Pincushion Hill Montessori School

2009-2010 Faculty

DIRECTORS
	Christine Kovago is the Director of Pincushion Hill Montessori School, now celebrating her 30th year of devotion to the school. She began her career at Pincushion in 1978 after completing a BA in Early Childhood Education with a triple minor in Elementary Education (grades 1-6), Art History, and Special Education from Worcester State College. She did extensive studies of fine art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Worcester Art Museum. She also received her LPN certification from the St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing in Worcester. She worked at St. Vincent Hospital in the Trauma Ward and at Worcester City Hospital in the Geriatric Unit. Christine received her Montessori training at Boston College in 1979. She was in the first graduating class of the New England Montessori Teacher Education Center here in Massachusetts, and she taught for 14 years at Pincushion both in the Children’s House (ages 3-6) and Elementary (ages 6-9) classrooms before becoming the Director of the school. She has served as the Director for 16 years. Her hobbies include life-long learning, reading, gardening, snorkeling, walking, practicing yoga and meditation, and world traveling. She looks forward to many more successful, happy and prosperous years here at Pincushion!
	Agoston (Gus) Kovago has been with Pincushion Hill since 1993. He and his family came to South Grafton, MA in 1956, after escaping the Hungarian Revolution. He attended Quinsigamond and Worcester State Colleges, earning a BA in Business. He ran a retail gifts and home decor business with his father from 1964-1984. He currently serves as Pincushion’s Co-director. His passions include photography, travel, biking and snorkeling.
OFFICE TEAM

	Lisa is Pincushion Hill's Business Manager. She attended Northeastern University, majoring in Accounting. Previously, she worked in the insurance industry and for a law firm. She has two daughters. In her spare time, she enjoys sports and reading. She loves the Red Sox!
	Michelle Cowell graduated from Framingham Sate College with a B.A. in Psychology and Elementary Education. She has begun working towards her Master's degree in Special Education. Michelle has worked for 15 years in various social work fields including working with homeless teenage mothers, supporting adults with developmental disabilities, and managing a residential program for adults with mental illness. Michelle gained teaching experience working at a residential school for adolescent females with mental illness. Michelle enjoys spending time with her family, reading, the ocean and working in the garden.
	Valerie Winters is Pincushion Hill’s office assistant and after school program coordinator. She attended UMass-Boston, majoring in English. She comes from Westgate Christian Academy where she was the after school program director and a preschool teacher. In her spare time, she hangs out with her dog, Toto, and crafts in some form—quilting, crocheting, embroidering, scrapbooking—writes, or cooks and bakes.
UPSTAIRS CHILDREN’S HOUSE TEAM
	Hiral has completed her training for AMS certification from New England Montessori Teacher Education Center. She received her masters in Mathematics from M.S. University, Baroda. She taught Math and Computer for 3 years in India in Central Board School from grades 1-9 and has been working in Montessori classrooms since 2003 in Massachusetts. She attended many workshops at AMS conferences and has also taken training in Redirecting Children’s Behavior. She considers herself fortunate to have the opportunity to satisfy children’s curiosity and thirst of knowledge and help them learn. She has her Masters in Indian Classical Music from Akhil Gandharva University, Bombay and has training in Yoga. She enjoys contributing her skills and knowledge in the classroom and working with “little wonders.”
	Linda worked in the Wellesley Community Children’s Center for ten years. She has authored a guide for teachers called "Creating a Classroom of Enthusiastic Authors: Interactive Writing in Kindergarten" in 2004 and also authored a booklet for parents called "It’s Not Just Fun and Games: The Vital Role of Play in Children’s Learning" in 2001. She completed her Montessori training in the summer of 2007 at the New England Montessori Teacher Education Center (NEMTEC). Linda enjoys taking day trips to investigate areas of New England, downhill skiing, and writing, especially educational guides, short stories, and children's stories.
	Stephanie received her BS in Psychology in December 2004 from Worcester State College. She is also working towards a Masters of Education at Assumption College in Worcester. Stephanie has many years of experience working with children of all ages in the classroom and in the administration field. She is married with two children and enjoys pilates, yoga, outdoors, shopping and community volunteering. Her youngest attends Pincushion Hill Montessori School.
DOWNSTAIRS CHILDREN’S HOUSE TEAM
	Anju Ramakrishnan’s educational background is a bachelors degree in commerce and accounting, and a masters degree (MBA) in management. She has tutored elementary school students on math, English and Hindi. In the weekends she regularly volunteered at a Christian school for mentally challenged orphan children, which she continued till she came to the United States. She has always been interested in teaching children, which was amplified after the birth of her daughter. She was an assistant teacher, before relocating to Massachusetts. She is in the process of getting her Montessori (NEMTEC) certification. She can speak 4 languages: English, Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil. She underwent 10 years of training in Indian classical music on the violin. She also loves Indian and fusion Cooking.
	Laura Strauss graduated with a B.A. degree in Psychology and an Elementary Education Certification from UMass Dartmouth. She also earned a M.Ed. in counseling from Northeastern University. When her first son became a Montessori student at age 3, she decided to train at the MECA-Seton Montessori training program in Hinsdale, IL. Laura has taught in both public Kindergarten and Pre-primary Montessori schools. Some of her interests outside of school are painting, participating in a book club and tennis.
	Lauren earned her Massachusetts Elementary Education certification in 2000 from Regis College in Weston. She also attended Simmons College in Boston, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. In addition, she has completed graduate courses at Framingham State College along with a semester of EMI-Empowering Multicultural Initiatives - a teaching course developed by METCO to counter racism. Most recently, Lauren attended the Rising Stars Early Childhood 3-6 Overview, a program offered to teachers through the Northeast Montessori Institute. She completed her Montessori training in the summer of 2007 at the New England Montessori Teacher Education Center (NEMTEC). For several years she worked at the Loker Elementary School in Wayland servicing students within a wide range of ages and learning abilities from grade 1 through grade 5. Prior to entering the field of education, Lauren was at home full-time raising her four children.
MAIN FLOOR CHILDREN’S HOUSE TEAM
	Priya has been associated in the field of education for almost four years. After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in commerce in India, Priya worked with under privileged children. Pryia returned to school to complete a one-year course in early childhood education. She moved to the United States 2 years ago. Teaching at Pincushion has been wonderful and very enriching and she is enjoying every bit of it.
	Wei Stanten became interested in Montessori education after enrolling her children in Montessori school. Although she taught Mandarin Chinese during her college years, after ten years of being in the travel industry and the birth of her two daughters, she rediscovered her passion for being a teacher. She has been teaching Mandarin Chinese in a variety of capacities for the past several years. Being a Montessori teacher is like a "calling" for her; something she is meant to be. She completed her Montessori training and is in the process of getting her Montessori certification (3-6) from New England Montessori Teacher Education Center. Wei completed her teaching internship at the Oak Meadow Montessori School in Littleton. She is particularly excited to be joining the Pincushion Hill Montessori school community along with her youngest daughter this fall. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and music. She also loves to explore the world with an inquisitive mind and to ponder the wonder of Nature. Wei graduated from Salem State College with a B.S in Geography and minor in business.
ELEMENTARY TEAM
	Nancy has been the Elementary Science Specialist at Pincushion since 2001. Nancy has been fascinated by the wonders of the natural world since childhood and loves to share her enthusiasm with children of all ages. She has her B.S. in Biology from Tufts University and M.S. from Ohio State. She graduated from the Teacher Certification program at Wellesley College and she has her Massachusetts teacher certification.
	Connie is currently attending A.M.I (Association Montessori International) training center of Connecticut to complete her 6-9 training. She has been teaching for over ten years. She holds a B.S. degree from Simmons College and an A.S. degree from Middlesex Community College. She taught grades 2-6 as a lead teacher and then took some time off to home school her daughter who was having difficulty in high school. Before returning to the classroom, Connie decided to explore her other passion – payroll. After receiving a certificate from Northeastern University, Connie worked as a payroll supervisor for 3 years. The calling to return to teaching was too great and Connie accepted a lead teacher position in an after school program. Connie has been working as an Assistant Teacher in a Montessori environment for the past two years. During this time, she has completed the 3-6 and 6-9 overviews and plans to continue her Montessori Elementary training this summer. Connie likes to spend her free time reading, singing, and playing with her beautiful grandchildren.
SPECIALISTS
	Kristen attended the State University of New York College at Fredonia and received a BA in Spanish Language and Literature. She also attended the University of Barcelona, Spain. Prior to Pincushion, Kristen taught Spanish in the New Haven, CT school district and worked in an after school program in the Boston Public School District. Kristen enjoys spending her free time with her husband, shopping, traveling, and practicing yoga.
	Amy received her bachelor of science in Music Education for Rhode Island College. There she was active in the music department as a member of the RIC Choir, Chamber Singers, Women's Chorus, and Opera Workshop. She maintains her musicianship as the choral director of both the adult and children's choruses of St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church in Blackstone, Massachusetts, and is a member of the Rhode Island based a capella group "Will Sing For Food." Amy plans on attaining her Gordon Institute of Music Learning certification this summer, and currently holds both her Rhode Island and Massachusetts teaching certification for music K-12. Amy's passion for music is only met by her passion for teaching and watching her students flourish as young musicians. Amy also finds pleasure in reading, cooking, baking, and spending time with her family.
	Suzie has been the Art Specialist at Pincushion since 1998. She developed her own art studio in 1988, and has many years of experience as an elementary art teacher. She has an MA from Texas Woman's University and a BS from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She has also done work in post graduate design at Temple University.
	Tracy went to the Community College of Rhode Island where she studied liberal arts from 1983-1985, then transferred to Rhode Island College where she studied physical education from 1985-1988. During her college years she played both basketball and softball. She graduated but never received her teaching certificate from the State of Rhode Island due to a speech impedement. Tracy became a lifeguard, swim instructor and assistant aquatics director for a YMCA in Rhode Island. She has always stayed active by playing basketball, soccer and softball. In March, 2002, she began a new adventure of owning her own company by the name of Itty Biddy Sports. This program offers various sports instruction to children 2-6 years of age. From September 2003 through June 2004, she instructed physical education and taught health to children at Father Holland Catholic Regional School in Rhode Island. She enjoys instructing physical education to the students of Pincushion Hill Montessori School. Further, Tracy is the head teacher for a daycare in Millbury, MA since August 2003. She has become E.E.C. certified through this opportunity.
SUPPORT TEACHERS & AFTERSCHOOL TEAM
	Kristen attended the State University of New York College at Fredonia and received a BA in Spanish Language and Literature. She also attended the University of Barcelona, Spain. Prior to Pincushion, Kristen taught Spanish in the New Haven, CT school district and worked in an after school program in the Boston Public School District. Kristen enjoys spending her free time with her husband, shopping, traveling, and practicing yoga.
	Kayla attended Framingham State College and received a BS in Elementary Education. Prior to Pincushion, Kayla worked as a Special Education Assistant and Summer School teacher in Lexington, MA. Kayla loves watching the Boston Red Sox and spending her free time with family and friends
	Cory Lane Anderson is excited to be the new support teacher and intern at Pincushion. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from UMass Amherst and is completing her Montessori training at Northeast Montessori Institute. In her spare time, Cory continues to study dance, choreographs for and performs with local theatre and opera companies. She also enjoys traveling and photography. She looks forward to bringing these interests into the classroom.
	Sara Pullen graduated Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia with a major in Marine Biology and a minor in Environmental Science. She has worked for a number of marine and environmental related non-profit organizations, where she became passionate for teaching children about the wonders of our natural environment. She recently completed a Masters of Science in Education at Simmons College and has just begun her Montessori training at the New England Montessori Teacher Education Center (NEMTEC). Outside of her studies and work, Sara enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, photography, and making jewelry.