Mary-Sibyl discovered the Montessori Method in the 1970s when her friend’s children attended the Good Shepherd Montessori School in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.  Reading The Secret of Childhood by Dr. Maria Montessori inspired her to become a Montessori teacher herself.

After traveling to London to earn her 3-6 year old certificate from the St. Nicholas Montessori College, Mary-Sibyl began teaching at Cleveland’s Urban Community School in 1986.  She attended Ursuline College where she received a B.A. in elementary education and K-8 certification.

A gift of a book, The Religious Potential of the Child, by Sophia Cavalletti sparked Mary-Sibyl’s abiding interest in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  She is certified to teach both 3-to-6 year-olds and 6-to-9 year-olds.  She earned her A.M.I. certification for 2 ½ -6 years at the Ohio Montessori Training Institute and later completed a M.Ed. at Loyola College in Baltimore in 2005. She is pleased to be working at the Montessori School at Holy Rosary, as the school is dedicated to maintaining A.M.I. standards and using the Good Shepherd Catechesis.

Mary-Sibyl has been interested in photography since high school and takes pictures nearly every day -- including some in the classroom to help parents get a better glimpse of their child’s work.  She also takes her camera on camping trips and visits to her brothers and sister all over the country.  Other hobbies are sewing, fiber arts and attending opera and musical theater.  Mary-Sibyl married Ray in 1973 and raised 3 children and has one granddaughter.

Dorothy has been a Montessori teacher for more than 40 years.  Growing up in Sri Lanka, she attended the Good Shepherd Convent School run by Irish nuns – where they later started a Montessori pre-school attended by Dorothy’s younger brother and sister. As the "responsible older sister," Dorothy regularly picked them up and was amazed at the amount and complexity of work which her siblings did, including drawing maps.  She became curious and went there every day and began to love it, feeling sad she didn't have the same opportunity.

This longing stayed with Dorothy, and many years later, after completing her degree in Arts, she began her AMI training at the Good Shepherd Maria Montessori Training Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Dorothy has taught in Sri Lanka, Los Angeles and at Cleveland’s Marotta Montessori School, the Old Brooklyn Montessori School and Urban Community School. Dorothy has attended classes in special education and completed an "All Kinds of Minds" course in addition to many other workshops. She completed training for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program and says, "I like teaching at Holy Rosary for their strong belief in the Montessori method and for their Christian values."

Sharyn began her Montessori experience when she was 3 years old at the Berea Area Montessori School.  Secure in her ability to follow her own path, armed with a love of learning and a strong independent streak, she made it through traditional schooling and graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in 1994 with a degree in English Literature and Business. Diploma safely in her father's hand, she set off to pursue acting in independent films in London, pushing her boundaries in Thailand, running a high-end fashion boutique in New England and exploring the ins and outs of making coffee in shops at home and abroad.

Back in Cleveland, on a late night run to the grocery store, a glance at a bulletin board returned Sharyn to her roots – an Open House for the Ohio Montessori Training Institute (OMTI). Walking into the Montessori training center, she ran her fingers over the red rods and thought, "I am home".

After earning her AMI 3-6 year-old primary training, Sharyn has been teaching at the Montessori School at Holy Rosary since 2000 -- with a two year break to grow and welcome her son Avery into the world. She loves evening walks with Avery and dog, Jack. She adores the way her son curves into her when he hugs her, the unbelievable support and kindness of her father, and talking with her sister and best friend. Her students are never far from her heart and thoughts.

Johan is a native of the Netherlands and earned his bachelor’s degree in Tropical Agriculture with a specialization in tropical animal husbandry from Larenstein University in the Netherlands.  He also has a master’s in public administration from the University of Dayton.

Johan worked for the Dutch version of the Peace Corps with the Pygmies in the rain forest of East Cameroon in 1990-91. Returning to the Netherlands, Johan worked 8 months for the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture to promote Dutch agricultural products and methods at a national agricultural exhibit.  That same year he left for the United States to work as a volunteer for Heifer Project International in Perryville, Arkansas.  He took care of the livestock on the farm and conducted various educational programs.  At Five Rivers MetroParks in Dayton, Johan was a nature interpreter and worked for this organization in three different parks over a 7-year period.

Johan has primary AMI certification and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Training for ages 3-6 and has been teaching in the Primary classroom at Holy Rosary since 2002.