Beth Whitehead Secondary Instructional Guide

Beth Whitehead is, first and foremost, a mother of two daughters. When her youngest was born too early, she chose to step down as principal at a (then) small charter school in southern California (Springs Charter). The very silver lining was the opportunity to stay at Springs and be trained at the Houston Montessori Center. She has been so grateful to be teaching Montessori Middle School since ever since those events in 2010 with the same wonderful team.

Beth has also worn many hats since 2010 – having been the chair of the Social Studies department for Springs, state testing coordinator, and taught and oversaw summer school programs for Springs. She has also been lucky enough to mentor new teachers, as well as guide and support student teachers in her classroom. In addition, Beth teaches Secondary Theory & Practice for LaSierra University, both online and in person. She gets real satisfaction from supporting teachers and adult students (and, of course, her middle schoolers).

Beth holds her Secondary 1 & 2 credentials in Montessori, as well as a Master’s degree in Human Behavior, which she likens to her first love, Sociology. Her Bachelor’s is in Social Science Education from Illinois State University. She is incredibly excited to be able to teach Montessori to adults, as she has a true passion for the philosophy. When Beth first visited an Upper Elementary classroom, she literally cried bittersweet tears over the brilliance of it and simultaneously loss over knowing that her children may never know such a perfectly laid out classroom. She has drunk the Kool Aid and it is delicious.