Christy Clarke Choi
Head of School
Christy always enjoys hearing about the world from her students' viewpoint. In her own words, “They are so open and curious about everything.” She loves writing and enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts program for poetry, before deciding to become a Montessori teacher.
Christy was a teacher at the MSHR Upper School for many years before coming to Children’s House in 2019 as full-time administrator.
Megan Moore
Montessori Director
Megan grew up in the Mountains of Northern Virginia. She has 4 years of experience as a Montessori Assistant and 3 years as a Lead Primary Guide. She received her Montessori Primary Diploma the summer of 2021 through North American Montessori Center. She is dedicated to students' growth and individual journeys. Amongst her many interests Megan really loves spending time with her family, reading, singing and doing yoga.
Carla Hubacher
Lead Teacher, Forest Room
Carla enjoys hearing the laughter of a child joyfully exploring a work, the way their eyes light up when they have an “aha!” moment and their absolutely innocent love of the world.
A fun fact about Carla is that she has been working at the Children’s House since 1992. She has a Master’s Degree in teaching early childhood special education and a certification in pre-primary Montessori.
She has been married for 41 years, has five children and 6 grandchildren, and loves everyone one of them!
Jharna Thapa
Lead Teacher, Ocean Room
Jharna has been a teacher for more than 25 years. She enjoys seeing her students’ enthusiasm for learning and watching them progress throughout the school year. It brings her joy when the children become confident and tell her, ”I can do it by myself!”
Jharna was born and raised in Nepal. She speaks 3 languages: Nepali, Hindi and English. She moved to the United States around 20 years ago with her husband and 2 sons. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities and Social Science and AMS certification from Northern Virginia Montessori Institute.
Among her hobbies, she enjoys cooking Nepali food, doing crafts, and reading.
Michelle Lopez
Lead Teacher, Lavender Room
Michelle was born in Bremerhaven, Germany and is a product of Montessori. She has been working with children since she was at a young age and has always loved children. She lives for “that teachable moment” and wants to give young children the same wonderful learning experience she had. She feels teaching is her way of giving back to the world
She has been a Montessori teacher for 12 years. She holds two Montessori certifications, in both infant & toddlers and primary.
She has been married for 14 years. She has three of her own children, ages 15, 11 and 9, who have also grown up within the Montessori philosophy.
Cynthia Young
Lead Teacher, Sunflower Room
Cynthia says that the best part of her job is working with children. She loves seeing the wheels churning and watching children have “light bulb” moments!
Cynthia has been working at MSHR for 23 years. She received a degree in Early Childhood Education and became a certified Montessori teacher in 1989.
In her spare time, Cynthia enjoys traveling and cooking.
Kayla Emery
Assistant Aftercare Director
Kayla says that since she started working at MSHR, she has gained an even greater appreciation for such a progressive way of learning. For some time now Kayla has cared for children ranging from infants to 15 year-olds, one of whom is her younger sister, who is on the Autism spectrum. In Kayla’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, especially her siblings, and catching up on the latest episodes of “90 day Fiancé”. She has also expressed how delighted she is to be working with such wonderful staff and students.