Our Preschool teacher, Michelle Tripp, is also the director of RCMS.  Before the birth of her daughter Mallory, she enjoyed her career in Occupational Therapy. For 7 years she was a pediatric therapist in Pamlico, Craven and Jones counties.  After the birth of her daughter in 2000, she became a full-time mom and chose not to return to her profession.  Michelle home-schooled her daughter till she was 3 ½ , then enrolled her in Mobieus Montessori School.  After a few months, she was asked to begin teaching her own class at the school.  Michelle immediately loved the Montessori approach and was impressed at how it resembled the “whole child” concept she was familiar with in Occupational Therapy. Her experience at closely evaluating children and their learning styles was utilized each day in her own classroom.  She received her certification as a Montessori PRE/K instructor and opened RCMS in 2005.

  Her strongest motivation to see this school grow and flourish is her own daughter.  She wishes to provide Mallory and her students a superior school experience, and believes she has been blessed to do so.

Mariann Seaman is our Learning Enrichment teacher. Ms Mariann was born and raised in New Jersey. Her interest in the Montessori Method began while she was pregnant with her twins sons. In 1991, when they were 4 years old, she enrolled them at the Montessori Center of Jackson, in Tennessee. Mariann began as a volunteer mom three days a week (or more) and after five months became a teacher assistant. In 1996 she received her Montessori 3-6 credential through the Memphis Montessori Institute and was the Head Teacher until her move to New Bern in 2005. In January 2008 Mariann volunteered at RCMS in various capacities. She started the enrichment class in September 2008. She loves being with the children and watching as they grow and flourish in the Montessori environment. She also enjoys meeting and working with so many families who embrace the Montessori philosophy.

Nicole Lenz is assistant to Ms Michelle & Ms Mariann. She is in charge of fundraisers, the website, advertisement and community relations for the school. She and her daughter Emily have been with the school since 2005, and in 2008 Nicole became the assistant preschool teacher.