| Kathy Jo Williams - Administrator
Kathy earned a BA in Elementary Education from St. Mary of the Woods College. While teaching first grade, she became intrigued by the Montessori approach to education. She later attended MECA-Seton American Montessori School in Hinsdale and received her pre-primary certificate and Administrator's credential. Since 1980, Kathy has served on the faculty here at Southwest, first as a teacher and now as Administrator.
Kathy holds her Illinois Director's Credential from National Louis University. She has completed leadership training as a Professional Growth Advisor and acts as a coach and mentor to others working toward attaining the Illinois Director's Credential. Kathy is a NAEYC validator and an American Montessori Consultant. In a mentoring role, she welcomes students from Moraine Valley Community College, Trinity College and MECA-Seton and supervises their internships. Hoo Kyng Oh - Preschool Directress
Hoo received her Bachelor's degree in Occidental Painting (Fine Arts) from the Ewha Womans University and completion of course work towards a Master's degree in History of Art from The Graduate School of Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. Hoo has completed the Print Academy, National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea. She studied at the Institute de Touraine in France and worked as a painting tutor in Korea. She holds a teachers license for the secondary level in Fine Arts from the Ministry of Education in Korea and a Certificat de Langue Francaise Secretaire, Certificat Pratique de Francais commericial et Economique. Ms. Hoo is currently Montessori credentialed to work with children aged three to six and infant/toddler. She joined SWSM in 2002 and has served in both preschool and kindergarten directress capacities. Mary Lou Parsons - Preschool and Kindergarten Directress
Mary Lou has a B.A. from the University of Illinois in The History of Art, Architecture and Urban Planning with a minor in communication design and Italian. She has graduate work towards a Master's degree in education from National Lewis University. Mary Lou began her Montessori career in 1988 at the Downers Grove Montessori in Westmont, Forest Park Montessori and Oakbrook Terrace Montessori. During this time, she completed her Montessori internship from Midwest Montessori Teachers Training Center in Evanston through DePaul Universitsy. She was the directress of a toddler program and a 3-6 environment, both of which were all day, twelve-month programs. Then in 1990 Mary Lou taught at Creative World Montessori in LaGrange. There she was the directress of a 3-6 full day program, taught extended day and lead the summer camp program consecutively until 2000. Mary Lou joined our staff in September 2000. She has been nominated numerous times for the Legacy Award that recognizes exceptional teachers and caregivers of young children and has volunteered in various capacities with the deveopmentally disabled for over 25 years. Nancy Segal - Toddler Directress
Nancy graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in elementary education and previously worked in the Chicago Public school system and at a private day care working with three-year-old children. After time away from the classroom, Nancy decided to follow her heart and go back to the classroom. Seeing firsthand the success of a Montessori education with her daughter, Nancy pursued her Montessori training degree and currently has her credentials in infant/toddler and is pursuing her pre-primary certificate. Nancy joined SWSM in January 2008 as the Toddler III aide and has been the toddler directress since September 2008. Sonoe Sullivan - Preschool and Kindergarten Directress
Sonoe earned her Associate's Degree in English literature from Yamanashi Eiwa College in Japan and worked as a tutor at KUMON in Japan. She received her Early Childhood Associate's Degree from Moraine Valley Community College, where she also worked at The Learning Center. Upon joining the faculty at SWSM in 2001, Sonoe worked as a classroom aide while completing her American Montessori Credentials. In 2003, she became the directress of the East afternoon environment. Since 2008 Sonoe has also been the a.m. kindergarten directress. |