Our Mission
All are welcome at Community Montessori School (CMS), where we celebrate our differences! We embrace diversity, individuality, and community. We welcome students of any race, gender, religion, national or ethnic origin.
We are proud at CMS to have a diverse, international population, with families who come from all around the world. Approximately 30% of our students are bilingual, speaking languages from four different continents. We also have children from a variety of faith backgrounds, and family structures.
The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.
Our Facilities
Classroom
Outside Work Area
Every classroom has a door to the outside with access to an outside work area. In the warmer months children have the option of taking their work outside and working on picnic tables. We also have garden areas where the children plant flowers and vegetables.
School Hall
Playground
Small slide, monkey bars, climbing wall, basketball hoop. Benches for outside lunch. Garden for summer programs.
COmmunity Montessori Faculty
Meet the Team
Our entire family consists of many assistants and countless
family members lending a hand, but below are our head faculty members.
Kate Bender
Head Toddler Directress
& School Founder
Kate obtained her B.S. in education from Miami University in Ohio. She then obtained her Master’s degree in Education, with a concentration in Montessori, from Loyola College in Maryland. Kate obtained her AMI Primary Diploma from the Ohio Montessori Training Institute.
A Montessori child herself, Kate was also the founding directress of CMS when it opened in 1997. After taking a break to stay home with her own children for several years, Kate rejoined CMS as directress of the Oak Room in 2011.
Josie Banda
Head Primary Directress
& Co-Head of School
Josie obtained her B.A. from Xavier University in Ohio. She went on to obtain her Master’s Degree in Education, with an emphasis on Montessori education in early childhood, at the same university.
Josie also completed her American Montessori Society primary teaching credential from Xavier University in Ohio. Josie started working at CMS in 2011 as directress in one of the toddler classrooms. In spring of 2012 she became directress of the Rosewood Room.
Carrie Fontanin
Head Elementary Directress
& Co-Head of School
Carrie obtained her B.A. in History from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. She obtained her AMI Primary Montessori Certification from Ohio Montessori Training Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and taught in a primary Montessori classroom for 5 years in Ohio, Indiana.
She then obtained her AMI Elementary Montessori Certification from the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota (MTCM). She opened our Elementary classroom, the Magnolia Room, in 2004, and has been with us ever since.
