Salem Montessori Staff
Administration
Patrick Velde
Head of School
Catherine Greene
Associate Head of School/Director of SMS Preschool & Diversity
Julie Smith
Director of Education & Strategy
Patrick Valde - Head of School
Patrick has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from UNC Chapel Hill, a Masters in Teaching from Western Carolina, a Graduate Certificate in School Leadership from Appalachian State, and he is Montessori Trained with Secondary I and II Licensure from the Cincinnati Montessori Teacher Education Program. Most recently, Patrick has served as an Assistant Principal in the WSFCS system.
Patrick has extensive experience working in Montessori programs at the middle school level, and he is delighted to be returning to a Montessori setting after several years working in non-Montessori institutions. Patrick believes the Montessori approach provides the space for a student to develop a genuine appreciation for learning and the skills that will allow them to thrive in a variety of settings. The holistic nature of the method, the respect afforded to students, the development of invaluable skills along with acquisition of content, and the embrace of the natural world are just a small bit of what has continually brought him back to this as the most effective means of working with students.
Catherine Greene - Assistant Head of School/Director of SMS Preschool & Director of Diversity
Catherine began teaching at Salem Montessori School in 2012, although she first came to SMS in 2009 as a parent with two children enrolled. As a parent she joined the Mindful Parenting class and felt transformed as a parent. Learning more about Montessori’s respectful approach toward young children and the grace and courtesy modeled, she was inspired to teach in the younger toddler classroom in 2012 and completed her Montessori Infant Toddler training in 2015. Catherine is honored to spend time with young children, creating joy in learning, laying the foundation for respect of self and others and working with parents as partners in their children’s education. Prior to starting at Salem Montessori, Catherine worked for almost 20 years as a massage therapist and yoga teacher. In 2018, Catherine paused her career as a massage therapist and yoga instructor to assume the role of Assistant Head of School at SMS and continue as a lead Toddler teacher. Catherine has called Winston Salem home for most of her life and is an active member of Home Moravian Church. She relishes time with her family, loves reading, dancing, singing, traveling and spending time in nature.
Catherine graduated from Davidson College with a degree in Political Science and a concentration in Gender Studies. In 2020, Catherine completed her Masters of Education with a focus on Montessori and multicultural, non-bias education from St. Catherine University.
Julie Smith - Director of Education & Strategy
Julie began Salem Montessori with a few other families in the basement of her home in the fall of 2000. She wanted to offer a Montessori setting that was intimate and was family-oriented. It began with 8 students and each parent became familiar with the Godly Play curriculum and assisted with the teaching. Having a way to touch the spiritual life of each child was an important part of the program.
After two years a group of people met to consider the possibility of expanding the school and moving it to a new location. Karen Wilson was willing to play the lead and the school moved to Highland Presbyterian. Julie served on the board for 7 years and once the school moved to Home Moravian, taught in the 3-6 year old classroom for 4 years. At this time she also wrote and taught classes for parents. She is grateful to be serving as Head of School.
Julie has been involved with Montessori for 40 years. She attended Furman University, receiving a degree in early childhood education. Upon graduating she moved immediately to Boston and received her American Montessori Certification. Subsequently she earned a masters in counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has worked in 5 different Montessori schools and in a variety of roles and has been a consultant to many other Montessori schools. Additionally she taught at Summit School for 3 years and served as the director of lower school and parent learning for 8 years.
Montessori captured Julie’s heart in high school. The deep respect adults show to children and the peaceful, orderly nature of the classroom seemed magical. This philosophy allows children to reach inside themselves and find their unique potential. Julie’s dream is that these children will help to transform the world.
Julie loves to read, cook, entertain and travel. She enjoys doing yoga and taking long walks. She loves above all, spending time with her husband and three grown children.
Toddler
Amy Peterson
Toddler Teacher
Andra McCune
Toddler Teaching Assistant
Rachel Dyer
Toddler Classroom Assistant
Claudia Paden
Toddler Classroom Assistant
Betty Hastings
Toddler Teacher and Technology/Design Coordinator
Miho Kurosawa
Toddler Teaching Assistant
Katie Brackney
Toddler Classroom Assistant
Amy Peterson | Toddler Teacher
Amy has her AMS Infant & Toddler Credential from The Montgomery Montessori Institute in Maryland, a completed Resources for Infant Educarers (RIE) Foundations Class at the LA RIE Center and Inner Life of the Child in Nature Program from the Center for Education, Imagination and the Natural World. She has a BS in Textile Technology with a concentration in design from NCSU.
After working in textiles for several years, Amy longed for what she felt was a more meaningful career and found a match in Montessori. She believes in the Montessori approach, appreciates its deep respect for children, and ultimately wants to help them reach their highest potential. She particularly loves being outdoors and helping children connect with the natural world and is grateful to be partnering with parents in their children's education.
Amy loves spending as much time as possible outdoors with her husband and two dogs, reading and working in her yard.
Andra McCune | Toddler Teaching Assistant
Andra is currently working towards a degree in Family and Consumer Science at Appalachian State.
While her daughter was attending Salem Montessori, she fell in love with the calming and peaceful atmosphere she saw in the classroom, the teacher working as a guide alongside the child, modeling respect and gentle warmth toward all the children. She came home with respect for herself, persistence in learning and confidence in navigating her world.
Andra enjoys spending time outdoors exploring our beautiful state with her two daughters and her dog, growing fruit and vegetables in her garden, and cooking for her family and friends.
Rachel Dyer | Toddler Classroom Assistant
Rachel graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Art History. She found Salem Montessori as a new mom bringing her then six-month-old son to the school’s parent-infant class. She fell in love with the Montessori method for its deep respect for children and a loving approach to the child’s emotional development. Rachel now has three children attending Salem Montessori. Rachel loves observing how the school has gently nurtured each child’s individual curiosity and creativity. Rachel says “Salem Montessori has provided an incredible foundation for my children and has given me long-lasting relationships with many families within our school’s community. I am thrilled to join this phenomenal teaching team and further deepen my connection to this special place.”
Rachel and her husband both grew up in Winston-Salem, and they love exploring the community with their children. Rachel enjoys cooking, get-togethers with her girlfriends, art-making and being outdoors with her children, and spending time in the mountains with her family.
Claudia Paden | Toddler Classroom Assistant
Claudia went to Sewanee University where she majored in environmental policy and philosophy. Claudia grew up in a family of teachers, her mom, her aunt, and both sisters. Claudia has been a supporter of Montessori Education before she had her own child. She thinks child-led education is not only inspiring as a different model from the normal school curriculum, but truly lets a child figure themselves out while gaining confidence. She thinks it also encourages family bonds by teaching the child to engage in chores and household activities when not at school. Letting a child explore their own mind and world without giving strict schedules and rules, allows a child to find their place in the world, not just told where to be.
Claudia says being in nature can cure just about anything. She loves hiking and camping and exploring new natural areas. She is also very passionate about locally sourced food and cooking delicious, nutritious meals for people. She lives on 15 acres and has started collecting her own little menagerie of animals.
Betty Hastings | Toddler Teacher and Technology/Design Coordinator
Betty graduated from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Fine Arts, with an emphasis in Graphic Design and worked in the design field for many years before deciding she wanted to do more meaningful work. In the summer of 2013, Betty started her infant toddler Montessori certification and became a lead toddler teacher in the fall of 2013. Betty is passionate about Montessori and loves that she gets to help children learn about themselves as they learn about the world around them, and she feels grateful when she is able to also help new parents gain confidence in their parenting skills.
Betty started as a substitute teacher at Salem Montessori School and other local schools in 2012. While at SMS, she saw that children were happy, and their teachers were too. She also noticed a peaceful feeling in herself as she walked through the classrooms that she didn't get in the other schools. As a former graphic/web designer, the beauty and order of the Montessori environment spoke to her design aesthetic, but it was Montessori’s deep respect for children that she found truly life-changing.
Betty keeps her design skills sharp by maintaining our website, social media sites and designing our internal materials. Betty loves spending time with her husband, two adult children, their diva cat and ball-chasing dog most of all. She also has fun reading, gardening, traveling and being in the great outdoors.
Katie Brackney | Toddler Classroom Assistant
Miho Kurosawa began teaching at Salem Montessori School in 2015. Her two children attended Salem Montessori and she saw how her children thrived in the environment. Miho values how the Montessori method helps children be independent and confident.
Miho loves to cook and garden. She is from Japan and met her husband, a native of Winston-Salem, while she was teaching Japanese in Taiwan.
Miho Kurosawa | Toddler Teaching Assistant
Katie earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan and then moved to Asheville, North Carolina to open a sculpture studio. After coaching and working with young children, she decided to earn her teaching license at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. Katie taught Visual Art in middle school and high school in Davie County for 8 years.
After starting a family, she was inspired to learn more about early child development and Montessori. She is currently earning her 0-3 Nido and Toddler Montessori Diploma through the Prepared Montessori Institute.
Katie was drawn to Montessori because the concepts and practices demonstrate respect for the child and allow the child to become independent while still keeping their individual gifts and voice.
Salem Montessori is a school that shows kindness and respect. While she visited, she saw a lot of happy children eager to work and explore. She is honored to join a community that celebrates nature, diverse backgrounds, and human connections.
She enjoys going for hikes with her family. Together, they explore, camp, bike, and swim in creeks or lakes. She finds peace while gardening or painting in the studio.
Children's House
Jessica Feus
Children's House Teacher
Page Pisapia
Children's House Teaching Assistant
Misty Brecht
Children's House Teaching Assistant
Hannah Southgate
Children's House Teacher
Brittany DiSalvo
Children's House Teaching Assistant
J Jeffries
Children's House Classroom Assistant
Jessica Feus | Children’s House Teacher
Teachers College, Columbia University and received her AMS Children's House Montessori Training, from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education, New York.
Jessica loves that each child is able to move through their learning journey at their own pace in the Montessori classroom. I also love that we value the whole child, finding ways to support and nurture their social and emotional learning in order to help them become caring and confident children. She particularly loves the primary classroom because she loves helping children discover the world while also learning who they are and who they are within a group. She specifically values working at Salem Montessori because as a staff, we all agree on doing whatever is best for each child, whether it comes from our Montessori training or an outside approach. We truly respect each other and the families we work with. Growing up she was fortunate to live all over the country and abroad, including Spain for five years. Living in multiple places and being from a Mexican family, have fostered an appreciation for other cultures and a high interest in learning different perspectives on the world. She feels fortunate to work as a teacher because it allows her to constantly keep learning about the ever-changing world around us.
Jessica loves organizing (probably another reason she loves the order of the Montessori classroom), traveling, reading, and being with her family; husband Jason, two sons and her standard poodle, Max.
Page Pisapia | Children’s House Teaching Assistant
Page received her BA from Amherst College and her MSEd from The Bank Street College of Education in Early Childhood Education (with a focus on Infant & Parent Development and Early Intervention). Page’s previous experiences include working as the site director of a childcare center, assisting a child with autism in a kindergarten classroom, and working in a residential care facility for adolescent girls. Page first joined the SMS community as a parent in 2015 and began subbing in the toddler classrooms during the 2019-2020 school year. In the Fall of 2020 she joined SMS as a teacher in Children's House. Since becoming a member of the SMS community, Page has learned valuable lessons from the Montessori method over the years which have positively influenced her teaching and parenting experiences. She loves working with young children and sharing in their delight when they master a new skill or they experience something for the first time. Working with young children helps to remind her to slow down and appreciate the simple joys in life.
Page lives in Winston-Salem with her husband and their five children. In her free time Page enjoys reading, journaling and taking family walks around her neighborhood.
Misty Brecht
Misty Brecht started teaching at Salem Montessori in 2017, the same year her son enrolled. Misty appreciates that Montessori promotes personal autonomy and fosters confident and self-driven children. She believes that the Montessori approach supports a natural love of learning. In her free time, Misty enjoys doing anything that allows her to be creative; interior decorating, calligraphy, and photography are some of her favorites.
Hannah Southgate | Children’s House & Explorer Teacher
Hannah joined SMS in the fall of 2019, as an assistant on the toddler team but moved up to Children’s House in the fall of 2020. She was born in England but moved to the Cayman Islands at a young age. In 2015 Hannah moved to Miami where she spent 2 years as a lead teacher of a 3-6 Montessori class and two years as an assistant in both toddler and 3-6 classes. Hannah is drawn to Montessori because she loves that children can develop and learn at their own pace, on their own terms. She appreciates the respect children learn from each other in a mixed-age group.
Her hobbies include anything outdoors, such as biking and hiking.
Hannah Southgate | Children’s House & Explorer Teacher
Brittany’s love for working with children grew exponentially when she moved to India shortly after graduating high school. She worked with a children’s home and was fascinated by the ways the children fostered each other’s development. She returned to the states to work in a public early learning center, followed by a summer in the Middle East and a return to the children’s home in India for a longer stint. After returning to the states, she relocated to Nashville where she assisted in homeschooling for several different families, led a troop of Girl Scouts, and worked at an after school literacy program for refugee children.
Brittany moved to Winston-Salem in 2019 where she began the process of acquiring a Montessori diploma through NAMC for the primary level. After watching several of her family members experience Montessori education as both children and guides, she was struck by the dignifying ways that freedom and responsibility were given to the child, and was drawn to explore how it could become a part of her own life. The more deeply she delved, the more eager she became to engage Dr. Montessori’s methods, materials and observations. The thread throughout many of her life’s endeavors has been for the purpose of serving the family through the individual child. To find that Salem Montessori is also incredibly family-oriented is a delight and an honor for her to be a part of.
In her free time, she loves getting in a tree or gathering around a table...which is technically also a tree. She writes a wild amount of poetry and hosts creative writing groups. She also loves rock climbing, cliff jumping, swing dancing, long-walking, jazz listening, and croissant-eating.
Elementary
Salem Parham
Kindergarten Teacher
Karen Doty
Kindergarten Teaching Assistant
Emy Knight
Elementary Teacher
Petra Salazar
Elementary Teaching Assistant
Torin Brown
Elementary Classroom Assistant
Mary Louise Callaghan
Elementary Classroom Assistant
Salem Parham | Kindergarten Teacher
Salem graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in International Studies and began her teaching career at Salem Montessori School in 2009 as an assistant in 3-6. She was inspired to obtain her American Montessori Society certification in (2010). Salem worked at SMS for 3 years before pursuing her Masters in Education at Salem College. While working towards her Masters in 2013, Salem began teaching at Summit School as a Junior Kindergarten Assistant, and then as a Lead Kindergarten teacher for two years. Salem returned to SMS in January of 2019 with her twin boys.
Salem enjoys spending most of her time outside with her husband, twin boys and dog. She takes great pleasure in gardening, visiting local markets, and connecting with others across our community.
Karen Doty | Elementary Teaching Assistant
Beginning her third year at Salem Montessori School, Karen is delighted to join the elementary level this year working as an Assistant Teacher in the Kindergarten/First Grade class. She spent the previous two years at SMS as a Children’s House Assistant Teacher where she was inspired by her dedicated and creative lead teachers and by the caring, compassionate community of families and staff. Karen returns to SMS this year with 30 years of Montessori teaching experience. She has Montessori certifications at both the Children’s House and Lower Elementary levels and has held teaching positions for these age groups. Karen also substituted for ages 18 months to 13 years in Montessori environments. Karen was drawn to the Montessori philosophy because of its focus on the needs of the individual child rather than on the role of the teacher. Karen is passionate about Montessori education, believing that everything from the prepared environment to the emphasis on interconnectedness and community produce joyful, life-long learners.
Karen enjoys reading, baking, listening to music, walking and hiking with her dog Rocky, working in her yard, and outings with her friends. She loves historic Old Salem and feels privileged to continue to be a part of the Salem Montessori School community.
Emy Knight | Elementary Teacher
Emy Watson Knight fell in love with Montessori in 2002 on a visit to Salem Montessori with her mother. Emy writes, “I am excited to join the Salem Montessori School community! I feel as though I’ve come full circle as an educator. At the time, my mother was an Elder at Home Moravian Church and asked me to accompany her to observe a small school that was interested in renting space at the church. This school was Salem Montessori. Little did I know that this observation would have such a huge impact on my life. Within a month I enrolled in the Center for Montessori Teacher Education Program in Raleigh with a newfound purpose.”
Emy spent several years as a Children’s House teacher before going on to Barry University and earning a Master’s degree and certification for lower and upper elementary which encompasses grades one through six. She taught for 12 years in Montessori classrooms in Florida and North Carolina at a variety of grade levels. She moved back to Winston Salem in 2015 and taught at Summit as a first-grade assistant and for the last three years as a Kindergarten teacher. She also has been trained in Orton Gillingham at the Associate Level. Emy is a native of Winston-Salem. She is an alum of Summit and Reynolds High School. She grew up attending Home Moravian Church. She received a BA in Environmental Education from Prescott College.
Emy has two sons and they both have attended Montessori programs. Emy enjoys camping, spending time in the mountains and horseback riding.
Petra Salazar | Elementary Teaching Assistant
Mary Louise Callaghan | Elementary Classroom Assistant
Mary Louise says joining SMS is the beginning of her teaching journey! She is a recent graduate of Skidmore College and she has a background in alternative education as a student, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Library Science on the School Library track. Mary Louise says she is so excited to dip my toe into Montessori and thrilled to be joining this community. She is passionate about child based learning and is drawn to education that will focus on the child holistically. She was particularly drawn to SMS because it is a young and growing school that is imaginative, adaptive, and open to and excited by new ideas.
Mary Louise is also a bookseller at Bookmarks as well as a Masters candidate at UNCG. She has been in Winston-Salem for just over 2 years with her fiancé and our cat and dog. She loves to read, go on long walks, and is an avid foodie.
Torin Brown | Elementary Classroom Assistant
Torin has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Administration, with a concentration in Small Business and Entrepreneurship from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an AMI Certified Montessori Practitioner for Dementia and Aging. Torin has 5 years of teaching experience in the English as a Second Language (ESL) realm which brought her to classrooms across Europe and then southeast Asia, specializing in children ages 3-8. Although teaching was a passion of hers, the methods of teaching in many classrooms around the globe did not align with how children best learn, especially when learning languages. She moved into program management and assisted in developing a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum into the ESL realm in Vietnam. Seeing firsthand how a classroom of children can be inspired to learn by simple adjustments in approach, she was inspired to continue learning more about these methods which inevitably lead to Montessori.
Soon after leaving Vietnam, she became the full-time caregiver to her mother with dementia, and quickly saw how many Montessori principles and SEL learning styles could be applied to caregiving. Gifted a certification course by a friend to support her caregiving journey, she became a certified Montessori practitioner for aging and dementia through the Jennifer Brush Foundation. Drawn to Montessori, and missing teaching, Torin discovered Salem Montessori and immediately felt a hope and excitement about learning in a peaceful and cohesive environment that favors community and fosters a group of people who feel like family.
Torin loves baking, travel, volunteering at animal sanctuaries, tennis and spending time with her nephew who also attends Salem Montessori.