Our Staff

Sunshine has been working in both private and public Montessori classrooms since 2012. Her career began at the Montessori School of Spartanburg where she was trained as a Montessori assistant and began her Infant/Toddler certification. It was also there that she fell in love with the pedagogy of Montessori. After moving to Columbia and into Richland One’s public Montessori program, she created a mindfulness room at Caughman Road Elementary and was Logan Elementary’s 2022 Classified Employee of the Year. Sunshine attained her Primary Certification from the Houston Montessori Center and is completing her Bachelor’s in Behavioral Health Science .

Siquan was born and raised in Charleston, SC. She graduated in 2019 with an Associate’s Degree in Education and completed her Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies 2023. She has worked in childcare for over three years and is excited to join the Montessori classroom as an assistant guide.

Tonisha Higgins is joining the MSC team for the 2023-2024 school year and is receiving her Primary Montessori certification from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in Huntersville, North Carolina. Before coming to MSC, she earned her Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and taught as a Primary Montessori instructional assistant for sixteen years. In 2017, Tonisha obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Studies. She is excited to join MSC and has loved each visit to the campus, noting how loving and welcoming the staff and children are at our school. She loves Montessori because it teaches her to follow the child, and her goal is to become the best teacher possible. She believes the love and support from the MSC community will help her to reach that goal.

Janeta received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Master’s Degree in Pedagogy and Primary Education from the University of Sofia in her native country, Bulgaria. She holds more than 30 years of experience working with children, 13 of which were spent as a primary teacher in Bulgaria. After moving to the U.S., her focus has been working with preschool children and she has spent the last 6 years teaching in Montessori schools.

Corey earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science from the University of North Dakota. Since graduating in 2011, she has worked as a Montessori teaching assistant, a nanny, and a mother. She received her 230-hour yoga certification and loves to practice Ashtanga yoga. Corey completed her primary AMI teaching certificate at the Montessori Institute of San Diego.

Tristin graduated from highschool in 2021 and is a South Carolina native. She has worked as a camp counselor, babysitter, nanny, daycare employee, and waitress, before joining MSC as an aftercare teacher.Tristin then quickly fell in love with the Montessori values and began to substitute at the school when needed. This year, she is an assistant teacher and excited to continue her Montessori education. Her goal is to become a lead teacher after completing the school and training that she will be working towards as she settles into her new position.

Vera holds a Bachelor of Arts in Professional English from Claflin University. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from Strayer University. She served the South Carolina Education System for two years and retired from The South Carolina Department of Corrections after over 22 years of service. Vera joined the MSC community in 2018.