Meet Our Team
Passionate, Experienced, and Kind.
Sokthy
Teacher's Aide
Sokthy (pronounced So-Tee) is a Teacher’s Aide at Power of Two Montessori! It’s an exciting opportunity to offer my creative background and skill set to provide a supportive role in the classroom. I believe that nurturing the “whole child” helps children reach their full potential and I’m looking forward to making a positive impact on their learning and growth.
Briefly about myself, I was born at a refugee camp in Thailand and came to America when I was about three years old. At a very young age, I watched and learned patternmaking and sewing from my mother - and then commuted around the city distributing fabrics with my father. They have taught me the value of hard work.
I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and have worked in NYC and Philadelphia for most of my life - designing for Milliner designer Eugenia Kim, menswear for M.crow, and freelance designs featured in Best of Philly and The Knot magazines. My most recent passion project turned into a small business: a line of children’s hats!
I currently live in West Grove with my husband, son (8), and daughter (6) to raise our lovely family. Together we love being in nature, crafting, treasure hunting at vintage shops, and creating our own ice cream flavors! We incorporate Montessori principles at home to engage in learning as well as enriching their daily lives. I have seen how allowing my children to be self-led has helped them to grow confidently and independently.
Shannon
Montessori Guide
Shannon attended Warren Wilson College near Asheville, NC. She transferred there in 2005. During her time there she learned the value of interdependency and collective work for the greater good of the community.
She graduated in 2007 with a BA in Philosophy.
In 2010 she moved to Tucson, AZ. There she started her first teaching job at Khalsa Montessori, moving up from a substitute and then to an assistant in a Lower Elementary (ages 6-9) Montessori classroom. She loved working with children and was very interested in the Montessori method, materials and philosophy. After almost two years of being a Montessori Assistant she knew she wanted to be a Lead Montessori Guide and remembered the wonderful impact her elementary teacher had on her. In 2012 she decided to pursue an M.Ed program at Loyola University of Maryland which included a year long, full time, intensive training as a Montessori Elementary Guide (ages 6-12) through the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI). This training included a prerequisite, month long, full time training focused on the Montessori Primary (ages 3-6) classroom methods. She found the Montessori Pedagogy, Philosophy and Materials awe inspiring, innovative and remarkably relevant to today’s world.
After graduating from Loyola she worked for 3 years as a Lead Montessori Lower Elementary Guide (ages 6-9) at a wonderful school called the Montessori School of Oakton located near Washington D.C. In 2016 she moved back to the Philadelphia area and took a few years off to raise her own two children, William (6) and Julian (3). She now lives in Avondale, PA and spends her free time with her children and husband Ben. She enjoys baking, exploring new places, walking outside, dancing and playing the guitar from time to time. She is an avid proponent of Montessori’s Education for Peace and she practices the Montessori approach of being an advocate for the child.