Nita Wong majored in Psychology at the University of Maryland and has a master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education from George Mason University. She began her special education journey at an early intervention clinic for young children with autism. She continued working in the field by becoming a preschool special education teacher at a variety of educational settings, including FairFax County Public Schools, a D.C. public charter school, and D.C. private school. After having two children and being a stay-at-home mom for a few years, Nita joined Norbeck Montessori in 2014 as an assistant teacher. She decided to pursue training at the Barrie Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies where she received her Infants and Toddler Montessori credential. She has been leading the Transitional Toddler Classroom since Fall 2015.

Valeria Chaparro worked with children for over 4 years before becoming a Montessori teacher in one of our Pre-Primary Toddler classrooms.  Her passion for Montessori and her dedication to working with children is what led her to take the Montessori teacher’s training at the Barrie Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies. Born in Venezuela and raised in Colombia, she pursued her dream of learning English in the United States right after finishing college in her country.  After starting her studies in Infants and Toddlers, she joined Norbeck Montessori in August of 2023 as an assistant toddler teacher and quickly stepped up as a Lead Teacher in January of 2024. Valeria leads Norbeck’s first Spanish Integrated Toddler classroom.  Committed to fostering a nurturing environment, Valeria aims to instill a love for learning and empower toddlers with the foundational skills needed to acquire a second language. Her warmth, patience, and dedication inspire young minds to grow and thrive.

Denis Cerritos has been a lead Montessori teacher at Norbeck Montessori since 2006. He majored in Psychology at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. While attending UMCP, Denis also played intramural soccer and worked at the Episcopal Center for Children as a counselor for children with emotional and behavioral problems. Denis started working at Norbeck Montessori in 1997 as a teaching assistant in our Kindergarten classroom. Working here part-time throughout his college career, Denis later became a full-time staff member after graduation. In 2007 he knew his passion was to teach Montessori and began his training to become a primary teacher and opened his own classroom the following school year. Three years ago, Denis began running our Spanish Integration Program where he leads lessons in Spanish for our youngsters as part of his Primary Montessori program. Originally from Mexico, Denis brings his native Spanish speaking skills to the forefront. In addition to teaching in his Primary classroom, Denis also created and runs Norbeck’ s science program, specifically developed for our Big K students.

Kathleen Carroll is returning to Norbeck Montessori after a 7 year break where she was an administrator at another Montessori school. She started working at Norbeck in the Summer of 2007 and fell in love with the Montessori philosophy of teaching and learning. So much so, she started her son at Norbeck at age 2. It was an amazing foundation for her son who is now 14 years old. Kathleen has her Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor in Psychology and she has worked with children since she was 16 years old. It was then that she knew she wanted to be a teacher. In the ten years Kathleen worked at Norbeck Montessori, she learned a lot about the Montessori philosophy and only left because her son graduated from Kindergarten. She wanted to be with him and found a job as an administrator at another Montessori school closer to home. She learned a lot from that role, but truly missed being in the classroom and when the opportunity came around for her to step back into the classroom as a Montessori guide, she jumped right into it. In the summer of 2024, she started her Montessori Training at Barrie, the Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies. She will complete her certification in June 2025 and is thrilled about taking this role as a guide in a school that means a lot to her.

Ms. Ariel’s Montessori journey began right here at Norbeck, where she started as an assistant shortly after graduating from high school. It was during those early years that she fell in love with the Montessori philosophy and knew she wanted to dedicate her career to nurturing children through its beautiful approach to learning.

While working at Norbeck, Ms. Ariel studied Early Childhood Education at Rockville Community College and continued her studies at Salisbury University. After taking some time to focus on her personal life, she completed both her Infants and Toddlers Montessori Training and her Early Childhood Montessori Training—earning two Montessori Diplomas. She later went on to complete her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Administration.

Over the years, Ms. Ariel has worn many hats in the Montessori world, serving as a Lead Teacher and Assistant Head of School. Missing the daily joys of the classroom, she returned to teaching and spent three years in a Public Montessori Charter School as a Lower Elementary teacher. During that time, she realized her true passion still lived in the Children’s House, where the foundation of lifelong learning begins.

In 2025, Ms. Ariel returned home to Norbeck—the place where her love for Montessori first began—and is now the Lead Teacher in the Children’s House program. She is thrilled to be back in the classroom, guiding young learners as they grow, explore, and discover the world around them.