Mastro Montessori Selects New Director

Tuesday, May 22, 2017

Shrewsbury, NJ — The Mastro Montessori Academy is pleased to announce that Clara Logan will become the fourth Director in the Academy’s 49-year history, effective July 1, 2017. Mrs. Logan is currently the Assistant Principal of the Bowie Montessori Children’s House, an AMI-certified school in Bowie, Maryland serving children from toddler age through 8th grade. Previously, she founded and directed a Montessori school in Missouri. Mrs. Logan began her Montessori teaching career as a toddler teacher at the Chesterfield (MO) Montessori School.

“The Mastro Montessori Board of Trustees voted unanimously to offer Clara Logan the position of Director, and are extremely happy that she accepted,” says Michael Stasi, President of the Board of Trustees. “Clara’s dedication to AMI Montessori and passion for educating children align perfectly with Mastro Montessori Academy. Her experience as both an administrator and teacher make her absolutely the right person to be our next Director. Clara will bring great energy and enthusiasm and we are excited to support her vision for our school’s growth” says Stasi.

Mrs. Logan, who is originally from Missouri, is a graduate of Ithaca College with a major in Sociology and a concentration in Criminal and Juvenile Justice. She received her Masters in Education from Loyola University in Maryland and earned her AMI certification in Assistants to Infancy from the Montessori Institute in Denver. She and her husband enjoy spending time outdoors and taking their children to concerts. They have four young children who will attend Mastro Montessori Academy in the Fall.

The search for a new Academy Director, which attracted a large pool of extremely talented candidates, was facilitated by Dr. Chuck Jones of Jones & Associates and was conducted by a search committee that had over 70 years of combined experience with Mastro Montessori. As a finalist in the process, Mrs. Logan spent a day observing all the classes and met with the faculty, staff and parents. The feedback about Mrs. Logan was not just overwhelmingly positive, reports Dr. Jones, it was unanimously so across all constituencies.

“This is the most important responsibility a school board has,” Dr. Jones explains. “The search committee and the trustees devoted tireless hours to this process to ensure Mastro Montessori found the perfect fit. As Mastro Montessori enters its 50th year as the only AMI-certified school in Monmouth County, it is truly gratifying to see the outpouring of support for Mrs. Logan as the school’s next Director.”

All of Mrs. Logan’s professional leadership has been at the toddler-through-8th grade level. She characterizes herself as a true Montessorian, not only in occupation but in rearing her own children as well. With her extensive background as an adolescent social worker she firmly believes a Montessori education is the best gift one can give children, as it helps to build a positive foundation for the children upon which the rest of their lives is built. In teaching children to do things for themselves, it instills self-confidence, positive self-esteem, a deeper understanding of what they are learning and a strong work ethic.

“I look forward with great enthusiasm to joining the Mastro Montessori community,” said Mrs. Logan. “Mastro Montessori’s dedication to an AMI education, as well as the talented faculty, staff, parents, trustees and alumnae with whom I met during my visits, impressed me deeply. I am eager to lead this accomplished and vibrant school into a future that will be rewarding to all. The children at Mastro Montessori have such a love of learning and I am honored and excited to work with the staff to continue to encourage our children to be independent, confident and gracious individuals in society.”