Founded in 2009, the Crescent Montessori School of Silicon Valley provides a fully implemented Montessori environment. All of our Lead Teachers are formally educated in the Montessori Method and must have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Crescent Montessori offers programs for children 2 years through Kindergarten.
My daughter has attended Crescent for 3 years since she was a Pre-Primary. Her teachers have always been patient and dedicated. The director and staff have been caring and loving. It continues to amaze me how my daughter has grown and learned so much since she started at Crescent. We are thankful to have found a program that allows my child to be eager to learn, be creative and self-dependent. We did not hesitate to let our daughter continue in the Kindergarten program at this school because we know she will continue to flourish!
I live in Cupertino School District (one of the best in California) and I chose to send my daughter Emmy to Crescent Montessori for Kindergarten. I am so happy that my husband and I made this choice. Emmy receives personalized attention from two fabulous teachers who are caring and responsive. For example, at the formal conference in the fall, her teachers shared samples of Emmy’s work and we came up with a plan to tailor the homework and spelling test to her level. I saw the changes right away in her homework folder. Informally, they bring any issues to my attention so that we can address them quickly as a team. Emmy gained confidence being one of the older children in the classroom and all the perks that came from being a third year student. The younger children look up to the older children in the classroom and lean compassion and responsibility from helping them in the classroom. The monthly field trips give them a chance to explore the community with their peers. I am amazed at how much and what Emmy learns. She talk about the solar system, volcanoes, practices math at the dinner table, and eagerly does her homework. She is truly thriving and maturing in this third year and I am confident that Crescent is giving her the best head start possible.
Head of School
Ms. Jea has been working with children for over 8 years, and every single day she finds her career fulfilling and enriching. She received her AMS Montessori Credentials in May 2018 and is on track to receive her BA in Early Childhood Education in 2020.
She began her journey at Crescent Montessori School as an assistant in the Pre Primary community in 2015. Shortly after she was promoted to the Primary community, and then eventually promoted again to Lead Guide in Van Gogh in 2016. She was deeply inspired by the Montessori philosophy on how children are more likely to become self-reliant and capable learners when in a prepared environment. With a more interactive approach and a peaceful atmosphere, she discovered that children develop their love of learning, which is essential to becoming a more successful adult. It is this method and approach to learning that drives Ms. Jea to be more passionate.
Working at Crescent Montessori school has opened her eyes to the capability and potential children have when given the chance to learn independently. In 2019 Ms. Jea was once again promoted, this time as the Head of School. She is now taking all she learned as a Lead Guide to ensure that each child and family has a wonderful experience at Crescent Montessori School. Ms. Jea and her team are committed to helping children develop their own capabilities and reach their fullest potential.
Assistant Head of School
Ms. Annie was born on the island of Oahu in Honolulu, Hawaii and moved to Mountain View, California when she was 2 years old.
She first joined Montessori School of Silicon Valley in 2010 as an Assistant Teacher at Crescent Montessori, but after just 6 short months she was promoted to Assistant Director. Ms. Annie is now the Operations Manager at MSOSV and helps maintain important tasks for all of our campuses, while still providing Assistant Head of School support at Crescent Montessori.
Growing up, Ms. Annie learned to love working with children as she always enjoyed taking care of her younger family members. Prior to working at Crescent Montessori, Annie began working in the educational field in 2006. To gain a better understanding of the Montessori philosophy, Annie invested in many Montessori classes, as well as earning Early Childhood Education units from Ohlone College.
Watching the children in her community grow to be independent individuals and witnessing their little personalities blossom is something that Annie takes to heart and loves to be a part of. Her favorite part about working in our schools is seeing the children get excited over all the little things that happen throughout their day at school. It also always brightens her day when she receives the most random drawings from the children.
In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her family, being outdoors with her fur baby, and doing various arts and crafts on her Cricut machine. She also loves singing in the car, especially to Disney songs, Glee songs, old school 90s and R&B songs. Lastly, anyone who knows her knows that she loves her Bay Area sports teams! She is a die-hard Golden State Warriors, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks fan!
Lead Primary Guide
Monet Community
Ms. Nicole is the Lead Primary Guide in the Monet community at Crescent Montessori School.
She graduated from San Jose State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. In the course of pursuing her degree, she started working in the education field in 2018 which was her third year of college. After graduating, she started her AMS training program.
In 2020, during her AMS training, Ms. Nicole joined Crescent Montessori School of Silicon Valley as an assistant in the Primary community. A year later, having obtained her AMS Montessori credential in Early Childhood Education, she was promoted to a Lead Guide.
She feels that Montessori philosophy resembles a lot about her personal beliefs in teaching children. She encourages, engages and values the individual child every moment. Ms. Nicole also strongly believes that children learn best when they are in an environment rich with opportunities to grow to their fullest potential. She shares a passion for education, commitment to teach knowledge for life and to live what she preaches.
Ms. Nicole was born in Hong Kong and moved to Fremont, California when she was 16 years old. She can speak Cantonese and Mandarin fluently. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, trying out new cuisines and traveling.
Lead Primary Guide
Van Gogh Community
Ms. Joy joined the Montessori School of Silicon Valley team back in 2015 as a substitute teacher at all of our California locations. Having already been working in childcare since 2011 she brought lots of experience to the MSOSV team as well as a genuine curiosity and interest in the Montessori philosophy. She completed her Early Childhood Education training at Mission College and San Jose State University.
From the beginning of her journey at MSOSV, Ms. Joy saw the potential of each child to learn if they have the proper guidance. In 2017 she moved into a permanent role at our Crescent Montessori location as a teacher’s assistant. During this time, her love for the Montessori approach started to grow and she began looking deeper into the philosophy. This lead Ms. Joy to begin her Montessori training and further reinforced her feeling that children will be more confident in their learning if they are inside a Montessori classroom.
Upon completion of her training in 2019, Ms. Joy was promoted to Lead Guide of our Sycamore Primary community at our Main Street Montessori location. There she was able to set up each child for success. Then in January 2022 Ms. Joy made her way back to our Crescent Montessori location where she is now Lead Guide of our Van Gogh Primary community.
Ms. Joy was born in Manila, Philippines and migrated to San Jose, California in 2006. She has been happily married for 17 years and been blessed with one loving daughter. In her free time you’ll hear her singing karaoke while dancing along too! Her favorite places to vacation are Disneyland and Hawaii. Ms. Joy also enjoys traveling and discovering different countries, and then being able to share her experiences with the children! Keep an eye out for all the fun activities in her classroom leading up to Christmas, her favorite holiday!
Lead Primary Guide
O’Keeffe Community
Ms. Hannah is the Lead Primary Guide in the Monet Community at Crescent Montessori School.
She has been teaching at Crescent Montessori since 2011 and recently obtained her AMS Montessori Certification in Primary Education and Early Childhood.
Her Montessori journey began at Crescent as an assistant in the Pre-Primary community. After several years in that community, she began working with the Primary age children in the Monet community.
She enjoys working with children to help them develop their growth and independence.
She is enthusiastic about being a member of the Crescent Montessori community and having the opportunity to work with the wonderful staff and children.
Lead Pre Primary Guide
Cassatt Community
Ms. Alejandra has been working at Crescent Montessori for almost 5 years and is currently the Lead Pre Primary Guide of the Cassatt community. She started as an assistant for both Pre Primary and Primary communities, but found her calling within the Pre Primary community.
She is currently finishing her practicum training through the Montessori Teacher Education Center (MTEC) and is set to receive her certificate in May 2021.
Ms. Alejandra loves how independent children can be at such a young age. She is fascinated at how capable children can be if we let them and so she wants to continue to learn with the children. Ms. Alejandra always wanted to be a teacher just like her older sister, and she truly believes that educating children is a rewarding choice.
In her spare time, Ms. Alejandra loves to sing, hike, and explore different places. She also picked up a new hobby which is gardening!
Ms. Alejandra encourages us all to be happy because life is better when you are laughing!
