Shauna is a born and raised Southsider, with a decade of experience in education. Shauna graduated with her M.Ed. in Elementary Education before working for many years as a classroom teacher. As someone who enjoys the important work of supporting educators, Shauna has worked in Minneapolis as early math content lead, instructional specialist and in Nairobi, Kenya as a program developer and curriculum lead for a small non-profit.

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She and her two kids live around the corner from Little Sparks. They enjoy exploring Longfellow, gardening, and tending to their chickens.

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Alyssa has been working in a Montessori setting since 2017 in many different capacities. She loves watching children grow and thrive and discover a love for learning. Alyssa has a bachelor's degree in counseling with emphasis on eating disorders and later graduated from St. Kate's in 2023 where she earned her Montessori AMS Certificate.

Alyssa is a widowed single mom to an amazing daughter, and stays busy as the tech pastor at her church in Lexington. In her free time, she loves to read and write, listen to music, play ukulele, bake sourdough, hang out with her daughter, and be with her family. The most fun thing about me is Alyssa is she basically runs a zoo: at her home you'll find a dog, rabbit, bearded dragon, 3 tarantulas, and a jumping spider. 

Coming soon!

Rafael is a dedicated educator from Venezuela with over 15 years of experience across early childhood through university settings. He has served as a lead preschool teacher and program director for Spanish immersion schools in Minneapolis. Fluent in English and Spanish and holding a Bachelor's in Secondary Education, Rafael is devoted to creating a warm, inclusive, and dynamic Montessori environment at Little Sparks where every child is empowered to explore, discover, and grow at their own pace

Amy holds a degree is in elementary education, and worked in early childhood before deciding to stay home with her own children. Now that they are grown,  she's so happy to be returning to the classroom in the Children’s House. Being part of a team supporting young people and their growth is an honor and joy.

Outside of work, Amy enjoys sewing and exploring various historical ‘making’ crafts like inkle weaving, english paper piecing, or needle tatting. She also likes going on adventures with her family, visiting historic sites, museums, and zoos.

She lives with her husband, three rescue dogs, and two adult children.