Our Faculty

From the first time Meg entered a Montessori classroom in 1983, her belief and confidence in the Montessori Method of education flourished.

After receiving a B.S. in Early Childhood education from Chestnut Hill College, Meg continued at Chestnut Hill to receive her American Montessori Society credentials. Meg has continued to build on her professional development by attending Annual New Jersey Montessori Administrators Council NJMAC conferences, as well as Independent School Management training.

Meg began her Montessori career teaching for many years as a Primary level teacher at Deer Path Montessori School and continued there as Director of Education. She also served as a Teacher Training Consultant for Princeton Center for Teacher Education.

Meg first became involved with Acorn Montessori School as a parent when her oldest son began as a student in 2002. She quickly got involved as a parent volunteer and classroom parent. She began teaching in Acorn’s Toddler program prior to becoming Acorn’s Director of Development, and then Director of Admissions. Meg is passionate and deeply committed to building upon what makes Acorn unique and special: our families, our teachers, our alumni and our community.

Meg is happy she can call Hunterdon County home where she raised her two boys. In her free time she enjoys hiking, camping, kayaking, snow skiing, and getting her toes in the sand at the Jersey Shore.

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.

Michele joined Acorn Montessori School after gaining experience in the corporate world and then taking time off to raise her three children. What she likes most about Acorn is contributing to an atmosphere that is caring and heartwarming, that always works for the benefit of children. When not at Acorn Michele enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and cooking.

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.

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.

Ms. Martinson was introduced to the world of Montessori when her daughter started at Acorn. As her family grew, her next two children also enrolled at Acorn. Nancy and her husband were Montessori parents for a total of 7 years and throughout those years she attended Acorn Parent Education Workshops, volunteered in their classrooms, and adopted the Montessori philosophy in her home. Finding her passion to be a Montessori teacher, she began working as a substitute teacher which lead her to the decision to obtain her Montessori teaching certification

Ms. Martinson believes the Montessori method of teaching giver the teacher the flexibility to meet the needs of each individual child academically, as well as socially and emotionally.

When Nancy is not teaching she enjoys reading, biking, and cooking.

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.

Wyatt has been a Montessori teacher since 2012. He spent three years working at the Primary level and received his Primary (3-6) certification in 2014. He also spent time in Elementary teaching science. Since then, he has been teaching at that level and opened the Upper Elementary classroom in 2016. Since receiving his 6-12 certification in 2018, he has also instructed at West Side Montessori School Teacher Education Program and been a field consultant for numerous new Montessorians in New Jersey, Pennsylvania. and New York.

Outside of the classroom, Wyatt is often outdoors - hiking, camping, kayaking, or fishing. He loves to spend time with his dogs, family, and friends. He loves to do puzzles, crosswords, and read.

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.

Acorn Montessori has a special place in Ghislaine Mahoney’s heart, not just because she is passionate about teaching there, but also because her own three children attended the school. The family-like community and long-lasting friendships she has made there, both as a parent and a teacher, are very important to her. What she has found especially rewarding about teaching is that when she’s with her students and they see something or understand something for the first time, she feels like she’s experiencing it for the first time too, because the child’s wonder and pride are contagious! She learns something new every day, and loves to see the deep-centered confidence growing in her students.

Ghislaine enjoys spending time with her family, and outdoor action sports like downhill skiing and scuba diving.

Jessica is so happy to join the Acorn community. Since having children of her own, she has been drawn to the Montessori method. She started teaching drama classes at a Montessori school after the birth of her second child. Music and theatre have always been an important part of Jessica’s life. Prior to teaching, she performed professionally on stages including Fulton Theater, Walnut Street Theatre, Atlanta Theatre of the Stars, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, and toured nationally in the Broadway revival of Oklahoma!

Jessica believes that a child’s self-expression through music and theatre can bring confidence and self awareness in a fun and engaging way.