Whitney Spears and Katie Swisher
Katie Swisher has been the Guide in the Ocean room class since it opened in January 2008. She is a Montessori child and the daughter of a Montessori teacher. She received an AMI Primary Diploma from the Montessori Institute Northwest in May of 2004 and her M.Ed. that summer from Loyola College in Maryland. She is a violinist/violist, and her B.A. focused on music with young children in the Montessori Primary setting. In the classroom, Katie is passionate about supporting children’s development as social human beings and inspiring each child’s love of life-long learning. Her other interests include gardening, cooking, hiking, camping, and enjoying time with her husband Mike.
I love being part of the Harmony community! Its inclusiveness and dedication to supporting the important work of childhood inspires me to foster independence and a love of learning in every child I meet. -Katie
Whitney Spears is very happy to be the assistant guide in the Ocean Room. She joined the Harmony community last spring as an assistant in the River Room. She received her AMI diploma through The Montessori Institute Northwest in the spring of 2010. She will be earning her Master’s Degree from Loyola University at Maryland, in the summer of 2013. Before discovering that she wanted to work in Montessori Education, Whitney spent her time earning her degree in education as well as studying educational theater, hoping to incorporate theater into the inner city schools of New York City. However, it didn’t take her long to realize that working in a conventional setting wasn’t her passion. When a friend recommended that she study Montessori education Whitney remembered that she also had been a Montessori child. She knew this was something that she wanted to pursue and share with other children. Whitney is glad to be a part of this community. When she isn’t at Harmony you can find her singing, baking and cooking, or swimming.
I love being a part of a positive community where we believe in the whole child and we always see their fullest potential. -Whitney
