life experiences consisting of admiring her older sibling and having the opportunity to mentor her younger sister. The experience of living and traveling to many places as part of a military family gave her the strong belief that experiencing diversity is foundational for building empathy.
While studying early childhood development Mrs. Claire was introduced to Montessori and felt inspired. In 2007 Mrs. Claire moved her family to Denver Colorado to pursue the AMI Assistant to Infancy training. After completing this training she opened a toddler community and then stayed home raising her two youngest children, running an in home Montessori environment for several children, and serving on a Montessori charter school board. In 2014 she had the privilege of joining a team united in the dream of building a learning community with the core values of AMI Montessori, diversity and community partnership; Great Work Montessori School. In her time here she has developed and guided parent-infant classes, led grassroots campaigns, opened a Young Children’s Community and Nido environment, and organizes Community and Family Partnerships.
Outside of school you can find Claire enjoying delicious food, running, skiing, or curled up with a good book with her 3 children!
Dean of Students - Nick - he/him/his
Nick grew up in Grapevine, Texas with his twin brother, indulging in childhood passions around drawing, the outdoors, animals, and music. He studied creative writing in college before beginning his Montessori journey as an assistant in a primary classroom. In 2013, Nick moved to Colorado and managed to complete his Elementary Montessori training in Boulder despite (or perhaps thanks to) the allure of mountains, sunshine, and snow. Through classroom and whole-school experience, he has developed a professional focus on restorative discipline practices and institutional social justice. He believes the key to learning is a community in which every voice has value and every person a purpose, a principle that guides his work as both a teacher and a pupil. His intention is to support children and adults in exercising the intention to see themselves in one another as a part of a diverse but connected humanity. Nick likes to spend his leisure time rock climbing, trail running, and cooking. He lives in Denver with his partner, Sophie, and their two dogs. When not in Denver, they can usually be found camped out in the mountains of Colorado.
Business Manager - Stephanie - she/her/hers
Stephanie Woodward is the Business Manager at Great Work Montessori School. Her involvement in education began in 2004, when she began working in the charter school environment. She has carried out administrative duties from enrollment, aiding in classrooms, website set-up, and licensing to financials and more. Stephanie earned her Psychology degree in 2003 from Metropolitan State College of Denver and then followed up with her Masters Degree in 2013. She is always in support of community and helping others and will do what it takes to get the job done, such as advocating for others. There are a lot of activities she enjoys such as skiing, walking, reading, movies, traveling, spending time with her family and friends and learning new things. Stephanie has been married for 24 years, has one daughter who is 19, and has lived in the mountains of Evergreen for the last 22 years.
Administrator - Beth - she/her/hers
Coming soon.
YCC Guide - Audrey - she/her/hers
Coming soon.
Primary 1 Guide - Shaina - she/her/hers
Shaina is pleased to meet you. She is an AMI Primary and Assistants to Infancy Montessori guide. After growing up in Madrid and Mexico City, she found herself looking for a place where she could continue to speak Spanish, be surrounded by Latino culture, and enjoy the great outdoors. Denver was her home for 15 years, during which she taught in a bilingual class and coached fellow teachers at Denison Montessori. Her family is returning to CO this summer after living in Guatemala City for the past two years and teaching at the American School of Guatemala.
She is thrilled to be returning to Montessori. Working closely with parents and families to develop the whole child is one of her passions. She looks forward to joining the staff at Great Work this year and developing lasting relationships with the school community.
Primary Program Director & Primary 2 Guide - Zareena - she/her/hers
Ms. Zareena grew up in Southern India. As part of her curriculum at Fatima College in Madurai, India, she took courses in Child Development and Early Childhood Education. It was there that Ms. Zareena developed a new passion in the Montessori Method. Upon receiving her Bachelor's degree in Home Science, Ms. Zareena was interested in learning more about child growth and development and pursued a Master's Degree in Human Development at JBAS College in Chennai, India. The grad school experience exposed her to different methods of education and strengthened her passion for the Montessori philosophy of 'educating the whole child'. The Montessori concepts of Independence and Self-Correction fascinated Ms. Zareena. In 2006, Ms. Zareena left India to deepen her knowledge of the Montessori Method. She received her AMI Primary (3 to 6) training from the Washington Montessori Institute and acquired her second Master's in Montessori Education from Loyola University Maryland in 2007. She worked as an AMI guide for 8 years in Maryland and for 3 years in San Diego. She also held positions such as Assistants Training Coordinator and Primary Program Supervisor through the course of her career. Dancing is another passion for Ms. Zareena. She also has a strong interest in traveling and exploring cultures around the world, which often make for great stories to offer the children. Ms. Zareena is excited about her move to Denver and to have become an integral part of the Great Work Montessori community.
Primary 3 Guide - Eric - he/him/his
Coming soon.
Elementary Program Director - Rachel - she/her/hers
Rachel has always been passionate about education and human development. She worked in a variety of educational settings, including Boston Public Schools as an AmeriCorps volunteer and in affordable housing communities as an after school program developer, before becoming a Montessori guide. Rachel holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from George Mason University as well as a Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Loyola University Maryland. She completed her AMI Montessori training at the Washington Montessori Institute in Columbia, Maryland. After working in public and private Montessori schools in the DC area for several years, Rachel moved to Denver where she lives with her husband and stepson. Outside of work, Rachel loves to read, hike, and try out the latest tech gadgets and software.
Elementary 211 Guide - Amanda - she/her/hers
Amanda grew up in the beautiful hills of West Virginia where she began her education in a primary Montessori school. She attended Berea College where she obtained her B.A. in Child and Family Studies with a concentration in Child Development. After college, she spent time abroad as an au pair before returning to Virginia where she came into contact with Montessori again. With a renewed interest in seeking to better understand the Montessori Method, she worked as an assistant in a primary environment. It was only after observing in an Elementary environment that she discovered this was clearly where she was meant to be. Amanda completed the AMI Elementary training at Washington Montessori Institute and received a M.Ed. from Loyola University Maryland in 2011. In addition to a life-long love of Montessori, she also enjoys gardening, baking, hiking, learning to play ukulele, and swing dancing.
Elementary 208 Guide - Kathryn - she/her/hers
Kat considers herself a Coloradan, as she has lived here since age 5 and has no plans to leave! She has many interests and a dynamic work and academic history, although her work has always included children. Kat received her bachelors in Biology and an Elementary teaching license before working with adolescents as a counselor and in education as an ESL teacher. Following her experiences in traditional education, Kat was called to go back to school to receive her elementary Montessori training and masters degree. She completed her elementary training last year in Maryland at the Washington Montessori Institute and is looking forward to working with children in the Montessori environment!
Kat has many interests outside of work, many of which involve food. She loves to cook, grow food, eat, you name it! She also has a passion for traveling and has spent months in South America, India, and Thailand. Her favorite part of Colorado is the mountains, where she frequents the mountain biking trails, campsites, and ski slopes. Kat also recently got a canoe, and loves to get out on the water whenever possible. Overall, Kat has many interests and hopes to utilize them to inspire the children with whom she works.
Elementary 205 Guide - Hannah - she/her/hers
Hannah was born and raised in Michigan where she received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. During her time in traditional elementary classrooms, she noticed a disconnect between developmental psychology research on how children best learn and the practices utilized in traditional elementary classrooms. After experience teaching in a variety of traditional kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms, she decided to pursue Montessori training because she loves the way Montessori is designed to meet the needs of children with a developmental approach. Hannah holds an AMI Elementary Montessori Diploma from the Washington Montessori Institute and a Masters of Education from Loyola University Maryland. In her spare time, she loves reading and learning new things, backpacking, skiing, playing various musical instruments, and cooking.
Elementary 202 Guide - Ann - she/her/hers
Ann Massengill has spent her entire adult life devoted to Montessori Education. After graduating college with a degree in music, she came to Colorado and completed her ECE training at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder. Ann worked as an ECE Montessori educator for many years while raising her 6 children. She began to work as a Lower Elementary guide fifteen years ago and completed her Lower and Upper Elementary training at the same training program. She spent three years in Florida teaching Upper Elementary and then returned to Colorado in 2015 to assume the position of Director at Monarch Montessori in Denver. She has a Masters in Education with a focus on the integration of the arts and loves including the arts in all areas of the classroom.
Ann enjoys the arts outside of school, as well. She is an actor with Jesters Dinner Theater in Longmont and sings with Aster Women’s Chamber Choir in Broomfield. She loves spending time with her husband, Pat, who is also a performer, her two spoiled dogs, and her six grandchildren, who range from college age to brand new!
Ann is very excited to be back in the classroom working with students and welcomes the opportunity to experience the joy and growth that happens in the Upper Elementary classroom as the students complete their second plane of development.