Mandy Waid (She/Her)

Hello Families!

I am proud to say that this will be my 15th year at Athena and my 25th year in Montessori! My role is School Director at Athena. I balance my time supporting our admin team, and our teaching teams. I truly love what I do and am thankful everyday that I get to be a part of this community. 

 

 Kimberly Love, our Primary Program Lead, and I  work closely together supporting our teachers and our 10 classrooms at Athena. The primary goal of the ED team is to help support the teachers and families in our community. My many years in the classroom as a Montessori Guide has been instrumental in the development of the skill set I needed to take on this role at Athena as part of the leadership team. My job consists of helping teachers learn and grow so they feel fulfilled in their work. I work closely with families on several levels, from helping them find outside resources that may be needed for their child, to helping them choose the next school community, to just listening, because parenting is the hardest job on the planet. I am often in the classrooms observing, and these observations allow me to get to know every child on our campus.

It is my goal to help create a school that supports a nurturing learning environment—an environment where children and families feel safe and held to develop, play, and learn how to be part of a community. I think an emotionally safe classroom environment is the perfect place for children to practice these skills. I thoroughly believe and trust in the Montessori process. Over the years, I have observed children exhibit the focus and drive to learn in the way that Maria Montessori herself spoke about over 100 years ago.

I enjoy the opportunity to continue being around children even though I have transitioned out of the classroom. Working with children for so many years has made me a better person and most certainly a better parent. My family consists of my partner Shawn Calamar, who is also in the Montessori World and our twelve year old son. Our son, Matteo, graduated from Athena and currently attends Headwaters middle school. Matteo has brought so much joy and adventure into our lives, as well as many humbling learning opportunities.

I look forward to learning and growing with all the members of our school community this year.

Feel free to reach out anytime.

Warmly,

Mandy