About Montessori Day School
History
Montessori Day School (MDS), Inc., was established in March 1979 by Cathy Beemer and Liz Mallett. The goals for the school were to provide a faculty operated school, a well equipped and pleasant learning environment for children, and an enriched Montessori curriculum to meet the needs of children with a wide range of abilities.
The MDS Parent Support Group (PSG) was started in 1982 when the school moved to its present location. The PSG is very active and supports several enrichment programs for the children and school.
Faculty
Elementary
Cathy Beemer, B.A., Northwestern University, Speech Education, N.T. Teacher’s Certificate, Certified by the American Montessori Society(AMS) for 3-12 year olds. Founding member of Montessori Association of the Carolinas and a member of AMS Teacher’s Section. Member AMS School Consultant team since 1983. On faculty of N.C. Center for Montessori Teacher Education since 1986. Works annually with Duke University education students. Presents workshops regionally and nationally. Enjoys designing new curriculum and multisensory approaches to learning. Certified Directress for 3-6 since 1977 and 6-12 since 1982.
Preschool
Liz Mallett, B.A./B.S., Syracuse University, Elementary Education and Spanish. Graduate school program in remedial reading at S.U.N.Y. at Oswego. New York State Teacher’s certification (K-6). North Carolina Teacher’s certification (K-3, K-12 in Language Arts). American Montessori Society certification at AERCO Ithaca for 3-6 year olds. Visiting teacher and Supervisory teacher for 3-6 interns. Field Placement teacher for Pre-STEPS students at UNC-CH. Guest speaker at NCSU. Contributing author to Alternative Model Program for Young Children. Member of Montessori Association of the Carolinas and AMS Teacher’s Section. Montessori Directress since 1979.
Melanie Vandermast holds a B.S. in Business, with a major in Marketing from Miami University of Ohio and an A.A.S. in Merchandising from the Fashion Institute of Technology, a S.U.N.Y. school in New York City. She received her Early Childhood 3-6 Credential from the North Carolina Center of Montessori Teacher Education (NC-CMTE) in June of 2002. Melanie began teaching in 1999 when she joined Montessori Day School as Liz Mallett’s Assistant Directress. Since completing her Montessori Credential she has been a Directress at Montessori Community School of Durham and returned to Montessori Day School as Directress in 2008. Melanie has been a member of the American Montessori Society (AMS) since 2002.
Location
The school is located in a large home on Weaver Dairy Road next to the Timberlyne Shopping Center just off of Hwy. 86 (Airport Road). In 1982, the home was customized for students and the Montessori philosophy.
About Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori was an individual ahead of her time. She was born in 1870 in Ancona, Italy, to an educated but nonaffluent middle class family. She grew up in a country considered most conservative in its attitude toward women, yet even against the considerable opposition of her father and teachers, Montessori pursued a scientific education and was the first woman to become a physician in Italy. As a practicing physician associated with the University of Rome, she was a scientist, not a teacher. It is ironic that she became famous for her contributions in a field that she had rejected as the traditional refuge for women at a time when few professions were open to them other than homemaking or the convent. The Montessori method evolved almost by accident from a small experiment that Dr. Montessori carried out on the side. Her genius stems not from her teaching ability, but from her recognition of the importance of what she stumbled upon.