fbpx

Our Tutors

Meet The Tutors

Dana Hernandez

Dana Hernandez serves as an Education Specialist at Montessori Kids Universe. She holds two undergraduate degrees from Ball State University; Human Psychology and Child Development. She has been a Montessorian since 2009, having taught in Indianapolis, Virginia Beach, and Atlanta. In 2015, Dana decided to leave the classroom and take her advocacy for Montessori education to a different platform. She has served as a Head of School and as a Montessori Consultant since. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

Shelley Bergmann

Shelley Bergmann serves as our Education Specialist at Montessori Kids Universe. Before joining MKU, Shelley was a creative innovator of Montessori pedagogy in private, high-quality schools throughout Palm Beach County, Florida, for over 15 years. Her deep experience transforming the Montessori profession includes overseeing and enhancing curricula, recruiting and nurturing faculty, and preparing academically rigorous Montessori environments where students and faculty can reach their greatest potential. Shelley’s personal goal is to give each child a vision of the universe into which they can expand and contribute. Shelley holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Archaeology from Hamline University. In addition to obtaining an American Montessori Society Teacher Training Certificate in 2008, Shelley also received her Practical Nursing License from Palm Beach State College. In 2017, Shelley graduated with Honors with a Master of Montessori Education degree from St. Catherine University.

Jenna Schoeck

Jenna Schoeck serves as Franchise Support Specialist at Montessori Kids Universe. She has been in the early childhood field for 20 years and received her degree in Early Childhood Development in 2008. Jenna has taught in Australia, New York, California, and Ohio. She was the Reggio Emilia specialist at a Montessori school and began their Art Auction program there. She held trainings on both Reggio and Montessori for staff and families. She received her Early Childhood (3-6) NAMC accreditation in 2020 and has helped train many teachers new to their role as a Montessori guide. Jenna also has experience in the field of social work, and is passionate about giving back to the community. Jenna resides in Columbus, Ohio with her husband, son, and 4 pets.

What to Expect From Your Tutor

Always available

 Use the Canvas messaging service to contact your MKUTI tutor. You can reach out about the materials, content, and assignments. Additionally, you can reach out with questions regarding classroom management and implementing the Montesori method. We do our best to respond as soon as possible, but please allow 2-3 business days for a response in some cases.

Always understanding

We do not have “due dates” but we want to assist you in staying on track. We provide a Self-Pacing tool for each course that can be used to plan out your 6 months of training. If you need assistance, get stuck on an assignment, or need to re-submit there is no penalty! We want you to be successful. If an adult-learner is abusing the Policies & Procedures in any way, they will be notified by their tutor to work out a solution. 

Always educating

Upon submitting your assignments (which are all reflective, not research-based), you will receive full feedback and response from your tutor. These comments are important to read as this facilitates a deeper conversation or meaning to some of the assignments. We take time to get to know you and you deserve to be treated as an individual student, even as an adult. Our feedback is purposefully constructive and positive.

What Tutors Expect From You

Always present

During MKUTI live sessions, that are required once-a-month during your enrollment period, you should participate! This means, your camera is on, you are in a quiet room with no distractions, and you are ready to deepen your learning for 60 minutes. These meetings are for YOU, so we tailor them to focus on current topics and challenges that we know you’re facing in the modern classroom. This is a great hour to ask questions to other teachers as well!

Always communicating

If you’re missing a material, unable to locate a manual, or need assistance with submitting an assignment, you can let your tutor know via the Canvas messaging portal. If we do not know you are having an issue, we are unable to assist you! Communicating within a training program is vital and there must be significant honesty. AI generated or plagiarised assignments are prohibited.

Always learning

Completing a self-paced, online-only course requires a bit of self-discipline and self control. We provide a road map that assists in planning your training days out and finishing your course on time. We expect that you provide ~4 hours a week, for 6 months, in order to complete this training on time.