Administration
Our wonderful Administration at Dixie Montessori Academy
The Board of Directors of Dixie Montessori Academy is pleased to announce the
appointment of Mrs. Chelsea Bergeron as the new Director/Principal effective July
29, 2019.
Mrs. Bergeron is a native of Jackson, Tennessee. She studied Business at
The University of Louisiana and then went on to receive her Master of Arts in Education
and Education Specialist degree from Union University. She also studied
Montessori Philosophy and Pedagogy at Mid- America Montessori Institute in
Omaha, Nebraska. She is also a National Geographic Certified Educator, and very
passionate about teaching children to explore and protect the natural world around
them. Mrs. Bergeron has been a public-school teacher, an Instructional Coach, and
Lower Elementary Leader in Jackson-Madison County School System for ten years.
For the past five years, she has been teaching at Community Montessori School in
Jackson, TN. “I have always had a passion for writing poetry and would frequently
model the creative writing process for my students in the classroom,” said Mrs.
Bergeron. Her passion for writing has led her to publish her first book, Belly
Laughs in 2018.
Mrs. Bergeron is the mother of six children, three of whom are adopted, creating a
beautiful multi-racial family. She is a true Montessorian and passionate about
public education.
We are thankful and excited to have found Mrs. Bergeron to take Dixie Montessori
Academy to the next level.
DMA Board of Directors
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.
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.
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 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.