Staff

Ms. Sharon

Owner

Ms. Sharon  is the Head of School and owner of La Bella Vita Montessori School. She has Bachelor Degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education and is a state certified teacher for Kindergarten through 8^th Grade. She has taught at every age level, including being the principal of an Elementary school. Sharon also holds a Bachelors’ degree in Business Management, a Master’s Degree in Management, and an MBA along with her Principal Certification. Children are her true passion and La Bella Vita is her “baby”. She always taught with “unconventional” methods and later discovered that her methods were Montessori. She then left teaching and was a site coordinator for another Montessori and audited her Montessori training. She then followed her true passion and opened her own school in 2014. Along with children, Sharon has a huge passion for dogs and is very active in multiple dog rescues. Sharon and her husband Scott have been married for 28 years and live on 10 acres in Missouri Valley. Together they have 3 labs, Sophie, Maya, Maggie and a feral kitty cat. They also have 3 labs that have passed on, Sara, Bailey and Molly who hold special places in their hearts. 

Ms. Amy

 Executive Director

Ms. Amy has worked in a Montessori classroom for 18 years and has been the Executive Directress for La Bella Vita since 2018. She attended UNO and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with an Endorsement in Early Childhood Education and continues to hold her teaching certificate. She also has completed her Montessori Infant/Toddler certification from the Mid-America Montessori Teacher Training Institute. She has consistently worked with young children throughout her life. She has been married for 12 years to her husband Adam and has 2 children, Enzo and Neva, who attend La Bella Vita. She has a dog named Bruce and a cat named Mashmallow. When she has time she enjoys reading, sewing, working in the yard, traveling, watching too much T.V. and spending time with family and friends. 

Ms. Pam

Director of Community

Ms. Pam has been teaching in a Montessori classroom since 2009 and moved to Director of Community in 2020. She has always loved Montessori as it is similar to her own parenting style. She enjoys watching children learn organically, figure things out on their own, explore their environment and develop a natural love of learning. As Director of Community, she loves forming bonds with the children and their families and being a support system to staff. She graduated from Marian High School, attended UNO and holds her Infant/Toddler Montessori Certification which she received from the Mid-America Montessori Teacher Training Institute. She lives with her husband and high school sweetheart, Joe, their 4 boys (with another boy on the way), their dog, and leopard gecko. Ms. Pam has a small obsession with Harry Potter. She loves coffee, enjoys cooking and baking, reading books whenever she can, crafting, knitting, photography, holidays and spending time with her family. 

Ms. Alice

Director of Operations

Ms. Alice was born and raised in Mississippi. She moved to Nebraska in 2012 and decided to call it home. She has been teaching in a Montessori classroom for the last 5 years. She attended Mississippi State University and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences. She also has completed her Montessori Infant/Toddler certification from the Mid-America Montessori Teacher Training Institute. She has consistently worked with children of all ages throughout her life. She has been married for 4 years to her husband and has 2 children. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, traveling, playing guitar, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.

Ms. Dani

Toddler Directress

Ms. Dani has been teaching in a Montessori classroom for the last 3 years. She started her career in early childhood education when she started at Phoenix Day School for the Deaf. She worked there for 5 years until she got pregnant with her first son. Once he was born, she started to look into Montessori education and fell in love with their philosophy and culture. She has since been a lead EC teacher at a Guide Post Montessori, as well as a lead toddler teacher at Montessori Room.  In her classrooms, she always incorporates ASL, which offers children an alternative to communication while they’re still learning language. She has been working with children her whole life and comes from a very large family. Having two little boys of her own, was when she truly realized where her heart lies as both mother and teacher. She has lived in Phoenix for the last ten years and recently moved to Omaha with her little family and dog. When she finds free time, she enjoys spending time with my children, cooking, reading and crafting gifts for the people she loves! 

Ms. Tammy

Toddler Directress

Ms. Tammy has been working in Montessori for over 30 years. She thoroughly enjoys observing children as they delight in new discoveries and guiding them through the learning process. She has a BA degree in Elementary Education from the University of Sioux Falls and a MS degree in Elementary Education through the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She took the Montessori Infant/Toddler Training through the Mid-America Montessori Teacher Training Institute in the early 90’s and recently took it again to update her Montessori certification. She has completed the Early Childhood Care and Education Management Training Course and has taken classes towards an Early Childhood Endorsement. She holds teaching certificates in both Nebraska and Iowa. She lives with her husband Chris in Council Bluffs. She is active at Walnut Grove Baptist Church, where she serves on the Board of Christian Education, the Board of Elders, teaches Children’s Church, and helps wherever needed. In her free time she enjoys music, movies, sports, taking pictures, crafts, going for walks, continuing her education, and spending time with family and friends.

Ms. Judea

Toddler Teacher

Ms. Judea was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, but has spent the last seven years living in Sacramento, California.  She relocated to Omaha in July 2023. She has been married for ten years to her high school sweetheart and they are proud parents of three amazing children. Her passion for Early Childhood Education sparked in 2017 when she started volunteering in her church’s nursery and children’s ministry. She then began pursuing her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education with a Specialization in Infant and Toddler Care. Throughout her journey to obtain her Bachelor’s degree, she has held multiple positions working with children. She was a nursery coordinator at her former church, founding Director of a play-based center, substitute teacher, and preschool teacher at a Montessori school in California. She currently attends the University of Arizona where she will close out her Bachelor’s in Health and Human Services. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing board games, and serving in her church.

Ms. Gabi

Toddler Teacher

Ms. Gabi is new to La Bella Vita Montessori School.  She has a true passion for education and working with children to help them achieve their true potential. As the third of six children in her family, she grew up benefitting from the assistance of her older siblings and later working with her younger siblings in learning the importance of education and independent, respectful growth. She carried that passion forward over nine months as part of Youth With a Mission, including 3 months in Columbia, where she worked with local children in education, arts, sports, and community development. She spent two years at Franciscan College prior to embarking on Youth With a Mission and is a graduate of Concordia High School. She has also worked as a teaching assistant at St. Wenceslaus Catholic School. The cumulative effects of growing up in a large, close-knit family, combined with domestic and international experiences working with young children, fueled her passion for child development. She hopes to instill in her students a love for school and the process of learning. She strongly values spending quality time with her family and friends. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, surfing and engaging with her two-year old nephew.

Ms. Jordan

Early Childhood Directress

Ms. Jordan began teaching Montessori in 2014 and immediately fell in love with it. She enjoys working with all ages and has recently completed her AMI Montessori certification for the 3-6 age group. She graduated from Metro Community college with an associate in Theatre in August of 2022 and plans to pursue her bachelors in Early Childhood Education after completing her Montessori certification. In her free time she loves learning new skills and hobbies, some of her current favorites are sewing and crafting, skating, and playing music with friends. She also enjoys camping, traveling, and going to concerts with her husband.

Ms. Maria

Early Childhood Directress

Ms. Katie

Early Childhood Teacher

Ms. Katie recently joined La Bella Vita Montessori and is very excited to assist in the Early Childhood classrooms. She’s originally from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, but moved to Omaha two years ago for school. She has lots of experience working with kids of all ages and loves working with them. She began working with kids by babysitting when she was 12 and when she was 18 she worked at a local daycare. Ms. Katie is a junior in college, taking online classes for her Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Conservation. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her boyfriend, her friends and her roommates. She also loves to read, bake, listen to music, do puzzles, watch her favorite shows and movies, and spend time practicing her faith by praying, reading her bible, going to mass every Sunday and praying with her roommates and friends.

Mr. Cam

Early Childhood Teacher

Mr. Cam has been working in childcare for almost 3 years.  He began working as a school cook while he worked in the classroom part of the time, and eventually moved into his own classroom working with preschoolers. While learning about the Montessori philosophy, he realized that it seems to be his natural approach to teaching children.  He is very excited to be joining the LBV Community and learning even more!  He lives with his 3yr old daughter, Lyric, and cat, Zeus. In his free time, he enjoys writing music, playing video games, and of course spending time with family and friends. 

Ms. RiLee

Nido Directress

Ms. RiLee has been teaching in a Montessori classroom since 2013 in both the infant and toddler classrooms. Growing up she always liked working with the children in her mother’s preschool room. She has studied under many great Montessori directresses that have shaped the way she teaches now. She recently completed her Infant-Toddler Montessori Certification in 2020. Her family means the world to her. In her spare time she enjoys reading, creating art, people watching, and spending time with her friends.

Ms. Jenni

Nido Directress

Ms. Jenni has been teaching in a Montessori classroom since 2017. She comes to us with an additional 12 years of experience working in Early Childhood Education in a traditional childcare setting. She completed her Montessori Infant/Toddler certification from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies training institute in March of 2021. Ms. Jenni has two children that are ages 22 and 6. Her six year old son Remmy attends La Bella Vita. She has a corgi named Delilah that she considers to be her third child. Jenni enjoys health and fitness, cooking, hiking with her dog, road trips, and trying new things!

Ms. Agoung

Nido Directress

Ms. Agoung is the newest member of the La Bella Vita Montessori community. She has consistently worked with  young children throughout her life. From family members to working in childcare for 2 years. She comes from a big family of 7; 4 sisters and 2 brothers. She enjoys reading, volleyball or any outdoor activities, cooking, and listening to music. She has one kitten named Sage, who she absolutely adores even when he sometimes doesn’t feel the same. When she’s not working you can find her grilling with her family, watching Korean shows/movies, or eating tacos at her favorite restaurant Javi’s Tacos. 

Ms. Roshi

Lower Elementary Directress

Ms. Roshi is a fully certified Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) directress at the Early Childhood and Elementary levels (children 3 – 12 years of age). With close to 30 years of classroom experience. Roshi has taught in Sri Lanka, Ireland, New York and now in Omaha. She is a wonderful addition to our teaching team. Ms. Roshi has been married to her husband for over 20 years and has a 20 year old son, Jali. Outside of work Ms. Roshi enjoys cooking, traveling and reading.

Ms. Caylin

Lower Elementary Directress

Ms. Caylin has spent the last three years teaching middle school special education in Colorado. Prior to that, Caylin worked at Brain Balance of West Omaha and as Director of Youth Education at Unity of Omaha. She attended Western Governors University while traveling in Switzerland and graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education. She currently holds her Nebraska teaching certificate. Caylin also has completed Orton-Gillingham Basics training through Orton-Gillingham International and OG Morphology Plus training through the Institute of Multi-Sensory Education. In her free time, Caylin enjoys writing music, reading, crocheting, playing board and video games, and cuddling with her cat, Felix. 

Ms. Mary

Support Teacher

Ms. Mary has adopted and raised a son with Mark Andrews, her soul-mate for 40 years. After adopting, the family moved from California back to the heartland where they began. Their son Josh took Montessori classes through MPS at Norris Elementary. The Montessori approach helped Josh overcome social fears and become a “free-range learner” who can research any subject, anywhere. In recent years, Ms. Mary has worked as an MPS preschool para and childcare worker for Gallup. She has a journalism and art degree from Creighton University, having worked in publishing, graphic design and promoting non-profits. Currently, she writes essays and poetry. Gardening is a growing passion, especially native plants and perennial flowers. Mary and Mark have 3 cats named Honey, Loki and Frey.  

Ms. Teri

Support Teacher

Ms. Teri had a long career of caring for others. She graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s nursing program in 1995. Her nursing career lasted over 27 years until she retired in September 2022. Teri has consistently enjoyed working and playing with children throughout her life. She has two daughters (who are now adults) and was a stay at home mom. Teri volunteered at her daughter’s elementary school assisting teachers in the classroom. She was then hired, at their school, as a paraprofessional in Special Education for OPS. Once her daughter’s were in school a couple years, she decided to attend college and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. Teri has been married for 46 years to her husband Don and they have two dogs, Leo and Wrigley. They have two grandchildren, Piper (12) and her grandson Ronan (5) who is currently attending La Bella Vita. Ms. Teri  is very happy to be joining the La Bella Vita family.