Meet the Staff
Christine Carrig | Director
AMS Certified, M.S. in Education
Christine Carrig, M.S.Ed., has been a Montessori teacher and administrator for nearly two decades. She began teaching at a Metropolitan Montessori School on the Upper West Side before becoming the founding director of Carrig Montessori School in 2009. Throughout her time at Carrig Montessori she has remained involved in every aspect of the school's function. In 2023, she led Carrig Montessori in its expansion into Lower Elementary by enrolling at Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative, which has allowed her to be fully grounded in Montessori pedagogy for all of the ages that Carrig Montessori serves.
Passionate about sharing her love of Montessori, she has been a regular presenter at The Montessori Event, which is the largest conference for Montessori educators in the world. She has also presented at several regional conferences.
In addition to her work in Montessori, Christine Carrig is also a mom of four children and the Writer in Residence at the Khora: Maternal and Reproductive Psychology Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she focuses on the intersection between maternal development and child development. Her writing on this topic and others has been published in Postpartum Support International, Business Insider and Tinybeans.
Holly Hansen | Teacher
AMS Certified
After growing up in the Florida Keys, Holly earned her degree in Musical Theater Performance from the University of Florida/New World School of the Arts. Living in Williamsburg and Greenpoint for the past 20 years, she feels a strong connection to this community. In her early years in New York she acted in many productions as a member of an off-Broadway theatre company. She also worked as a music teacher in several highly regarded children's programs throughout the city. Holly spent several years working as a nanny to a number of families, many of whom sent their children to Montessori schools. It was while working with these families, and seeing the incredible impact that Montessori education was having on them, that she became enticed to work with children in all areas of development: social, emotional, academic, and of course, artistic.
Holly is thrilled to begin her tenth year of teaching at CMS! Holly earned her American Montessori Society certification through West Side Montessori s Teacher Education Program in 2015 and is also a certified Mindful Parenting guide, which is the toddler and parent class that takes place in the fall and spring here at Carrig Montessori. Holly is also trained in the Orff-Shulwerk method which uses a developmental approach of teaching music to children.
Charley Cote | Teacher
Originally from New Hampshire, Charley completed a B.A. in English at the University of Vermont. With a focus in Creative Writing, Charley also worked as an Office Assistant in the Department of Art and Art History to supplement her art minor.
During Charley's time at UVM, she mentored with the program DREAM, a student-run club that organized weekly events and activities for youth in affordable housing communities. Within both group and individual settings, Charley fostered strong and lasting bonds with the children while encouraging them to realize their limitless potential through pursuit of their interests and opportunities.
Charley's experience in DREAM helped her decide that she wanted to pursue a career in education, hoping to combine her creative passions with her love for children. Charley has been living in Williamsburg for three years, and in her free time she enjoys writing poetry, singing, and playing with her cat Stella. Charley is thrilled to be starting her third year with the Carrig Montessori community.
Jordan Royal | Teacher
AMS Certified, Master's of Education in Progress
Born and raised in northern Florida, Jordan studied dance at Douglas Anderson, a high school for the performing arts, before graduating with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. Jordan has had the pleasure of working with children in a variety of settings over the past sixteen years including a dance instructor, camp counselor, tutor, nanny, and volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club via community gardening outreach. Jordan has found this time rewarding on many levels, which is why she is excited to have pursued her certification to become an Early Childhood Educator through the Center for Guided Montessori Studies.
Jordan feels that working with children is an exciting challenge that has consistently demonstrated that it is as much of a learning experience for her as it is for the children. She believes it is equally important to instill an understanding of and respect for our connectedness to the rest of the world. Through CMS, Jordan hopes to provide a fundamentally healthy learning environment that encourages children to learn at their own pace, build confidence in their personal strengths and potentials, and enable them to support others' successes.
Alanna Olson | Teacherr
North American Montessori Center Certified, 2022
B. Music Education
Born in New Jersey, Alanna and her family moved to Las Vegas the summer before Alanna started first grade. She attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas, initially majoring in Chemistry and Secondary Education, but switching her junior year to Music Education, with her main instruments being voice and piano. She started working as a High School Choir Director & Guitar Instructor in the Clark County School District in the Fall of 2011. She left teaching in CCSD in 2017, but continued teaching private music lessons that she started in 2013. As luck would have it, she was introduced to a Montessori school through a private music student s parent and started teaching music and assisting lead teachers at Spring Stone Montessori School beginning in February 2018. In the Fall of 2020, Alanna was able to become a lead teacher in her own classroom and was able to build connections with students and families for the next two years. She received her Montessori Early Childhood Certification from North American Montessori Center (NAMC) in May of 2022.
Alanna thoroughly enjoys seeing children grow, learn, and thrive in the Montessori setting. Their knowledge, curiosity, and wit amazes her everyday.
Leah McKenna | Teacher/Extended Day Coordinator
Master's of Education in Progress
A lifelong New York state resident, Leah was born and raised in Ardsley, NY and has lived in Williamsburg since 2020. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from SUNY New Paltz and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. Her interest in working with children began early, working as an assistant in an after school program during the school year, and a camp counselor during the summers. Leah spent over ten summers at summer camp, working her way through each role until she became director, primarily working with girls aged 5-11. Her passion for working with children each summer and her continued interest in how children learn when given a sense of freedom and an environment with a myriad of opportunities led to her interest in Montessori.