Claire Doody, Head of School / Elementary Teacher

 Claire has been involved in Montessori Education since her firstborn was 2 years 11 months old. That was 25 years ago when she decided to seek out a preschool for her child. It was not long after her daughter started school and a military move later, when she went to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio to pursue a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Pre-Primary Certification from The American Montessori Society for 3-6 year olds. Both M.Ed. and A.M.S. certification were completed in 1988. This now rounded out her education with a previous B.A. from St. Michael’s College in English Literature (minor in Drama) and a M.A. from The University of Northern Colorado in Communication with an emphasis in Human Relations. She spent three years in Ohio at a Montessori School in Dayton

Upon a move to Virginia, Claire spent the next 3 years working in two primary schools, one a parent co-op, and the other an administrator-owned school. She found the experiences she garnered invaluable for formulating the type of school she could one day envision herself to create. “In each school I worked, I took the BEST from them they had to offer and left the rest aside.”  Along the way, she attended many conferences and learned innumerable lessons from noted Montessorians, some, now departed.

With the birth of a second daughter and a third child, a son, there have been a few years in between dedicated to infant home care. Never loosing site of the contribution the Montessori way of educating children offered children, a few years, she tutored! The family then moved to New Hampshire

Claire had the fortune to teach at a school in New Hampshire for a school that needed an interim teacher for a class that had their teacher on maternity leave. It was a seminal moment for she decided then and there that now was the time to enact her vision for a Montessori School filled with the wisdom and experiences she gathered over the years on her Montessori road trip. Thus, Country Village Montessori School was born in January 2002. It was named for the first Montessori School her daughter ever attended all those years back, in Texas

Once in New Hampshire, another opportunity came along to teach Child Development for the New England Montessori Teacher Education Center (NEMTEC). Claire taught there for five years. Teaching adults was always a second love for Claire who taught for numerous colleges as adjunct faculty in South Dakota, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia

Our families have always desired a continuing elementary class for their children upon completion of Kindergarten. It has been humbling to have such trust placed in our hands. To ensure the quality of program, Claire took upon herself to train for the 6-9 year old level. She completed her certification for Lower Elementary but to have the full vision she went back to school in the summer of 2008 to finish elementary training with the 9-12 year old level. This is ongoing work!

“I am extremely happy with the quality of our teaching staff, their dedication to excellence as evidenced by their adherence to the American Montessori Society’s Code of Ethics, innovations they bring to their classroom, completion of certified levels of training, perseverance to continuing education, and, above all, the love and respect they have for children.”

Carla Verstraete ,Children’s House Teacher

Carla is originally from Rochester, NY and has been living in Milford, NH since 2003 with her husband Erik. She is the mother to two beautiful girls, Alexia age 8 and Adrianna age 2.

She joined CVMS in 2005 as a Montessori parent when her eldest daughter attended Kindergarten. She was so impressed when she and her husband came to look at the school that she began training. She attended New England Montessori Teacher Education Center in Boston. She began teaching at CVMS throughout her training and has been here ever since!

Carla came to Montessori education with much previous experience with children. Her experience included being a teacher’s aide at Mary Cariola Children’s Center in Rochester, NY working with developmentally disabled children and also worked at one of Mary Cariola’s residential homes working with developmentally disabled children with severe behavior disorders. She has had extensive experience at traditional daycare centers with two, three and four year olds as well.  With her extensive background, Carla well appreciates the difference a Montessori education can bring to a child.

In 1994 Carla went to work for Premier Cruise Lines on The Big Red Boat as a youth counselor. As a youth counselor, the whole objective was to create a fun, safe environment for up to 600 children per cruise. After leaving life on cruise ships she, in Washington, DC, volunteered at The Lab School, a school specializing in children with learning differences.

“Although I have enjoyed all of the experiences that I have held over the years, none have I loved as much as this one. The chance to see children learn, grow and love their environment is priceless. I love this career! I love to see how proud your children are with themselves as they accomplish new tasks. I love being able to observe and follow the children to see what will come next. I love being able to create challenging works for each and individualize for every child in the classroom. I enjoy every new challenge and I am looking forward to what is ahead.”

Susan Goulding, Classroom Assistant, Children’s House

Susan Goulding trained as a Midwife and Registered Nurse in the UK, working in hospitals, doctors’ offices and in the community for over 20 years. Her last job was as a Senior Practice Nurse in a Doctors Office and involved working as part of an Integrated Team of Health Care Professionals with a goal of providing a high standard of health care to the family. The job involved several areas including asthma diabetes family planning coronary heart disease management immunization and treatment room clinics. As well as providing nursing care the post involved health promotion through education and support and acting as a advocate for the family.

Susan moved to the USA in August 2000. She has 2 children: Robert, 22, who is currently teaching at Belmont High school in New Hampshire and Michael, 18, who is a senior at Souhegan High School Amherst.

During her first years in US Susan was unable to work due to visa restraints, so volunteered at the Southern New Hampshire Hospital, in the Amherst school system from Kindergarten to High school in the Nurse’s office and in the classroom   She also volunteered in Ms Claire’s Childrens’ House classroom for 2 years before starting work for Claire as a classroom assistant She worked closely with Claire for 3 years  and is now in her 2^nd year with Ms Carla.

Susan’s main interests and hobbies revolve around her family, she is an avid rugby fan and spends many hours watching her sons play rugby and soccer. She is Youth Director on the Amoskeag Rugby Football Club Board; this post requires her to arrange matches, fields, referees, as well as keeping a close eye on up to 30 youth players whose ages range from 12 – 19 years. She also enjoys reading, walking and continues to volunteer in the community.