
FACULTY & STAFF
Becky Alukonis, Beginners Division Leader
Beginner Teachers
Elyse Kalins, Beginners 1 Lead Teacher
Paula Connard, Beginners 1 Teacher
Laura Spicer, Beginners 1 Teacher
Abby Lapan, Beginners 2 Lead Teacher
Ray Niemi, Beginners 2 Teacher
Hannah Young, Beginners 2 Teacher
Andrée Hernandez, Beginners 3 Bridge Teacher
Jenny Joya, Beginners 3 Bridge Teacher
Savannah Clinton, Beginners 3 Bridge Teacher
Anny Espiritu, Beginners 4 Lead Teacher
Sophia Rose, Beginners 4 Teacher
Support and After School Teachers
Stacey Alstrom, Support Teacher
Suzanne Archibald, Support Teacher
Kaylee Bond, Support Teacher
Mikail Jaikaran, Support Teacher
Christiana Jamroz, Support and After School Teacher
Sister Lauretta Maynard, Support Teacher
Sarina Wilson, Support and After School Teacher

Becky Alukonis, Beginners Division Leader
Becky earned her BA in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross and her M. Ed. from Loyola University Maryland. Becky has been a Lead Teacher in Montessori toddler classrooms since 2003 and completed her Montessori infant-toddler training through The Montessori Institute of Denver. She joined Wellan in 2012. Becky lives in Waltham with her husband, Ken, daughter, Madeline, and dog, Bella. She loves to teach the Beginner students new and novel songs and finger-plays. Becky appreciates the vibrant and joyful nature of the Wellan community!

Elyse Kalins, Beginners 1 Lead Teacher
Before joining Wellan Montessori School, Elyse worked for four years at Jarrow Montessori in Boulder, Colorado. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing and literature from Marlboro College in Vermont. She obtained her AMS infant/toddler accreditation from Montessori Education Center of the Rockies.
Elyse believes in the Montessori method because it encourages the natural excitement that learning brings to all children. When she’s not working with the little ones, she likes to do all kinds of crafts, from sewing to paper-making.

Paula Connard, Beginners 1 Teacher
Growing up in Newton Centre, Paula attended Wellan from ages 3 to 10. In high school, she volunteered at two different preschools, which is when she first fell in love with Early Education. In college, Paula studied Behavioral Neuroscience, however found herself missing the classroom. After deciding to postpone her degree, Paula returned to Early Education. She is a strong believer in the Montessori philosophy and hopes to one day become Montessori Certified for multiple age groups. She also hopes to return to school to finish her degree in either Psychology or Education, and then acquire a Masters of Education. To this day, she attributes her love of learning to Wellan and is ecstatic to return as a faculty member.

Laura Spicer, Beginners 1 Assistant Teacher
Laura is looking forward to starting her journey at Wellan this year in Beginners 1. Her passion for working with children started at a young age and has only grown from there. Laura graduated from Franklin Pierce University with a B.A. in Educational Studies, along with a History and English minor.
Outside of the classroom setting, Laura enjoys running, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends.

Abby Lapan, Beginners 2 Lead Teacher
Abby holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Westfield State University. She is currently enrolled in an Infant/Toddler Montessori Training Program through Northeast Montessori Institute. Prior to joining Wellan, she worked in the non-profit sector. Abby joined the Wellan Montessori community almost 5 years ago and continues to be amazed at the wonderful community that has grown here. In her spare time, she likes to do anything outdoors!

Ray Niemi, Beginners 2 Teacher
Ray joined Wellan this past year. He previously worked at a Reggio Emilia-inspired cooperative childcare center in Somerville. He has been working in early childhood education for 22 years, teaching a wide age-range of children from toddlers to five and six year-olds. His wife Jodi, who also works at Wellan as part of the administration team, told him about an open position, and he decided it would be a great way to learn about a different style of teaching. When he’s not at Wellan, Ray enjoys listening to music, reading, bike riding, and playing with his cats. He is looking forward to learning more about Montessori and the Wellan community.

Hannah Young, Beginners 2 Teacher
Hannah grew up along the North Shore in Salem, MA. She is currently working toward her Criminal Justice degree at Worcester State University. Hannah has been working with After School for the past 3 years and will now be working full time in our Auxiliary Program. She now resides in Central Massachusetts where she enjoys taking her dog, Dream, to the beach for a cool off swim. When Hannah gets some alone time, she really enjoys relaxing and painting canvases whenever she can. Her favorite thing to do with our Beginners are art projects.

Andrée Hernandez, Beginners 3 Bridge Teacher
Pat (Andrée) attended college for Early Childhood education and is happy to say she is doing exactly what she set out to do. She has both Infant Toddler and Early Childhood Training in Montessori, and has worked with all three age groups throughout her 25 years in a Montessori school.
Although born in New York, she grew up in Maryland until high school, when she moved to Newton and attended Newton South High School as did her four grown children, before going on to Framingham State College.
Pat likes nothing more than being outside doing anything active and relaxing with a book at the end of the day. She spends as much time as possible with her four young grandchildren, happily awaiting the arrival of her fifth.

Jenny Joya, Beginners 3 Bridge Teacher
Jenny was born and raised in Colombia, where she worked as an administrator in a business administration school. She moved with her family to Boston in 2006, and started teaching Spanish as a personal tutor in several public schools as part of a before and after school program. At the same time, she ran her own Spanish group. In 2012 she started working in a Montessori school as a Spanish teacher and assistant, and it was there that she discovered an interest in the Montessori philosophy and method. In 2017 she completed her Early Childhood Montessori training.
Jenny enjoys arts and crafts, knitting, painting, gardening, hiking, dance, and music, and loves incorporating these hobbies into her classes.

Savannah Clinton, Beginners 3 Bridge Teacher
Savannah received her BS in Environmental Studies from Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, and since graduating, has spread her passion for organic farming and the environment as a farm and garden-based educator. Prior to joining the community at Wellan, Savannah worked at Holly Hill Farm — an organic vegetable farm in Cohassett, MA — as well as the Trustees of Reservation, where she ran an urban gardening program for elementary students in Boston Public Schools. She recently completed her Masters in Early Childhood Education at Gordon College and her Montessori Certification at The Montessori Institute – New England.
Originally from Duxbury, MA, Savannah now lives in South Boston. In her free time, she loves sailing with her family, skiing as much as possible, and gardening.

Sophia Rose, Beginners 4 Assistant Teacher
Sophia was born and raised in New York, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in psychology from SUNY Geneseo. In 2017, she worked at a Montessori summer program in New Jersey, and more recently she spent her time teaching preschool at a privately owned daycare in the Seaport district.
She enjoys watching movies, spending time with friends, hiking, traveling, and taking trips to NY to visit her family. Sophia is excited to see all that Wellan has to offer and is looking forward to an amazing rest of the year!

Anny Espiritu, Beginners 4 Lead Teacher
Anny was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Cambridge, MA. She holds a BA in Liberal Studies from Framingham State University. In 2017 Wellan Montessori School introduced her to the Montessori experience. She is excited to continue to learn and grow through the Cambridge Montessori Institute, where she is currently pursuing her Infant/Toddler certification. Outside of the classroom Anny enjoys biking, watching football, and spending time with friends and family.

Stacey Alstrom, Support Teacher
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, Stacey went to Savannah College of Art and Design and then moved to Boston, where she met her husband, had children, and fell in love with the Montessori method. Watching her own children benefit from the Montessori Method while attending East Boston Montessori, she discovered she wanted to work in Montessori education. She volunteered and eventually became a teacher's assistant at East Boston Montessori. When the school closed, she worked in special education in Winthrop public schools for a period of time, until deciding to come back to a Montessori school. Stacey loves watching children learn independently and can't wait to see what the future holds for her at Wellan Montessori!
Stacey lives in Winthrop with her husband, two children, and her Aussie mix. She enjoys traveling to Vermont to visit family, watching her daughter's soccer games and her son's swim meets, and taking her dog Jolee for runs on the beach.

Suzanne Archibald, Support Teacher
Coming Soon.

Kaylee Bond, Support Teacher
Coming Soon.

Mikail Jaikaran, Support Teacher
Mikail grew up in Cambridge, MA. He has spent time living, studying, working, and enjoying the cuisine of a few different places since then, namely Boston, Logroño, Seville, and Sydney. He graduated from Boston University in 2011 with a BA in Hispanic language and literature. In his time there, he completed coursework and a year-long internship with a local preschool in order to earn his Early Childhood teaching certificate. In the past, he has taught: ESL in Spain, the importance of the mitzvah to little ones at the JCC, and differing art classes to inner-city children at CMCB’s SummerARTS program. He has been with Wellan Montessori since 2014.

Christiana Jamroz, Support and After School Teacher
Coming Soon.

Sister Lauretta Maynard, Support Teacher
Sr. Lauretta was born on the beautiful and tropical island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. She grew up in the capital city, Castries. While English is the official language, a French-based Creole is also spoken. St. Lucia enjoys a dual heritage which reflects both British and French influences. The island is approximately 2,600 miles from New York. Sr. Lauretta’s family remain in St. Lucia in large part, except for three older brothers who live in England, St. Croix, and North Carolina.
Sr. Lauretta received her teacher certification from Sir Arthur Lewis College in St. Lucia and at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. After moving to the United States, she earned her BA from St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, and her Master’s in Education from Boston College. Following a teaching and administration career at schools in Trinidad and St. Lucia, she has worked in a Montessori environment for the past 13 years.
Her teaching career has given her the opportunity to serve students and administer to the needs of the whole child—physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. According to her, “it is a humbling and rewarding experience.”
Both inside and outside of the classroom, Sr. Lauretta is free-spirited, adventurous, and fun-loving, with a great sense of humor. She loves the great outdoors, hiking, dancing, singing, music, and going to the movies.

Sarina Wilson, Support and After School Teacher
Sarina is from Newburyport, Massachusetts, and she just recently graduated from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York. While at college, she was a Psychology major with an Education and Public Health minor. She previously had the opportunity to work as an Assistant Teacher at a local Montessori School for a short amount of time, which helped develop her passion for learning more about Montessori philosophy and the benefits it provides for children of all ages. Sarina has also gained more experience in a wide variety of school settings with different age groups, so she is very excited to join the Wellan community and be able to make a difference in children’s lives.
When not assisting in the classroom, Sarina enjoys spending time with her friends or family, dancing, and traveling!