“A Guide, Not a Teacher” – Maria Montessori
Montessori staff is not in the classroom to ‘instruct’ students in the traditional sense. They guide the child in choosing learning materials that are both appealing and challenging to the child, based upon their abilities, interests, and previously mastered lessons. Once a child has received a lesson on any material, they are free to choose it as often as they like – each time gaining more skill and insight – until they have “mastered” the work and become disinterested. This cycle is similar to how a child chooses the same bedtime stories over and over again, memorizing each page, yet still enjoying the whole story.
All of Waves of Wonder staff is CPR & First Aid Certified. All have background checks as well, through Florida’s DCF (Department of Children and Families) and/or DOE (Department of Education).
We are lucky and proud of the qualified, loyal faculty and staff whose daily team efforts provide the strong foundation of our school:
Director and Owner
Ms. Jennifer Bartolomeo leads the programs, administration and staff ensuring smooth operations and exceptional standard of education. She is an American Montessori Society certified teacher who has been with the school since its inception in 2009. She has taught the Toddler, Primary, Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary class. Mrs. Bartolomeo has been working in education since 2005 and has a degree from Florida International University in Psychology. She is completely bilingual in Spanish and English.
Teaching and children are her first and true passion, but in her spare time she also enjoys farm life, reading, and spending family time with her husband and son who also attends the school.
Owner
Mr. Adrian co-owns the school with his wife, Jennifer Bartolomeo. Mr. Adrian oversees administration, operations, human resources, as well as anything and everything to ensure the excellence of the school. Mr. Adrian graduated from Ave Maria University with a degree in Economics, Politics and Business. In his spare time Mr. Adrian enjoys farm life, reading, and spending family time with his wife and son who also attends the school.
Infants
Ms. Cecilia is the Lead Infant Teacher bringing over 18 years of education experience to our school. Previously, she was a Director of a Daycare and has worked extensively with Infants and 2 year olds. She is great at making all the infants smile and laugh. She is Bilingual in English and Spanish.
Outside of school hours she enjoys spending time on her boat, dancing, going to the beach and hosting BBQs with her family.
Infants
Ms. Rosa is the Infant Co-Teacher. She has been working in the infant classroom since 2017. Her grand-daughter was a student at WOWMS and this was Ms. Rosa’s introduction to the Montessori approach. She got to know Mrs. Jenny and the other teachers when she would help pick up her granddaughter. Ms. Rosa admired the Montessori philosophy and wanted to be a part of it.
Infants
Ms. Mirella is the Infant Co-Teacher. Ms. Mirella has worked as a co-teacher in preschools in Naples. Her and her two sons, join our WOW family. She owns her own baking company, which she loves to incorporate and help teach our older students.
Infants
Ms. G (Gehoveidys) is the Infant Co-Teacher, however Ms. G has experience in all classrooms. She joined our school in 2016. She is trilingual in English, Spanish and German. She is currently working on her Early Childhood Certification in Montessori. Her passion outside of child care is traveling.
Toddlers
Ms. Maria is our Lead Toddler teacher. She has been adored by the Waves of Wonder children since 2014, when she started in the Primary class and since has worked with various classes. Ms. Maria is NAMC Montessori Certified in Infants and Toddlers and is currently studying Early Childhood Education at Florida SouthWestern State College and obtaining her certification for the Primary level. She is fluent in English and Portuguese.
She is a big fan of Disney and the spirit of Christmas. She also enjoys spending time at the beach.
Toddlers
Ms. Marian is the Toddler Co-Teacher. Ms. Marian and her daughter join us from Puerto Rico. Ms. Marian has completed her AMS training in Infant and Toddlers. She also hold a university degree in Preschool Education and graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Primary
Ms. Slavica is the Primary I Co-Teacher. Ms. Slavica was born in Macedonia. She knows five different languages: English, Macedonian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Croatian. She graduated with a Military School Associate Degree in Macedonia and then worked as a personal administrator for the Army of Macedonia. After having her own kids, she had moved to Italy where she learned more about the Montessori method. She had implemented the method within her own home. She has a deep love of Montessori and its potential for all the students.
Primary
Ms. Thorpe is the Primary II Lead Teacher. Ms. Thorpe has been in Montessori education since 1984. She had been there for the start of Cedar Montessori School (the oldest Montessori School that WOWMS has acquired in 2020). Ms. Thorpe then took over CMS as director. Once WOWMS had moved in, she was welcomed back into the classroom as the Primary II Lead Teacher. In her spare time, Ms. Thorpe loves to read books and visit family in Nashville, TN.
Lower Elementary
Ms. Rachel is the Lead Lower Elementary Teacher. She has been with Waves of Wonder for over three years now, previously working in the Toddler classroom at WOW and prior to that working with children with learning disabilities. Originally from Pennsylvania, Ms. Rachel has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is a big proponent of the Montessori approach and continues to be amazed by her students’ daily achievements and the various ways that each student learns. In her spare time, Ms. Rachel loves the Florida sun, enjoys local events and spending time with her family.
Lower Elementary
Ms. Tanya is the Lower Elementary Co-Teacher . Ms. Tanya has a deep love for Montessori philosophy. She has experience in the Toddler classroom as well as Lower Elementary. She has her AMS certification in Lower Elementary and has continued professional development within the Montessori teacher education. She has years of teaching and coaching experience as well and has taken over the PE program for Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary and Middle School.
Lower Elementary
Ms. Pam is our Lower Elementary Co-Teacher and has been with Waves of Wonder for 2 years. She has over 10 years teaching experience. Prior to joining Waves of Wonder, Ms. Pam taught grade 2, 3 and middle school at Baltimore Public School in Maryland and at a local private school in Naples. She has a Masters Degree in Elementary Education and an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology and Sociology. Outside of school hours, Ms. Pam enjoys gardening, reading and travelling.
Upper Elementary
Ms. Tiffany is the Lead Upper Elementary teacher. She has been with the school for a couple of years, in the Toddlers classroom and then in the Upper Elementary class. Previously, Ms. Tiffany has taught Asthma education for high risk elementary children and was a Program Assistant at a local summer academy. Ms. Tiffany has a B.A. in Psychology and a Masters in Nursing, Pediatric Primary Care, both from Vanderbilt University. Music is her passion and she really enjoys singing. Ms. Tiffany also likes to travel.
Elementary
Ms. Linda is retired but still currently volunteers as our art teacher and has been with Waves of Wonder for many years. Previously, Ms. Linda taught upper elementary at WOWMS, Pre-K4, First Grade and Third Grade for 24 years at Saint Ann Catholic School in Old Naples. Ms. Linda has a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from University of South Florida. Ms.Linda is also a Six Trait Writing certified teacher and possesses the Tribes Teacher (Holistic Learning) certification from Kansas City, Missouri. Naturally, Ms. Linda uses this experience to teach our elementary students art and creative writing. Ms. Linda’s hobbies include painting, swimming, Tides Club and caring for her pet birds – a talking Cockatoo named Roxanne and two Parakeets named Topaz and Celeste.
Middle School & High School
Ms. Cathy is the Middle School & High School Teacher. Ms. Cathy has been working in education since 2003 and is experienced with grade levels from Kindergarten to eighth grade. She currently holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Prior to starting with us, she had taken a year to travel the country in her RV with her husband.
Administrator & Substitute Teacher
Ms. Andrea moved back to Naples with her three children who are all attending Waves of Wonder. She previously lived in the area while attending Ave Maria University graduating in 2011 with a Bachelor in Classics and Early Christian Literature. Ms. Andrea also earned her Masters in Teaching with a focus on elementary education and English as a second language at Rollins College in 2012. She taught second grade and preschool before staying home with her children for the past few years. Ms. Andrea’s interests include running, reading, baking, and spending time with her family.
Healthy Lunches
Mr. Guillermo is our School Chef. For many, many years he has been helping to feed the kids nutritious and tasty meals. He truly has a desire and a love for cooking. Seeing the children enjoy what he has created for them, makes him happy!
His hobbies reflect his work and are centered on none other than food, food and BBQing while spending quality time with his family. Mr. Guillermo’s twins attended Waves of Wonder.
Facilities
Mr. John is the Facilities Manager. A veteran of the US Army and has worked with Mr. Adrian years ago when they opened Gyrene Burger for Mr. Thomas Monaghan and later on for Hinckley Yachts.
