Teachers

Norma Damiani is the owner and principal at Steeple on the Beach Montessori. She has a diverse background and the Montessori way of life stems back to her own childhood in Chihuahua, Mexico. Norma was excited to take ownership of SOTB in 2017 after more than fifteen years to Montessori teaching experience. She has taught in Mexico, Italy, Texas, California and Florida. Creating a unique bilingual Montessori learning environment where both Spanish and English are integrated in the daily lessons is her passion. 

She is Montessori certified in:  

AIM assistant to infancy (0-3 years) from La Jolla, California

Pre-primary (3-6 years) from the North America Montessori Center in Canada.    

 Elizabeth Sinatra is originally from Toronto, Canada, where she studied fine arts at York University, Martial arts, and the Montessori Method. She was fortunate to have been trained under Dr. Montessori’s granddaughter, Renilde Montessori, at The Foundation for Montessori Education in Toronto. Much of her Montessori experience comes from a lineage of Montessori teachers. She fosters an environment of peace and tolerance through modeling and explicit teaching of empathy, independent learning, and collaboration skills. Elizabeth is the original owner of SOTB Montessori School, she has trained teachers at the Summit Montessori Teacher Training Institute, and most recently, has worked as an ABA behavior therapist for children with autism, and is the owner of Sinatra Education Services, which provides one on one teaching and parent advocacy for children with learning delays. 

We are excited for Elizabeth to implement her fine arts program and her love for kinesthetic learning into our Casa De Bambini. All the children will have an opportunity to practice their Language, Math and Cultural knowledge through drama, dance, music, and Taekwondo. 

This, combined with our Spanish emersion program, will provide our students with a foundation on which to learn confidently and cohesively.

My name is Melody and I am a mother of two children. I was born in Miami but I was raised in

Spain, Madrid. While living in Madrid I studied A.A. In Early Childhood and a B.S. in Educational

Psychology. Once I finished my studies over there I decided to come back to Florida to reinforce

my english. I started working in a Montessori School and I fell in love with it so I decided to do

the Infant/Toddler training. I have been working with children in a Montessori setting over 13

years. During that time I got the training in Montessori Early Childhood, and the Directors

credentials.

I love children, I think they are the most special, honest, innocent and vulnerable thing in the

world and I am passionate to help them grow in the amazing human being that they will be in

the future because they are our future.

I am currently teaching at the Nido environment. 

My name is Glenia Dorrell, I am currently the children's house assistant teacher at Steeple on the Beach Montessori.

I have lived with my husband and daughter in Florida for several years, but my home country is the Dominican Republic.  I have certificates in psychology and Child Development Associate (CDA) and AMI assistant toddler certification.

I enjoy working with children and have always said that a happy and loved child helps us to become happy and beloved adults.

My name is Kris and I am currently assisting Ms.Norma in the Infant Toddler community. I am the mother of two children that are also part of the beautiful family of SOTB. I was born in the Basque Country, North of Spain, where I also met my life partner. He came to the States as a Jai Alai player and I also did so when I finished my Environmental Science Bachelor. Once in the States I had the opportunity to start working in a small Montessori school as an assistant and this is how I met this beautiful methodology and, also, Ms.Melody. I worked for two years, most part of the time in the infant environment along Ms.Melody. For sure these two years will change my traditional perception of how to raise my children. During this time, I also have the opportunity of assisting at primary class in a bigger Montessori school. Then, I became a mother of my first child and I spent the first year with her until I started working in a different field. When my second child  was born, I decided that I wanted a Montessori  school for them to grow and this is why I came to the SOTB. Recently I finish my AMI assistant to infancy assitant training.

Mi nombre es  Karem mi  Lugar de nacimiento: Linares, región del Maule, Chile. Crecí en otra ciudad cercana a mi lugar de nacimiento llamada Talca, en dónde estudié Licenciada en Educación y Profesora de Educación Física con especialidad en psicomotricidad, graduándome con honores en la Universidad Católica del Maule. También tengo el título AMI en Asistente A la infancia  (0-3 años) - Para mí la verdadera educación es a través de prácticas diarias comprometidas y adaptadas a las necesidades de cada niño. La educación Montessori es una gran herramienta para alcanzar el desarrollo integral en el niño. Creo en el Método Montessori, que sumando con una educación socio-afectiva integral permite potenciar las habilidades naturales en los niños y convertirlos en adultos conscientes, amables, con sus capacidades desarrolladas al máximo y felices. Esa es la educación que los niños de SOTB reciben de mi parte cada día, estoy muy feliz y a gusto de formar parte de este lindo y profesional equipo.