Rachel Nixon, Head of School
Rachel is delighted to serve as Head of School for Children’s House Montessori School! She has a Masters in Elementary Education from Lesley University. Her path of teaching has included work in public and private schools, stewardship education along the coast of Maine, integrated arts projects with children of all ages, and yoga and mindfulness instruction. Rachel has 15 years experience working in non-profits including serving as the Executive Director of the Georges River Land Trust. Previously, she directed The Dancing Elephant community center for yoga, meditation, and art in Rockland and worked for the Knox County Homeless Coalition. In her free time, Rachel loves to garden, run with her dog Juko, and sail and ski with her family.
Jody Curtis, Office Manager
Jody has been the administrative assistant in the CHMS office since 2013. Prior to coming to CHMS, her background included working for a local non-profit, connecting adolescent students to their communities through a variety of community service programs. Jody also worked as a middle school art teacher for many years in Belfast while raising her two children. Now, a grandmother and advocate of Montessori education, she has loved watching her own grandchildren grow and thrive as a result of their own early Montessori education.
Jenny York, Classroom Floater and Office Assistant
Jenny is delighted to be returning to Children's House Montessori School! She was the Orange Door Assistant Teacher for 6 years before taking a position within the Camden-Rockport Elementary School. She loves to hike, camp, kayak, travel, read, play games and spend time with her two daughters.
Germaine Koomen, Lead Teacher for Jade Door Elementary Classroom
Germaine has over 25 years of teaching experience in both public and independent schools in Massachusetts. She is Montessori-certified at the Primary, Lower Elementary, and Upper Elementary levels and holds Master’s degrees in Elementary Education and Reading. Additionally, she received an advanced graduate certificate in Montessori STEM education.
Germaine has significant experience in environmental education and her work has been recognized by the Essex National Heritage Commission and National Park Service. She was presented the MA Secretary's Award for Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education twice and was selected as a presenter for three national American Montessori Society conferences. Germaine has a great love of peace education and has served as the Montessori coordinator for the Global Art Project since 2010. Additionally, she has experience as a Montessori teacher trainer. Germaine has two daughters and enjoys fiber arts, singing and kayaking. She is very excited about relocating to Camden.
Marney Holmes, Lead Teacher in Blue Door Primary Classroom and Lead Kindergarten
Marney is excited to return as Lead Primary teacher in Blue Door this year and also serve as Lead teacher for the afternoon Kindergarten program! She has been part of the Children’s House community for many years. Her children attended CHMS when they were young and for several years she served as Blue Door Assistant Teacher before beginning her formal Montessori training. In 2014 Marney became the Lead Toddler Teacher in Yellow Door. During summers, Marney has led our summer camp for 3 to 5-year-olds.
Marney holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from St. Catherine University and is a fully certified Early Childhood Montessori teacher.
Elizabeth Barnum, Lead Teacher for Orange Door Primary Classroom
This year, Elizabeth is happy to return to the Orange Door Primary classroom as Lead Teacher after having held the position as Assistant Teacher for several years! She holds a B.A. degree from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Divinity from Harvard. She also works part-time at the United Christian Church in Lincolnville Center and has happily enjoyed life in the Mid Coast area since 2018.
Sam Miller, Lead Teacher in Yellow Door Toddler Program and Toddler Extended Day
Sam returns this year as Lead Teacher for our Yellow Door Toddler classroom. Sam came to CHMS as a full-time substitute in the Toddler classroom during the spring of 2021. She has an Education Studies minor and is continuing her Infant/Toddler Montessori Teacher Training to become certified. Sam grew up in Camden, and after some time away, is happy to be back in the Midcoast with all it has to offer. She loves to hike, garden, swim, and craft.
Marga Hutchinson, Lead Teacher in Red Door Toddler Program
Marga joins Children’s House as the Red Door Toddler Lead Teacher. Prior to coming to CHMS, she owned an in-home family childcare where she worked with her daughter caring for several toddlers and is thrilled to continue her work with young learners.
Marga earned a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Maine at Farmington and considers herself a lifelong learner. When not in the classroom, she enjoys reading, gardening, visiting the ocean and woods, and spending time with her family, including three grandchildren.
Lourdes Martinez, Assistant Teacher in Blue Door Primary Program, Spanish Teacher for all Classrooms, and Extended Day Teacher
Lourdes returns for her forth year at Children’s House. She came to Maine from Puerto Rico, where she spent 25 wonderful years as a lead Montessori Primary teacher. Lourdes holds her Certificate in Early Childhood from the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and is a wonderful addition as an assistant teacher given the fact that she is a certified Primary teacher and brings a wealth of experience with her.
Doina Claudatus, Assistant Teacher in Jade Door Elementary Classroom
Doina was first introduced to the Montessori philosophy about 21 years ago when her youngest son began preschool where she was impressed by the prepared environment it offered. She began by teaching Spanish and French to pre-k through kindergarten children and later became a substitute teacher in all areas and grades k-8. In 2017, she began work as an assistant teacher for a lower elementary classroom in Haverhill, MA. She also took on the role as a co-lead teacher for a year there before relocating to ME.
Doina graduated from the University of Massachusetts as a Russian major and Spanish minor with an additional concentration in French. Later, she received her training in Montessori Elementary. Doina has 2 sons, 2 daughters, 3 dogs and a turtle. She enjoys running, hiking, the ocean and forests and spending time with her friends and family.
Yeidy Ortiz Gonzalez, Assistant Teacher in Red Door Toddler Classroom
Yeidy’s adventure began in February 2021 when she arrived in Camden following her husband’s professional growth. Her experience as a School Nurse in a Head Start program in Puerto Rico led her to continue working with families and children. Yeidy helps with the CHMS summer camp program at Oakland Park and loves being a part of the Toddler program during the school year. She hopes to help all the children learn about her culture and the Spanish language in her new role here.
Hanna Dowden, Assistant Teacher in Yellow Door Toddler Program
Hanna moved to Maine from New York in March, 2022. She has a bachelor’s degree in history from Molloy University. While in college, Hanna began working during the summers for the same daycare she attended as a child growing up in New York and eventually stayed with that organization for 15 years! During that time, she started out floating, going from room to room as needed. She soon found that she truly loved the infant and toddler classrooms and over the years, Hanna moved to a head teacher position in an infant classroom.
When not in the classroom Hanna enjoys reading and traveling and spending time with her family. This will be Hanna’s second year in our the CHMS community. She has had such fun exploring midcoast Maine, and is ready to get back into the classroom again!
Colleen Henry, Assistant Teacher in Orange Door Primary Program
Colleen attended the University of Maine at Presque Isle and also volunteered in the Americorps. She has spent time volunteering in elementary schools, and she got her start with Montessori as a substitute for Children’s House in 2021. She is excited to join the team in her new role as Assistant Teacher. She currently resides in Searsmont and spends her free time hiking with family, reading, painting, and baking.
Lian Colo Martinez, Lead Aftercare Teacher and Assistant Teacher in Extended Day Primary Program
Lian joins Children’s House this year as the Assistant Teacher for the Extended Day program and as Lead Teacher for Aftercare. In past years, Lian has participated as a volunteer in the Primary program for some fun student activities (with her mom, Lourdes!). She also taught in our summer camp program at Oakland Park. Lian was born and raised in Puerto Rico and attended Montessori schools there as a kid! Several years ago, she moved with her family to Camden and finished high school here at Camden Hills High School. After completing her freshman year of college, Lian is taking a break to experience other opportunities before returning in the fall of 2024. We are so happy to have her here with us at CHMS!
Neshamah Stearns, Assistant Teacher in the Red Door Toddler Program and Summer Camp Coordinator
Neshamah has a dual B.S. in Adventure Based Environmental Education and Adventure Therapy with specific passion for Nature and Place Based Education. Neshamah grew up in Western Massachusetts and comes to us most recently from The Chewonki Foundation where she spent time as their Lead Educator for the Outdoor Classroom and Expedition Leader/Coordinator for summer Leadership Expeditions. She loves to needle felt, sea kayak, and read.