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About Our School

Brooklyn Roots Montessori will be a non profit micro school located in Little Haiti, Brooklyn. Our school will be founded in authentic Montessori (AMI) principles with a focus not only on academics but equally as important, the wellness and passions of each individual child. It will open its doors to children ages 3-6 years old in August 2025.

Montessori education is a scientifically based pedagogy in which children develop skills across mathematics, language, independence in practical life, and a training of the five senses known as “sensorial” education. Within a carefully prepared environment, children move around freely throughout the day, choosing to work with scientifically developed learning materials in which they conceptualize advanced concepts through practice and repetition, and by receiving 1-1 lessons from their teachers, known as “Guides.”

Our school will be culturally responsive and reflect the identities and cultures of the children we will serve. It will be a place where families can share their passions, stories, cultures, languages, and knowledge with the children, teacher-leaders, and one another. Our dream is for the children to have access to an outdoor space in which they can learn to grow and harvest fruits and vegetables in a school garden. We will also offer a Spanish track for those interested in bilingual education, with a goal to offer French Creole as we grow.

Children who begin their education at 3 years of age and continue with the Montessori method for 3 are typically able to multiply in the millions, have a concrete understanding of the decimal system and fractions, and move from concrete working knowledge of math to thinking about mathematical concepts more abstractly by the time they are 6 years old. They have a solid understanding of grammar and the parts of speech, can read and write fluently (including music), have conceptualized geographic concepts, can care for themselves and their home/school environment independently, and much more!

Our Teacher Leaders

Shane Stephen - Teacher Leader

Shane Stephen, born in Mount Vernon, grew up in a Seventh-Day Adventist family with Jamaican educator parents. His diverse education spanned Florida, NYC, and D.C. After CUNY and Montessori training, he joined The Gloria Alston Children's Learning Center for four years. Currently, he's pursuing Primary Montessori certification and co-founding Brooklyn Roots Montessori (2025) with Natalia Leston, focusing on equitable education.

Natalia Leston - Teacher Leader

Natalia Leston was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and attended Public School from Pre-K through College where she studied Child Psychology and Music at the City College of New York. To support her studies, she worked as an afterschool Spanish Instructor for children, and discovered her love and passion for teaching. She spent the next decade pursuing her Masters in Childhood Education (Fordham University), Progressive School Leadership (Bank Street College) and became Montessori Trained. She has taught children from ages 2-11 and has worked as a Classroom Teacher, Spanish Teacher, Preschool Director, Music Instructor, and Montessorian. She is currently co-founding a non-profit Montessori School in Little Haiti, Brooklyn and believes that all children should have access to hands-on, joyful, liberatory, and well-rounded education.

Board Members

Philip Cross

Phillip M. Cross is an experienced financial strategist with over 20 years of expertise in budgeting, financial operations, and compliance within the education sector. Currently serving as the Director of Finance and Operations at the Weston Board of Education. His deep understanding of financial modeling, fiscal analysis, and vendor negotiations allows him to drive financial efficiency and support decision-making.

Before his work in education, Phillip gained invaluable accounting experience in the private sector managing financial operations for a portfolio of residential investment properties.

Janelle Casanova

Janelle Casanova has spent over a decade at College Board, leading strategic partnerships and business development initiatives focused on college and career readiness. With deep experience in educational access, assessment, and student success, she brings a thoughtful and informed perspective to the board of Brooklyn Roots. As both an education professional and a parent, she is passionate about creating meaningful learning opportunities that empower all students to thrive.

Derek Anthony Jones

Derek Anthony Jones is a product of New York City Public Schools in the Bronx. He began his career in 1986 in the Bronx as a Paraprofessional In Community School District 9. He became a teacher in 1995. In 1996, he taught Global and US History at Satellite Academy, an original transfer school on the Lower East Side.

At Satellite, Derek was a teacher leader and Director of a documentary film program called “The Urban Video Project”. He left Satellite Academy in 2003, and became part of the third cohort of New Leaders for New Schools, and in 2004, he was selected by The Institute for Student Achievement (ISA), as a project director to create a high school in Queens. Derek served as the founding principal of Excelsior Preparatory High School from 2004-2010. In 2010, he became a Deputy Network Leader, and in 2012, left the Department of Education to become the Senior Director of School Support for New Visions for Public Schools, where he was responsible for the support of 31 district schools in the Bronx and Manhattan.

In 2021, Derek assumed the role of Vice President for District School Support, where he was responsible for coordinating the New Visions coaching and data support for 71 New Visions affiliated schools as well as lead the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work of the organization. Currently, Derek is the School Leader at Urban Dove Team Charter High School III in Astoria Queens.

Beverlee Mendoza

Beverlee was born in Trinidad and Tobago, she began her Montessori journey over 30 plus years ago when she began looking for a preschool for her daughter. Thus began her journey to become a Montessori teacher.

Beverlee worked as an Infant Directress for 10 years, coordinated toddler programs in 2 Montessori schools for many years and worked as a 3-6 teacher for over 20 years in schools in Trinidad, the US and China.

She teaches prospective Montessori teachers and consults for Virginia Center For Montessori Studies in Richmond Virginia in their Early Childhood and Infant/Toddler programs and Northeast Montessori Training institute. (Toddler).

Beverlee loves spending time with her family and is a member of the American Montessori Society. She is honored to be the founding teacher leader of Ixora Montessori School and looks forward to bringing Montessori education for all, especially embracing the rich diversity of families in the Williamsburg VA. area and its surroundings.

Qualifications: - M.Ed., concentration in the Montessori Method, B.A. English, Early Childhood Montessori certification, Infant and Toddler Montessori Certification.

Interest: Gardening, Travel, and the arts.