About Montessori House of Ocala, Inc.

Montessori House of Ocala, Inc. is a Christian based school and nonprofit organization in Ocala, Florida that offers infant through kindergarten education. It was founded in 2008 by Jill Ferrer. Read through the following to learn more about the people behind our institution's success.

Jill J. Ferrer (Founder)

Jill has been teaching for more than 30 years. She dedicated her first 19 years teaching music to preschoolers up to junior high school students. Before moving into Ocala, she used to choreograph, direct, and write scripts for stage performances. In 1997, she worked as a part-time music teacher at another Montessori school, and then was asked to take the Early Childhood Montessori training. Shortly after, she took the Montessori Elementary training and taught in the elementary classroom for five years. At the same time, Jill worked as the Assistant Director of another Montessori school. Because of her passion and dedication, she got promoted to Co-Director and became the Director not long after. She worked there for more than 10 years before she established our institution.

Shannon A. Beatty (Director)

Shannon began teaching in a Montessori school in 2002. She is a certified Montessori teacher that began working with us in 2008 and has beenCo-Director since 2021

Kayla McClain

Head teacher in the infant classroom. She has been with us since 2010 having years of experience with the infants and their needs.

Alesandra Zimmerman

A Colombian native, Alesandra has been with us since we started in 2008. She is the Lead Teacher of our 1- to 2-year-old students and she teaches Spanish classes every day. Alesandra earned her Child Development Accreditation (CDA) in 2012.

Amanda Bell

Head Montessori Certified Teacher in 2- to 3-year-old classroom. She has been with us since 2014.

Jamie Ferrer

Jamie has been with us since we started the school. She is a Certified Montessori Teacher and the Lead Teacher of our pre-k/kindergarten classroom. A mother of three girls, Montessori certified from ages 3yrs. to lower elementary, Jamie has plenty of experience and skills when it comes to preparing children for their next level of learning.

Jessica Lugo

Jessica is a Montessori certified teacher and the head teacher of our 3-4yr old class. She has been with us since 2012.

Krystle Ferrer

Krystle is our Administrative Assistant. Before she joined our institution in 2008, she worked in one of our county offices. She is a wonderful asset to the institution and a great right hand to Jill and Shannon.

Tristan Ferrer

Coach Tristan is our Physical Education teacher and fitness instructor. From his days of playing baseball and football, he has always made keeping in shape a priority and teaches the same to his students. When it comes to sports, fitness, and nutrition, Tristan is the one to trust.

Mission Statement

Our Mission as a private Christian-based school is to educate and teach the whole child, instill the joy of learning with a hands-on approach through a prepared environment, and to guide the child in obtaining inner discipline in order to manifest respect for self, others, and the environment around them.