Our Staff

Horsham Montessori Children’s House is fortunate to have Nona Melnick as Principal. Nona has a Masters in Education, has been a certified Montessori teacher since 1976, Vice President for two years and President for five years of the Montessori Teacher's Association, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC). She has served as an Educational Consultant for schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey on a private basis as well as officially representing the American Montessori Society. She has taught numerous workshops on different aspects of Montessori and has lectured at several area colleges. Nona Melnick is an experienced Parent/Child group leader; she has led groups at several Montessori schools, at the Parent's Place at Chestnut Hill Hospital, and the Parent Resource Center. Nona has also taught in several Montessori Teacher Training Programs.

We welcome Marsha Hirschhorn to our Montessori family this year as Principal of Blue Bell Montessori Children’s House.  Marsha comes to us from the former Bayt Yeladeem Children’s House, and the Beth Sholom Montessori program in Elkins Park where she served as director and lead Montessori teacher.  Before discovering her passion for Montessori education, Marsha worked for 15 years as a trainer and consultant in the field of staff and organization development. 
As Principal, she is dedicated to supporting, serving, and further building the Montessori Children’s House community of children, families, and educators.  To Marsha, the most important goal of a Montessori education is to prepare children to join the larger community as self-confident, joyful learners and peace-oriented citizens of the world.

Marsha is an active member of the American Montessori Society, the International Montessori Foundation, and the Montessori Teachers Association of Pennsylvania, and has taught in the Montessori training program at Chestnut Hill College.

Marsha holds a bachelor's degree in English/Creative Writing and Rhetoric and Communication from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree in Speech Communication from Temple University.  She earned her Montessori Early Childhood certification from the AMS (American Montessori Society) Montessori training program at Chestnut Hill College, where she is completing a second master’s degree in Early Childhood education with a Montessori specialization.

“Every day our children look forward to going to school. They learn quickly.  They respect and at the same time love

their teachers.  We are very  much impressed by and thankful to their teachers as their behavior, attitude and social skills have improved significantly by this great school system."

 
Henk & Marielle de Jonge, Blue Bell School

Our Teachers and Assistants
The teaching staff at Montessori Children’s House is carefully selected, specifically trained and directed by the Principals of our schools to provide children with a higher quality of education. With many years of teaching at our schools, our teachers act as facilitators rather than instructors. Teachers serve as a link between the child and the learning environment. All Montessori Children’s House teachers have four-year college degrees and are State Teaching Certified. Furthermore, they are fully trained and certified in the Montessori Method, accredited by either the American Montessori Society or the Association Montessori Internationale.

Our classroom assistants are trained by their classroom Montessori teachers. All of our staff members are certified in First Aid, CPR and Fire Safety, and participate in In-Service training programs each year for continuing education in the field of Early Childhood and the Montessori Method.