Primary Lead Teacher

Eric was born and raised outside of Rochester, New York on Lake Ontario. He and his twin brother attended Webster Montessori School where he developed a love for learning and exploring. His love of the outdoors, fostered by his father, led him to Idaho in 1990 after graduating from Skidmore College with a chemistry degree. He met his future wife Eleanor in 1995; she too the product of Montessori education and the daughter of an AMI trained guide. So, it was natural for them to send their first daughter Grace to Pioneer Montessori in 2006. Witnessing Grace’s self-construction in the Montessori environment inspired him to make a significant career change. He started as a Primary Assistant at Pioneer Montessori School in 2007 and, over the course of three years, completed his AMI Montessori training at the Montessori Training Center of St. Louis with the late Dr. Annette Haines in 2010. This is his 11th year at the school and his ninth as a lead guide in the Primary classroom. Grace graduated from Pioneer Montessori School in 2016 and his other daughter Ryland graduated in 2019.