Staff

  Primary Lead Guide &

 Primary Head of School 

Ms. Lindsay is originally from Bowie, MD; she received her Bachelors of Fine Art from Frostburg State University. Realizing she could not survive as an independent artist, she decided to complete the Masters in the Art of Teaching program at FSU in 2007. While living in Shepherdstown, WV, Lindsay held her first teaching job at Pleasant Valley Elementary school in Knoxville, MD, teaching art. She went on to teach for multiple elementary schools at the same time within Prince George's County as their Integrated Art teacher, a role which required her to develop and implement art lesson plans that incorporated core state standards in all other subject areas. During her eight years teaching in Prince George’s County, Lindsay got married, moved to Baltimore City, and had two lovely daughters. After the birth of her second daughter, she took a year off to focus on being a mother. Eventually Lindsay returned to the workforce, becoming a teaching assistant at Baltimore Montessori in Baltimore City’s Locust Point neighborhood. During her three years at Baltimore Montessori, she completed the rigorous Montessori training program offered at the wonderful Institute for Advanced Montessori Studies at Barrie School in Silver Spring, MD. She holds a primary credential to serve children age 3 – 6 as a Montessori guide and is a member of the American Montessori Society (AMS). 

Lindsay grew tired of the hustle and bustle of the city and knew Baltimore was not the place she wanted to raise her daughters. The pull of western Maryland was strong, and Frostburg always felt like a second home. She began the search to find a Montessori school in that area. It didn’t take long to discover Beginnings Montessori. With a father-in-law who loves to chat and a board member willing to make the connection, Lindsay interviewed for the position and was hired in the summer of 2019. Lindsay enjoys road trips to New Orleans, punk rock shows, making art, dancing in her kitchen, cooking for people, and singing in her car. She loves every little person that comes into her care and is so grateful to be a part of this small but mighty community.

 Lower Elementary Lead Guide &

Elementary Head of School

Prepared with a Bachelor’s in Psychology (Frostburg State University, 2005) and a Master of Arts in Teaching-Elementary (FSU, 2009), Jackie started her educator journey in special education in Washington D.C. Public Schools, where she learned the ropes from the most amazing team of educators. After moving back to the area, she was a teacher and Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Coordinator in a non-public special education school for 7 years before resigning to spend a glorious year at home with her 3 children, Everett, Thatcher, and Sullivan while also finishing coursework for an Ed.D in Educational Leadership from FSU. She joined the Beginnings community in 2018 as the elementary guide and found the next most amazing group of educators with whom to work. She abandoned the Ed.D with just the dissertation left to complete so that she could focus on her Montessori training through CGMS. Finding Beginnings and the Montessori approach to education has made her feel like she’s in the right place, doing education in a way that feels natural and authentic. 

When she’s not guiding students to embrace challenge, follow their interests, and love learning, she enjoys watching ridiculously nostalgic 80s television (phones with cords!); rolling her eyes at her husband, Jeff’s, relentless dad jokes; reading classic literature and historical fiction while enjoying a good cuddle with Mr. Dog; savoring each and every cup of coffee that she can get her hands on; and all things outdoors, particularly camping and backpacking. 

 Upper Elementary Lead Guide 

Ms. Therese graduated from Frostburg State University in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in music education. She started her AMI Montessori training with the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee from 2014-2016. She received her Montessori certification in August of 2016 and completed her masters of elementary education in 2017 at Loyola University of Maryland. From 2007-2013 she worked as an Instructional Assistant at Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School (MVMPCS) in Frederick, MD. She also worked for one year at MVMPCS in 2014 as a substitute teacher in lower elementary. She was hired at Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter School (CCMPCS) in Frederick, MD from 2015-2021. She worked for three years as an Upper Elementary teacher and four years as a Lower Elementary teacher at CCMPCS. 

She was hired at Beginnings Montessori School as an Upper Elementary Lead teacher in the fall of 2022.

Elementary Assistant 

Aftercare Director

 Ms. Sara joined Beginnings in the summer of 2019 as the elementary assistant and aftercare director. Under her innovation and creativity, she has cultivated a thriving community of learning and fun for students (or as they call themselves, Steves). Ms. Sara, a Cumberland native, holds an associates degree in history and certificate in early childhood from Allegany College of Maryland. She has worked in diverse fields and was employed for three years as an instructional assistant, both for students in general and special education classrooms, for Allegany County Schools before coming to Beginnings.
 

Ms. Sara has a blended family with her partner of seven years. They parent Riley (a seventh grader at Braddock Middle School who plays the violin and practices jiu-jitsu) and Jackson (a student athlete sophomore at Allegany High School who will be studying in Germany next year). Additionally, their launched (and launching) children are Jaxon (a parks and recreation student athlete at Frostburg), Caden (a political science and law and society student athlete at Frostburg State University), and O’Chun (an air force captain stationed in Hawaii). Ms. Sara enjoys quiet days alone watching live cameras from around the world on YouTube; reading fantasy, biographies, historical fiction, and the occasional romance; and traveling to learn more about the world around her. 

 Primary Assistant    

Ms. Becky is currently an Instructional Aide for the 3-6 year old preschool class at Beginnings Montessori. She grew up on a 180 acre farm in Short Gap, WV. She graduated from Allegany College and was an ophthalmic tech for an ophthalmologist for 38 years until his retirement and closing of the practice in 2022. She desired to do something completely different for her remaining working years and was blessed to be chosen for the preschool classroom assistant position at Beginnings. She is currently in her second school year. Last year she earned her child care certification. She enjoys spending her time with all the preschool children and finds it rewarding to see how they daily absorb their teachings and the progress they make each year. Her husband and her enjoy traveling, experiencing different restaurants and foods, shopping, home decorating, the beach, and time with their very active four-year-old jack russell, Ginger.

  Interim President

  Tom Bowling came to Frostburg in 1976 after completing his doctoral studies in higher education administration at Florida State University. He received his Masters in educational sociology from Wayne State University while serving in the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University. He lives in Frostburg with his wife, Nancy. They have five children and three grandchildren. 

He has had the opportunity to study the Montessori method and values the emphasis it places on student engagement. 

Tom retired from Frostburg State in 2019 as VP for Student Affairs. During the 2015-16 academic year, he served as Interim President. He continues to work with doctoral students in the EdD program in Educational Leadership and other projects at FSU. He enjoys traveling, reading, gardening, swimming, and spending time with his grandchildren. He is looking forward to supporting the teachers at Beginnings Montessori in his role as a board member. 

 Vice President

  Rebeccah McCauley joined Beginnings Montessori in the fall of 2023 as the Vice President of the board. Raised in the Baltimore area, she graduated from West Virginia University with a Masters in Linguistics in 2016 after earning a BA in each English and Spanish at Frostburg State University in 2012. She will finish a second masters in teaching in the spring of 2024 from Fairmont State University. She has worked as an English and Spanish teacher for ten years, working at both the high school and college level; she currently works as an English teacher at Keyser High School. She resides in La Vale, Maryland with her husband and their two sons. 

She found learning about the Montessori method fascinating in her academic pursuits and is continually impressed with how this environment has helped her oldest son thrive and looks forward to seeing the same growth in her younger son when he starts. 

Rebeccah spends her time pretending to be a dinosaur with her children, reading Jane Austen novels, and running slow half marathons. 

 Treasurer

    A Cumberland native, Jeremy Wilson joined Beginnings in November of 2023. Jeremy earned his BS in Accountancy from Geneva College in 2008 and his MBA, also from Geneva College, in 2012. Jeremy has been a Certified Public Accountant since 2014. Jeremy has an extensive background in nonprofit financial executive management, having served as the Chief Financial Officer for Mountain Laurel Medical Center for over 6 years and currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for Burlington Family Services. He also currently serves as a consultant to other nonprofit healthcare agencies. 

Jeremy lives in Bowling Green with his wife and three children, the youngest of whom attends Beginnings. When he's not at work, Jeremy can be found learning to play piano, playing tabletop games with his friends, or watching science and nature YouTube Shorts with his kids.

Director of Quality  

Jessica Hook, or as many of you may know her, “Ms. Jessica,” has been a part of the Beginnings family for over 10 years. Born and raised in Cumberland, she has a dual Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Frostburg State University, and her Early Childhood Montessori Credential from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. She began her career as an educator at HRDC Head Start before jumping into Montessori. 

She is currently continuing her work to support families in Allegany County as a Family Navigator for the Local Management Board. 

Jessica currently resides in Cumberland with her husband and two children, as well as two (very large) dogs. She loves to travel, attend concerts, and support local community events. Although no longer teaching, Jessica is thrilled to continue supporting Beginnings and be involved in this community that she loves so much. 

 Director of Growth & Development

  Andrea Kraft, is the Communications Manager at the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce, and has found that non-profit work is her passion.

She is a graduate of Frankfort High School, class of 2003. She along with her husband Will have one daughter who has been attending Beginnings for the last 6 years. 

Andrea spends a portion of her time raising funds for Miles for Migraine and participating as a patient advocate at Headache on the Hill through the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy group. 

In her spare time Andrea enjoys reading, and spending time with her family. 

Director of Fundraising

 Darron W. Jones joined Beginnings in the fall of 2023 as the director of fundraising. He was born and raised in Cumberland and graduated from Frostburg State University with BS in accounting and a minor in economics. He has a background in sales, advertising, and insurance, and he currently works as a National Business Solutions Executive for AT&T. He loves Cumberland and sees the potential this area has to prosper and flourish. He is personally invested in helping this area realize that potential: he co-founded both the charitable organizations Del's Army and the Troy McKenzie fund. Del’s Army has raised and donated more than $20,000 and over 10 tons of food to the Western Maryland Food Bank since its first food drive in 2011. The Troy McKenzie fund is a yearly scholarship that sends five deserving members from Allegany County to the DelFest Academy and DelFest Music Festival, giving them the opportunity to learn music from world-class musicians in the honor of the late Troy McKenzie.
 

Darron has a blended family with his partner of seven years. Together they are raising Riley (a seventh grader at Braddock Middle School who plays the violin and practices jiu-jitsu) and Jackson (a student athlete at Allegany High School who will be studying in Germany next year). Their adult children are Jaxon (a parks and recreation student athlete at Frostburg), Caden (a political science and law and society student athlete at Frostburg State University), and O’Chun (an air force captain stationed in Hawaii). Their home is full of love (and people) and energy, with the most energetic member being their beloved dog, Mister Jones.
 

Darron and his partner enjoy traveling (with and without kids). He also loves to golf, go to concerts and Delfest, and watch sports with friends and romcoms with his partner.

 

Director of Facilities

Originally from Oakland, MD and now a resident of Cumberland, Joshua Horevay joined the Beginnings Montessori board in the fall of 2023. He has spent most of his time back in Allegany County the last 15 years as a chef/consultant who has helped start many local businesses, such as Shift, Morguen Toole Co, Yellow K Records, Clatter, and Allegania. He has an entrepreneurial focus on Appalachia and has served in various capacities on other local governing boards. Josh and his partner, Julie Mizak, a special Ed teacher and licensed Doula, send their oldest daughter to Beginnings. 

Outside of their respective careers you can find them casually hiking, camping, listening to records, and chilling with their two daughters, family, and friends. 

Director of Parent & Family Relations

Annie Kilcoyne joined Beginnings Montessori in Fall 2023. Born and raised in Cumberland, she earned a Bachelors in Fine Arts and Art History from Frostburg State University in 2001 before graduating with a Masters from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 2009. She has worked as an artist and administrator at Greenspring Montessori School in Baltimore, as well as for Baltimore County Board of Education and for non-profit art organizations bringing art education to Baltimore City Schools. 

Annie continues work as a creative designer and art consultant. She and her husband along with their two children reside in LaVale. In her free time she enjoys the outdoors, creating art, and working with the local historical society.