Lower Elementary Teaching Staff

Chitra Alvarado, Lower Elementary Directress
Chitra joined the MCHD faculty in 1991 as co-teacher of the school's new Elementary program. She received her Montessori certificate from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in New York in 1988, and before moving to Durham, taught in a Montessori school in Charlotte, NC. Chitra holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the State of New York in Albany. Her love of the biological sciences, in particular nature studies, shines through in her curriculum and classroom. Chitra's other interests and strengths are yoga, natural health, peace education and conflict resolution. Chitra is mother to two adult daughters, Huma and Naja, and is married to Gil Alvarado, a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist.

Johanna King, Lower Elementary Directress
Johanna has been working in a Montessori environment since 1995. She began her career as an assistant here at MCHD for six weeks in a Preschool classroom, helping acclimate a special needs child to the classroom. Johanna then worked as a nanny for two young children and was a substitute teacher whenever possible. After one year as an assistant and one year as an intern in a Lower Elementary classroom at Montessori Community School, she received her Montessori teaching certificate from the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies in Silver Spring, MD. In the fall of 1997, Johanna became an assistant in a Lower Elementary classroom at MCHD. She became lead teacher the following year. Johanna received her Bachelor's degree in theatre performance at the University of Maine at Orono. She is interested in gardening and herbs, singing, playing her flute and taking long walks with her dog.

Rob Sievert, Lower Elementary Assistant
Rob was born and raised in Richmond, Va. He studied Bible, Religion, and Ancient Languages at a small liberal arts school in Tennessee where he met his wife Shawna. They moved to Durham in 2001 and played music with friends and family. Rob has been at MCHD since 2003 and is amazed at the togetherness and peace that is daily a part of this community. He loves music, long walks, baseball, studying new things, and long slow meals. His lovely son Efrim came along in 2005 and thus began a new chapter.

Claudia Green, Lower Elementary Assistant
Claudia joined the MCHD community in 2007 as a Lunch supervisor, Early Morning supervisor, substitute teacher, and Little House Extended Day Instructor. This year, she joins the Lower Elementary teaching team full-time. With twelve years of experience in Montessori preschool classrooms, Claudia brings a peaceful and sensitive approach to the children’s needs in the classroom, playgrounds, and after-school environment. She loves to discover ways of connecting with children that enhance their perspective of themselves and their surroundings. Claudia received her BFA in Design from UNC-Greensboro, and her Montessori Early Childhood Teaching Certificate from NCMTE- North Carolina. Her interests are massage, nature, and obviously, children of all ages.