Our Faculty and Staff
The Leadership Team
Head of School
Paul Raymond Paul has over 30 years of experience in Montessori education and school leadership. Paul spent 17 years of his Montessori career teaching; nine years at the early childhood level (3-6 years old), four years teaching lower elementary (6-9 years old), 3 years teaching upper elementary (9-12 years old) and 2 years in middle school (12-15 years old). Paul developed the Montessori middle school program and curriculum for the Montessori School of Raleigh and led the school to dual accreditation during his ten year tenure as Educational Director of the school. Paul taught both the lower and upper elementary programs for the Montessori School of Maui. Earlier in his career he owned and directed the Montessori Country School on a farm in Johannesburg, South Africa. Paul holds AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) Montessori certifications for both Early Childhood and Elementary. He also has completed the Montessori Adolescent Training Program (NAMTA). Paul holds a BA from Humboldt State University, CA in Social Work.
Assistant Head of School
Michael Barclay Mike brings 16 plus years of administrative and teaching experience to his role at Quest. Mike comes to Quest after spending six years as the Dean of Students at Moses Brown School. Prior to this, Mike was part of the founding faculty at Stuart Hall High School, Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, where he was the school’s first admissions director. While at Stuart Hall, he oversaw the school’s growth from a first class of 44 students to a fully enrolled student body in grades 9 through 12. He also taught English for two years at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from American University in Washington, DC and holds a BA in English and Communications from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.
Administrative Assistant to the Head of School
Pam Branch Pam supports Quest as Administrative Assistant for the Head of School. In addition to being a professional Decorative Artist for over 25 years, painting murals, decorative finishes and custom artwork, she has a degree in Fashion Design from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California.
The Teaching Faculty
Toddler Program
(Ages 18 months to 3 year olds)
Melissa DiCiccio Melissa comes to our community via her experiences with our Early Childhood teachers, Jane and Jessica, at Windswept Montessori before joining Quest. Melissa has been a substitute teacher at Quest in our Children’s House. After doing a comprehensive search process, Melissa qualified as the best candidate to run our new Toddler class. Melissa recently completed her Montessori training at the New York Center for Montessori Teacher Training, one of the premiere and most respected Montessori Infant/Toddler training programs in the country. Melissa also holds a BA in Italian from University of Rhode Island and a Masters in Education from Rhode Island College.
Early Childhood Program
(Ages 3 to 6 year olds including Kindergarten)
Jane Wainfor Jane has 25 years of Montessori teaching experience at the early childhood level. She was the founder and director of Windswept Montessori School in Perryville, RI where she also taught for 8 years. She was a Head teacher at South County Montessori School for 16 years. Jane holds a Level III Administrators certificate in Early Learning Standards and holds Rhode Island Early Childhood Certification to both direct and teach in a early learning program. Jane graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She also holds an early childhood teaching credential (3-6 years old) from the American Montessori Society.
Jessica Wainfor Jessica joined Quest last year as the assistant teacher in the early childhood program. She comes to Quest with over seven years of Montessori classroom experience as an Assistant Teacher and Office Manager at Windswept Montessori. Before her experience at Windswept Montessori, Jessica assisted in a Head Start program in Vermont for three years. She holds an Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Education and graduated with honors. Jessica is finishing her Early Childhood Credential from the American Montessori Society this year. She began work last fall on her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Rhode Island.
Joan Pagliuso Joan joined Quest this year as our Children’s House assistant teacher, graduated from Rhode Island College with a B.S. in Elementary Education with a math concentration. After working for a major corporation for about 17 years, she decided to return to her love of working with children and returned back for her masters which she earned from the University of Phoenix in Early Childhood. She has volunteered for over 15 years at her local church as an educator.
Lower Elementary Program
(Ages 6 to 9 year olds in Grades 1st through 3rd)
Cheryl Raymond Cheryl is the head-teacher in Lower Elementary (6-9 years old) and has directed the Upper Elementary program at Quest since 2006. She is an accomplished Montessori guide with 19 years of Montessori teaching experience in both Lower Elementary (4 years) and Upper Elementary (15 years). Prior to joining Quest Cheryl taught for ten years at the Montessori School of Raleigh, and also had teaching positions at the Montessori School of Maui and Raintree Montessori School in Lawrence, Kansas. Cheryl holds both Montessori certification (AMI Elementary 6-12) and conventional Elementary Education training. Cheryl has her B.A. in Elementary Education from Drury College in Springfield Missouri, where she made Dean’s List, was recognized as an Academic Honor Scholar, and was President of the Kappa Delta Pi – Educational Honor Society.
Gary Viera Gary is in his 10th year with Quest and is the school’s founding Physical Education and Health teacher. In 2005 Gary began working in the Lower Elementary classroom as a teacher’s assistant and this year he continues to work in LE in the morning and direct the school’s Physical Education program in the afternoon. Gary has worked at the YMCA as a Family Preschool Program Director and was also in charge of their sports program. Gary has a BA in Education from Norwich University (The Military College of Vermont) and Montessori Assistant’s Training from the Center for Montessori Training New York (CMTE/NY).
Upper Elementary Program
(Ages 9 to 12 year olds in Grades 4th through 6th)
Katherine Bowen Kathy is the Head Teacher of the Upper Elementary program. She is a founding parent and former Board Member of Quest. She joined the teaching staff in 2005. Katherine completed her Montessori Upper Elementary training at the Seacoast Center in New Hampshire. She has a B.S. in Industrial Psychology from Clarkson University.
Middle School Program
(Ages 12 to 15 year olds in Grades 7th and 8th)
Glen Seelenbrandt Glen teaches the math and science curriculum in the middle school. He joined Quest this year and brings over 10 years of experience teaching math, science, and technology to the middle school. He has taught at both independent day and boarding schools, including Moses Brown in Providence, R.I. , Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Mass., and Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Conn. Glen has worked in publishing as a web designer and is an experienced professional photographer. He earned his BA from the University of Vermont and has completed master’s degree work at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Glen has also completed the National Outdoor Leadership Program in Palmer, Alaska.
Abby Murphy Abby teaches the Humanities portion of our Middle School curriculum. Abby holds a MAT from Brown University with an emphasis in Secondary History and Social Studies along with a BA in History with distinction from Yale. Abby previously taught English and History to seventh, ninth and tenth grade students at Montrose School in Massachusetts before coming to Quest.
The Interdisciplinary Team
Fine Arts
Anne Reinhardt Anne holds a BFA in Photography and a K-12 Visual Arts teaching certificate from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit Michigan and an MA in Art and Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Anne’s career as an art educator includes experiences working with students ages 3-8 at the Roeper School in Michigan to working with middle and high school aged students at ACE Academy, a middle and high school for adjudicated young men. Anne’s focus at RISD was community based art education and social justice. She studied out-of-school-time programs that provided free access to art experiences for New England youth. Anne was able to work with several arts based organizations including RISD Project Open Door, English for Action, Community Music Works and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Anne’s creative practice is as much about education and community engagement as it is about making works of art.
Drama and Music
Kelly House Kelly joined the staff as the Music and Drama teacher in 2010. Kelly taught and directed the All Children’s Theatre in Pawtucket, R.I. for eight years and was a teaching Associate in the Brown University Music department. She has taught after-school and summer theater programs at Quest, St. Andrews School, and the Gordon School. Kelly trained for 4 years at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA and holds a B.A. in Music from Amherst College. She has many additional years of training and performance experience as a vocalist and actor.
Spanish
Corrine Dyer Corrine holds a BA in Spanish Language and Literature and Elementary Education from the University of Rhode Island. Most recently she worked for AmeriCorps in Providence where she tutored K-5 students in math and reading at a bilingual school. Corrine also is the Quest Toddler Assistant.
