Montessori Country Day has passionate Montessori-certified teachers in all of our primary classrooms. We also have dedicated toddler teachers that have many years of experience and may have Montessori certification, college degree or both. All of the teachers undergo continual early education classes each year.
Teachers are selected not just for their professional abilities, but for their genuine concern, respect and joy with children.
Montessori Country Day is committed to providing our children the social, emotional, and intellectual needs in accordance with the Montessori philosophy.
Maggie Whitmire
Director
Under the direction of founder and head guide Maggie Whitmire, Montessori Country Day has grown from modest beginnings to a thriving community of children, parents and teachers.
“Our teachers are the heart of our school.”
Maggie began her career in the corporate world in both Michigan and Texas, but when looking for a school for her daughter in 1985, she fell in love with the Montessori method of education. Leaving the corporate world behind, she obtained her Montessori Certification and began teaching at Montessori Country Day in Texas, namesake of our own Montessori Country Day. As a parent, she enjoyed watching her own children blossom in a Montessori environment.
When her family moved to North Carolina she worked in an Asheville Montessori school for twelve years. In 2004, Maggie founded the first Montessori Country Day in Arden. In 2012, she opened the Hendersonville campus.
With the quick growth of both schools, Maggie sold the Arden location in 2016 to a long-time teacher allowing her to put all her energy in the Montessori Country Day Hendersonville school.
Maggie’s sincere love for children has been the driving force behind three decades of teaching. She strives to provide them with the best possible environment to be nurtured, learn and grow.
Rufus Whitmire
“Mr. Rufus” (as the children call him) is the co-owner and business manager of Montessori Country Day. When he’s not busy with the business of MCD, he plays as much golf as possible.
Rufus has a BA in Accounting and an MBA in Finance. After a career in the corporate world and commercial real estate, he owned and operated Whitmire Monument Company and Montessori Country Day.
The Whitmires’ greatest joys are being with family, especially their three children and two grandchildren. Their daughter, Melissa, lives in New York City. Their son, Derek, lives in Charlotte and is a financial planner with Vanguard. His wife, Sara, is a therapist and mom of two. Their youngest son, Austin, is a sophomore at AB Tech.
Laurie Wilkins
Assistant Director
Children and teachers alike enjoy seeing our Assistant Director. You will find her in the office and around the school assisting all of us.
A note from Laurie:
“It is a pleasure to be working with the staff at Montessori Country Day. I have been working with young children for 30 years as a teacher, staff educator, and program manager in a variety of programs and places. I thought I was ready to retire, but missed being with children, families, and the early education community.”
“When I have time off, I play outside. My husband and I hike several times a month, and I am a gardener-in-progress. Any other time is spent with my grandchildren (ages 4 and 7) and my daughters. All wonderful subjects for my rediscovered interest in photography.”
“I hold a master’s degree in early education, and I am excited to extend my learning to the Montessori method. I have learned so much in the last year here at MCD. I look forward to seeing returning students and getting to know all the new families, too.”
Gerri Stover
Toddler Teacher
Hello! My name is Gerri Stover and I am excited to join the team of teachers at Montessori Country Day. My husband and I moved to Asheville in 2019 from El Paso, TX. In 2014, I earned my Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education with a Concentration in Special Education from El Paso Community College. I have worked as an early educator for 14 years in various centers across the country, including Colorado and Texas. Outside of my time in the classroom, I am working towards my Bachelor’s in Social Work, enjoy cooking with my husband, and relaxing with craft projects.
What’s most important to me for the children are in my care are that they feel safe, loved, they know their boundaries, and that they feel free to express themselves. It is my wish for the children that come through my classroom, to be able to see the wonder in everything and always ask “why”. I look forward to continually learning from the children and helping to facilitate their learning
I truly love being around children and find I learn every day from them, their families, and my co-workers. Through working with a variety of age groups, I have discovered a love for the toddlers. I am excited to be working with toddlers currently. They each have unique ways of looking at the world.
Lacy Pierce
Toddler Teacher
Hello! My name is Lacy Pierce, and I have just moved from Birmingham, Alabama where I completed my Bachelors of Science Degree in Kinesiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Caring for and encouraging the child’s natural curiosity and desire to learn is a passion I have had since a very young age. I have spent countless hours working with children from my first job at a kids inflatable party facility to teaching swim lessons to nannying and babysitting for families in my local community. When I am with children, you can usually find me sitting on the floor playing with the children and encouraging their sense of imaginary play! I am very excited to be a new addition to the Montessori Country Day staff, and I am looking forward to encouraging, caring for, and building quality relationships with every child I am have the opportunity to meet!
Outside of work you will find me outside taking on fun, new adventures! I enjoy all things outdoor rec from whitewater kayaking to rock climbing to hiking and camping. I am very excited to explore all the beautiful mountains and rivers of WNC!
Erin Carter
Pre-Primary
From the stage to the classroom, Erin loves to engage imaginations.
She earned her associate’s degree in Drama from Blue Ridge Community College and has her Early Childhood Credential. She still enjoys acting in plays. (You can bet her students always have an awesome dress-up area!)
Erin is working toward a degree in Early Childhood Education. When she’s not teaching or learning, she loves to spend time with her daughter, Rose, “the most important person” in her life. She is also very close with her mother and father.
Erin appreciates how Montessori encourages a great independence and sense of achievement:
“I’ve been told that I talk with children like they are little people. Well, I do because they are.
“Montessori is the philosophy that best fits the way I view early education.”
Michelle Bennison
Primary
Whether she’s caring for children in our primary classroom or tending her garden and chickens, Michelle knows love is the key to success.
Before coming to Montessori, Michelle had heard from a former coworker that it was a cold, unloving method of teaching.
“Boy, was she wrong!! Maggie and the teachers here changed my mind.
“MCD is the most loving, caring school I have ever worked in.
“I love the Montessori method and its focus on the individual child and hands-on learning–so much so that I am now in the process of Montessori teacher training.”
Michelle is thrilled to have completed her Montessori training & internship. She received her certification in 2019 from The Center for Guided Montessori Studies, accredited by MACTE.
Michelle’s Montessori training builds on her previous studies in elementary education and early education at Blue Ridge Community College, Haywood CC, and Mars Hill.
Outside of MCD, Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband of 20 years, Tim, and their two boys, TJ and Matthew. They have a dog, two cats, and ten chickens. For fun, she likes to work in her garden, read, sew, crochet and do embroidery.
Megan Specht
Primary
Megan has been in education for more than 12 years, and specifically in Montessori for almost 9 years. As a mom of 2 and through her early childhood education experience, she fell in love with the Montessori Method which led her on this career path. She received her American Montessori Society certification at the Montessori Teacher Training Institute in Clemson, SC in 2013.
“I feel extremely blessed to have found something I believe in and am passionate about. Watching children grow and blossom in independence and self-confidence through the Montessori Method is wonderful to observe.”
I am so excited to be coming back to where my passion for Montessori began. I previously worked at Montessori Country Day Arden for over 6 years and did my Montessori internship in Hendersonville for a year. I look forward to watching the children learn and grow in this beautiful environment.
“For the majority of my life, I grew up in Asheville, NC and feel lucky to call these beautiful mountains home. I spend most of my free time raising my two children, Jayden and Payten. We enjoy crafting, hiking, and traveling!“
Faith Jost
Primary Teacher
I grew up in the South Fork of Long Island in New York and came to North Carolina for college in 1996 and never moved back. At Guilford College I double majored in Elementary Education (K-6) and Psychology. I taught at Foust Elementary School for five years and when that county decided to open a new public Montessori school, I jumped at the chance! I taught an older primary classroom for two years while doing my Montessori training on-site.
After teaching elementary school for seven years, I moved on to a private preschool that was just about to open. It was a small school of only three classrooms and I was honored to be there from the very start. I taught there for five years – with most of my days in the “Travelers” classroom (ages 1 1/2 – 3 years).
After the preschool I was a private nanny for three years until just recently moving to Asheville to be closer to my family who has settled in NC.
Five years later, in 2020, I moved back to North Carolina to pursue a career in Early Education. Early Childhood Education is a passion of mine because not only am I able to connect with children in the classroom, I can also encourage them and foster their independence as individuals. Watching children learn and grow is the most rewarding part of being a teacher. I
believe that the teacher is also a student, because she is required to learn about and invest in her pupils. This way she can mold her teaching methods to suit the individuals in her classroom. I think learning should be an enjoyable process so that everyone involved can
create positive memories and develop a life-long passion for learning.
When I am not in the classroom, I spend my free time doing a great number of different things. Some of my hobbies include drawing, painting and printmaking. I am continuing my studies in Mandarin Chinese and am practicing Chinese calligraphy. I love listening to music, traveling, hiking and camping with my wonderful partner and our dog. I am very thrilled to be teaching your children and working along with the staff here at Montessori Country Day! Let’s take this fun learning journey together.
Hannah Diener
Administrative Assistant/ Extended Day Teacher
Lovely to meet you! My name is Hannah Diener, and I am fairly new to the Asheville area. Upon graduating with my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tennessee, I moved to Charleston, South Carolina where I began volunteering at the local Aquarium and discovered my love of early childhood education. For two years I worked with the Structured School Program where the Aquarium partnered with schools around the state to educate children ages K-5 on environmental conservation. I taught weekly classes on habitats, food chains, and sustainability (and learned some really fun songs!). It was indescribable the amount of joy I shared with these kids introducing them to new wildlife and ecosystems. My passion for education has only grown since this experience.
After two years in Charleston, I decided on Asheville to further my education and live closer to family. Here, I discovered Maggie and Montessori Country Day. I love the Montessori structure and the bond teachers and students can form with such an intimate learning environment. MCD fosters such a respectful and loving space for the individual. It is a truly extraordinary place to be a part of.
When I am not having fun at work, I am goofing off outside with my dog, Uluru, or painting on my patio. Any opportunity to learn something new or gain a new experience is always welcome. It is a privilege to learn alongside your children, and I hope we can always have fun while doing so!
Rebecca Lanning
Hi! I’m Becca, a public-servant wife and mother of two. I’ve been interested in helping the community since I was a child, but it wasn’t until I was pregnant with my first daughter that I wanted to help the community by impacting young hearts and minds. I decided that I wanted to be a teacher and help mold tiny humans to do big things and let those tiny humans sculpt me in return. I’m starting my journey here at Montessori Country Day and I can’t wait to see how I grow and how impactful I can be.
Kassandra Bartlett
Pre-Primary Teacher
IPre-Primary
Hi, i’m Kassandra ad I am a Pre-Primary teacher! I recently graduated from Blue Ridge Community College with a degree in Early Childhood Education. In addition to my associate’s degree, I have also earned my Early Childhood Credential, Infants and Toddlers Certifcate, and a Preschool Certificate. My goal is to continue on to get a bachelor’s degree in Montessori Education.
I have lived in Hendersonville for 15 years and have been teaching for 5 years. I live with my husband, Jordan, and daughter, Lily (5 years old). Together we enjoy playing games, searching for rocks in the river, and going on walks. In my spare time I also enjoy gardening and art. I love keeping myself busy with creative projects, I believe creativity to be a huge part of growth and development. Teaching is my passion and I love making a difference in the lives of our tiny humans.
Montessori Country Day 