Angela Taylor has joyfully worked alongside children for the past 13 years, the last 5 being in a Montessori environment. She received her Associates in Early Childhood Education from Waukesha County Technical College and she has completed her Paraprofessional Montessori training. Angela is enthusiastically continuing her education to earn her Montessori Infant/Toddler certificate.

In addition to serving in the classroom, she is a nanny of 3 wonderful kids and can't get enough of her dog and two cats. When Angela is not working she enjoys all the outdoors has to offer. She appreciates hunting and foraging, camping, running, kayaking, and visiting with friends. When not outside you can find her baking, getting crafty, or enjoying a good show curled up with her fur babies.

Samantha graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Spanish language. As one of nine children in her family, she was graced with many nieces and nephews at a young age which gave her years of childcare experience and ignited her passion for youth. She is enthusiastic about beginning Montessori certification training in the Infant/ Toddler program in 2022.

Outside of the classroom, Samantha enjoys quality time with family and friends, creative expression through music and art, and reading. She welcomes all book recommendations wholeheartedly.

Natallie is thrilled to be at the beginning of her Montessori journey. She has her Associates of Arts and Science and is working on her Bachelors of Art and Science in Social Work, with a minor in Sociology. Natallie has volunteered at the Salvation Army in Milwaukee, specifically with child care and tutoring. Natallie is looking forward to the Fall when she will start her Montessori education training. She is motivated to make this a great year for the kids and hopes to lead her own classroom in the future.

Outside of school, Natallie enjoys hikes with her beagle, gardening, paddle boarding, swimming, beach days, and traveling.

Emma’s passion for Montessori began nearly a decade ago as she observed her youngest brother's journey through his Montessori Primary and Elementary classrooms. After graduating from Waukesha North High School, Emma went on to study Psychology at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Her heart then guided her to beautiful Boulder, Colorado, where she was an avid climber and naturalist, eventually reaching every summit in the state exceeding 14,000 feet. Emma then returned to Waukesha, both to continue her education and be closer to her family. Before working as an Assistant at Adeline Montessori, Emma completed her Paraprofessional Montessori Training. She is currently enrolled at Seton Montessori Institute, where she is completing her training and practicum and will soon be receiving her certification as an AMS Early Childhood Guide.

Emma believes all children are deserving of love, dignity, kindness, and respect, and she has an innate ability to foster joy and creativity in her students as they do their “work”. You will find that Emma has a keen insight into each of her students, and her patience and wisdom notably exceed her years.

In any spare time she can find, Emma is a voracious reader, writer, NYT Crossword Puzzle junkie, hiker, climber, and environmentalist. She also enjoys vegan cooking and spending time with her family.

Kimberly joined our team with the ambition to fulfill her dream of being a teacher. She is finalizing her Bachelor's Degree in Business from Wisconsin Lutheran College and moving into their Master of Arts Program for Teaching. Kimberly possesses past experience being in a Montessori Classroom as the Pinpoint of the Toddler Program at Milwaukee Montessori School for 4 years. From there, she went into the Business field, working as a Senior E-Commerce Account Manager as well as a Casualty Claims Adjuster, but knew that was not her calling. She is thrilled to be back in the classroom working with children, especially being able to help enrich children’s minds in the Montessori method of teaching.

Outside of the classroom, Kimberly loves going on adventures with her husband of 13 years and their 3 children. Some of their favorite activities include going to the beach, playing all kinds of sports, having game and movie nights together, and traveling to Florida. Kimberly also enjoys singing in her band and volunteering at church, cooking, baking, and hosting fun parties for friends and family to get together.

Bio to come.

Angelica Ortiz has had a strong passion for teaching since she was in grade school, As soon as she graduated high school, she immediately started working in child care, Angelica worked at a local after-school center with children of all ages. While working at the after-school program Angelica also pursued and completed her online schooling for early childhood education. While homeschooling her own daughter, she fell in love with the structure of Montessori teaching. Angelica loves the idea of letting a child learn freely and setting up each child to be the best version of themselves while preparing them to be successful adults in the future. She looks forward to helping each child thrive to their best potential while creating a safe, healthy, and loving learning space.

While out of the classroom, Angelica enjoys family time the most with her husband and their daughter. She also enjoys cooking, baking, barbecues with the family, bonfires, bike rides, and going to local festivals.

Bio to come.

Kristin Polk is a summa cum laude graduate of UW-Milwaukee, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary and Middle-Level Education with a Minor in Language Arts. She brings 16 years of experience teaching multi-age, third grade, and fourth grade in the fully inclusive and 1:1 technology-device New Berlin Public School District. She has been a proud parent and community member of a Montessori environment for nine years and has taught two years as a trained assistant in a Lower Elementary Montessori classroom. Recently, she enrolled in a training center and has completed the academic portion towards becoming a certified Lower Elementary Montessori guide.

Kristin believes every child is a unique individual with unique learning abilities and needs. She fosters a calm, respectful, and safe learning environment by building supportive alliances with students and their families.

While not in the classroom, Kristin enjoys spending quality time with her family. Her favorite pastimes include taking road trips, reading, singing along to Disney or Broadway musicals, and doing projects around the house. 

Bio to come.

Life is good, every day, for Mindi Eineichner, who is in her fifth year teaching Upper Elementary after realizing her long-time dream of being a Montessori teacher.  Mindi Eineichner was born and grew up in northern Wisconsin. She attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the University of Alabama at Birmingham to gain both a B.S. and an M.S in Biomedical Engineering, respectively. Before finding her passion in a Montessori classroom, Mindi worked for 17 years at a medical device company helping educate physicians, nurses, and co-workers on implantable device technology, including pacemakers and defibrillators.

Mindi lives in Waukesha with her wife, daughter, two dogs, and three cats. Mindi’s hobbies are cooking/baking, gardening, walking her dogs, being surrounded by trees, bonfires, puzzles, and traveling.   

Lauren Ferch holds a lifetime teaching license for the state of Wisconsin in grades 1-9. She grew up in Waukesha and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Carroll College in 2004. Shortly after graduation, Lauren was introduced to the Montessori philosophy and has spent the years post-graduation working in academic administration and teaching at a Montessori school.

She is committed to teaching children where they are academically, socially, and emotionally to help them become who they want to be and feels the child-centered approach to Montessori education has the potential to be successful for all learners.

Outside of the classroom, Lauren enjoys spending time with her three children – all of whom are Montessori students at Adeline. The family rabbit, Eddie, joins her in the classroom.

Sarah Johanek found the Montessori philosophy after graduating from Carroll University with bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and Education, as well as a Religious Studies minor. She has spent the last 4 years assisting and observing in classrooms at all levels of the Montessori curriculum, but loves the independence and humor of the older students. She will be joining our staff on a part-time basis as the Elementary II and Adolescent assistant while she pursues her Master’s of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee. She is excited to help students develop executive functioning skills so they can fully enjoy all aspects of their learning experiences, both in and out of the classroom!

In her free time, Sarah enjoys running, cooking, and is an avid reader of science fiction. She likes exploring the many different parks in SE Wisconsin.

Heather Caldwell is excited to join us this fall from her previous position at Montessori School of Waukesha. Heather began her Montessori journey as a Music Specialist at MSOW, teaching both Strings and General Music. As she witnessed the profound impact of her youngest son’s Montessori education, she decided to obtain her credentials as a Montessori Guide. She enrolled in the Master of Montessori Education program at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls, and for the last two years has been teaching in the Lower Elementary Classroom.

Heather is thrilled to unite her passions of Montessori and Music this year! In addition to her Montessori training, Heather brings with her six years of experience in Strings instruction with Greater Milwaukee El Sistema, and many, many more with her private students and family. She was trained in Suzuki Violin Method at the Aber Suzuki Institute at UW-Stevens Point, and has attended Every Child Can and Early Childhood Overview at the American Suzuki Institute. She has also studied with Dr. Sanford and Judy Jones, innovators in Montessori Movement and Music. Heather is an advocate for kinesthetic learning, which reinforces the Montessori concept of “the hand teaches the brain”. She believes that children need to be allowed freedom of movement within the constraint of the prepared environment and a trained Montessori Guide. Heather is excited to bring sensorial awareness and acuity to the youngest of our learners, and to integrate Music into the Math, History, Art, Science, Practical Life, and Geometry curricula. Ms. Heather’s enthusiastic yet practical approach to Music and Strings has encouraged her students to continue their pursuit of instrumental and academic Music far beyond their required in-class time. She plays Violin, Viola, and Cello almost daily, as well as the occasional Guitar, String Bass, Woodwind, and enough Piano to get by in a pinch!

Having proudly served in the United States Air Force, Heather studied for three years at the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, California. She gained fluency in the German and Russian languages post-Cold War, and later returned to DLI to study Arabic languages during Operation Desert Storm. After her service, Heather moved to the Milwaukee area to further her education. She now also holds a BA in Criminology and Law with a minor in Biology from Marquette University, where she also studied at Marquette University Law School. She is also in the completion stages of her practicum & degree in the UWRF Master of Montessori Education program. She is currently riding out the COVID-19 situation before returning to UWRF to complete either her Upper Elementary credentials or Doctor of Education (Ed.D) in Montessori studies. In her “spare time”, she enjoys growing things, documentaries, science, audiobooks, cooking, but mainly, spending time with her five children.

Leia de Oliveira was born in Brazil. She moved to the United States such a long time ago that she's already lived here more than she lived in her home country. Leia is studying Education at UW-Milwaukee and is on the cusp of completion. She's worked for the Boys and Girls Club for 8 years in a program that allowed her to work in public schools helping kids catch up with their reading levels. She knew then that teaching is her calling. In 2018, Leia was introduced to Montessori and has now joined Adeline Montessori School. She speaks Portuguese, English, and Spanish fluently, and is very excited to share that knowledge with the students. She's very excited to join Adeline and continue learning Montessori methods of education. “It will be my pleasure to work with the children at Adeline and getting to know each and every one of them!”

Leis has 2 children who are entering college in the next few months. Isabella (Bella) is 21 years old, and Joshua (JJ or Josh) is 18 years old.

A student of life, with a passion for learning and teaching every single day, Mike Richter has spent 13 joyful years as an educator in a Montessori environment. During the years of his teaching experience, Mike has been a physical education specialist & afterschool coordinator (12 years), director of enrichment (3 years), summer program coordinator (3 years), and art teacher (2 years).  Mike earned an Associate of Arts degree and Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from The University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.  Mike also holds a paraprofessional training certificate, is trained in Transgender Education, responsive trauma, and by Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Diabetes management. Mike’s philosophy in the classroom is a three-pronged approach – help the child realize their potential, help the child stay safe, and most importantly – have fun!

Mike is an avid aquarist and maintains many fish tanks at his home.  A jack of all trades, he enjoys woodworking, crafting, painting, making and playing music, jigsaw puzzles, fishing, playing competitive slow-pitch softball, golfing, laughing with friends, and watching every Wisconsin based sports team.  Mike is excited for his next chapter of teaching, and working with the team at Adeline Montessori School.