Our Staff
We are delighted to present our staff. They are dedicated to Montessori and to providing a nurturing and loving environment for children. Although they are all Montessori trained for their specific role in our school, they each bring their own special life and educational experiences to our program. In addition to the required Montessori training, each staff member receives First Aid and CPR Certification every year.
Patricia Sue Cherry – Sue is the owner of the school and also a head teacher in the Primary classroom. She started in education by working as a teacher’s assistant for the Livingston Educational Services Agency in 1977. There she worked with mentally, physically and emotional challenged children for four years. She discovered Montessori when her oldest of 3 sons Josh was 4 years old. First she was a Montessori parent, the next year an assistant and then in 1982, she took her Montessori Teacher’s Training from Michigan Montessori Teacher Education Center and became an AMS Montessori certified teacher.
Sue has taught at Livingston Montessori Center and at Go Like the Wind Montessori School, taking time off after the birth of her third son, Joel. Sue has supervised several Montessori student teachers both from MMTCE and Montessori Teacher Training Center in Adrian and has taken additional Montessori training in Math, Geography, and Language Development. She also incorporates her love of cooking and gardening into the educational environment for the children.
Sue, along with husband Steven, started Maple Tree Montessori Academy with a vision and dedication to provide the parents and children of Livingston County with a high quality Montessori Program that is true to the principles and philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori.
Lisa Fritz – Lisa is our Lower Elementary teacher and she took her Montessori Elementary training from Michigan Montessori Teacher Training Center and is AMS certified. She did her student teaching at Maria Montessori Center and has been most recently teaching Lower Elementary at Go Like the Wind. The major of her Bachelors Degree is in Speech and Language Development. Lisa is very dedicated to Montessori Philosophy both as a teacher and as a mom. Her enthusiasm and love of Montessori is an inspiration to us all.
Debra Babiarz – Debra has many years of experience teaching Elementary students. She has taught 2nd – 5th grades with a special emphasis on reading and math. Debra has a Bachelors of Science, Elementary Education. She has taken the Montessori Upper Elementary training at MMTEC and is doing her internship this year. We are happy to have her enthusiasm and inspiring ideas to kick off our Upper Elementary program as our Lead Teacher.
Kim Zorn – Kim is a Lead Teacher in a Primary Classroom. She does a wonderful job of providing the children with a consistent, loving and interesting environment. Kim has taken Montessori Teacher training from ADMTEI and has been a Lead Montessori Teacher for many years. Kim is a natural teacher, very dedicated to Montessori Philosophy, and we are glad to have her on our staff.
Kim Koehn – Kim is in charge of all of our office management concerns including, student files, payments, billing and registration. She brings with her great organizational skills and many years of business management experience. We are grateful to have her keeping us all organized and efficient. Kim has also taken the Montessori Assistant Training and works part time in the Primary classroom.
Ruth Reifsnyder – Ruth comes to us from a Montessori Family. She has taught preschool and has been a pastry chef! Her love for children, cooking and Montessori combined with her calm and sweet manner with the students has made her a great asset. She is an assistant in the Primary Classroom and has taken the Montessori Assistant training.
Iris Fryc – Iris is a daycare assistant and a much loved and animated story reader. The children are always eager to listen to her read. Iris has taken the Montessori Assistant Training. She is also an experienced mom and has worked in the corporate world, schools and often volunteers her time to the benefit of others in many ways. We are grateful to have her cheerful and always helpful presence.
Sandi Cherry – Sandi comes to us with many years of experience with children of all ages. Sandi has Montessori Assistant training from MMTEC and works in the daycare room. We are all grateful for her experience and her patience, especially in practical life skills, sewing and gardening.
Cecilia Mellem – Cecilia’s native language is Spanish, a gift that she shares beautifully and with great love and enthusiasm. She engages the children, stimulates their interest and leads hem to a better understanding and command of the Spanish language. Cecilia has taken the Montessori Assistant training and incorporates the Montessori Philosophy into her Spanish groups and lessons.
Julia Liljegren – Julia brings to our program her care and respect for children and for our environment. She communicates and incorporates these together in our Outdoor Education program and the development of our Children’s Habitat. Julia has worked with children’s program at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago as well as in wildlife study and preservation. We are very pleased to welcome her experience and her kind care to our habitat.
Aric Liljegren – Aric offers us a world of creativity through Drama. Drama class is an after school option, but Aric’s experience is quite extensive. He has most recently been working on Drama Summer Camp programs at the Marquis Theatre in Northville. Aric is enthusiastic and creative, we are happy to have him bring the excitement of the theatre to our school.
Erin Sullivan – Erin is a certified Yoga instructor and teaches in the Brighton area. She is kind, patient and very knowledgeable. We all appreciate her gentle presence in our school as she teaches Yoga to the Full Day and Elementary students.
Heesook Kwak – Heesook received her Montessori Teacher Training at ADMTEI and has been teaching at Montessori schools since 2006. She is a professionally trained musician, having received a bachelor’s degree in Music (voice) from Ewha Women’s University, South Korea. She also studied voice at the the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Heesook has taught children’s music-piano, voice, and music theory for many years. She has been a choir director and soloist. Heesok loves working with children as much as singing Mozart. We are excited to have her as our Music teacher.
Brant Losinski – Brant is a professional musician, lead singer and acoustic guitarist with Rootstand, one of Michigan’s premier Folk, Blues, Bluegrass and Celtic bands. He is also a U-M Graduate Student and Montessori parent. Brant is working on a Master’s degree thesis, a lengthly project on the cultural significance of Folk Music and how it functions positively in our communities. We are delighted to have Brant as our Guitar Instructor, his easy going manner and love of music is a gift to all his students.
Sherri Magno – Sherri is our new Violin Instructor. She has extensive music and teaching experience and came to us very highly recommended. Sherri has been teaching students to play string instruments for 18 years. In addition to our program, she teaches at the Flint Institute of Music and also does individual lessons. Sherri studied Violin Performance at the University of Michigan and has performed with several Symphony Orchestras including Warren Rochester and the Flint Symphony Orchestra. We are happy to have her experience and dedication to benefit our Violin students.
Leslie Owens – Leslie is our resident chef. She has culinary training and has been in business as a personal chef. Leslie will be teaching Culinary Arts to the Elementary students and working with the teacher’s to tie the lessons into their classroom studies. She enjoys working with children; she has past experience at Walt Disney World and brings fun into our cooking!
We are a very complimentary and cohesive staff and we are totally united in purpose...to provide your child with the very best Montessori environment. We encourage all parents to come and observe our program in action and to witness the loving and caring atmosphere that we have established at our school.