MRS. K Soon Choi, MA, Founder & Headmaster

Mrs. Choi (MA, English Literature) is the Founder and Principal of the School.  Trained at the St. Nicholas Montessori Teacher Training College, she has been a Montessori teacher for over 30 years in the Edison-Metuchen area, with a strong reputation for excellence.  Mrs. Choi also leads the music education program within the school with joy and grace. She is a devoted Christian with ample love that she shares with children.  Mrs. Choi continues to engage with the children through daily check-ins and weekly Bible story times in each of the classrooms.

Mary Choi-An, MPS, PhD Director

Ms. Mary completed her masters degree in Statistics at Cornell University and her doctoral studies in Biostatistics & Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, specializing her research in global infant and early childhood developmental health. Prior to joining DCM, she was a faculty member at CUNY, George Washington University, and worked as a lead researcher at the US Department of Commerce.

She changed her path towards Montessori education after having her daughter and desiring the same incredible quality of Montessori education and values that Mrs. Choi was able to share with her as a child. She trained at the Barrie School in Maryland for her Early Childhood Montessori certification. Ms. Mary has adopted the same values as Mrs. Choi that have made DCM more like a family and her mission is to ensure the health and continued growth of our school.

In her role as Director, she tends to financial/tuition planning, fundraising efforts, and administrative inquiries. She also directs DCM’s French language enrichment program.

MRs. Crisol-Iris Lantz, MEd, Program Director &
Lower Elementary LEad Teacher

Mrs. Lantz graduated from Kean University with a BA in Early Childhood and Fine Arts, attained her MEd in Education. She had been working in the urban public school setting for 8 years, nurturing and educating children from preschool to fifth grade, including those with special needs.  She engages and encourages for children with the same care and expectation she has for her own two young girls.  Ms. Lantz knows the importance of early childhood education and was inspired to attain Early Childhood and Lower Elementary Montessori certification after sending her daughters to a Montessori school.  Her passion is in facilitating an engaging, creative, and nurturing environment for young children. In addition to the 1st - 3rd grade classroom, Ms. Lantz also directs DCM’s Arts enrichment and Summer STEAM programs.

MRs. Julie Selnekovic-Lee, MA, Primary Lead

Mrs. Julie graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with an MA in TESOL and K-12 Certification. She worked at Centenary University as an ESL Instructor until the birth of her first child. It was then that she learned about the Montessori method and has been a fervent supporter ever since. Ms Julie has also trained in Early Childhood Montessori at Princeton Center for Teacher Education. Ms. Julie comes to DCM with her eldest daughter and son in the Lower Elementary class, and youngest daughter in the Primary class. She is truly grateful for the opportunity to share in the joy of discovery with all of the students.

MRs. Emely Morris, Primary Lead

Mrs. Emely graduated from Kean University with a BA in Psychology and Spanish. She worked for the Westfield Board of Education for nearly 20 years as a Secretary and resigned to pursue her dreams of working with children. She has been serving in her church as a Sunday school and Girl Ministries teacher for early childhood. She fell in love with the Montessori way after joining our team and obtained NAMC training and her Early Childhood Montessori certification through the Princeton Center for Teacher Education. Ms. Emely also directs DCM’s Spanish language enrichment - she treasures teaching and loving the children in multiple languages!

Ms Elba Perez, Stepping Stone Lead

Ms Elba graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and owned her own childrenswear boutique before falling in love with the Montessori Philosophy and Education. She graduated from the Princeton Center for Teacher Education and worked in Early Education classrooms for 3 years. She has also lead the children’s ministry at her church at Ministerio Bethania of NJ.

Ms Elba joins Discovery Christian Montessori with a fresh and eager heart to love, serve, and guide the children in our community. In addition to leading the Stepping Stone classroom, she also leads the Aftercare Program at DCM.

Mrs. Tonya Santi, Lead Teacher for Infant & Toddler

Ms Tonya joins Discovery Christian Montessori with a wealth of experience with infant and toddler care and early education. She has had the opportunity to care for many children in her own home-business for over 30 years as Home Childcare Provider. Ms Tonya approaches each child with an incredible gentleness and patience, and we are thrilled to have her with our staff to care for our littlest infant and toddlers.

Ms Ankita Kumari, Primary assistant teacher

Mrs. Ankita graduated from Pune University with a BTech in Computer Science. She worked in IT Industry as an Software Artichect in mobility and resigned to pursue her dreams of working with children. She started as a Montessori parent and fell in love with the philosphy of Montessori. She self trained herself for 0-6 years. Ms Ankita joined DCM as a parent volunteer and officially joined our staff first as an Assistant Teacher for Lower Elementary and now as an Assistant Teacher for our Bilingual Primary Classroom.

Ms Aparna Inumula, Primary assistant teacher

Mrs. Aparna received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education from Osmania University. She has 5 years of experience teaching Elementary Education and have a true passion for working with our youngest learners. Helping each child progress in all areas of their development is a challenge that Ms Aparna is honored to be a part of. Ms Aparna is continuing her educational training with DCM and she is excited to share her wealth of experience with the English Primary classroom as Ms Julie’s Assistant Teacher. Ms Aparna has 4 wonderful children and is joining DCM with her youngest 2 year old son.

Ms Akemi Furuyama, assistant teacher for Lower Elementary

Ms Akemi graduated from the University of California, Davis with a BS in Human Development - Education. She is also certified to teach multiple subjects and grade levels by California State University. She is an educator who is passionate about teaching and literacy coaching and has 8 years of teaching experience Kindergarten through 1st grade. Her interest in Montessori started when her older two sons attended a Montessori school under the wing of one of Mrs Choi’s protege teachers. As an educator she understands the importance and is encouraged by the individualized learning that happens in a Montessori school.

Mrs. Soo Hwang, Assistant Teacher for Stepping Stone

Ms Soo joined as the Stepping Stone Assistant Teacher at Discovery Christian Montessori in 2014. Her education was in Fine Arts, but even after college she always enjoyed being with children. Prior to joining DCM, Ms. Soo trained at OM International Missions for 1 year and worked as a missionary in India and Pakistan for 3 years. She also worked as an HR secretary in the OM Mission office. In addition to working at DCM, she also serves as a teacher at her church Korean Culture school since 2007.

Ms Nishbel Riviera, Stepping Stone Assistant

Ms. Nishbel is a the mother of 2 boys. Her youngest is 4 years old and her eldest son is 14. She attends a Christian church called Torre Fuerte in Elizabeth with her family where they work in the children's ministry teaching them the word and love of God. She joins DCM with her youngest son in the Primary Spanish Bilingual classroom and is very happy to work together with the Montessori team!

Mr. Michael Choi, Operations Manager

Mr. Michael has studied Bible Studies at Word of Life Bible Institute and History & Philosophy at the Liberty University. He has served as Administrator for DCM since 2012 and continues to support the school while enjoying various international travels and adventures around the world, exercising his love of learning new languages - including Korean, Japanese, and more.

More Teachers

As we grow, we expect to invite more excellent teachers to join our team.  We are always on the look out for talented and motivated teachers with good faith who are trained in the Montessori method. Specific positions will be posted under Jobs, however we also review resumes on a rolling basis.

Our Partners

Ms Lynda Davidson, Enrichment Arts

Ms. Lynda leads an Enrichment Arts program during the school day on Tuesdays.
The Spring 2023 program features the works and styles of Impressionist Artists. Ms Lynda has taught art for early education and elementary students for many years and is joyful to share this form of expression and learning with our DCM students.

MS Rebecca Kim, Piano & music theory

Ms Rebecca leads our weekly music program and also teaches private piano and music theory on Tuesdays for our younger and older students from 4 years to 10 years old. Ms Rebecca holds both her M.Ed. in Music Education and M.A. in Music Performance from Columbia University. She has 30 years of professional Classical & Jazz Performance, 24 years of international music education, special education, and early childhood education. Ms. Rebecca has a lifelong passion for making and teaching music. She is an accomplished classical and jazz pianist and music educator.

MS Angela Sun, Piano & music theory

Ms. Angela leads private piano and music theory lessons on Wednesdays for our younger students from 3 years and older. Ms. Angela holds her B.M. in Music Education from The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. She has 20 years of diverse Music instruction; private, public, and early childhood Music Together®.

Ms Jenny Chien, Piano

Ms. Jenny instructs personal private piano lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays for our older students from 5 years and older. Ms. Jenny holds her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. She is also affiliated with the Music Educators Association of New Jersey.

Master Han, Taekwondo

Master Dae Young Han joined DCM in the summer of 2022 at the request of Mrs. Choi to provide a wonderful outlet of physical fitness for our students during the school week. He teachers 30 minute group sessions during the school day on Fridays as an extracurricular activity and we are incredibly lucky to have his instruction! His natural charisma and passion for Tae Kwon Do helps the children learn the mastery and techniques of Tae Kwon Do with great enthusiasm and excitement every week. Master Han runs his own Taekwondo Gym at Young Moo Tae Kwon Do in Highland Park, NJ.

Ms Barbara Lambiase, MA, CCC
speech/language pathologist

Ms. Barbara consults for our school supporting our students with speech and language therapy needs within the school.