Naynara is originally from Brazil. She immigrated to the United States in 1996. In 2002, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Studio Arts and Graphic Design from the California State University in Long Beach. She worked as a freelance graphic designer until she decided to homeschool her six-year-old son. She was determined to use the Montessori method as her main homeschooling philosophy at home. Even though she didn’t have any Montessori training, she read many books about Montessori education, and she used whatever teaching resources she could find on the internet at the time. She also bought Montessori materials online and used the Montessori albums donated by her neighbor who happened to be a retired Montessori certified teacher. After homeschooling for almost 10 years, Naynara finally got her Montessori certification from Age of Montessori in 2017. Naynara loves working with children inside her beautiful Montessori environment. She also loves helping children outside her classroom, in her local community, teaching them to read and write, both through community programs and collaborating with local non-profit organizations. For her, Montessori is more than an educational method. She believes it is in fact “a way of life.” When Naynara is not teaching, she is spending time with her children, doing arts and crafts, and practicing mindfulness.She has lectured widely both nationally and internationally for more than 30 years on multiple topics relating to children and education. She founded a Montessori teacher education institution in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2007, where she taught every summer for a number of years.Mary Ellen also has an extensive background as a school consultant and as the co-creator of a successful business in early reading products, the Early Reading Company. She was lead author of the book, Learning to Read is Child’s Play, published in 2000.  In addition to her personal projects and work at Authentic Institute of Montessori, Mary Ellen has been active in the Montessori community over the course of her career, serving as Commissioner for Accreditation and Member of the Board of Directors for MACTE from 1992-2000 and holding the position of Vice-President of the International Association of Montessori Educators (IAME) from 2001-2004. Her contributions were recognized in 2013 when she was honored as the recipient of the esteemed MACTE Wisdom of the Elders award.Mother of three grown children, Mary Ellen’s great passion is exploring the deeper spiritual message of Maria Montessori. She loves to read, swim, and hike with friends and family.

Alexandra Penry originally hails from northwest Indiana, near Chicago. She brings independent school and university level development and admission experience to her role as Senior Director for Advancement and Strategy at Headwaters School in Austin, TX, where she has served for the past five years. Alex lives in south Austin with her husband Josh, daughter Charlotte, and their golden retrievers Jamaica and Indiana Bones. They love to travel, and Alex is an avid runner, having completed six marathons.

Dr. Sara Harper has been the principal of McWillie Elementary since 2013, where over 400 students are enrolled, with 300 of the students in an early childhood program.  She started her teaching career in the Jackson Public School District in 2000 as an exceptional education teacher and taught Montessori Elementary I and II from 2007 until 2013.  Dr. Harper has recently been selected as the 2023-2024 Jackson Public School District Administrator of the Year and Mississippi Congressional District 2 Administrator of the Year.  She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millsaps College and her master’s degree in counseling from Jackson State University. She also earned a specialist’s and doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Mississippi College.

Dr. Harper is the leader of the only public Montessori program in the state of Mississippi.   McWillie has an A rating and is one of the top three schools in the district. Dr. Harper believes that students have a natural desire to learn and that educators must prepare learning environments for the appropriate states of development.  She emphatically believes that it is her duty as a professional educator to empower faculty, staff members, students, parents, and community members to take ownership of the process of educating our citizens.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She was most recently chosen to serve as a cohort member of the Mississippi Leading Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments in Early Childhood (MS L.I.T.E.).  Dr. Harper serves as a principal coach for the Jackson Public School District and serves on the Mississippi Department of Education Principal Advisory Council.  In both roles, she assists other leaders to provide support and guidance to help make decisions that positively impact all children. Dr. Harper mentors candidates in the Master’s of Arts in Teaching Program and the Education Doctoral Program at Belhaven University.

Dr. Sara Harper has been the principal of McWillie Elementary since 2013, where over 400 students are enrolled, with 300 of the students in an early childhood program.  She started her teaching career in the Jackson Public School District in 2000 as an exceptional education teacher and taught Montessori Elementary I and II from 2007 until 2013.  Dr. Harper has recently been selected as the 2023-2024 Jackson Public School District Administrator of the Year and Mississippi Congressional District 2 Administrator of the Year.  She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millsaps College and her master’s degree in counseling from Jackson State University. She also earned a specialist’s and doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Mississippi College.

Dr. Harper is the leader of the only public Montessori program in the state of Mississippi.   McWillie has an A rating and is one of the top three schools in the district. Dr. Harper believes that students have a natural desire to learn and that educators must prepare learning environments for the appropriate states of development.  She emphatically believes that it is her duty as a professional educator to empower faculty, staff members, students, parents, and community members to take ownership of the process of educating our citizens.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She was most recently chosen to serve as a cohort member of the Mississippi Leading Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments in Early Childhood (MS L.I.T.E.).  Dr. Harper serves as a principal coach for the Jackson Public School District and serves on the Mississippi Department of Education Principal Advisory Council.  In both roles, she assists other leaders to provide support and guidance to help make decisions that positively impact all children. Dr. Harper mentors candidates in the Master’s of Arts in Teaching Program and the Education Doctoral Program at Belhaven University.

Dr. Sara Harper has been the principal of McWillie Elementary since 2013, where over 400 students are enrolled, with 300 of the students in an early childhood program.  She started her teaching career in the Jackson Public School District in 2000 as an exceptional education teacher and taught Montessori Elementary I and II from 2007 until 2013.  Dr. Harper has recently been selected as the 2023-2024 Jackson Public School District Administrator of the Year and Mississippi Congressional District 2 Administrator of the Year.  She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millsaps College and her master’s degree in counseling from Jackson State University. She also earned a specialist’s and doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Mississippi College.

Dr. Harper is the leader of the only public Montessori program in the state of Mississippi.   McWillie has an A rating and is one of the top three schools in the district. Dr. Harper believes that students have a natural desire to learn and that educators must prepare learning environments for the appropriate states of development.  She emphatically believes that it is her duty as a professional educator to empower faculty, staff members, students, parents, and community members to take ownership of the process of educating our citizens.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She was most recently chosen to serve as a cohort member of the Mississippi Leading Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments in Early Childhood (MS L.I.T.E.).  Dr. Harper serves as a principal coach for the Jackson Public School District and serves on the Mississippi Department of Education Principal Advisory Council.  In both roles, she assists other leaders to provide support and guidance to help make decisions that positively impact all children. Dr. Harper mentors candidates in the Master’s of Arts in Teaching Program and the Education Doctoral Program at Belhaven University.

Dr. Sara Harper has been the principal of McWillie Elementary since 2013, where over 400 students are enrolled, with 300 of the students in an early childhood program.  She started her teaching career in the Jackson Public School District in 2000 as an exceptional education teacher and taught Montessori Elementary I and II from 2007 until 2013.  Dr. Harper has recently been selected as the 2023-2024 Jackson Public School District Administrator of the Year and Mississippi Congressional District 2 Administrator of the Year.  She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millsaps College and her master’s degree in counseling from Jackson State University. She also earned a specialist’s and doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Mississippi College.

Dr. Harper is the leader of the only public Montessori program in the state of Mississippi.   McWillie has an A rating and is one of the top three schools in the district. Dr. Harper believes that students have a natural desire to learn and that educators must prepare learning environments for the appropriate states of development.  She emphatically believes that it is her duty as a professional educator to empower faculty, staff members, students, parents, and community members to take ownership of the process of educating our citizens.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She was most recently chosen to serve as a cohort member of the Mississippi Leading Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments in Early Childhood (MS L.I.T.E.).  Dr. Harper serves as a principal coach for the Jackson Public School District and serves on the Mississippi Department of Education Principal Advisory Council.  In both roles, she assists other leaders to provide support and guidance to help make decisions that positively impact all children. Dr. Harper mentors candidates in the Master’s of Arts in Teaching Program and the Education Doctoral Program at Belhaven University.

Dr. Sara Harper has been the principal of McWillie Elementary since 2013, where over 400 students are enrolled, with 300 of the students in an early childhood program.  She started her teaching career in the Jackson Public School District in 2000 as an exceptional education teacher and taught Montessori Elementary I and II from 2007 until 2013.  Dr. Harper has recently been selected as the 2023-2024 Jackson Public School District Administrator of the Year and Mississippi Congressional District 2 Administrator of the Year.  She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millsaps College and her master’s degree in counseling from Jackson State University. She also earned a specialist’s and doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Mississippi College.

Dr. Harper is the leader of the only public Montessori program in the state of Mississippi.   McWillie has an A rating and is one of the top three schools in the district. Dr. Harper believes that students have a natural desire to learn and that educators must prepare learning environments for the appropriate states of development.  She emphatically believes that it is her duty as a professional educator to empower faculty, staff members, students, parents, and community members to take ownership of the process of educating our citizens.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She was most recently chosen to serve as a cohort member of the Mississippi Leading Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments in Early Childhood (MS L.I.T.E.).  Dr. Harper serves as a principal coach for the Jackson Public School District and serves on the Mississippi Department of Education Principal Advisory Council.  In both roles, she assists other leaders to provide support and guidance to help make decisions that positively impact all children. Dr. Harper mentors candidates in the Master’s of Arts in Teaching Program and the Education Doctoral Program at Belhaven University.

Dr. Sara Harper has been the principal of McWillie Elementary since 2013, where over 400 students are enrolled, with 300 of the students in an early childhood program.  She started her teaching career in the Jackson Public School District in 2000 as an exceptional education teacher and taught Montessori Elementary I and II from 2007 until 2013.  Dr. Harper has recently been selected as the 2023-2024 Jackson Public School District Administrator of the Year and Mississippi Congressional District 2 Administrator of the Year.  She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Millsaps College and her master’s degree in counseling from Jackson State University. She also earned a specialist’s and doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Mississippi College.

Dr. Harper is the leader of the only public Montessori program in the state of Mississippi.   McWillie has an A rating and is one of the top three schools in the district. Dr. Harper believes that students have a natural desire to learn and that educators must prepare learning environments for the appropriate states of development.  She emphatically believes that it is her duty as a professional educator to empower faculty, staff members, students, parents, and community members to take ownership of the process of educating our citizens.

This is not the first time Dr. Harper has been recognized for her excellence in leadership. She was most recently chosen to serve as a cohort member of the Mississippi Leading Innovative Teaching and Learning Environments in Early Childhood (MS L.I.T.E.).  Dr. Harper serves as a principal coach for the Jackson Public School District and serves on the Mississippi Department of Education Principal Advisory Council.  In both roles, she assists other leaders to provide support and guidance to help make decisions that positively impact all children. Dr. Harper mentors candidates in the Master’s of Arts in Teaching Program and the Education Doctoral Program at Belhaven University.