Robert Mathieu

Science

Tulika Samal

Mathmatics 

Asheley Ollennu

English Language Arts (ELA) 

Nora Marcus

Social Studies 

Ben Steinberg

Mathematics

Born and raised in Montgomery County MD, Mr. Steinberg has made a career working in schools in the region. He graduated with a bachelors degree in political science and economics from Towson University, and later completed his masters degree in education from Johns Hopkins University. In Baltimore, Mr. Steinberg taught social studies to students in a credit recovery program, helping high schoolers who were overage and undercredited earn a high school diploma. Ben came to Capitol Hill Montessori (CHM) in the Fall of 2014 as a founding science and math teacher of our middle school program. In the summer of 2015, Ben completed the AMI orientation course in Adolescent Montessori Education at the Hershey Montessori Farm School in Ohio. In his tenure at CHM, Mr. Steinberg has transitioned to teaching middle school mathematics and serving as the school’s instructional coach, supporting all strong teaching and learning practices schoolwide. An avid recreational biker, Ben enjoys staying active by getting outdoors. In his free time, Ben enjoys gardening, painting, and playing music.

Lance Miller

Health and Physical Education

Mr. Miller was born abroad in Germany and raised in New Jersey. He holds a bachelors degree in Healtha nd Physcial Education from Hampton University and a Masters of Science in Health Promotion Programming and Planning from American University. He enjoys seeing the “light go on” in a learner around understanding the importance of Health and Physical Education. He loves seeing a learner progress within their form, attention to detail, and enthusiasm around daily physical activities/calisthenics. When a learner progresses from a modified push-up to a regular push-up it makes his heart smile! He also enjoys the opportunity to introduce to most learners the rules and procedures associated with organized sports and physical activity gameplay. Lance enjoys daily physical activity, traveling, yoga, hearing and feeling nature, explorative hikes, and helping others and the community become health aware, increasing their personal physical activity levels!

Joielyna Abreu

World Language, Spanish

Ms. Abreu was born in New York and raised in Palm Beach Florida. She holds a Bachelors in International Relations and Economics from Florida State University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. Joielyna also holds a Child Care and Education Program Director Credential from Florida. Ms. Abreu loves teaching because sharing her experiences and knowledge with others is very rewarding. Every single day teachers have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life and sometimes you don’t even realize how students are impacted by the smallest interactions. She’s really excited about languages and cultures – teaching Spanish allows her to share her culture and language with students. When students engage in using Spanish and are inspired to get invested in their learning, it makes Ms. Abreu feel that she’s in the right field. Aside from teaching, Joielyna enjoys digital media and spends a lot of time working with nonprofits to increase their social media presence, specifically Latino organizations focused on social and environmental issues. In her free time, she travels and learns other languages herself :). She has studied Italian for six years and is working on becoming fluent along with someday spending the summer under the Tuscan sun. She also enjoys nature and taking part in outdoor activities here in DC. Joielyna is new to the area and spends a lot of time discovering the DMV area with friends.

Siham Yassine

Art

Ms. Yassine was born and raised in Washington D.C. She attended the University of Georgia where she majored in Fine Arts with a focus on painting and drawing. Ms. Yassine is also well versed in ceramics, printmaking, sculpture, and installation art. She has a deep love for art history, conservation, and contemporary art which she strives to share with her students through project-based learning and student choice. After graduating college Ms. Yassine enjoyed a career in museum education before coming back home and becoming a part of the DCPS family. Her favorite thing about teaching art is allowing students to explore and push the boundaries of their imagination. Ms. Yassine believes that art is not only a unifying force that connects each and every one of us but that it can inspire greatness in us all – it is this idea that she hopes to inspire in her students and is the focus behind her practice.

Roxanne Cook

Music

Ms. Cook was born and raised locally, in Falls Church, Virginia. She attended Longwood University where she double majored in choral music education and vocal performance. As a music teacher, it is her belief that all students should be offered the opportunity to discover and explore their innate potential as musicians, and to increase these natural capacities through formal music instruction. The goal of music education is not only to form an appreciation of the music of others, but also encourage children to shape their own unique musical identity, through academic study and performance opportunities. The musical arts are uniquely a safe place for young people to experience the wide spectrum of human emotions in a safe context, which can help to foster understanding, empathy and compassion. As all cultures have some kind of music, Ms. Cook believes that music can open doors to acceptance, bring people together, promote multicultural understanding, and unite all of the people of the world. We enrich the quality of our lives when we connect with others, and there is a strong healing bond that is made when people sing or make music together. It is her goal to provide her students with that experience as much as possible! Additionally, Roxanne enjoys studying sound healing and music therapy, hiking, yoga, biology and environmental science, painting, creating and mixing music, writing poetry, reading, and musical theatre.