Administration
Our wonderful Administration at Dixie Montessori Academy
Julie Atwood
Director/Principal
The Board of Directors of Dixie Montessori Academy is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs. Julie Atwood as the new Director/Principal effective July 11, 2018.
Mrs. Atwood will come to Dixie Montessori Academy from the Salt Lake City School District where she has worked for the past 23 years. She has an exemplary track record as a teacher, librarian, principal, supervisor and director during her time there. Mrs. Atwood also has professional involvement with Turn-Around school leadership, District academic services, Title 1, developing effective PLC training, Special education and Utah technology coordination. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Weber State University, Utah and a Master’s in education from the University of Utah.
Mrs. Atwood is highly dedicated, motivated and knowledgeable about education. “As a classroom teacher, library technology teacher, administrator, supervisor and director, I am in constant pursuit of excellence in instruction and in meeting the needs of all students,” said Mrs. Atwood.
Andrea Bergen
Assistant Director
Andi Bergen is the Assistant Director and Assessment Coordinator at Dixie Montessori Academy. She attended Dixie College. Andi loves camping, biking, and watching her two boys play football and rugby for Snow Canyon High School. She loves working with and getting to know all of the sweet children at DMA.
Cheryl Ashcraft
Business Administrator & Human Resources
Mrs. Ashcraft provides all aspects of Business Management and Human Resources to the DMA staff. Mrs. Ashcraft is a native of Jamaica, West Indies and has worked in the education community for over 13 years. She received a BA in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources. Cheryl developed a strong sense of devotion in Business management and human resources from extensive work experience in New York City over nearly 14 years ago and 8 years with the Washington County School District. This experience gave her a deep appreciation for working in many areas of education and how schools seek to improve the quality of a child’s education; one child at a time.
Heather King
Registrar
My Montessori journey has been very serendipitous and began in 2009 when I started working for Dayspring Montessori as a teachers assistant. I began to fill other rolls as needed and knew that Montessori was going to be a big part of my life.
I was soon given the opportunity to take the 3-6 training which was incredible. During my practicum year, however, I began to take on another roll as Dixie Montessori Academy was being created which has become my current position as the Registrar.
I am thrilled to be here doing what I do. I love learning every aspect of my position and the Montessori world. Montessori has become a way of life and I am better for it.
Mariah Phares
Admin. Assistant
Mariah Phares works as an administrative assistant with Dixie Montessori Academy. Some of Mariah’s responsibilities include: policies and procedures, accountability, safety, and purchasing. She graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in 1997. Mariah is a US Air Force veteran and holds a commercial fixed wing single and multi-engine pilot’s license with instrument rating. After working 10 years in law enforcement, Mariah moved to the St George area in 2008 and began working at Dixie Montessori Academy in 2014.
