Faculty/Staff
Gail Longo is the Director of the MMLCC, was the founder and owner of Cinquegranelli Montessori School, which opened in 1989. A graduate of Seattle University, Gail is certified in Washington State in elementary and Secondary Education. She has had many years of teaching young children in public and parochial schools, in "co-op" preschools (in affiliation with North Seattle Community college), as well as a Kindergarten position in Brindisi, Italy. While in Italy, Gail had a weekly children’s program on Armed Forces Radio. She performed with and for children in Seattle at folk festivals, libraries, and bookstores. Gail completed her Montessori certification at Montessori Teacher Preparation of Washington in 1988. Gail worked avidly to bring Montessori education to Seattle Public Schools and continues to champion the Montessori alternative for children. In 1999, Gail, along with parents and friends founded the Maria Montessori Language & Cultural Center. It began formal operations in January 2002 as an after school program, housed in the Nordic Heritage Museum. In May 2003, she joined with Eileen Knobbs and Sara Orton of Ballard High School in designing this Montessori lab school; a proposal for the Seattle Public School's Alignment Initiative.
Hua Zhang The first job Hua had was a technician at a chemical plant! From a random opportunity, and because of her natural story-telling gift, she became a speaker who preached reform in China in the ’80s. Later she worked as a journalist for 14 years. She started a new life when she joined her husband at Ohio University. There, she picked up traditional Chinese dancing through her own initiative and performed locally. The Athens Messenger and the Post printed her dance photos four times! Hua became a mother four years ago and has been interested in children’s education since that time. Hua finished academic training at Montessori Teacher Preparation (MTP) in Kent, Washington this last summer (2004) and has completed her internship “practicum” at Casa Maria Montessori. Hua enjoys the children and has worked hard and creatively here. She is currently teaching Mandarin Chinese at the Casa on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30-5:30P.M.
Joseph Weisnewski
is Montessori certified, a composer, and a music specialist. Joseph
provides weekly music enrichment. His curriculum this year is
focused on composers. Joseph uses his experience as a Montessori
teacher to create rich, mulit-dimensional lessons at engage our
children on many levels.
Ann Selznick is the part-time office assistant, and the mother of a current Casa Maria student. She has a degree in Mathematics from Penn State University and an eclectic variety of office and management experiences. Before becoming a parent and moving to Seattle, she worked in New York City in the music industry for 15 years. She managed recording studios and later audited music publishing royalties. Ann credits her strong organizational skills to having graduated from Montessori preschool herself!