SCDS Montessori Teachers and Staff
Aliyah Rine
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Aliyah is a nurturing and dedicated educator with extensive experience working with young children in preschool and primary settings. She has supported early learners in developing foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional growth. With a warm and intuitive approach, Aliyah creates a safe and engaging environment where children feel empowered to explore and thrive. Her training from the Jewish Montessori Training Center has equipped her with innovative strategies to foster curiosity and independence, making learning a joyful and meaningful experience for her students.
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Ayala Getz
Teacher, elementary boys
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Ayala is a dedicated, intuitive, and compassionate teacher with extensive experience working with children in various educational settings. She previously taught first-grade boys in mathematics, reading, and grammar, and has worked in playgroups and nanny positions. With a strong sense of responsibility and an ability to connect with young learners, she is passionate about fostering both academic and emotional growth in her students. Ayala received training from the Jewish Montessori Training Center.
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Elliot Cohen
Development
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Elliot graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a B.B.A. in Finance and gained valuable experience in finance through roles at 1st Equity Bank, The Chicago Board of Trade, and PCNation. He later earned an M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision and taught in various Jewish educational settings before becoming principal of a Jewish day school in California. Returning to Chicago, Elliot served as Director of Operations at Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School, and as Yachad’s first full-time Development Director in Chicago. Most recently, he was the Executive Director of Yeshiva University Torah Mitzion Kollel of Chicago. A Chicago native, Elliot is deeply involved in the local Jewish community and combines his passions for education, Torah, and community service with expertise in fundraising and development in his current role at SCDS.
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Elyana Verkley
Office Manager
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Elyana manages the day-to-day office operations at Shaarei Chinuch Day School. She enjoys working behind the scenes to keep everything at the school running smoothly and efficiently. Her goal is to provide a warm, capable presence in the school to help ensure that all people feel supported.
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Goldie Petlak
Teacher, primary
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Goldie is passionate about integrating the Parsha and Jewish holidays into the Montessori classroom. She has experience working with children of various ages ranging from infants to upper middle school. She has experience teaching groups of children as well as individual tutoring through Title 1, and excels in creating individualized lesson plans for each student. Goldie has a degree in psychology from Sara Schenirer, and received Montessori training (age 3-6) from the Center for Jewish Montessori Teacher education.
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Jane Marinets
Assistant Teacher, primary
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With a passionate desire to guide each individual according to their developmental path, Jane is continuously learning and strengthening her skills as a Montessori practitioner. Jane holds a Montessori Primary Diploma from Montessori Training Center of St. Louis, and has taught in both Primary and Toddler Montessori classrooms. Jane loves to connect with the children, and brings joy and positive energy to her environment.
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Nelly Mirzai
Teacher, elementary girls
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Nelly has taught in Jewish schools for over a decade. Originally from Israel, she loves connecting her passion for Hebrew with Montessori’s approach to literacy and language building skills. Nelly was a well loved as a teacher in our primary classroom, and is excited to now be working with our elementary girls. Nelly has received Montessori primary and elementary trainings from the Center for Jewish Montessori Teacher Education, and the Jewish Montessori Training Center.
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Olamide Sanya
Teacher, primary
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Olamide is a seasoned Montessori educator and trainer with over 10 years of experience teaching children aged 3-6 and training teachers. Born in Nigeria, she holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, and an Early Childhood Montessori Diploma (3-6).
With her extensive expertise, Olamide creates engaging, inclusive environments that foster academic excellence, social growth, and emotional well-being. As a respected Montessori trainer, Olamide mentors educators, sharing expertise and inspiring best practices in early childhood education. |
Rina Pole
Teacher, elementary girls
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With extensive experience in both formal and informal educational settings, Rina brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse teaching skills to her role. Over the years Rina has taught various subjects, including science, math, language arts, and Judaic studies, to students ranging from lower elementary to high school. Her tutoring background, specializing in supporting students with neurological differences, emotional diagnoses, and executive function challenges, has honed her ability to tailor instruction to individual learning needs. Rina is committed to fostering an engaging, supportive, and stimulating learning environment for each of her students. Rina has a degree in Science from the University of Chicago, and received Montessori training (elementary) from the Center for Jewish Montessori Teacher Education, and the Jewish Montessori Training Center.
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Ronnie Kado
Security
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Mr. Kado brings extensive experience in security across a variety of settings. Growing up in a home daycare and with many siblings, nieces, and nephews around, he developed a natural ability to connect with children of all ages. He takes pride in greeting students by name each morning, and is deeply committed to his role of ensuring a safe school environment throughout the day.
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Sasha Pruss
Teacher, primary
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Sasha is passionate about education that meets the needs of each child. She has taught in both preschool and elementary school settings, as well as provided individualized instruction to students of all ages. She loves to integrate her creativity, musical background, and passion for science into her lessons. Sasha has a degree in journalism from California State University, and received Montessori training (age 3-6) from the Center for Jewish Montessori Teacher Education.
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Shaked Mirzai
Teacher, primary
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From a young age, Shaked has enjoyed working with children. Through her vast experiences working in summer camps, babysitting positions, and preschool classrooms, she has honed her skills in classroom management, observation, and connecting to all types of children. Shaked loves the Montessori philosophy, and received her training (age 3-6) from the Center for Jewish Montessori Teacher Education.
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Yudi Rine
Teacher, elementary boys
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Yudi holds a Master's degree in Judaic Studies and has experience teaching a wide range of subjects, including both Judaic and secular studies, to students from lower elementary to high school. In Reb Yudi's words... "I have been guided by the philosophy of educating the whole student (not just academics) for nearly a decade, and I am excited to be working within the Montessori educational world this year. My goal is to foster growth in social-emotional well-being, general knowledge base, and Middos!"
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