Teachers & Staff

Black Mountain Montessori is proud to have an accomplished team of caring, creative and talented educators. You just won’t find a more qualified group dedicated to supporting and guiding each student.  

Ready to explore early childhood education and private elementary opportunities in the Asheville area? We invite you to meet the team, see the beautiful classrooms, and experience the Montessori method! 

Head of School

Erin Van Note

Erin is a graduate from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Business Administration. Originally from Athens, GA, Erin attended Athens Montessori School for much of her early education. As a result she was drawn to the Montessori method as her children started school, and all three of her children have attended Black Mountain Montessori.

Erin is very passionate about education, the Montessori method in particular. She has been serving at the school for the past seventeen years, first on the Board of Directors and now as a member of a dedicated administrative team. Erin previously worked in product development and marketing for an educational consulting company in Georgia that specializes in writing curriculum. Erin and her family have lived in the Black Mountain area since 2003, and they currently live on a small farm and raise chickens and goats.

Director of admissions & licensing

Kristy Beaver

A true Black Mountain native, Kristy has been involved in education for over twenty years as a Title 1 Reading Specialist, a private tutor, a Montessori primary teacher and a Montessori Lower Elementary teacher.

Kristy has her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill, with an NC K-6 teaching license. As a reading specialist, she has a K-12 reading license from UNCA. Kristy received her AMS 3-6 Montessori certification and joined BMTM as a primary teacher in 2007.

She received Orton-Gillinaham training in 2014, a multi-sensory, kinesthetic, and phonics based approach to teaching reading, and is excited about incorporating this training into the classroom. Kristy and her husband of thirty years have two adult daughters, and they enjoy camping and hanging out with friends. She loves to read, cook and explore new places with her family.

Director of Education & Development

Cait Blau

Cait Blau is a second-generation Montessori teacher with over a decade of classroom experience in Washington, D.C., and New York City, where she was born and raised. She holds AMI Primary (3-6) training, a Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Loyola University, and now serves as the Director of Education at Black Mountain Montessori School. Living in Asheville, Cait is passionate about bringing Maria Montessori’s ideas into the 21st century and is excited to join the team at Black Mountain Montessori in an official capacity. She enjoys adventures with her partner Adam and their two children, Wesley and Harper, in the mountains of NC.

DRAGONFLY CLASSROOM senior LEAD Guide & Events Coordinator

Rachael Pratt

Rachael was born and raised in Nashville, TN.  She attended the University of Alabama where she obtained a B.S. in Elementary Education, with a focus on K-6.

From there, Rachael moved to Atlanta in 2012 for Montessori training, and remained there, working as a lead in Montessori schools for five years.  Rachael currently lives in Black Mountain with her wife, Ashlee, daughter Maggie June and their pup Tuck.

In her free time she enjoys exploring the outdoors, listening to live music, indoor rock climbing, reading, and cooking.  Rachael is excited to begin her eighth year as the Dragonfly Lead Teacher and feels so privileged to be in this role. She has found a deep connection with the Montessori philosophy and ideals of respecting and nourishing the internal spirit of every child.  Rachael is sincerely committed in her efforts to facilitate within the children peacefulness, independence, confidence, and the motivation to become lifelong learners.

Dragonfly Classroom Assistant Guide

Emira McCracken

Emira was born and raised in North Carolina, and attended college in Prescott, Arizonia, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Arts and Humanities. She has a wealth of experience working in education, outdoor and experiential learning, and the arts, working with children in a variety of classroom and community settings. She especially loves creating opportunities for kids to explore, ask questions, make things, and build confidence in their own ideas and abilities.

Outside of the classroom, Emira loves making art, spending time outdoors, caring for her ever-growing collection of plants, and finding new places to explore. She is excited to be joining the Dragonfly classroom this year, and is looking forward to getting to know the children and being part of their learning and growth this year!

Firefly Classroom co-Lead Guide

Kasey Chitwood

Kasey grew up in Eastern Tennessee and earned her B.S. in Early Childhood Education from East Tennessee State University. She began her career working in a variety of Montessori schools across Tennessee and North Carolina and completed her Montessori training at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in Charlotte, NC.

Passionate about nurturing young children’s curiosity, joy, and excitement for learning, Kasey embraces the role of a lifelong learner—growing and discovering alongside her students. She is thrilled to be part of the Black Mountain Montessori community and to be one of the guides in the Firefly classroom.

Outside the classroom, Kasey enjoys immersing herself in nature, traveling, camping, photography, pottery, and junk journaling. She also loves exploring antique stores and playing volleyball. 

FIREFLY CLASSROOM Co-Lead Guide

Ashli Nuzum

Born and raised in the hills of West Virginia, Ashli brings both a grounded spirit and a passion for child development in her work with children. She is a seasoned Montessori educator with over 17 years of experience and holds AMS credentials in Primary, Lower Elementary, and Upper Elementary. For the past 9 years, Ashli lived and taught on the island of Maui, where she continued to deepen her commitment to the Montessori philosophy.

Her classrooms are known for being calm, creative, and nurturing spaces where children feel safe to explore and grow. Outside of school, Ashli enjoys spending time outside and doing hands-on projects with her son, Micah. We’re thrilled to have her join us and know that families will quickly come to appreciate her warmth, insight, and dedication.

BUTTERFLY CLASsRoom LEAD Guide

Hannah Ellison

Hannah is an American Montessori Society certified guide through Northeastern Montessori Institute since 2019, but her Montessori roots started in childhood. She was raised attending Montessori school from preK through elementary school and volunteered in her own mother's primary classroom growing up. In 2017, she began her lead-teaching journey. She also holds credentials as a certified birth/postpartum & grief doula, which adds to her ability to connect with children and families using compassion and understanding.

Hannah intuitively guides each child to flourish into their individuality by nurturing their growing intrinsic-motivation, confidence, and independence. She strives to accommodate children of all abilities and meets each one exactly where they are. Hannah fosters a comforting and warm classroom environment by cultivating a strong sense of community and a shared responsibility to care for each other and our school space. 

Hannah, her wife Steph, and their child Luka live in Old Fort. Luka attends BMTM’s elementary program. They enjoy spending time together as a family by weekend movie-game nights and going on local adventures. Hannah is excited to spend her 7th year with Black Mountain Montessori as the Lead Teacher of the Butterfly class!

BUTTERFLY CLASsRoom Assistant GUIDE

Luca Sisca

Luca believes young people are a vital part of a culture, and are worthy of freedom, respect, joy, and individualized guidance as they explore who they are and what they love. Luca supports children’s innate desire to learn with an emotionally congruent presence that helps develop trust and confidence. 

Luca began teaching in 2013. He studied the Montessori method along with other approaches to education while earning his BA in Early Childhood Education, Peace Studies, and Gender & Women’s Studies from the mindfulness-based institution, Naropa University, in 2016. He trained in Synergetic Play Therapy and has worked as a lead and co-teacher in multiple 0-3 classrooms. Luca is also a Rites of Passage guide, and is honored to support families through transitional times. 

Luca enjoys sunbathing at waterfalls, traveling, yoga, and his work as an energy healing practitioner. He is excited to support the students in the Butterfly classroom as they learn how to thrive in community.

FLoating Assistant & After care Teacher

Becky Taylor

Becky comes from West Virginia and has been in childcare profession for several years. Becky attended college later in life, but has always envisioned herself as a teacher. Becky has an Associates in Early Education, and has her BS in General Studies with an emphasis in Psychology. She worked 10 years as an Adult Education Instructor. Believing the importance of family and child care, she became a child protective agent for the State of West Virginia until moving to North Carolina.

Becky is family oriented, that’s one of her favorite things to do, be with her family. She lives in Black Mountain, and enjoys reading and cooking. This is her 4th year with BMTM as the After Care teacher. Even though Becky is fairly new to the teaching method of Montessori; she has embraced the philosophy of Montessori education wholeheartedly.

FLoating Assistant & After care Teacher

Bella Van Note

Bella was raised in the foothills of Western North Carolina and attended Black Mountain Montessori from age seven through middle school. A graduate of Owen High School in Black Mountain, she went on to study Animal Science and Agribusiness in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University.

Bella recently returned home to WNC, and is so grateful to be back in the mountains, close to family and to the school community that shaped her early years. She finds great joy in coming full circle—working with children who now attend the very school she once did. In her free time, Bella enjoys hiking, gardening, knitting, traveling, and spending time with her family in the mountains she proudly calls home.

BEFORE care & Floating assistant teacher

Jessica Taylor-Davis

Jessica, born and raised in West Virginia, moved to Black Mountain in 2018 with her husband Caleb. Jessica has been involved with teaching and working with children of all ages since 2009 in different settings including youth ministry in different churches, foster care, and working as an assistant at Black Mountain Montessori. She has received many trainings about children, behaviors, parenting, trauma-based training, and sensory training with children. She attended new river and technical college with different health care field trainings.

While fostering two children, Jessica and Caleb discovered the Montessori Method and fell in love with it. They love it so much, their first miracle child, Mia (almost 3), now attends and they are planning to enroll their son August (baby) when his time comes.

Jessica loves crafting, spending time with family, and photography. She has maintained her own photography business for 14 years. Jessica is also involved heavily in her church where she plans and hosts several events throughout the year for women and children.

elementary LEAD GUIDE

Chandra Gilmore

Chandra comes to us with a Bachelors in Elementary Education as well as a dual Masters in Lower and Upper Montessori Elementary Education received from Loyola University in Maryland. Chandra is also Orton-Gillingham trained to help struggling readers, such as students with dyslexia or other reading difficulties. Chandra easily integrates the Montessori and OG literacy approaches in her class at Black Mountain Montessori.

Chandra was born right here in Asheville, but grew up near Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. She was lucky enough to live here three times in her twenties in between spending a few years working for AmeriCorps as a year round wilderness camp counselor, ropes course facilitator, and white water rafting guide. She then headed to Baltimore City to teach music, theater, and dance before getting her Montessori training and spending fours years teaching Upper Elementary in Maryland.  Six years ago, she and her husband made the move from Baltimore to Asheville to call it “home.” They enjoy taking hikes and adventures with their pup, as well as kayaking and biking around the Biltmore. Chandra feels blessed to be a part of the Black Mountain Montessori community.

elementary Assistant GUIDE

Jordan Hite

Jordan brings a diverse background in education, special education, and program development to his work with children. With more than five years of teaching experience, he is passionate about creating meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities that help students explore their interests, build confidence, and discover their individual strengths.

Since 2021, Jordan has served as an Enrichment Teacher at The Jeremiah School in Johnson City, Tennessee, where he developed and leads a program designed to help students with autism discover and pursue their passions through hands-on activities, STEM, and a variety of enrichment experiences. His experience includes curriculum and program development, classroom management, mentoring, and supporting children with a variety of learning styles and developmental needs.

Jordan moved back to the mountains of Tennessee from the Oregon coast seven years ago. He loves all things science, ecosystems, and culinary arts. When not in the classroom, Jordan can be found in his backyard with his beautiful wife, two amazing kids, and their apiary.

Jordan is excited to bring his creativity, patience, and passion for helping children discover what inspires them to the school community.