Faculty and Staff

Children’s House

Brenda Alfreds

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
balfreds@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Alfreds has 20 years of experience as an Assistant Teacher guiding children through the Montessori Method of learning at the Shrewsbury Campus. Brenda assists in all areas of the classroom and helps make a happy, healthy, and safe environment for the children to learn. Her hope is that all children have the opportunity to learn in a supportive environment!

Wenda Edtl

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
wedtl@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Edtl brings over 35 years of experience as SMS Children’s House Assistant Teacher to her current role as an Assistant Teacher for Mrs. Shupe. She enjoys scrapbooking, cooking, gardening and traveling.

Kathy Falcucci

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Auburn Campus
kfalcucci@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Falcucci joined the SMS team in September of 1997. She has an associate degree from Newbury Junior College of Business. She has worked in Children’s House since her start in 1997. Before coming to SMS, Kathy was a stay at home mom raising her three boys. In her spare time, she likes visiting wineries and spending time at North Beach in NH.

Kathy Finn

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
kfinn@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Finn attained her Montessori Children’s House (3-6) credential through the AMS certified New England Montessori Teacher Education Center. Kathleen holds her Director I and Lead Teacher certificate through the MA Department of Early Education and Care. Mrs. Finn has worked in the MetroWest area as a Montessori Lead Teacher and Director for over 20 years. She loves working with children as “they are full of possibilities!”.

Rebecca Edwards

Children’s House Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
redwards@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Edwards has 9 years of experience working with children and 1 year of teaching assisting at another Montessori school. She is originally for the U.K. and moved to the USA in 2016 with her family. She enjoys outdoor sports, walking and being creative.

Jeannie Korona-Treveloni

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
jtreveloni@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Treveloni has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Framingham State College. She earned her Montessori Children’s House (3-6) credential through the AMS certified New England Montessori Teacher Education Center and holds her Lead Teacher certificate through the MA Department of Early Education and Care. She has worked in the Metro West area as a Montessori Lead Teacher for over 19 years. Ms. Treveloni works to uncover each child’s full potential.

Julie Docherty

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
jdocherty@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Docherty graduated from Quinsigamond Community College with an Associate Degree in May 1992 and since has been working in the Early Childhood field. She has worked at Shrewsbury Montessori School as Ms. Treveloni’s Assistant in the Children’s House program since March 2020. She enjoys spending time with her daughter and family.

Christine Manzi

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
cmanzi@shrewsburymontessori.org

After completing her internship at SMS in May 2012, Christine was offered a Lead Teacher position in the Children’s House program level. She received her AMS certification through the New England Montessori Training Center in Newton, MA and has been approved by EEC as a Preschool Lead Teacher. Christine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Nichols College. She is the mother of two Montessori children, enjoys good pizza, and plays sandpit volleyball.

Shloka Shroff

Children’s House Teacher
Auburn Campus
sshroff@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Shroff joined SMS as a Children’s House lead in September 2019. She has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Early Childhood Education from the University of Mumbai, India. She also holds her 3-6 Montessori teaching certification from the Center for Montessori Education in NY. Mrs. Shroff has taught in various capacities over the last 18 years. She also ran a home-based daycare when she lived in Buffalo, NY. In her downtime, Mrs. Shroff enjoys spending quality time with her family, traveling, listening to music, and gardening.

Debra Shupe

Children’s House Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
dshupe@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Shupe grew up in northern New York and received her Bachelor of Arts in Early Education from SUNY-Potsdam and a Master of Science in Deaf Education from the State University of New York-Geneseo. She attained her Montessori Infant, Toddler, and Children’s House (0-6) certification through the St. Nicholas School in London, England. Mrs. Shupe loves to incorporate nature into the daily curriculum of Montessori education through gardening and observation as a means to tap into all the five senses. Mrs. Shupe enjoys skiing, riding horses, biking, and traveling.

Lower Elementary

Christine Abysalh

Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
cabysalh@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Abysalh joined the SMS community as a Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher in September 1999. Previously, she had volunteered in Holden Public Schools and worked for Shrewsbury Public Schools in the Special Education Department as a Child Specific Aid. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and traveling to the sandy beaches of Maine.

Krista Maynard

Lower Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
kmaynard@shrewsburymontessori.org

Miss Maynard began her career at SMS in 2011. After working as a Lower Elementary Assistant and finding a passion for the Montessori philosophy, she pursued her Montessori certification. She completed her training in Elementary I (6-9) in 2015 from the AMS certified Montessori Education Teacher Training Collaborative and has enjoyed being a Lower Elementary Lead Teacher ever since. Krista graduated from Salve Regina University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business Administration and furthered her schooling in Elementary Education at Worcester State University. We are fortunate to also have Miss Maynard help chaperone the 6th Year students on the Bahamas trip for four years. In her free time, she loves cheering on all Boston sports teams.

Susan Sabacinski

Lower Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
ssabacinski@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Sabacinski began her Montessori journey in September 1986 as an assistant teacher at the Children’s House of Auburn. She began as a Lead Teacher at SMS in Lower Elementary in 1997. She attended Mass College of Art and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Worcester State University. In addition, she holds her 6-9 Montessori teaching certification from Seacoast Center. Mrs. Sabacinski is the proud parent of three and her youngest is an SMS graduate. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, knitting, and spending as much time as possible with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

Casey Savoie

Lower Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
csavoie@shrewsburymontessori.org

Miss Savoie joined SMS as a Lower Elementary Assistant in September 2019. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Worcester State University and wants to pursue a career in teaching. In her spare time, she enjoys going for hikes with her dog and playing volleyball leagues and tournaments. She also loves shopping, cooking, and Patriots football.

Upper Elementary

Brodie Kramer

Upper Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
bkramer@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mr. Kramer has been a member of the SMS community since September 2012 when he joined the Upper Elementary team as an assistant teacher.  He became a Montessori teacher in 2015 upon completing his AMS-certified Montessori Elementary II (9-12) training through the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in NY.  Mr. Kramer has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He enjoys learning and teaching about all academic topics, but he is particularly passionate about science.  In his free time, he enjoys hiking and backpacking, road trips, photography, cooking, and playing the ukulele.

Beth McGillicuddy

Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
bmcgillicuddy@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. McGillicuddy started working at SMS as an Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher in 2006.  She has completed the Intro to Montessori and 3-6 Overview at the Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative.  Mrs. McGillicuddy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Affairs from Assumption College. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, going to the beach, and is an avid Red Sox and Patriots fan.

Judith Regan

Upper Elementary Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
jmregan@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Regan joined SMS in September 1998. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Regis College. Prior to becoming an Upper Elementary Lead teacher in 2001, she spent two years as an Upper Elementary assistant and one year as a Children’s House teacher. She has Montessori certification for ages 0-6 from London Montessori Centre and Montessori Elementary I and II certification from Seacoast Center. Mrs. Regan enjoys spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, reading, and vacationing at Martha’s Vineyard.

Joyce Adams

Upper Elementary Assistant Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
jadams@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Adams brings over 23 years of experience as an SMS Children’s House Assistant Teacher to her current role as Children’s House Substitute Teacher. Joyce loves working with children, enjoys traveling, and is a dog lover.

Specialists

Kristin Combs

Art and Gardening Teacher
All Campuses
kcombs@shrewsburymontessori.org

Kristin Combs graduated from Connecticut College with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Studio Art. She has taught both art and academic subjects to preschool through ninth grade children for more than 20 years. She joined the SMS community as a parent in 2011 and as a teacher in 2012. Before becoming the Art and Gardening teacher in 2018, she has worked in several roles at SMS, including Music assistant, Children’s House trainee, and occasional substitute. She is the parent of one SMS alumna and one current Upper Elementary student. Outside of school, Mrs. Combs enjoys knitting, gardening, house renovation projects, and watching her children’s sports and music activities.

Cindy Erle

Librarian
Shrewsbury Campus
cerle@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mrs. Erle joined the teaching staff at SMS in 2018. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern University, Masters of Education, Elementary 1-6, from Anna Maria College, and a Masters of Education, Library K-12, from Cambridge College. Mrs. Erle taught fifth and sixth grades and served as librarian at Sherwood Middle School in Shrewsbury before moving on to the Nashoba Regional district as a school librarian in elementary and middle school. She retired from teaching in the public sector after 22 years. Of course, she loves to read in her spare time, but she also enjoys spending time with her family, weaving, rug hooking, scrapbooking, and all crafts.

Mark Kobel

Technology Teacher
Shrewsbury Campus
mkobel@shrewsburymontessori.org

Mr. Kobel joins Shrewsbury Montessori School after teaching Technology/Engineering for 36 years. He received his bachelor and master degrees from Fitchburg State University and a STEM certification from UMass Boston. He has taught T/E classes including digital photography, digital video production, vex robotics, graphic arts, auto maintenance, woodworking, drafting, 3D computer modeling, and 3D printing all with a focus on helping students to develop skills for solving real-world problems. When not at SMS he enjoys music, gardening, photography, home maintenance projects, and playing guitar.

Kaye Glass

Music Teacher
Shrewsbury and Worcester Campus
sokerlund@shrewsburymontessori.org

“Kookie” began sharing music with Shrewsbury Montessori children in the fall of 1981 as an outreach program specialist for the Performing Arts School of Worcester at the Auburn campus as well
as the Shrewsbury facilities. She has developed and led music workshops and contributed to programs for all ages at numerous locations in the US as well as in England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Since 2014 she has been contracted with the Girl Scouts of America as a National Volunteer Partner, assigned as a Music Coordinator for GSUSA National Conventions. Since April 2020, she has contributed to music program design and presented at several World Association for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts “zoom” events for adults and girls all over the world. Kookie is a stained glass crafter, woodcarver, a reader and loves to travel. She is a composer, plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, autoharp and recorders and loves to share the fun of music wherever she goes.

Phyllis Whitten

Latin Teacher
All Campuses
pwhitten@shrewsburymontessori.org

Madame Whitten has been part of the SMS faculty since 1986, teaching French conversation to the students in Children’s House through Fifth Year and Latin to the Sixth Year class. She has a Bachelor of Arts in French and Education from Tufts University and a masters’ degree from Lesley University. Having grown up in France, she brings a European perspective to her teaching. She has taught children in Boston area schools as well as homeschoolers. Her youngest daughter is an SMS alumna. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, and traveling with her husband.

Support Staff

Hannah Lewis

School Nurse
Shrewsbury Campus
hlewis@shrewsburymontessori.org

Ms. Lewis joined SMS in August 2020. She obtained a Bachelor of Science  Degree in Nursing from Ohio University. She has previously worked as a one-to-one school nurse and spent most of her career in Emergency rooms  in Massachusetts and  Newark, New Jersey. During her spare time Ms. Lewis enjoys spending most of her time with her toddler son and adult husband, swimming, gardening and participating in community activism.