Mary started our original campus in Sammamish in 1993. We grew into North Bend in 2018! Please reach out with any questions about our programs. mary@arborschools.com

My name is Kristine Zantua and I am excited to be a part of the Mt. Si Arbor team!I have worked with children for over 17 years from fitting their first pair of shoes at Nordstrom to working with toddlers in a traditional school. I have worked in a Montessori environment as a Teacher’s Assistant in both a preschool and elementary classrooms.

Eleven years ago my son went to Mountain Valley Montessori now called Mt. Si Arbor Montessori School. The Montessori method has provided my child with the perfect foundation to begin his academic career. The work in the classroom has taught my child life skills and built his curiosity and confidence.  After seeing him succeed and spending some time in the classroom, I believe that each child is unique and I am eager to provide a happy and peaceful environment for children to learn and grow. I am currently taking the Infant Toddler course with the Montessori Education Institute of the Pacific Northwest to learn more about the Montessori philosophy.

I enjoy working with children and it amazes me what children are capable of accomplishing. I have a wonderful husband; I am mother to a teenager and a pack leader to a very energetic poodle mix.  In my spare time, I love to hike, run with my dog, and am a major foodie.  

Hi! I’m Diann O’Neill, the newest member of the Mt. Si Arbor team. Six years ago, I relocated from Corrales, New Mexico to Issaquah, where I have had the great pleasure of being the daily care giver for my two grandsons, who have inexplicably reached the ages of 6 and 9. As they are now in full-time school, I am happy to have time to help develop other little minds. Outside of the school, I have many interests. For years, I have grown orchids and served nationally as an orchid judge. I find great pleasure in learning more about the vast differences in orchids and their varied habitats. 

This background gives me a great base to share my knowledge of horticulture with the children at Mt Si Arbor. While things are a bit soggier here than New Mexico in the winter, spring will be here before you know it, and I look forward to the children and I sharing many new gardening experiences. In addition to my work within the orchid growing community, I have been a life-long artist in various mediums ranging from ceramics, to glass, to textiles, to paints. Currently, I have found great joy in combining my love of orchids and my love of silk painting. This mixture has allowed me to create a line of wearable artwork featuring orchids, including jackets, coats and scarves, which really capture each orchid’s uniqueness. 

In the evenings, I enjoy spending time with my grandsons, daughter, and Beebo, my potbellied pig. Beebo is a bundle of snorting joy. He is always ready for a belly scratch and a carrot as a treat. So far, I have had many amazing adventures in the PNW, and I look forward to incorporating my passions in the learning environment offered at Mt. Si Arbor Montessori.

My name is Kim Brown and I'm an assistant teacher at Mt. Si Arbor Montessori School. When it was time for me to go back to work as my daughter got older I wanted to do something that was fulfilling and enriching. Getting to work with the toddlers as an assistant teacher has exceeded my expectations and makes every day a joy to see them grow and learn.

My name is Megan Coon and I’m so excited to be an assistant teacher at Mt. Si Arbor Montessori School! I’ve had quite the hodgepodge of jobs, from working for a screen printing shop, to waitressing, and even managing the parts department for a motorcycle manufacturer, but my favorite would have to be my job as a nanny, where I got to watch two little babies grow into two smart kids over the course of five years.

  That’s why I’m so happy to be working as an assistant teacher for all these amazing kids! I feel so grateful to be a part of their learning journey and can’t wait to come to work each day to see what little nuggets of wisdom they’ll teach me! 

Hi my name is Jennelle stevens and I am an assistant teacher in the Big Si classroom at  Mt. Si Arbor Montessori. I moved to snoqualmie about two years ago, and found this amazing job about a year ago. I knew I l would love working with kids from spending time with my niece and nephew. I was pleasantly surprised to have found something I am so passionate about. The kids make me smile and laugh and they make every day so special for me. I live with my boyfriend and our spunky dog named tux. For fun I love sports activities like snow skiing or wakeboarding but I also enjoy being rapped up around the fire and playing card games or having family movie nights.

My name is Tara Jackson and I’m delighted to be a primary lead here at Mt. Si Arbor! I describe my experience with Montessori as an awakening and feel that it found me when I needed it the most.  It was a calling, something deeper than what I had experienced as a preschool teacher in Early Childhood for over 20 years in Illinois. An intensely researched and most extraordinary method based in science, it was the answer to many of the questions I was looking for.  I left Illinois in 2012 where I directed an Early Childhood Center of 91 students for 10 years, was a mentor for the state of Illinois guiding educators pursuing teaching credentials, and was awarded numerous grants I wrote on behalf of the program.  I have had the privilege of working at Arbor Montessori (our sister school) in Sammamish as a lead teacher of the Juniper classroom the past 7 years and am proud to say that I have completed my Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education the year of 2021.  I completed my Montessori teaching certificate through the Montessori Education Institute of the Pacific Northwest in Bothell and have guided two interns during my time at Arbor with successful certifications.  I plan to pursue my Master's in education and believe that a broader understanding of the world is a continual process that does not end.  My mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law are all teachers and I draw my inspiration from them.  My husband and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary and are the proud parents of our daughter Guenevere who just became a teenager.  I spend most of my free time in the vast greatness of the PNW... biking, hiking, kayaking, camping, and traveling.