Catherine Bounds:
Catherine Bounds grew up in Jackson, Alabama. She has a Bachelor in Science from the University of Alabama in Childhood Development and Family Studies. In 2006, she received a Master’s degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and holds a teaching certificate from the State of Alabama. She has been teaching for almost ten years. She began her training for American Montessori Association this summer and will be certified in 2013. This is her first year at JSB, and she couldn’t be happier working with the children in Lower Elementary.Catherine
Melinda Bray:
Currently, Dr. Melinda Bray is the assistant head of JSB, the head of preschool, and teaches English and history to our middle school students. Prior to starting at JSB in 2005, she had worked in various education positions since 1988 after conducting her student teaching in high school English, history, and sociology. Her first job after graduating cum laude from Rhodes College was teaching at the International School of Basel, Switzerland, where she continued her work with English and history for three years. During that time she earned her G-2 diploma in German from the Goethe Institute in Berlin. After returning to Vanderbilt University for her Masters in school administration, she taught English in Japan and Germany. She continued at Vanderbilt to earn her doctorate in general administrative leadership and received the doctoral dissertation of the year award for her work focusing on teacher learning communities. After serving as primary investigator on the DECAL grant for professional development, she worked with the Learning Technology Center at Vanderbilt on professional development for Nashville city schools. Over this time, Dr. Bray wrote three articles, served as a consultant for the Smithsonian as well as in Switzerland and Russia, and presented at several national and international conferences. In 2008, she received her Montessori Early Childhood certification.
Dr. Bray is married and her husband, Nathaniel, is an Associate Professor at The University of Alabama. Their two girls are currently enrolled at JSB. She enjoys hiking, traveling, and reading.
Suzanne Bruce:
Suzanne Bruce enjoys spending time with her family. She grew up riding dressage and western horses and one day wants to live on a farm. This is her fifth year teaching, and her first year at JSB. She graduated from Auburn University in Psychology and then received a second degree from UAB in Early Childhood Elementary Education. Her past teaching experience was in first, second, and third grade. Currently she is a preschool teacher and works with the kindergarten students.
Maria Clark:
Maria Clark believes that every expert starts as a beginner. This is her first year as a co-teacher in the Toddler class at JSB. As a graduate of Oakwood University, she majored in General Studies with an emphasis in Education. Her professional experience in the field of Early Childhood Education encompasses ten years. She shares her life with her wonderful family and her favorite color is yellow.
Chris Gallas:
Chris Gallas was born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri. She attended Saint Louis University and earned her Bachelors in Sociology and Education with an emphasis in Math and Science. Chris is married with four daughters. She is an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan and enjoys traveling, photography, kayaking, and playing Scrabble.
Genie Gibson:
This is Genie Gibson’s fifteenth year as a teacher at JSB. She started as an assistant with the Toddler class. The next year she worked with Ms. Margaret in the Preschool and Kindergarten. The following year, she moved to the Upper Elementary where she worked for three years as an assistant and co-teacher. She began Montessori certification and as a result moved to the Lower Elementary where she worked for five years with Ms. Sue. She taught again in the Upper Elementary for three more years, and now she is once again teaching in Lower Elementary. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Montevallo in special education plus Montessori certification in Lower and Upper Elementary. She fully believes in the philosophy and methods used in a Montessori environment and that is why she loves working with the children here at JSB.
On a personal note, Genie has been married for almost 28 years and has two boys ages 23 and 20. The oldest is a junior at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida and the younger is a sophomore at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Her husband has been the art teacher at Pizitz Middle School in Vestavia Hills for 28 years. She loves sports, especially tennis. An interesting fact about her is that she was born on February 29 so she is a Leap Year baby.
Prudence Green:
From as early as she can remember, Prudence wanted to be a teacher. She is happiest when she is with children helping them to reach their fullest potential. Prudence grew up in the small town of Cullman, Alabama and spent of first two years of college on a full academic scholarship at LSU. After growing homesick, she moved back to Birmingham and finished her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Math Education at UAB. She has also successfully completed the Praxis II series for higher education and is considered "highly qualified" by the state. This summer she began her Montessori certification in Chicago, Illinois. She has been happily married for 8 years and has 3 children: River (5), Clementine (4), and Calliope (1).
Salima Jan:
Salima completed high school in Houston, Texas and her Bachelor’s degree is from the University of Houston. She has always enjoyed working with children. After undergrad, she decided to pursue teaching as a career. She completed her Teacher's certification from HISD (Houston Independent School District) and taught at the Ivy League Elementary School for 3 years. After moving to Birmingham in 2006, she learned about the Montessori philosophy and was extremely impressed by the hands-on learning experience. Salima went through her Montessori training from Columbus, Ohio in 2007-2008 and has been teaching at JSB Upper Elementary for the past five years. Currently Salima is pursuing a Masters in Montessori Education from the St. Catherine’s University, St. Paul. Salima is also an educator for ITREB-USA for the past eight years and conducts teacher trainings and workshops for Ismaili Religious Education Centers in the Southeast region. In her leisure time, she enjoys painting, arts and craft, and listening to music. She enjoys spending time with her daughter, Suhanna, who is also a student in the JSB toddler program.
Kim Josephson:
Kim Josephson is married to Joe Josephson. She has two children, Pete is 23, and Erin is 17. Kim graduated from The University of Alabama with a BS degree in medical technology, and worked at UAB for 25 years in clinical laboratory medicine and research. She also took classes at UAB and received a BS in geology in 1992. Kim went on to get her Master’s in Education through UAB's 5th year program. From 2003 to 2007, she worked part-time for the UAB School of Education in the Alabama Hands-on Activity Science Program (ALAHASP). Kim started teaching in the Upper Elementary at JSB in 2007, and acquired Montessori certification for ages 9-12 through CMTE/NY. She is a member of the American Montessori Society and the National Science Teachers Association.
Chris Kitchens:
Chris Kitchens has been involved with JSB for 12 years as a parent, PTO President, and now a Toddler teacher. Currently she is getting her Montessori Certification in 0-36 months. She is the mother of four children, the youngest of whom is a third grader at JSB.
Rebecca Little:
Rebecca Little is in her third year teaching here at JSB. She grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and attended Auburn University. She received her J.D. degree from The Cumberland School of Law.
She became involved with Montessori education and obtained a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. She is Montessori trained and AMS certified in both Upper and Lower elementary education. She is currently teaching in the Upper elementary program.
Sarita Nair:
Sarita Nair has been living on the 280 corridor for a little over 15 years with her husband and son. Her son is a sophomore at Oak Mountain High School. Sarita has a Bachelor’s degree in Travel and Literature and a Master’s in Education. Her family supports her passion for teaching, which helped her to complete the Montessori training in the summer of 2011. This is her eighth year teaching and first year at our JSB preschool program. She looks forward to a great year working with the JSB families.
Jennifer Pope:
Jennifer Pope is from Birmingham, Alabama. She received her bachelor's degree in 2004 from the University of Montevallo in Family and Child Studies. She attended The Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland and received her Montessori training for the 3-6 age group in 2006. She received her teaching certificate and Master's Degree from UAB in 2011 in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She has been teaching at JSB in the preschool for 7 years. She and her husband, Billy welcomed their first son, Liam, this past summer.
Shweta Singh:
Shweta Singh has lived in Birmingham for 15 years. She earned her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood and Elementary Education and her Class B, P-6 undergraduate certification from The University of Alabama. She graduated with Presidential Honors. She has previously taught first grade, and the past three years she has been teaching in the private school setting. This is her second year teaching at JSB in the Preschool program. Shweta enjoys every aspect of teaching and her motto is "Teaching is Learning".
Theresa Sprain:
Theresa Bruno Sprain is the Head of School, and she co-founded it in 1982, with her father, Joseph S. Bruno. She has led the school from a starting class of four preschool children to now serving over 200 students, toddlers – eighth grade. Due to her strong desire for students to enjoy a natural environment rich in learning experiences and unique in the possibilities for personal growth, understanding, respect, and responsibility, she oversaw the campus expanding from 10 acres to 25 acres of fields, and outdoor classroom, wildlife, and gardens.
Theresa attended Birmingham-Southern College and received a Bachelor of Music in piano and a Bachelor of Arts in history and her teaching certification. She furthered her education at UAB where she earned a Masters in Special Education with an emphasis in gifted and learning disabilities in addition to her administrative certification.
Knowing she believed in the Montessori philosophy as the best approach to nurturing children to their fullest potential, Theresa went to the Memphis Montessori Institute to earn her Primary Montessori Certification. Since then, she has supported countless others in obtaining their Montessori educations in order that children can develop in a learner-centered environment focused on how they learn and what they understand.
Theresa’s passion and dedication continue to provide the foundation for a lifetime of learning for the students and teachers at JSB. Lastly, she is a member of The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, as well as JustFaith at Our Lady of the Valley.
Cheryl Kiker Walls:
Cheryl currently teaches music at JSB. She has been a part of the faculty since 1998 following twenty-eight years at Vestavia Hills Elementary. She earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Montevallo and holds Level III Orff certification. She was Teacher of the Year in Vestavia Hills City Schools in 1993 and Alabama Music Educators Outstanding Music Educator in 1994. Cheryl has served as director of children’s choirs, and as pianist and organist, in a number of churches in the Birmingham area, and on staff at Fine Arts Week at Sumatanga. She has presented workshops throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee and has taught elementary music materials and methods courses at Birmingham Southern College. Cheryl has also served as cooperating teacher for more than 100 student teachers in Alabama.
Tanya Wilson:
Tanya is from Nashville, Tennessee and has lived in Birmingham for the past eleven years. She received her Bachelor’s in English from Middle Tennessee State University and completed a graduate study abroad in Ireland, England and Wales. Tanya earned her Master’s in Library and Information Studies from The University of Alabama. She has been married for 15 years and has three rambunctious boys. This will be her fourth year in the JSB Library. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and playing street hockey with her boys.
Elaine Yester:
Elaine Yester has spent most of her life in the Birmingham area. She has been teaching since 1966. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s in Educational Administration. She also has an MBA. Her son lives in Birmingham, and he and his wonderful wife have given her two beautiful grandchildren. Her daughter lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. She has her PHD and is teaching and doing research at Colorado State University. Elaine truly lives to teach.
Adam Young:
Coach Adam graduated from UAB with a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. Adam has taught physical education for ten years, nine of those being in a Montessori school. This will be his fourth year at JSB. He also holds a certification in Low Ropes Course Administration and Community Gardening. Coach Adam has been married for eleven years and has two daughters who attend JSB. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and competitive sailing.
Gianna Zellner:
Ms. Gianna has been teaching at Bruno Academy since February of 2004. She loves working with kids and seeing the joy and sense of accomplishment they get when performing. She has also worked hard to bring students who don’t want to perform into the theatrical family. Before she came to JSB, Ms. Gianna spent 13 years touring the Southeastern United States with Birmingham Children’s Theatre. During that time she spent her summers working on her craft with other theatres. One summer she designed and created wigs and make-up for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. During a few others she worked in Atlanta with the Kids’ Comedy Theatre on their live shows and filmed a pilot for a children’s TV show. She also designed all of the make-up for the original season of Sloss Fright Furnace.
Anita Chambers:
Anita Chambers moved to the United States from India 15 years ago to marry her husband, Todd. They have one daughter who is in Upper elementary at JSB. She earned her Master’s in Education and served as a college professor in India.
After moving to the U.S., she began her Montessori career in Huntsville, Alabama. She received her preschool Montessori training in St. Louis, Missouri. She has taught at JSB for seven years and believes strongly in the Montessori philosophy. She enjoys her work with the Preschool children.
Amy McElhaney:
Amy grew up in Houston, Texas and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor in Interdisciplinary Studies (Education) from the University of Houston. She has valid teaching certificates in Texas and Georgia and is awaiting the arrival of her Alabama teaching certificate. She will attend the 6-9 Montessori training for certification this summer (2012).
Amy has been teaching for eleven years prior to joining the Bruno Montessori Academy staff this year. She spent eight years in Houston, Texas teaching second and fifth grades, and then was a Science School Improvement Specialist for Kindergarten-Fifth Grades. She spent three years in Newnan, Georgia as an ESOL teacher (English for Speakers of Other Languages) for grades Kindergarten through Fifth Grades.
Her experience with Montessori began at age 3 when she attended Montessori schools until third grade. Her mother has been a Montessori teacher for over 25 years and is a trainer for the Houston Montessori Center. She has been married for ten years to her husband, David, and has a daughter enrolled at JSB in the preschool program. She’s thoroughly excited to come “home” to Montessori and give her daughter the strong foundation in education that Montessori offers.
