Joelle Flaherty has been the Head of School at Montessori Educational Center since 2009. Prior to serving as Head of School, she was an upper elementary teacher from 2001 through 2009. She earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and an M. A. in Montessori Education from St. Catherine University. She received her Montessori Elementary I and II teaching credentials from Southwestern Montessori Training Center. Both of Joelle’s children graduated from MEC and one of her grandsons is a current student.  She is the current President of the Louisiana Montessori Association.

Lisa Clair is a graduate of LSU with a B.A. in Political Science and has been teaching at Montessori Educational Center in Alexandria, LA since 1991. She received her Montessori teacher certification from the Montessori World Educational Institute. In 2017 she left the classroom to join the administrative team and assist the Head of School. Her children attended MEC, and her grandchildren are current students. Lisa is the current Vice President of the Louisiana Montessori Association.

Claudia Dale is a lifelong Montessorian. She began her Montessori journey not as a teacher, but as a student at the Montessori School for Shreveport from toddler to 8th grade. After receiving a B.A. in Communication Studies from LSU in Baton Rouge, she was called to education. She returned to the Montessori School for Shreveport, received her AMS Elementary I certification from Houston Montessori Center in 2016, and has happily been teaching ever since.

I was born in a small fishing village in Costa Rica, where there was only one public school that was used for kindergarten and high school. In the morning the small children would attend school, and the upper levels would occupy those same rooms in the afternoon. I came to Louisiana with a student visa when I was eleven. I was so mesmerized by the fact that there were so many classrooms and so many teachers. My education journey began in 1997, when I was asked to sub as a Spanish teacher for a private school. I taught Spanish for ten years in the public and private sector. I became interested in Montessori education after I had my children. I wanted a place for them where they would love to learn, and would be honored and respected as human beings. I have been teaching Montesssori for the past ten years, and it has taught me so many insightful things about myself, about the children, and about the people that I work with. Teaching Montessori in a private sector has given me the opportunity to teach and learn about my students. Being in the classroom for ten years has taught me to trust in the Montessori method and that the children will reveal themselves through their work.