As Head of School, Stephanie focuses on building and strengthening school culture, providing programmatic support and leadership, and supporting the parent, student, and staff communities. After working in higher education at the Corcoran College of Art + Design and the George Washington University, Stephanie became a mom and discovered the Montessori approach and ToTH. She served as a classroom volunteer in 2018 and officially joined the ToTH administrative team in 2019. As Administrative Director, and then as Head of Administration, she managed daily operations, human resources, communications and licensing requirements for ToTH.

Stephanie received her certificate in Montessori Administration in 2022 from the Association Montessori Internationale and a certificate in Montessori leadership from the Whole School Leadership Institute and Loyola University Maryland in 2023. She is an Arizona native with a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature from Arizona State University.  In her spare time she plays the violin in the Capital City Symphony. Together with ToTH’s three founders, Stephanie serves on ToTH’s Board, which is responsible for ToTH’s longer term vision, planning and sustainability.

Ila joined ToTH in 2015. She manages admissions and enrollment for the school and is usually the first person with whom all prospective families interact.

As a mother of two young boys and a resident of Navy Yard, Ila has been actively involved in local early childhood programs, including serving on the board of the parent teacher association at her children’s elementary school. She was even an early volunteer in ToTH’s start-up in 2012.

Ila holds a B.A in Art History and Archaeology from Emory University and an M.A. in Art History from the University of Arizona. She previously procured art and managed exhibitions in several museums and galleries in Washington, DC.

As a young toddler, Sara’s son, Aniket, seemed to need more stimulus than his nanny alone could provide. Sara looked for a high-quality part-time Montessori program on Capitol Hill, but couldn’t find one. So she decided to build one from scratch.  After finding several like-minded Capitol Hill parents and months of effort, ToTH was born in October 2012. From ToTH’s earliest years, Sara worked to bring a broad and competitive set of employee benefits to ToTH, and, with help from parent volunteers, she built our initial scholarship program. She continues to serve as an active member of the Board. Sara holds a M.B.A. from Insead Business School. She is a former Peace Corps volunteer and specializes in supporting the use of technology in economic development worldwide.

Joy has always been passionate about building community, so when the opportunity arose to help start ToTH for the Capitol Hill community, she rolled up her sleeves. Integral to its launch and licensure by the DC Office of the State Superintendent for Education, Joy continues to support ToTH through her active participation on ToTH’s Board. She also worked to make ToTH the first Montessori preschool in the city to enroll families through OSSE’s voucher program. Joy and her husband moved to Alexandria, Virginia to serve as Location Pastors for Capital City Church. She has since shared her passion for Montessori with her community by creating Montesshare, an in-home, Spanish bilingual, Montessori preschool.

Javacia has spent nearly twenty years teaching young children in the Washington DC area.

She received her Master’s Degree in Montessori Education at Loyola University Maryland and completed her Bachelor’s Degree from York College in Sociology. She received her Association Montessori Internationale Diploma for Primary (3-6 yo) from the MACTE-accredited Washington Montessori Institute and taught in Montessori environments for seven years before joining ToTH in 2018.

In 2021, Javacia completed her Infant/Toddler Montessori teaching certification through the MACTE-accredited Center for Guided Montessori Studies. Javacia also taught at the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center for five years before joining ToTH.

Naya joined ToTH in June of 2021 and has worked in all of our classrooms at the Fifth Street campus. Since 2023 she has been a supporting teacher in the Penguin classroom. Naya was born and raised in Washington, DC, before moving to Daytona Beach, Florida. Prior to coming to ToTH Naya worked several childcare settings, including a Montessori Primary classroom.

Naya received her bachelors degree in Social Sciences, with a major in Criminal Justice and minors in Social Work and Psychology from Bethune Cookman University. 

Katherin joined ToTH in August 2023. She received her Bachelor’s in Science degree in Psychology from the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. In 2022, Katherin completed her training in Gestalt Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy from the Centro Gestaltico Perú. She has worked in clinical, hospital and rural settings as a psychologist. After reading about the Montessori Method in her coursework, Katherin became interested in working with young children in a Montessori setting and pursing formal training. She is currently pursuing an infant/toddler teaching credential from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She lives with her husband, who is a Montessori elementary guide in Northern Virginia.

After occasionally substitute teaching at ToTH during our 2019-20 school year, Karen officially joined the Full Day Toddler classroom in January 2020. She felt right at home with the children and she now leads the Owl Toddler Classroom.

Karen is a native Spanish speaker and grew up in Mexico. She is excited to help build Spanish language programming at ToTH in the months and years ahead.

Karen earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Development from the Instituto Technologico de Morelia and has over seven years of experience working with young children, prior to coming to ToTH.

Karen is currently pursuing her Infant/Toddler Montessori teacher certification at the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She finds her inspiration for guiding children in the moments where the young child finds their own voice, asserts their autonomy, or expresses personal pride in having accomplished a task independently.

Ayshemgul joined ToTH in April 2023 teaches in the full day toddler classroom. Ayshemgul holds an early childhood education degree from Xinjiang Normal University in Urumqi, China. After settling in the United States with her family, Ayshemgul  earned an early childhood credential from the state of North Carolina and an Infant and Toddler Certificate from the College of Albermarle in Manteo, North Carolina.

Ayshemgul has more than 7 years teaching experience, including 4 years in Montessori toddler and primary classrooms in the District and in North Carolina. Ayshemgul speaks Uyghur, English, Turkish and Chinese. She is currently pursuing a Montessori teaching credential at the Infant Toddler level from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies and she looks forward to deepening her Montessori practice at ToTH.

Tabitha joined ToTH in December 2024 as a teacher and floater working mainly with our toddler classrooms at the Fifth Street campus. She earned her BA in Early Childhood Education from Temple University in 2018. She has worked as a teacher at Two Birds and Phase Family Learning Center, and most recently was a lead toddler teacher at Small Savers Montessori. She is an avid traveler and has been on nine cruises!

Victoria joined ToTH in January 2025. She earned her BS in Liberal Studies with a minor in Spanish from Clarion University in 2015. She has also earned an MA in International Education from the Universidad de Alcalá in Madrid. After teaching English abroad in Spain, South Korea, and Italy, Victoria worked for three years at The Montessori School in Soho and most recently at Aidan Montessori in DC.

Currently, Victoria is supporting the Owl classroom. She is passionate about Montessori education for very young children and hopes to pursue her teaching credential and to one day be a teacher trainer.

Sasha joined ToTH in 2018 and is currently the lead guide in the Primary classroom. She received her Early Childhood 3-6 certification from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies in 2022 and has a BA in Human Relations and Early Childhood Education from Trinity Washington University. Sasha is currently pursuing a Master's degree in educational leadership from George Mason University.

Sasha was born in Memphis, TN and raised in the Bronx, in New York City. It was during her time at Trinity that Sasha discovered and researched Maria Montessori’s teaching philosophy and methods, and that experience sparked her desire to do an internship with another local Montessori school where she saw the method in action. She was inspired to become a teacher who not only helps shape the future for the children in her classes, but also one who cares deeply for each child she encounters. She believes that one of the most important aspects of a Montessori education is that it allows children to freely explore and fulfill their individual needs. She enjoys using observation to learn what every child needs to be successful and learn about the world around them.

Gladys joined ToTH in January 2020. She currently teaches in the Primary classroom, providing instruction in both English and Spanish. Gladys was raised in Maryland and Panama and is a fluent Spanish speaker. She earned her associate’s degree in general studies from Montgomery College in 2023. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Trinity Washington University.

Gladys has been working with children professionally since 2013, and previously spent six years working in a Montessori environment at the White Flint Children’s House. She also worked in a Spanish immersion early childhood classroom and she pioneered a Spanish program geared towards five and six year olds in order to prepare them for elementary school.

Gladys is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in early childhood education. She enjoys spending her free time with her two dogs.

Laura joined ToTH in the fall of 2021 and currently teaches in the primary classroom. Laura also supports the administrative team by assisting with teacher recruitment and hiring. Prior to joining ToTH, Laura spent several years working with a family whose children attended ToTH and she became very interested in the Montessori Method. Laura earned her certificate in Montessori Administration from the Association Montessori Internationale in 2023.

Laura recently completed her Master’s in Education and Human Development, with a major in International Education, from the George Washington University. She spent spent a number of years working in the field of international/cross-cultural education, interfacing with students and colleagues in various roles. Laura lived in Saudi Arabia for over ten years as a child, and studied abroad in Jordan as an undergraduate.

Cecilia joined ToTH in June of 2021 and currently works as a  supporting teacher in the Primary classroom. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universidade Paulista and originally hails from the state of São Paulo, Brazil. She has worked as a caregiver for young children since 2013 and as a pandemic pod teacher in the DC area. Cecilia has spent time in each of ToTH’s classrooms, first as our full-time floating teacher, and as an assistant teacher in our part day toddler classroom. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in counseling from The Chicago School. In her spare time, she loves to travel and spend time with her family and dog.