STAFF
Julie Riley, Founder
Julie Riley started Sparrow Montessori to combine Catechesis of the Good Shepherd faith formation and Montessori academics into one program. Julie has been a CGS catechist since 2018. Julie has undergraduate degrees in French, English, and Secondary Education, and an M.A. in Theology. Her love for the Montessori method came from watching her own daughters’ experiences in Montessori schools and through implementing the Montessori method in both homeschool and private school settings.
Dr. Lisa Fitzler
Dr. Lisa Fitzler is a recently retired teacher of 34+ years, sixteen of those as a Lower School Director and Montessori Guide in Chesterfield, MO. She completed her doctoral studies in Educational Leadership in 2015 at Maryville University. She is a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Dardenne Prairie where she has volunteered as a PSR teacher, and a CGS guide. She has also assisted in the St. Clement’s atria and in Sparrow Montessori where she has seen the beauty of a Montessori classroom unite seamlessly with the works of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium inviting the Holy Spirit to be present in the daily experiences of the children. Currently she is serving with the SVdP society and is honored to serve in an advisory capacity with Sparrow Montessori.
Nancy Noecker
Having been gifted with a mother who recognized the genius of the Montessori Method, Nancy is a Montessori child come full circle. After earning her BA from Truman State and assisting at City Garden Montessori she earned her Primary Montessori diploma at Il Centro Montessori Internazionale in Perugia, Italy and did Level 1 Catechesis of the Good Shepherd coursework. With two years of lead teaching at City Garden completed she broadened her knowledge base with the Elementary training from the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee and an M.Ed. from Loyola College of Maryland. Since then Nancy has been honored to work with students at Villa Di Maria Montessori, City Garden, her own homeschool and The Montessori Workplace, which she ran from 2014-2023. She now offers private reading tutoring using the Barton Reading and Spelling System and is so pleased to be a part of the amazing things happening at Sparrow Montessori!
Isabel Kennebeck
Isabel Kennebeck fell in love with Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in highschool as an assistant at the Carmelite Daycare Atrium. She found CGS to be the perfect environment where she could aid in the formation of joyful, independent children, totally in love with the Lord. She is currently the Level I Catechist at Saint John Paul II Preparatory South and Assistant Catechist at the St. Clement Atria. Isabel is certified in Level I CGS and will complete Level II certification in summer of 2026. She begins Primary Montessori certification this summer at Mary's Catholic Montessori Training Center. She enjoys assisting Julie and the children on Thursday afternoons.
Sophia Hogg
Sophia Hogg has a B.S. in Human Development and Family Science from the University of Missouri. Her first exposure to Montessori was during college in Columbia, where she worked as an assistant in a Montessori preschool. She was in awe of the children working so diligently and with such focus. She became captivated by the Montessori philosophy –she found its approach to education and development of the child beautiful. Sophia has worked as an assistant in a Montessori toddler room in St. Louis and as a lead in a primary environment.
Sophia reports it has been an absolute dream to work alongside Julie and the children in the primary classroom this year, watching her own two daughters thrive and be completely adored by the children. In the fall, Sophia will lead the Toddler room. She is thrilled to be back in the toddler environment and cannot wait to see how the Lord will work in her and the children this year.