Dr. Charlotte Haynes has been an educator in various capacities for the past forty years. She has served in the capacity of Director/Owner of early childhood programs in Canada, Georgia, Florida, and Maryland. She's worked closely with local and state agencies including the Maryland Department of Education to set learning and accreditation standards. She is also well-versed in zoning, licensing, and interpreting city codes. In her last administrative role, Dr. Haynes managed a large school with 2.2 million dollars in annual revenue. She also served in the capacity of Program Management Coordinator and Professor of Early Childhood Education at Washington Adventist University for eleven years, where she taught Early Childhood Education, assisted the department with program accreditation and mentored teachers.  She currently serves as a Commissioner on the Children, Youth & Family Board for the City of Alexandria. Dr. Haynes owned a licensed education training institute that served more than 3000 early childhood professionals between 1995 and 2020.       

                                                                                                                                          

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Sciences and Early Childhood Education, a Master of Arts degree in Child Care Administration & Child Development & Master of Science degree in Education, and a PhD in Education. 

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Our Montessori Program Director

​Elizabeth Kpenkaan has worked with children from 2-and-a-half to 11 years old, in the states of California, Georgia, and Florida. In her Montessori journey, she has held various positions as Montessori guide, reading coach, curriculum resource teacher, instructional coach, testing coordinator, and as an independent tutor. She was a school principal of a Montessori charter school for 3 years, program director at a Montessori teacher education program (TEP) for a year and had been an adjunct college professor of a graduate-level Montessori program for the past 8 years.

In her passion for and commitment to Montessori education, she has earned an American Montessori Society (AMS) credential in Early Childhood (ages 2.5 to 6 years) and a specialist degree in Montessori Elementary education with an AMS credential in Elementary I-II (ages 6 to 12). In addition, she has a Florida childcare staff credential.  She will also earn a doctorate in curriculum and instruction by 2025. Her doctoral dissertation topic focused on the use of more inclusive approaches in literacy practices of early-childhood Montessori educators.  Outside the education field, she has a master’s degree in business administration and bachelor’s in economics.

She is also a proud mom of two adult sons and a teenager. Her mentoring and coaching practices align with child-centered approaches as echoed by Dr. Montessori’s message that we follow the child. She continues to promote authentic Montessori education through parent and staff collaborations and providing resources that will meet the needs of all our young learners!

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Our Staff

 

Our staff members consist of a group of talented practitioners who either hold Montessori certification or are in training to become Montessori-certified. Classrooms consist of one experienced lead teacher and an assistant. Lead teachers are required to have at least a Bachelor's Degree and 3-5 years of supervised programmatic experience. All staff, regardless of their classification, must hold an active criminal and sex offender background clearance, active Pediatric CPR & First Aid Cert. and complete 24 hours of continuing education annually.

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