Our Faculty

Michelle Morrison is the interim head of school for the 2025-26 school year and comes to Acorn with over thirty years of Montessori leadership experience, having previously led the Princeton Montessori School and Princeton Center for Teacher Education training center as well as Montessori programs and adult learner instruction courses. In addition to her school experience, Michelle serves on the American Montessori Society Board of Trustees, helping to shape global Montessori policy and practice.

Michelle is delighted to join the Acorn team and is honored to lead such a dedicated, warm, and caring group of professionals at such a beautiful and nature-rich campus. She looks forward to nurturing the faculty, supporting professional development across the organization, leading systems and operations improvements, and connecting to and strengthening the parent community.

Michelle welcomes personal reach outs from community members and looks forward to getting to know every facet of Acorn Montessori School's offerings.

After observing in a Montessori classroom, Elizabeth Garrett knew that she had to become a Montessori teacher. She worked for many years as a Primary Head Teacher here at Acorn. Elizabeth loved being a guide to her students as they made discoveries about themselves and the world. It was a comfortable and exciting transition for Elizabeth to join the administration team as Director of Admissions at Acorn. She is happy to welcome new families to the Acorn community. To Elizabeth, it is Acorn’s sense of community, in addition to the outstanding educational value, that makes Acorn such a special place.
In her spare time, Elizabeth enjoys reading, baking, being outdoors and, most especially, spending time with her family.

Anne first came to Acorn as a parent when she enrolled her daughter in Acorn’s Toddler House. Her daughter, joined by her son a few years later, continued through Acorn’s Primary and Elementary Programs. Although her children have moved on, Anne continues to be in awe of Acorn's Montessori classrooms, the authentic love of the teachers for their students, and the joy of learning that Acorn has fostered in so many children.

In her free time, Anne enjoys travelling and exploring new places, music, biking and spending time with her family.

Joann joined Acorn Montessori School bringing extensive experience in office management from both the corporate and private sectors. Her dedication to community service is evident through her years of volunteering with the PTA, Football and Lacrosse Booster Clubs, and the Park Committee. At Acorn Montessori, Joann values the strong sense of community and the emphasis on nurturing independence in students. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, gardening, a good Netflix series, exploring antique shops and farmers markets, and most of all spending time with family and friends.

Erin’s love of working with young children reflects in the nurturing and creative atmosphere of her classroom. She feels a certain privilege to be involved in the start of a child’s journey into learning. Her pleasant nature and kind personality allows her to provide gentle guidance to the youngest children. She marvels at the enthusiasm and energy that toddlers express.

Because she was a Montessori child herself, her fond memories, along with her belief in the Montessori method, led her to enroll her own child at Acorn at the age of two, continuing into the Upper Elementary program.

Erin’s interests include reading, spending time with family and friends, and vacationing at the Jersey shore.

Tricia Telmosse was destined to be a teacher, as both of her parents were teachers. She always envisioned herself working with young children, and finds the close knit community of parents and staff at Acorn a very special working experience. She is amazed by the incredible learning that takes place within a Montessori classroom, and how well the children retain the information. What she wants most for her students is for them to be at peace and also have fun; to learn respect, and keep the love of learning strong.

When at home, Tricia likes to spend time with her husband and her sons. She also enjoys traveling, skiing and reading a good book.

After graduating from college, Heather was introduced to Montessori through a friend. When she went to observe the Montessori classroom, she saw children independently engaged with beautiful hands on materials in a peaceful environment. Heather knew she had found the perfect fit. Acorn's glorious campus, friendly collaborative staff and high Montessori standards are what brought Heather to teach in Toddler House. Her favorite Dr. Montessori quote is, “He does it with his hands, by experience, first in play and then through work. The hands are the instruments of man's intelligence.” (Absorbent Mind)

Besides teaching, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, cooking or baking, long walks, yoga and reading.

Tammy worked as a travel consultant for many years before joining the Acorn community. Since then, her career journey has included working as a teacher assistant, a private nanny, and now happily returning to Acorn as an After School Lead Teacher for the toddlers. Tammy loves watching the toddlers grow in their independence and love of learning. She and her husband, Mark, raised their three sons here in Hunterdon County and they recently welcomed their first grandchild, Luca, in May. She cherishes her time with her family, loves reading and traveling, and her work at Acorn Montessori School.

Grace is currently enrolled at Raritan Valley Community College working towards her degree in Education. She knew from an early age that the only thing she wanted to do was be a teacher. Grace worked this summer at Acorn helping with the toddlers and primary campers. She knew immediately that this was the job for her. She loves watching the children learn and play, while developing problem solving skills and learning to be independent-thinkers. In her spare time, Grace enjoys reading, drawing, listening to music, as well as playing guitar and drums. She also loves spending time with her family and friends. Grace is looking forward to a great year here at the Acorn Montessori School.
Because she was a Montessori child herself, her fond memories, along with her belief in the Montessori method, led her to enroll her own child at Acorn at the age of two, continuing into the Upper Elementary program.

Erin’s interests include reading, spending time with family and friends, and vacationing at the Jersey shore.

Originally from the UK, Cheryl is a dedicated Montessori educator with over 12 years of experience as a head primary teacher. She completed her training at Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE) and has a deep personal connection to Montessori philosophy as her four sons also benefited from a Montessori primary education. Her approach is rooted in nurturing independence, curiosity and lifelong learning in each child. Outside of the classroom, Cheryl enjoys supporting the Knitted Knockers Foundation, crafting crochet items for breast cancer survivors. She is also passionate about health, wellness and cooking nutritious meals for family and friends.

!Hola! My name is Ms Carolina/Señora Carolina. I’m so happy to be teaching Spanish again this year. I’ve been a Teacher Assistant/Spanish teacher in Montessori environment for the last 17 years. It’s been a very rewarding experience for me. I love to see the excitement on children’s faces when they start to understand and to speak Spanish after a few lessons.
I’m a native from Ecuador and have lived in the US for more than 3 decades. My husband and I live in Belle Mead and have 2 sons.
I find very relaxing to go for walks as often as possible, also enjoy hiking and biking with my husband.

It is the happiness of the children, and respect that they have learned that Kaitlin Baumann loves most about teaching at Acorn. Since 2007, she has been helping her students learn in creative ways, with plenty of fun, smiles and laughs along the way. She encourages children to find happiness even in little things, while fostering an independent spirit within each child.

Kaitlin’s fun-loving approach to life extends outside of the classroom, where she enjoys creating art (drawing, painting and photography), as well as running and hiking.

As both an Acorn Montessori parent and a teacher since 1993, Jane Hendricks’s experience at Acorn has been a very personal one. She loved what the school did for her son when he entered at age 2-1/2, then came to work there and enrolled her daughter as well. She believes the Montessori method of education strengthens the feeling of community, and nurtures lasting friendships among the children. She loves the special bonus of seeing the students’ faces full of pride at their accomplishments, and hearing from the parents about the positive changes that they see from the children at home. While she highly values the idea of the students having fun in her class, she is committed to helping them gain a love of learning, while building the knowledge that they can make a difference in other people’s lives. Most importantly, she wants to see her students have the confidence that they can do anything they put their minds to!

In her role as Rainbow Club Supervisor, she projects her love of community service by helping our students develop a sense of community, and, understanding what role they have to play in making the world a better place. Children participating in our Rainbow Club program learn, even at a young age, that they have the power to brighten someone's day. They take to each community project with a selflessness that is refreshing to watch, and take great pleasure in knowing how much their work is appreciated in the community.

Now that her own children are growing up, Jane enjoys spending her free time growing house plants and gardening.

Hailey is very excited to begin working alongside Miss Jane in Red Oak classroom. She loves the outdoors, baking, and animals of all kinds. She is a recent graduate from Warren County Community College and holds an Associates of Arts degree in Liberal Arts. Throughout her time at WCCC, she received many opportunities to dive deeper into the philosophy of Montessori and grew amazed by the children's capabilities in a Montessori school.She looks forward to supporting the Primary Montessori School programs at Acorn Montessori School.

Sarah Wheeler has been a part of the Montessori community since 2020. She was first inspired by the philosophy while living in North Carolina and working as a caregiver for two small children who attended a Montessori School. When the pandemic shut down their classrooms, Sarah did her best to simulate a Montessori classroom environment for them in their home, and fell in love with the use of materials and self sufficiency that the Montessori method promotes. After moving to New Jersey in early 2022, she started as an assistant in the Elementary 6-12 classroom at Acorn, and decided to pursue her Lower Elementary certification in the summer of 2022. Outside of Acorn you can find her offroad camping with her husband and two dogs, baking sourdough bread, or at trivia with her fellow Acorn co-workers.

Jessica attended Boston University Acting Conservatory for 2 years with a scholarship. Missing musical theatre, she transferred to DeSales University where she was able to study more music and dance in the program and received a BA in Theatre with merit awards. She played Laurie in the National tour of Trevor Nunn’s Broadway Revival of Oklahoma! choreographed by Susan Stroman, and performed in other plays at
Regional Theaters including Fulton Theater, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Atlanta Theatre of the Stars, Walnut Street Theatre among others. She has had additional training in NYC at Stella Adler, Peoples Improv Theatre, Broadway Dance Center, and vocal training with Broadway veteran Ann Arvia and Broadway composer Barbara Anselmni. When Jessica had her two daughters, she started teaching drama at Madison Montessori School where she has written and directed children’s plays for 11 years. She has taught vocal music at Acorn for 5 years and is also a dance teacher at Hunterdon Hills Ballet where she teaches Ballet, Broadway Jazz/Voice and Point. She is so happy to be able to share her love of performing arts with children and is so grateful to be surrounded by the wonderful Acorn staff and community!

Karen was born and raised amongst the rolling hills of Northwestern New Jersey. She has taught children and adults for decades within public and private schools, various camps, and the Arc of Hunterdon County. When her own daughter began attending Acorn Montessori School, Karen saw how the Montessori Method aligned with her own methods of teaching. She fell in love with how children are able to grow in a nurturing environment that allows them to breathe, focus, explore, learn, and experience joy. Soon after, she became Acorn’s music teacher for the next four years.

During these years working at Acorn, Karen admired how the classrooms were purposefully kept clean, simple, yet inspiring. Everything in the Montessori classroom is intentional and lacks distraction. This interest in her surroundings led Karen, years later, to become a Marie Kondo KonMari Home Consultant, organizing homes for the local community.

Karen believes love, children, and fun are our world’s greatest assets, and is thrilled to now be directing Acorn’s Lunch Bunch and Rainbow Club, centered around these.

I am very glad to be here at Acorn Montessori, and I hope to be learning with my fellow teachers and students the concepts that Maria Montessori implemented One Hundred Twelve years ago. Along with that, I am especially grateful to have a philosophical approach to education through my study of Aesthetic Realism; founded in 1941 by poet and critic Eli Siegel. I have been studying Aesthetic Realism since 1979 and my education continues. I love what Mr. Siegel said about education: "The purpose of education is to like the world through knowing it." I am learning through my study that the one true way to like the world is to see it as "an aesthetic oneness of opposites." For example, how the ocean is a oneness of gentleness and force; we too, like the ocean, hope to put these opposites together which I learned from Aesthetic Realism are one in art. My husband Andrew and I have lived in Annandale since 1986, where we raised our four daughters. I enjoy reading, watching films, cooking and traveling. I look forward to your insights and guidance as I approach my first year here at Acorn.