Montessori Middle School

Teacher Bios

Nicole DeBurton

Nicole DeBurton has earned a B.A. in Spanish and Sociology and an M.S. in Environmental Education. She began her work with adolescents in 1996 as a substitute high school teacher in her hometown in Michigan. That experience, combined with her love of nature and concern for the environment, inspired her dream of incorporating environmental education into schools. Through her graduate studies with the Audubon Expedition Institute, she developed a keen interest in sustainable living, particularly sustainable agriculture. She has continuously enjoyed working with adolescents as a teacher, wilderness leader, counselor, mentor and bilingual educational assistant for the last eleven years. She has worked as a gardener at four organic and biointensive farms in Georgia, California and Oregon, and takes great pride in growing as much of her own vegetables as possible. Nicole comes to Montessori Middle School from the Pacific Northwest, where she has lived since 2000.

Zach White

Zach White, a native Tennessean, is furniture maker by trade. He began an apprenticeship in 1996 which sparked a ten year career and later shaped the way he perceived value in education for all people. In a quest for inspiration and individual expression, he moved to New York City, where an abundance of work in architectural woodwork, sculpture and furniture design was waiting. After years of service to affluent society in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and Nashville, Zach became disenchanted by the services he was providing and began looking for ways to give lasting results to the world through his work. In 2004 he and his wife moved to Tokyo, Japan where he accepted a job as an assistant at The Montessori School of Tokyo. Working with children, exposure to the "Montessori Method" and extensive travel throughout Asia, have provided endless inspiration for producing those lasting results. Most recently, Zach's eyes have been opened to the urgency of sustainability and the need for local communities which create harmonious ways of living with the earth and its inhabitants.