Preschool & Extended Day Teaching Staff

Carrie Benoit Salemi, Preschool and Extended Day Teacher
Carrie, an instructor of the Montessori method for more than 35 years, has been a member of the MCHD faculty since it opened in January 1977. She is a graduate of the Midwest Montessori Teacher Training Center in Chicago. Carrie earned a bachelor's degree in speech and drama, with a minor in dance, from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, one of ten states she has called home. Her son Ben started in Montessori as a 2 year old the year Carrie did her internship. Her daughter Caitlin was a baby in the classroom early in MCHD’s history and attended class here through third grade (at the time, the highest grade offered). Ben’s two daughters, Caitlin and Julie, also were students at MCHD. Carrie is still fascinated by Montessori’s concepts of the Grand Order of the Universe and developing citizens of the cosmos - active thinkers with a zest for life. Outside of school, she is learning Spanish and loves social dancing.

Kelly Spottswood, Preschool and Extended Day Teacher
Kelly began her Montessori training in the summer of 2005 at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in North Carolina.  She was able to complete her internship at MCHD by serving as a maternity replacement.  Kelly fell in love with the entire community at MCHD and is excited to return, after teaching in the interim at Indigo Montessori. Kelly earned her BA from Michigan State University, majoring in Communication.  While attending MSU, she volunteered at a Domestic Violence Shelter located on campus, where she participated in Children’s Programming, Crisis Intervention, and Community Education.  Kelly moved to North Carolina in 2004 and lives in Raleigh. She enjoys the outdoor activities that North Carolina has to offer. She also enjoys traveling, soccer, water skiing, snowboarding, reading, and staying active.

Amy Nelson, Preschool and Extended Day Teacher
Amy Nelson has been with MCHD since 2002 when her first child started preschool. Over the years, she has played various roles in the community, including lunch supervisor, substitute teacher, Diversity Committee member, Preschool Assistant, Intern and Directress. Amy received her AMS Certificate from the Institute of Advanced Montessori Studies in Silver Spring, Maryland. Prior to coming to MCHD, she worked for eight years as a radio producer and anchor at NPR affiliate station, WUNC in Chapel Hill. Amy earned her B.A. in English from Oberlin College where she minored in Women's Studies. She lives in Durham with her husband and two children, Safiya and Ali, both MCHD students.

Shawna Sievert, Preschool Assistant
Shawna has wanted to be a teacher since she was a small child. She spent many hours writing on a chalkboard and assigning homework to her little brother. She also spent years singing in choirs, practicing piano and playing guitar. After graduating from King College in 2000, she taught music at a private school to children ranging from preschool to middle school age. During the summer of 2001, she was married to Rob Sievert (Lower Elementary Assistant). They moved to Durham to reunite their college band, Sandra Lou. Shawna taught music to preschoolers in the Durham and Chapel Hill area for two years. She was also a nanny for two girls. In 2003, she decided that she wanted to teach a more varied curriculum, and became a Lower Elementary Assistant. In 2005, she and Rob became parents when their son, Efrim, was born. Efrim now attends MCHD. Last year, Shawna moved to the Preschool, to experience the foundations of learning she saw at the Elementary level. Being at MCHD has taught her how to be a better teacher, mother and citizen of the world.

Julie Throckmorton, Preschool Assistant
Julie became part of the MCHD community in 2003 when her oldest daughter, Sarah, began attending the Extended Day program, after moving here from a Montessori school in the Boston area. As her love affair with Montessori philosophy deepened, Julie joined the MCHD staff in 2005 as the Extended Day Lunch Supervisor. In 2007-2008, Julie joined Kathleen Batson in establishing the new Pre-Three program. This year, Julie moves to Preschool, where she can use her expertise in working with emergent readers.
Before becoming a full-time mother of three, Julie was a Reading Specialist working with all elementary levels, in addition to involvement with the wider community through Literacy Volunteers of America. She holds a Master's degree in Reading Progress Management from The George Washington University, with a minor in Spanish. Julie lives in Durham with her husband and three children, Sarah, Benjamin, and Susannah, all currently enrolled at MCHD. At home she enjoys crafts, gardening, and long walks.

Viola Bestmann, Preschool Assistant
Viola has been teaching children of all ages for many years either in the field of early school education or the teaching field of conscious embodiment, namely Body Mind Centering and Yoga. Viola also has a background as a visual artist and dancer for Dance Theatre and Improvisation

Viola is a native of Germany, Hamburg and moved to the United States 1997. She lives in Durham with her husband Douglas and two daughters, Rosa and Zoe, and cat Sweetie.

In the Preschool, we welcome Lisa Wallace Tate back to MCHD for the 2012-13 school year. Lisa began her Montessori career as an Assistant Teacher with us in 1991. She went on to get her Teaching Certificate, do her internship here, and then taught as a Teacher from 1996 until 2002. She left to pursue her dream of opening her own Montessori school with a farm and environmental education emphasis. During that time she also taught at the North Carolina Montessori teacher training program for 14 years. Lisa is ready to return to MCHD and focus exclusively on the classroom. She brings with her a boundless energy, a deep commitment to fostering the love of nature in children, and her talent as a photographer.