About Us
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
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Our Staff
OUR TEAM
#GoToMSSR Community
CARMEN ARENAS
Directress
Universidad Educares, Santiago-Chile
Early Childhood Education, 1987
Washington Montessori Institute, AMI Primary Diploma 1994
Head of School/Primary classroom Directress
Carmen taught at the Montessori School of Oakton for 11 years before opening her school in the South Riding area. All three of her boys attended a Montessori school for their primary and elementary years and she credits their leadership skills and independence to those early years! Carmen’s dedication to the Montessori philosophy is shown daily in the classroom. Carmen has opened MSSR doors to children in the autism spectrum with high aspirations that by having an inclusion model program at MSSR, other Montessori schools will do the same.
Carmen serves as an active member on the board of directors of The Montessori School of Oakton and The Middleburg Montessori School.
CLAUDIA TELLO
Administrator
Universidad Privada del Norte, Peru
Business Administration, 1999
Administrator
Claudia was born in Trujillo, Peru. She has a major in Business Administration and has worked in the mortgage/title field for over 10 years. Claudia brings with her the beautiful gift of the Spanish language, and her great experience in the business field. Claudia is also the mother of a 7 year old boy. She loves working with children, and her favorite activities are traveling and dancing.
DIANE D. O’KEEFE
Assistant Teacher
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, BS International Economics, 1979
St. Catherine’s’ University, MA Montessori Education, 2011
Washington Montessori Institute, AMI Primary Diploma, 1983
Diane joined Montessori School of South Riding after taking some time off from fulltime teaching to provide childcare for her grandson who recently moved with his parents to Seattle, Washington. She has over 35 years’ experience in Montessori and traditional classrooms. Previously, she taught at Montessori School of Oakton and also served as Director of Montessori School of Cedar Lane in Fairfax for 10 years while also teaching a class of 30 children. Diane has a special interest in how children learn to read. Diane’s three children benefited from the Montessori philosophy in developing excellent critical thinking skills, independence and responsibility. They now live in California, Washington State and Virginia. Married for 41years, Diane and her husband have lived in various locations in the United States, Japan and Singapore. Diane enjoys sewing, cooking, hiking and travelling.
ROSY ELABDERRAHMANI
Assistant Teacher
Rosy has over 23 years of experience enriching the lives of children. Rosy attended University of Lima in Peru and got her Montessori training at the North American Montessori Center. She has worked at the Montessori School of Oakton since 1997, and we are grateful to have her guidance in our All Day Program since 2015.
Originally from Peru, Rosy is a native Spanish speaker and enjoys dancing, cooking and spending time with her grandson.
