Leslie S. Meldrum
Head of Schools
MA Public Administration – Rider University
BA Psychology & English – Oswego College
Montessori Certification (1st through 3rd Grade) – N.A.M.C
Donna Fiumara
Associate Head of Schools | Email
MA Education – St. Catherine University
BS Accounting – St. John’s University
Montessori Certification (Infant through 1st Grade) – St. Nicholas Center, London (MACTE)
Montessori Certification (1st through 3rd Grade) – N.A.M.C.
Diane M. Dodds
Director | Email
MA Education – St. Catherine University
BA Economics, BA Organizational Behavior – Brown University
Montessori Certification – (Early Childhood) Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Melissa Kang
Administrative Assistant | Email
BA English, Writing – Worcester State University
Melissa is a native of Massachusetts. Previously, she worked in manufacturing and as a summer camp Director for elementary aged children. She joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2016.
Stepping Stones Program
Shemi Kalappurakal
Head Teacher
BA Functional English-Calicut University
Montessori Certification – NCME Early Childhood, Christopher Academy
Montessori Certification – AMS Infant & Toddler (Expected 2017), Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Shemi joined Raritan Valley Montessori as a teacher in 2016 but has been a parent at the school since 2012. She was a Primary teacher for six years prior.
Mahnaz Vaziri
Assistant Teacher
Mahnaz joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2007. She has worked in both our Primary and Stepping Stone Programs.
Allison Catoggio
Assistant Teacher
Associate in Early Childhood Development – Rasmussen University
Allison joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2016. She has worked as a nanny and in childcare.
Primary Program
Carrie Ward
Head Teacher and Kindergarten Enrichment
BA Art History- Rutgers University
Montessori Certification – AMS Early Childhood, Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Carrie has been with our school since 2005. She is a consultant to other Montessori schools for Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE) and teaches Fine Arts and Drama.
Linda Freitag
Head Teacher
BA Psychology- University of California at Santa Cruz
Montessori Certification – NCME Early Childhood, Christopher Academy
Linda has previously worked at other local Montessori schools but launched her full-time Montessori career in 2001 at Raritan Valley Montessori Academy.
Andal Nagarajan
Head Teacher and Kindergarten Enrichment
BSE Home Science – Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College
Montessori Certification – AMS Early Childhood, Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Andal joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2012.
Sylvia Chen
Co-Teacher
BA Communication Design – Carnegie Mellon University
Montessori Certification – AMS Early Childhood, Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Sylvia joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2015. She has been a parent at the school since 2011.
Daniella Blardony
Assistant Teacher
Montessori Certification – AMS Early Childhood (Expected 2017), Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Before joining Raritan Valley Montessori with her daughter in 2016, Daniella spent several years teaching children aged 18 months-6 years in a Montessori classroom.
Yi Zhou
Assistant Teacher
MA Human Resource Management – Rutgers University
BA Business- Zhongnan University of Economics & Law
Montessori Certification – AMS Early Childhood (Expected 2017), Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Before joining Raritan Valley Montessori with her son in 2016, Yi spent several years teaching Mandarin to children aged 3-6 years.
Elementary Program
Hemani Kathuria
Head Teacher
BC Business Administration- Delhi University
CA: Chartered Accountancy
Elementary Education (K-6) Praxis Certificate
Montessori Certification – AMS Early Childhood, Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Montessori Certification – AMS Elementary I, Princeton Center for Teacher Education
Hemani has been with the school as a parent since 2006 and an employee since 2008. She has worked in both our Primary and Elementary Programs.
Kathleen Risi
Assistant Teacher
BA English, Writing- Kean University
Elementary Education (K-6) Teaching Certificate
Kathy joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2016.
Specials
Sandra Hurtado
Spanish Teacher
MA Spanish Linguistics – University of Medellin
BA Pedagogy – Javeriana University
BA Modern Languages- University of Antioquia
Sandra is a native of Colombia, South America and joined our school in 2002 as an employee and as a parent in 2005. Before joining Raritan Valley Montessori, she taught at both the Elementary and High School level.
Michael Godleski
Physical Education & Technology Teacher
BS Physical Education and Health – William Paterson University
Elementary Education (K-6) Certified
Mike joined our faculty in 2015 as a teacher of Physical Education and Technology. Prior to joining our staff he was a high school soccer coach, electronics sales consultant, and ran his own swimming lesson school.
Nancy Cesta
Music Teacher
BA, Psychology, Marketing – Muhlenberg College
Nancy joined our faculty in 2005 and is responsible for Stepping Stone, Primary, and Elementary music education. Music has always been the main course of her life, studying piano, vocal performance, and extensive music theory in college.
Carrie Ward
Fine Arts Teacher
BA Art History -Rutgers University
Carrie teaches Kindergarten Enrichment and Elementary Fine Arts and has been with the school since 2005.
Afterschool Program
Allison Catoggio
Head Teacher
Associate in Early Childhood Development – Rasmussen University
Allison joined Raritan Valley Montessori in 2016. She has worked as a nanny and in childcare.
Jaida Hawkins
Assistance Teacher
Associate in Early Childhood Education – Raritan Valley Community College (expected 2017)
Jaida joined our school in 2016. Previously she worked as a nanny.