Early Childhood Faculty/Staff

Susie brings invaluable wisdom and experience to this position and our school, having served in a range of leadership roles at both Parish Episcopal School and at St. Alcuin Montessori School in Dallas. During her time at Parish Episcopal, she served as the head of the Lower School (Pre-K − grade 4 on two campuses) and their Upper Elementary Division (grades 3 and 4). At Alcuin, she served as their Associate Head of School and Middle School Director during a 15-year tenure.

A graduate of Texas Tech and Pepperdine, Susie is thoughtful, reflective, and extraordinarily skilled as both a teacher and administrator, especially in Montessori program and philosophy. Susie writes, “Great educators are facilitators providing the structure for the child to continue a lifelong journey of personal discovery through authentic application.”

It is a delight to be here at Headwaters. I have a Bachelors in English from UT at Austin, and have spent many years working in schools - from UT Austin as a LAN Administrator, through volunteering at an elementary school supporting struggling readers, and volunteering and then working in a middle school.  I’ve also spent the last 20 years teaching childbirth classes. Through it all, I have learned to surround myself with lovely people and fully experience the joy in these connections.  

 

I have been married for 26 years to Dan Brown (not that one) and we have 3 remarkable children who all attended Montessori preschool, for which I am immensely grateful. 

 

For fun, I read, hike, and focus on the good. 

 

After graduation I acquired my Association Montessori International certification in Philadelphia. The lecturer was Mother Isabel Eugenia who was actually trained by Dr. Maria Montessori herself and taught alongside her in the classroom. That year was pure magic.

 

I have been a teaching children for 34 years. I have experience in teaching in Montessori schools as well as traditional preschools and public schools. In addition, I was the owner, director and instructor of a music and Spanish program for young children and parents. My Spanish program “Somos Amigos” is well known and regarded in the Austin Community.

 

This is my first year teaching at Headwaters. Last year, I sold my business because I missed being in the Montessori classroom! I noticed that many parents in music and Spanish classes raved about Headwaters School and so I pursued a position here. 

 

I feel honored and privileged to be part of the Headwaters community. I am the Lead Guide in the Bluebird’s classroom. Each day I get to not only teach the Montessori curriculum but also include music and Spanish experiences with my students. 

After earning a B.S in Psychology from Texas State University, I decided to follow my childhood dream of teaching and returned to Texas State to complete their certification program in Early Education. While completing my student teaching, I was invited to observe a classroom at Headwaters (then Primavera), and I instantly fell in love. I was so impressed by the drive and maturity of the children, their obvious ownership of their own learning, and the caring, loving, respectful relationship between the children and guides.

When I was offered the opportunity to be an assistant classroom guide and Creativity Club guide for Primavera’s summer camp, I leapt at the chance. It was an amazing experience! The children and guides are all fantastic people. The knowledge and love of the staff is immediately apparent, and the relationships that I made with both guides and children will live in my heart forever. I am so excited to continue my work in the Hummingbird Casita this year.

The first child development class I attended as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin opened my mind and heart to the fascinating inner world of the developing child. Not long afterward, I began working at a Montessori School in north Austin where I could apply my coursework while completing my degree in Child Development and Family Relationships. Deeply curious to know more about the psychological development of humans across the lifespan, I obtained a Master’s degree in Professional Counseling from Texas State University-San Marcos. I focused my career on working with vulnerable populations (children, adolescents, and adults) in a psychotherapeutic capacity as a Licensed Professional Counselor.

I’ve been a parent at Headwaters (first at Primavera Montessori School) since 2009. Having studied and observed the Montessori Method, it was a natural choice for my children, but what surprised me was how much the school community helped me develop as a parent and as a human being. When I felt a strong calling to return to my first passion of working in the classroom with young children, I knew that I wanted to join this compassionate and supportive school as a professional. I began substitute teaching at Headwaters School during the 2016-17 school year and fell in love all over again with the challenges and rewards of working in the classroom. To prepare for the unique role of Montessori Assistant Guide, I enrolled in a training course for assistant guides in the summer of 2017.

I am endlessly inspired by the wisdom of Dr. Montessori and her intellectual insight into some of our world’s most persistent questions. She articulated the tremendous value of the developing child to society. She explained that peace cannot be achieved until the child’s role is given equal importance to that of the adult. One hundred years later, I find Dr. Montessori’s prophetic philosophy of peace education as relevant as ever.

In my free time, I spend many hours parenting and loving my two children. I enjoy cooking and eating healthy food, reading for pleasure, indulging in Netflix when I should be sleeping, traveling, being outside, and frequenting the Hike and Bike Trail around Lady Bird Lake.

Born and raised in Austin, I always went to summer camp. I spent about ten years attending one until I was old enough to start working there. Right out of high school I started as a recreational counselor, then as the years went on I grew into a group counselor. I quickly fell in love with the job as I was able to work with kids, remembering how fun and excited I was to attend camp. After exploring other opportunities found myself at a private school, with a short stint as a toddler teacher and then four years as a preschool teacher. Working with children has always been something I was naturally good at. Understanding their needs and being patient as they learn to understand the way the world works around them. 

I am excited to see the connections I make as well and the knowledge I gain working at Headwaters.

 

Starting as a Headwaters substitute in the fall of 2017, I had visited all three campuses but there was something special about the YCC community. I'm thrilled to now be a part of the Hummingbird team.

My name is Paula Sanchez and I am a guide in the Chickadee Casita. I started working at our school as a substitute teacher in April 2009. I worked in Primary until spring 2013, when I had my daughter. I had the opportunity to move to the Young Children’s Community and I love it! During my time here, I’ve realized the impact a teacher can make and how a community like Headwaters can make a difference in a child’s life.

What I love about Montessori is how it allows children from an early age to be independent, and how we can create works based on their interests. What I love most about the YCC age group is that the world  is new to them and everything can be a learning experience. You can see the excitement on their faces when they are successful at a task after trying a few times. I feel very fortunate to experience Headwaters as a guide and a parent–my daughters Andrea  and Camila are excited about school. This is a special community, and I feel very blessed that my family is a part of it.

What I love about our school is the culture, and the way each relationship unfolds as a staff member, a parent, and a student. You can see that everyone deeply cares about each other. I am inspired by the many different ways to teach. I love getting to know each student and his or her family, and I’m glad to be a part of Headwaters.

I grew up in a tiny country town in southeast Texas and spent my childhood running through the forests, riding horses, and writing screenplays in my backyard. I have always loved animals, adventure, and the charm of where I’m from, but I could feel a thirst forming for something bigger than what my slow-paced town could offer. When I was in high school, I won an international writing competition and flew to New York City for an interview with ABC Primetime. After seeing my first glimpse of what else could potentially be out there, I knew that the south wouldn’t hold my heart for too much longer. I was deeply involved in One Act Play as well, so when I graduated in 2009, I went to the University of North Texas to study more about writing and theater.

I moved to Austin in 2013, and it was the first move I’d made in my life with absolutely no plans or expectations. It was a really special pocket in time, where I was free to do whatever I wanted to. I worked at a few restaurants and bars, explored the city constantly and continued to work on  my writing. I also spend a lot of my time outside in whatever body of water I can find,  finding new favorite restaurants around town, taking road trips to new cities, and in December I’ll be embarking on my first international trip to Spain, France, and Italy. I’ve also always been hugely interested in the film industry, and spent the last year interning with Brock Allen Casting. There, I was part of a professional on-screen acting class and learned about working the camera, lights, script reads, and generally all about the casting process.

Knowing that I had always loved working with children, I decided to apply for a nanny position to care for a child with hearing loss in 2014. That’s where I learned I also had a passion for American Sign Language. I plan on taking ASL classes at ACC starting next year. In 2015 I began a job at Ladybird Montessori in Buda in a support role, and within a few months I was made an assistant. It was my first true introduction into the Montessori world and I fell in love with the philosophy, community, and children instantly. Although I loved it there, I knew I wanted something closer to home. I’d always heard about how incredible Headwaters School was through my sister, Laurie, who has been a part of this school for years. I couldn’t be more excited to be joining the Roadrunners classroom and to continue growing and learning as a part of this beautiful community.

I lived, from the age of three, on a bluff overlooking the Blanco River. My playground, my science lab, my obstacle course, my home instilled in me a love of nature, a sense of curiosity, of wonder and of play. I received my education in Wimberley, at Hays High School, and at Southwest Texas State University (B.A., Geography and History), now Texas State University. I first came to know about the methods of Dr. Maria Montessori while attending college. I had a part-time job assisting with a toddler class at Dripping Springs Montessori School and liked this way of teaching immediately. I continued with the job until graduation, marriage, and a move to Clear Lake where I worked at Armand Bayou Montessori School. There, I received my American Montessori Society (AMS) primary certification, in 1993. My husband, Cody, and I moved back to San Marcos where I worked at San Marcos Montessori. During that time, I completed my Association Montessori International (AMI) primary certification in 2000. I next worked in two other Austin Montessori schools and then took time away from teaching. One day I received a call from my friend Jennifer Phillips, a fellow student with whom I had trained. She was letting me know a position was open at Primavera (now Headwaters). Would I like to visit the school and be interviewed? I liked the school and accepted a position as a Primary Guide. That was in 2005, and I have never regretted a moment of my association with our school.

My experience at our school has been fulfilling and rewarding. I am fortunate to be part of a group of well-educated, dedicated, and loving people. The techniques of the Montessori Method resonate with me. I stay true to what Dr. Maria Montessori created; still I am encouraged to add my own creative touches to my approach at Headwaters. I give the children an experience that excites and engages them while they gain a sound foundation for their future studies. I embrace the whole child (mind, body, and spirit) and enjoy creating lessons with that in mind. I feel comfortable and confident at Headwaters, a place where our community spirit and dedication give us all a sense of purpose and a will to form well the lives of our students.