Colleen Noll
Founder & Executive Director
Our Executive Directors
The Montessori School of Silicon Valley Executive Directors
Founder & Executive Director
Colleen Noll is the Founder & Executive Director of the Montessori School of Silicon Valley (MSOSV).
Each of her five campus locations has a slightly different mix of programs and age groups, serving children as young as six weeks old through Kindergarten.
Her vision of “Children First, Always” is at the forefront of everything we do – surprisingly not every Montessori school is alike in this way. This focus on the child coupled with her commitment to a fully implemented Montessori Program very much sets MSOSV apart, particularly from most other programs in the South Bay.
In addition to this vision, our schools are clean, inviting and welcoming.
Colleen has assembled a staff of wonderful Montessori Teachers, by focusing on recruiting teachers who love children, have a passion for the Montessori philosophy and who demonstrate a desire to continue growing as individuals as well as professionally.
She began her career as a Montessori Administrator in 1992 and is a formally trained AMS Montessori Teacher who leveraged her background in Business Management to open her first school, Calaveras Montessori, in the year 2000.
When Calaveras Montessori first opened, one of her favorite activities was working in the children’s garden – which she had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy for several years. Being a part of the process of discovery with the child has been a priceless experience for her.
This hands-on background keeps her connected to the child and the classrooms. Colleen believes that she can share her vision of “Children First, Always” in each classroom in our schools.
Over the years we have expanded our offerings to include enrichment activities such as gardening, dance, cooking, and art. All of which has proven to be a very popular feature of our schools with children, parents and staff alike!
Thanks for visiting our website. We hope to see you at one of our Montessori School of Silicon Valley campus locations soon.
Executive Director & Business Operations
After 25 years in various sales and management roles in tech companies ranging from the iconic (Netscape, Sun Microsystems) to the eclectic (Informatica & SOASTA), from a Fortune 20 company (Hewlett Packard) to one with less than 20 employees (Spectrum Semiconductor), Mike decided it was time to pursue his long-time dream of building his own great company.
When he first met Colleen Noll he had heard of Montessori but generally thought of it as an Italian sports car – like Maserati. Colleen quickly cleared up his misunderstanding and began to show him how powerful the Montessori method can be in developing independence and self-confidence in young children by simply focusing on developing a love of learning – something that is so important in a competitive world like ours, particularly here in the Bay Area.
Mike and Colleen began working together in 2009, when they teamed up to open Crescent Montessori, in a space that had previously been built and run as a child care center.
Within a few years, they teamed up again to launch Main Street Montessori, transitioning space in a large empty warehouse building into the beautiful school it is today.
As they approached the opening of the 4th campus in 2016, the Cabrillo Montessori, it became obvious that is was time to commit to the Montessori School of Silicon Valley full time.
As a father with two teenage daughters in college, he fully appreciates the value and impact of a Montessori education for children of any age.
His mission is to insure all members of our school communities – children, parents and staff – have an excellent experience with the Montessori School of Silicon Valley.
Our goal is for the Montessori School of Silicon Valley to become the gold standard for quality of experience within a Montessori pre-school community not only in the South Bay but across the US and beyond.