Our Staff

When Julie first encountered Montessori, she was a nanny for a KMS family. While working for them, Julie volunteered at the school. She listened to readers, drove on field trips, and substituted in the classroom.

In 1999, Julie started working as an assistant in the classroom. She then went on to do her Montessori teacher training through Northeast Montessori Institute and earned her primary Montessori teaching credential. Now in her seventeenth year as a Primary Head Teacher, she also holds an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from KVCC and earned her BA from UMA in Applied Science with a minor in Early Childhood Services.

She enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching the Red Sox, working in her flower garden outside, and tending to her plants inside. You might even spot her selling and taking tickets at many different Winslow High School sporting events. Julie resides in Winslow with her cat, Pumpkin.

Maureen Vashon is in her twelfth year as an Assistant Teacher at KMS. She graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1990 and moved to Pennsylvania shortly after. Maureen first encountered the Montessori method of teaching at a preschool in Pennsylvania and worked there for two years before having twin boys and moving back to Maine to be closer to family. Once she was back in Maine, she finished her Montessori training and started working at KMS in 1999.

In March of 2000, Maureen left KMS to have her youngest child. Once all her children were in school full time, Maureen returned to KMS as the Assistant Teacher in P-1 with Julie, where she continues today. Maureen has loved being in Julie’s class and has really enjoyed developing her teaching skills in every area of the classroom. She loves watching the children blossom as they grow in Montessori and especially likes doing music and movement with the children any chance she gets!

In her spare time, Maureen loves to sing and is in a community band and sings at church. Maureen also loves to give back by volunteering throughout the community in various capacities. She lives in Winslow with her husband Mike, and three boys, who all attended KMS.

As the mother of a teenage boy who attended KMS, Tabitha has experienced the importance of Montessori education and the love for learning.

She began her journey in education by receiving an associate’s degree in Biotechnology. While working in the Bioscience field, she soon realized it did not suit her. As she moved on to pursue a BA in Biology, she also began working as an Assistant Teacher, here at KMS, in 2005. It was that position that led her to switch gears and complete a BA in Early Childhood Education at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. She also earned an AMS primary credential during her 10 years as assistant to Mary Lou Ogden.

Having seen firsthand the value of the Montessori education for her child, she feels privileged to continue this work in her current role as Head Teacher to provide a solid foundation for continuous growth for other children.

Katie is a Maine native, growing up right here in Central Maine. She studied elementary education at the University of Maine at Orono.

Her very first teaching job was here at KMS as an assistant teacher in the elementary classroom in 2005. Not only did she fall in love with all things Montessori, she decided she would like to pursue her own certification and become a head teacher. That very next summer, Katie began her Montessori teacher training and became the primary 3 classroom teacher that fall. She later went on to earn a Masters of Education from Endicott College in Beverly, MA.

Katie is a new mom and loves spending time outdoors with her husband and daughter. Katie loves spending time outdoors and staying active with her husband and two young children. Her daughter now attends KMS as well.

Angie was born in Bolivia but grew up in northern Chile. She moved to the US in 1989, and spent a few years in Virginia before moving to Florida. There, she worked as a daycare teacher at a public elementary school. After many vacations to Maine, she and her husband quickly grew fond of the state and decided to seek a homesteading lifestyle there. In 2006, they moved to Maine, and they bought a 150-year-old farmhouse where they grow food and raise chickens.

Angie started work at KMS in 2007, where she first learned of the Montessori philosophy—a philosophy she was quick to embrace. She enjoys working with children and is particularly keen in sharing in their curiosity of life in general.

Outside of work, Angie enjoys gardening, camping, crafting, and zumba.

Elizabeth considers herself a “Montessori native,” as she attended The Montessori Children’s House of Morristown, NJ, from primary through sixth grade. A passionate Montessorian, Elizabeth has been involved in the Montessori community working in all levels of classrooms from primary to middle school.

Elizabeth graduated summa cum laude from The State University of New York with a B.S. in Environmental Science. She holds an AMS teaching credential for Elementary I-II, as well an M.Ed in Special Education. Elizabeth is a proud faculty member at the Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative, a renowned Montessori training center based out of Lexington, MA. In the classroom, Elizabeth finds great joy in cultivating vibrant, inclusive classrooms where children’s natural curiosity, creativity, and leadership skills flourish.

Outside of the classroom, Elizabeth enjoys cooking, homesteading, and yoga. Elizabeth resides in Madison, Maine with her husband and a menagerie of animals.

Prior to teaching at KMS, Sonia taught six years at primary bilingual academy and public school in Taipei, Taiwan. She has experience teaching both in English and Mandarin, to children of all ages. In her free time, she loves yoga, zumba and swimming.

Bridget started here career at Waterville Public Schools after graduating from the University of Maine at Farmington.

After ten years of teaching Title 1 Literacy and Kindergarten, she transitioned to teaching at KMS and is completing her Elementary Certification at METTC.

Bridget lives in Benton with her husband and two sons and enjoys reading, hiking, and spending time with her family. Her oldest son attends KMS.

Amy earned her Master of Education from Hunter College and started her career teaching third through fifth grades in the New York City public school system. After working a few years in the city system, Amy realized that there had to be a better way to teach each individual child instead of plowing ahead while some students were left behind.

She moved with her family to Goshen, New York, found a beautiful Montessori school, and began her journey. In 2013, she completed her Elementary II certification from the CMTE in New Rochelle, NY. She moved from New York to Maine to continue her journey in another welcoming Montessori environment.

She currently lives in Waterville with her husband, two sons, three dogs, and two cats. She is enjoying all that Maine has to offer which includes swimming in lakes, riding bicycles, kayaking, and hiking. She has a love for books; both reading for herself and reading aloud to her students. Soccer is a favorite sport in the house, and Amy has enjoyed coaching previously in New York.

Holly grew up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She received a bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of New Hampshire. During summers of her college years, she worked as the Art Director for summer programs in South Burlington, VT, providing varied art experiences for children and time consulting with and aiding camp counselors in their quest to provide additional art experiences.

Having enjoyed working with children, she decided to continue her education by earning a Masters of Education degree, also from UNH. She holds a professional level, Maine teaching certificate with an endorsement in visual arts grade K-12. During her master’s program, Holly spent half a year interning as an art teacher at an elementary school in Madbury, NH, and half a year at a high school in South Berwick, ME. After graduation, she and her husband, Tim, moved to the Midwest, where she taught middle school art in Iowa for four years.

As a believer in the tremendous potential to engage students through the art-making process, Holly is passionate about working with both children and teachers to develop an integrated art curriculum with expanded opportunities for creativity in the classroom. She lives in Waterville with Tim and their two boys, Harper and Oliver—who also attend KMS!

In her spare time, Holly enjoys being with family and friends, being in the great outdoors of New England, playing sports, and creating art of her own, mostly in the form of photography, mixed-media drawings, and oil paintings.

After graduating from the University of Maine’s Wildlife Ecology program in 2009, Kyle worked as a graduate research assistant for the University of Maine as a graduate student, a fisheries biologist in Alaska, and finally as Maine’s lead deer biologist. Now, Kyle is using his background in ecology, biology, and agriculture, to develop an outdoor education program that introduces students to locally sustainable agriculture,and natural ecology and biology, while cultivating a sense of connection with nature.

Tiffany Glidden has been part of the KMS community since 2007. Tiffany is the owner and artistic director of TNT Dance Studio in Fairfield. Her love of children, the arts, dance, and fitness has transferred into her open gym and fitness classes at KMS.

Cynthia McGuire has been teaching music for 38 years. Before coming to KMS in 2014, most of her career was in Hallowell at the elementary and middle school levels, where she taught both instrumental and vocal music. She has been a guest conductor for several Maine honors music festivals. Cynthia earned a BS in Music Education from USM, Gorham and a MM in Music Education from the University of Maine in Orono. She was selected as a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, a music honor society.

Maegan received her BA in Communications at the University of Massachusetts, and has had several different careers including photographer, agent for Southwest Airlines, and as an Administration Assistant in healthcare. She enjoys wearing many hats at KMS!

Gail earned her AS in Business administration from Husson University, and also a BS in Education with a focus on Health and Fitness for K-12, and also general classroom education for K-8. She has spent 20 years in the elementary classroom, and also as a coach. She has coached sports for all school ages from kindergarten up to high school and is currently the head coach for the Lawrence Girls Varsity Lacrosse Team and Assistant for the Erskine Academy Field Hockey Team. Gail has volunteered as a director and coach at many sports camps, for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and for Fair Haven Camps in Brooks Maine. As a retired classroom educator, Gail focuses her attention on writing, which includes children’s books, a nonfiction book on trauma, and also a blog.

Kristin Gagnon is a UMF grad with a degree in Elementary Education. She has spent the majority of her career working with children and families in various capacities. Connecting and maintaining these relationships is at the heart of all of Kristin’s daily routines.

Erika has extensive leadership experience in for-profit and non-profit settings. Her career began in agriculture where she developed a nationally recognized IPM program while working for a large scale commercial greenhouse. After starting a family, she worked as program director for a Maine non-profit organization devoted to statewide school garden education. Erika fell in love with Kennebec Montessori School as a parent and has studied the philosophy ever since. Leadership and team-building has been a common thread in her professional experiences as well as her motivation as a lifelong learner. Erika was elected to the Board of Directors and was shortly hired as Acting Head of School and Interim Head of School after recent growth at KMS.