About MPW
“We believe that the benefits of a Montessori education should be accessible to all children, particularly in underserved communities.”
Montessori Public Works (MPW) is a state services and advocacy organization that provides curriculum implementation packages to New Jersey districts that wish to start authentic Montessori classrooms. We believe that the benefits of a Montessori education should be accessible to all children, particularly in underserved communities.
MPW has worked alongside New Jersey district administrators to build a curriculum implementation package that delivers both a high-quality, accredited Montessori teacher training program and authentic Montessori classroom setup. We also provide ongoing support and professional development opportunities to districts so that their Montessori classrooms and teachers can thrive within the framework of the public school system. This is done through teacher and administrator training and coaching, aligning the Montessori curriculum with state requirements, classroom set-up and material guidance, and financial assistance.
Through our network of private donors passionate about Montessori and public education, MPW is able to offer Montessori curriculum for your district at costs comparable to other approved curriculums, while offering high-quality Montessori materials and furniture made out of natural materials, teacher training, and ongoing professional support in a context that works for public educators.
Our Team
Angie Schiavoni
Angie founded Montessori Public Works in 2019 to help bring high-quality Montessori learning environments to public settings across New Jersey. She is also an advisor to the Wildflower Foundation, where she helps support Montessori Teachers in New Jersey who wish to start and run their own equitable, authentic Montessori micro-schools. Angie hopes her work will be part of an ecosystem approach to help to address the childcare crisis, inequities in education, and rising mental health issues among children. Before moving to New Jersey, Angie led agile product teams and built sustainable operations in the social enterprise space for 15 years. She also led product management workshops for a variety of companies and organizations, including Harvard Business School and the MIT Media Lab. She also co-founded CodeEd, an education non-profit that teaches computer science to girls from underserved communities.
David Hallman
After more than a decade as the Superintendent/Principal of the Belmar School District, David shifted to his role as Director of District Services at Montessori Public Works. His thirty years in public education, as both a teacher and administrator, have woven together experiences in the application of different education methods, leading to his advocacy of the Montessori pedagogy. In his first Principalship, he initiated and facilitated a New Jersey Department of Education award winning educational model that prioritized student and parental choice. The Mahala F. Atchison Elementary School in Tinton Falls, New Jersey was recognized with the 2004 Governor's School of Excellence Award for the “School of Choice” model. Parents were able to choose from a variety of learning environments, which included Montessori, Looping, Multi-Age and Traditional classrooms. Choice for students spread from the Montessori and Multi-Age classrooms throughout the building into the Looping and traditional classrooms. When David isn’t meeting with administrators and helping to expand access to Montessori, you’re likely to find him catching waves at the NJ shore.
Nina Saporta
Leading product development and design for MPW, Nina has gotten to combine her appreciation of Montessori with her passion for creating. Nina's background in developing programs and products spans a multitude of different industries and experiences, from founding an intergenerational literacy and enrichment program for resettled refugees, to developing a computer science curriculum for children, working as a product manager at a record label, and providing marketing consulting to Montessori schools. Nina also wrote and published Sunshine Elementary, a chapter book inspired by the Montessori community that centers around kindness and socio-emotional skills. Whether it’s traveling across the 7 continents, playing bass in a band, or running her web development business, Shiny New Websites, Nina loves getting things done and bringing life to the projects and interests she's involved in. As the mother of 3 Montessori children, Nina has seen firsthand the unparalleled benefits of this pedagogy and feels passionate about doing her part to help make Montessori more accessible for all children.