Navigation

About Us

Our Mission

We will inspire the cognitive, emotional and physical development of individual children in a secure environment that encourages them to freely explore, create, cooperate and become an active part of our world.

HOW WE IMPLEMENT OUR MISSION

  • We offer a safe and supportive environment that nurtures each child's unique gifts. We implement proven Montessori methods to naturally guide children to become attentive, curious, and self-directed in order to discover the actual richness of the world that surrounds them.
  • We help children discover positive self-awareness as well as strengthen their connections with others in the environment giving them the ability to realize their fullest potential.
  • We provide guidance and education to the community of parents so they can more effectively support and guide their children's development.

Joan Rodriguez-Malone - Owner and DirectorJoan Rodriguez Malone

Mrs. Rodriguez-Malone has been involved in Montessori all her life. Her Montessori training began at the age of three as a student in a very well-respected International Montessori school. Upon graduation from Montessori grade school she attended a traditional American method School at the Carol Morgan School of Santo Domingo. Her first formal teaching experience was at the age of 16 when she created a program for preschoolers to learn English as a second language at the Montessori School of Santo Domingo. Her continuing education includes an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education from Palm Beach Junior College, a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami.

Mrs. Rodriguez-Malone has numerous teaching certifications including a Certificate of Primary Education from the American Montessori Society, Infants and Toddlers Certification from the American Montessori Society, a Certificate in Family Music from the University of Miami, and has earned an Infants and Toddlers Parent-Teacher Montessori Certification from the Montessori Institute of San Diego where she studied under Silvana Montanaro, the author of “Understanding the Human Being” and Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of “The Evolution Egg.” Mrs. Rodriguez-Malone has attended continuing education at the University of Miami, The American Montessori Society, The South Florida Montessori Education Center and Harvard University. Prior to opening her school she worked as a Montessori Assistant and Teacher at the Children’s House of the Palm Beaches, Wee Wisdom Private School, and Alexander Montessori in South Miami. She lives with her Husband and three children in Coconut Grove, Florida

Olga Arellano Arguello- Picasso Room Directress 

In 1997, Olga founded a non-profit organization to improve the education system in Honduras. Looking for a method that would make a difference, she chose Montessori, graduating from St. Nicholas Training Center in 1998 on the 0-6 yr course. That same year she started a preschool with 60 children; as the school grew, she studied the 6-9 yr. course, the Catechism of the Good Shepherd (2000) and then the 9-12 yr course (2001). From the beginning, she directed the monthly Parent Workshops, which has helped many families become better parents. The school now runs from Infants through 8th Grade with 140 students. Olga began a Teacher Training Program to prepare her own teachers and then everyone else who wanted to learn. In 2003, she became an accredited teacher trainer by NCME (National Center of Montessori Education). She has trained more than 1,000 teachers in these past 11 years that benefit more than 20,000 children.

This past January, Mrs. Arguello became a facilitator of the Virtues Project which she is implementing with her teachers and students.  In addition to these excellent teaching credentials, Ms Olga has been a social worker and teacher most of her life. Since the age of 12, she was the catechism teacher and assistant at the clinic of an underprivileged neighborhood. On vacations, she volunteered at the Cerebral Palsy Institute in Miami. While her five children attended school, Olga was the substitute teacher in preschool, and grade school. At her local Catholic Parish, she gave the Baptism classes for parents and godparents, prepared the children for Holy Communion, and the teenagers for Confirmation. Mrs. Arguello created the Adopt a Grandparent for the Senior Citizens Home for more than 140 elders, prepared monthly Birthday Parties with mass, and would visit them every Thursday. Olga is a speaker on family, values, religion, motivation, and education; she has given many talks to schools, parishes and women's groups.