Brooke Juneau is a living legend at Greensboro Montessori School. Beloved by her students, families, and fellow members of the Tod Squad (the name our Toddler faculty have affectionately given themselves), Brooke is a servant leader and advocate for children and families.
Brooke is currently the lead teacher in our Academic-Day Toddler classroom, Toddler division chair, and co-chair of our dual reaccreditation with the American Montessori Society (AMS) and Southern Association of Independent Schools. In February, we announced that Brooke will spearhead our after-school and summer programming as our director of CASA beginning in the 2019-20 school year. While Brooke will deeply miss working with our Toddler students and teachers, she plans on visiting the Toddler classrooms often. Plus, as an AMS-credentialed educator in Infant and Toddler Montessori education, Brooke will remain a invaluable resource to our Toddler families and faculty.
As she transitions into the director of CASA role, Brooke is looking forward to expanding her relationships with Primary, Elementary, and Junior High families and reconnecting with many students who began with her in our Toddler program. She’s also patiently waiting (with open arms, of course) for her current Toddler students to grow, transition to Primary, and perhaps join our CASA program.
Professional and Personal Work
Last fall, Brooke presented at the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools annual conference. Her topic was entitled “In this Together: Navigating Difficult Conversations with Families.” The seminar focused on nurturing the positive parent-teacher relationships necessary to successfully guide students through their academic journey.
More recently, Brooke presented at the AMS annual conference, an international conference of over 4,000 Montessori educators. “Partnering with Parents of Children with Special Needs” was a 75-minute workshop, during which she led participants through activities designed to help them better understand the perspectives of parents who have children with developmental, behavioral, and/or learning challenges. She reviewed the distinct stages of grief families may experience after a child’s diagnosis, why communication may be difficult with those families, and ways to frame sensitive, fruitful conversations about children’s needs.
Brooke’s expertise in partnering with families and improving outcomes for children with exceptional needs stems from her personal experience. Brooke and her husband, Jason, have three children. Harper will be in Upper Elementary next year, and Hayden graduated from Greensboro Montessori School in 2017 and is currently a sophomore at Weaver Academy. Their oldest, Riley, is a young adult successfully living and navigating the world with dual diagnoses of autism and Joubert syndrome. Brooke and Jason have personally lived through the stages of grief she reviewed in her AMS presentation and the steadfast work of advocating for Riley and their family.
Education and Career
Brooke has also studied and worked in human development her entire life. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in education and human development and has completed graduate coursework in early childhood education at Wheelock College. She also completed a rigorous one-year, graduate-level program to earn her AMS teaching credential.
Brooke began her teaching career managing early childhood programs in the Boston and Raleigh areas. Immediately prior to joining Greensboro Montessori School, Brooke worked for eight years as a parent liaison at the Family Support Network of Central Carolina, where she personally assisted families in finding and accessing services, support groups, school advocacy, and other needed resources for their children with special needs. She also trained and managed volunteers to serve as parent matches for families whose children were newly diagnosed.
Get to know Brooke
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading a newsletter or progress report written by Brooke, you’re missing out on one of her other talents. Brooke is a prolific and exquisite writer, capturing the beauty of children, the prepared environment, and the everyday occurrences when the two interact — just as they should in a Montessori classroom.
While there is so much more to Brooke, we encourage you to form your own relationship with this master teacher and parent. Just like all our faculty and administrators, Brooke is available via email or by calling the Front Office at 336-668-0119.
