Susan Fernandez
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Head Teacher and Director

Susan Fernandez has been working with children at San Jose Montessori School since 2000.  

Susan is married with two adult daughters.  She had the privilege to experience being a parent at SJMS when her youngest daughter spent three years in the Montessori classroom.  The wonderful experience Susan and her family had during this time, and her 5 years working as Polli Soholt’s assistant, inspired her to train for her AMI Montessori Diploma. She graduated from the Montessori training center in Mountain View in 2008 and has been privileged to work with children and families as Head Teacher and Director since 2017. 

​In her spare time, Susan enjoys spending time with her two dogs and family, cooking, traveling, and reading.

Paulina Kim

Head Teacher

After being an Assistant Teacher at San Jose Montessori School for 5 years, Paulina Kim started working as one of the Head Teachers in 2016. ​ The youngest of five kids, her love of children was truly realized when her first nephew was born, and her fascination grew as she worked and volunteered with children throughout her college years at UC San Diego. 

Paulina first stumbled into the Montessori world through a part-time job at a Montessori school in San Diego. She quickly became captivated by the method and the children. Upon graduating, she promptly enrolled at the Montessori training center in Mountain View. She received her AMI Primary Diploma in June of 2011, and was in the classroom as Susan's assistant teacher that very fall.
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Paulina is married and enjoys being a mom to her daughter who was also a part of our community.  In her free time, Paulina enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, watching films, and traveling.

Alison Bott
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Assistant Teacher

Alison Bott received her AMI diploma from the Montessori Training Center of Northern California in Mountain View. She also holds a Bachelor's Degree in English from Manchester University in the UK and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Westminster College, Oxford. She taught in the UK for 4 years before moving to California.

Alison is married and has 2 children who both went to San Jose Montessori School.

Alison enjoys hiking, reading, arts and crafts, singing and playing the ukulele. She has been working at SJMS since 2010 and loves seeing the children become independent and enthusiastic learners.

Roxan Shroff

​Assistant Teacher 

Roxan got her AMI Primary Montessori training from MTCBC (Montessori Training Centre of B.C.) in Vancouver, B.C. in 2007. She worked as a head teacher in Canada. ​

Roxan is married and has been a parent at San Jose Montessori School since 2012 , both of her daughters have now graduated SJMS. In spring 2016 she  joined the staff as the Outdoor Environment teacher. She is now an Assistant Teacher in the classroom. 

Roxan enjoys baking with her daughters, yoga, walking her dog, Olive, hiking with her family, and sharing space with nature.

Daphne Lin
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​Outdoor Teacher/All Day Montessori Teacher

Daphne was born in and grew up in Taiwan. After she graduated high school in Taiwan, Daphne came to the United States to study. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Child and Adolescent Development from San Jose State University in 2013. After  graduating from San Jose State University, Daphne took the AMI Montessori Teacher Training, graduating in May 2014. 

Daphne volunteered at San Jose Montessori School for three years from 2014 until 2017.  She has been in her current role since 2019, which is when we officially re-opened in our current site.

In her spare time, Daphne enjoys practicing yoga, cooking, and singing.
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Tara Padget
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​Office Manager/Assistant Teacher 

Tara Padget joined San Jose Montessori School (SJMS) in 2017 as the Office Manager and Assistant Teacher.  Previously, Tara worked ten years at Casa di Mir Montessori School.  She initially joined Casa di Mir as an Administrative Assistant, and the last eight years as the Admissions Director.

Tara completed her training and received her Montessori credentials for AMI in 2019.  

In addition to our school community, Tara is dedicated to her fitness & running, singing, learning to play guitar and spending time with her husband and daughter.

Manola Ojeda

Substitute Assistant Teacher
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Manola grew up in Mexico City. She received her Pan American Montessori Society (PAMS) Primary Certificate from The Maria Montessori Teacher Training Center in 2021. She also has a Master’s degree from University of Pittsburgh, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She started working at San Jose Montessori as a substitute teacher in 2024. Manola finds joy and fulfillment in guiding children, recognizing the profound responsibility and unique opportunity this role presents.

 “Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” - Maria Montessori.

She is a mom of four wonderful girls, and she cherishes spending quality time with her family engaging in activities like hiking, and board games. In her free time she likes to exercise, listening to podcasts and visiting coffee shops with her husband.

Lei Wu

Substitute ​Outdoor Teacher/ Substitute Assistant Teacher

Lei grew up in China. She received her master’s degree from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and received her AMI primary Montessori diploma from Montessori Northwest in Milpitas in 2019.

She really enjoys playing and learning with children. She believes a good, early childhood education is the best gift we give to children. True education comes from true life. Montessori education brings independence, discipline, and courtesy to children. Lei has a daughter who is part of our community. She has seen her daughter developing into an emotionally strong and confident child in this environment.

Lei enjoys hiking, swimming, and dancing in her spare time.