Meadows Montessori.....Who we are....
Heather and her partner, Janet, are excited to announce a new chapter in vision and leadership with the opening of a new Montessori program in Westborough, MA-Meadows Montessori School! Both met in 2010 at The Riverbend School where they worked as Montessori Lead Primary teachers. Heather is the founder of South Shore Montessori School which has just entered its third year. Janet is in her 4th year as Children’s House Director at the Riverbend School in South Natick, MA.
Meet Heather
Based in Hopkinton and having commuted to the Cohasset area over the last three years, Heather spent most of 2026 searching for the perfect location and partnership to bring a community-inspired Montessori school closer to her home. This passionate vision has led her to discover new roots in the local Westborough area at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church!
Heather began her teaching career as an ESL teacher for ELS Language Centers at the University of New Haven then as a middle school English teacher in Canton, CT. She spent over 14 years as a lead primary teacher, forest educator, and summer camp director at The Riverbend School in South Natick, MA. Heather completed a Masters in Leadership and Policy in Early Education through Wheelock College at BU. She received her AMS Montessori credential through Northeast Montessori Institute and Certificate of Completion from the Shelburne Farms Education for Sustainability Leadership Academy in Shelburne, VT where she worked with other educators from around New England on issues of School Sustainability.
Heather created the popular Forest Friday model at Riverbend (now in its 9th year!) and has also started the same program at her current program at SSMS. She more recently earned 50 + PD Hours completing the FFEC Forest For Every Classroom program also at Shelburne farms. She is EEC Lead teacher and Director II certified and has also worked as an independent contractor for Northeast Montessori Institute as an educational consultant.
Meet Janet
Janet has always wanted to work with children, enjoying her time as a babysitter, camp counselor, and lab school intern during high school. Originally from the D.C. area, she attended Virginia Tech and graduated in 5 years with her B.S. in Human Development and Master's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education (Birth-6th grade). After a brief stint in public school, Janet moved to NY and received her American Montessori Society teaching credentials from West Side Montessori School in NYC, while working at the Alcott School in Dobbs Ferry, NY.
In 2010, Janet relocated to Massachusetts when she was offered a Primary Lead teaching position at the newly founded Riverbend School (formerly Natick Montessori). Throughout the next 12 years she held additional roles, including level leader, summer camp director, kindergarten teacher, and served on many committees, most notably as an AISNE accreditation group leader and as the faculty representative in the Head of School search.
In the summer of 2023 Janet started her new role as the Director of Children’s House. She has truly enjoyed working with students, families, and colleagues - but felt something was missing. She is very excited to return to teaching in the classroom and co-found Meadows Montessori School with Heather.
Janet has her EEC Lead Teacher and Director II certification and completed the Achieving Excellence: Leadership Development for Principals at the Harvard Graduate School of Education this past July.
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