Elementary & Middle School Educators

Ana holds a BA in Political Science from Boston College. She received her AMS Early Childhood teaching training at the West Side Montessori School Teacher Education Program in New York City and has attended the Reading Institute at Columbia University Teachers College. Ana has always been drawn to working with children in her previous roles as a law student, volunteer, and non-profit case manager and agrees with Dr. Montessori’s belief that “Early childhood education is the key to the betterment of society.” She is excited to be returning to the Upper Elementary and MMUN programs this year.

Ben is excited and proud to be a new member of the HPMS community teaching Jersey City youth. He is a state-certified teacher who has a B.S. in Elementary Education from Central Connecticut State University. Ben grew up in Connecticut before moving to Jersey City and, more recently, Hoboken. Outside of the classroom, he is a proud member of the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus and their a cappella group, Tonewall. As an avid theater fan, he looks forward to bringing a flair for the theatrics into his math and science classroom.

Colleen has a MA in Special Education from New Jersey City University, a state certification in Special Education, and a BA from Montclair State University in the College of Education and Human Services, with a focus on Family and Child Services, and with certifications in K-5 Education and Social Studies. Colleen has been teaching for many years, with ten of those here at HPMS. She is delighted that all thee of her children are here at HPMS, too. Colleen has dedicated herself to teaching children in every aspect of her life and continues to pursue her own education.  She believes teachers are lifelong learners.

Elizabeth received her BA from Otterbein University in broadcasting and creative writing. She moved to New York in 2014 and after working in childcare, she received her MS in Early Childhood Education and Special Education from Concordia College as well as her Early Childhood Montessori certification from WSMS-TEP. She is currently in her practicum phase of Elementary I at WSMS-TEP. Elizabeth’s first experience with Montessori was as a child, where she attended a Montessori school in Cincinnati; she remembers her experience and teachers fondly.

Felix is fluent in Spanish and was born and raised in the Dominican Republic through 5th grade. He is currently working on his Master’s Degree and has an undergraduate degree in Recreation Administration. He also worked at the North Bergen Recreation Center supervising camp procedures and coaching a multitude of sports. He has a passion for the Montessori method of education and believes in the importance of speaking multiple languages. Mr Felix is very excited for the opportunity to teach Spanish to the Middle School students.

Hannah earned her M.Ed. in Childhood Education, Grades 1-6, from Hunter College in Manhattan and is a NY/NJ State Certified teacher. She also earned a BA in Communications with a minor in Visual Arts at Fordham University. She has been teaching at HPMS in the Lower Elementary Program since 2012. During her training at Hunter, she was exposed to teachings of Maria Montessori and Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. She has proudly lived in Jersey City since 2006 and has two children of her own.

Karen has a BA from Montclair State College with majors in Psychology and Religion/Philosophy, and an MA from NYU in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages with a K-12 teacher certification. After substitute teaching at HPMS Karen began to pursue her Montessori teaching credential for Early Childhood at Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE) last summer. Her son Gabriel started school at HPMS as a three-year-old and is now an HPMS Middle School alumna in his junior year of High School.

Kira is so excited to be joining Hamilton Park Montessori as part of the Lower Elementary team! She has been working in Early Childhood Montessori classrooms since 2015 and completed her Elementary training over the summer through WSMS-TEP. Kira was a Montessori child herself having attended Hershey Montessori from age two through Upper Elementary. Kira trained and got her Early Childhood Credential through WSMS-TEP, where she now works closely as an instructor, supervising teacher, and field consultant. In addition to her AMS credential, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree from New York University, a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from The City College of New York and a New York State teaching license. In her free time, Kira is an avid reader, runner and has been recently taking sailing classes in the Hudson River.

Mary Kate received her BS in Elementary and Special Education as well as her MS in Education with a concentration in Reading from St Joseph’s University. She has 7 years of teaching experience, primarily as a Reading Resource teacher and Special Education teacher focused on children in Kindergarten through third grade. Mary Kate is already part of this wonderful community as a parent – her two children are students in the Lower Elementary and Early Childhood programs.

Meena grew up in India and attended Calcutta University for her bachelors and post graduate degrees in business, economics. After working at The Oral School for Deaf Children, which brought her much joy, Meena decided to become a teacher and earned her Masters in Education. Meena spent a couple of years teaching in schools in Calcutta, and then moved to the United States and started teaching at a private school in New York City in 2002. As a lifelong learner, she took several teacher training courses at St. Peter’s University and also obtained a Post Graduate certification in 21^st-Century Teaching and Learning from Stanford University.  Meena is delighted to join HPMS as a Middle School teacher and advisor, teaching mathematics to the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. In her free time, she loves reading, the outdoors and volunteering at Welcome Home (Refugees and Asylees of Jersey City).

Melissa L. has a M.Ed. with a Montessori Emphasis from Xavier University, and a BA in Literature from Rutgers University. Melissa is certified as a Montessori 6-12 Teacher (Lower and Upper Elementary). She has attended the Reading & Writing Workshop at Teacher’s College and is the coordinator for Montessori Model UN in Upper Elementary. This is her thirteenth year at HPMS as a teacher and as a mom.

Melissa P. holds a BS in Elementary Education as well as a MS in Education with a concentration in Reading from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. She is a state-certified elementary classroom teacher as well as a certified reading specialist. Melissa received her Montessori training in Lower Elementary at the Princeton Center for Teacher Education at Princeton Montessori School. This is Melissa’s fourteenth year teaching. In her spare time she enjoys illustrating and hopes to one day publish a children’s book.

Michelle D. has a BA in Elementary Education as well as a M.Ed in Teacher Leadership from California Lutheran University, specializing in Reading and Literacy. She was K-6 reading specialist in California before moving to Jersey City to teach English enrichment. She joined HPMS as a Literacy Specialist and has since completed her Montessori training in Lower Elementary at West Side Montessori School. This is Michelle’s fourteenth year teaching and eighth year at HPMS. She loves the outdoors and practicing yoga.

Nadia holds her M.Ed in Montessori Education and AMS Elementary I Credential from Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH). In 2019, she graduated from Wichita State University (Wichita, KS) with her BFA in Dance Performance and danced professionally with Regina Klenjoski Dance Company upon graduation. Nadia is an enthusiastic, innovative educator who seeks to guide the whole child through their individual journey. With a strong background in classical ballet and contemporary dance, her philosophy seeks to encourage movement in order to engage the child within the rich Montessori curriculum. Outside of the classroom, Nadia continues teaching dance in Jersey City and loves staying active!

Sara holds a master’s degree in education from St. Catherine University, with a focus in Montessori. She commenced her Montessori teaching career in 2011 at HPMS. Since then, she has continued to teach in Montessori schools, most recently in Spain where she and her husband lived for the past 3 years. She qualified as a yoga teacher in 2019 and last year became certified in prenatal yoga. Sara is continually amazed at the connection and overlap between Montessori theory and pedagogic practice and the precepts of yoga. She is passionate about cultivating a classroom community rooted in harmony and autonomy so that each child can grow to love learning, excel individually and appreciate the importance of caring for one another. She is excited to bring her global experience back to the HPMS community.