Jackie Phillips – Director and Primary Teacher

Ms. Jackie is the founder, head-of-school, and primary teacher at Sandpiper Montessori.  She has 20+ years of Montessori teaching experience.   She is American Montessori Society certified for children ages 2.5 – 7 years old and holds a BS in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University.

Ms. Leanne Venema – Assistant Director 

Ms. Leanne has been working with Ms. Jackie at Sandpiper Montessori since 2017 and has lived in Virginia Beach since 2014. She has 2 daughters who have graduated college and moved away from the area. She has been married to her husband for 30 years and in a previous life was a US Navy military spouse. She was born in New Zealand and all her family still live there. She loves to read, travel, go to the beach, and walk in her spare time.

Ms. Michelle Fisher – Lead Teacher

Ms. Michelle joined Sandpiper in 2021. She has been a Montessori teacher for over 20 years. She has a son and a daughter attending colleges in Virginia. She has a little dog called Charlie who loves treats. A Virginia native, in her spare time she enjoys going to the beach, traveling and being outside.

Ms. Debra Slater – Assistant Teacher

Ms. Debra has been at Sandpiper Montessori since 2021. She holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia and a law degree from Florida Coastal. Prior to becoming an educator, she worked in the Legal and Compliance Department of a Fortune 500 company. Originally from Richmond, Ms. Debra has lived in Virginia Beach for over 10 years. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, swimming, and traveling with her husband and twin boys.

Ms. Zoe Doney – Assistant Teacher

Ms. Zoe is from England. She has lived in America for just over a year as her husband is posted to NATO with the Royal Air Force. They have 2 children-Jake (17) and Poppy (13) who both go to boarding school in England but fly over every 6 weeks for school vacation. They also have 2 border collies, Sam and Frankie, who love the beach! She has worked in British schools all over the world for the past 7 years.

Ms. Kelly Basnight – General Assistant and Substitute

Ms. Kelly has been with Sandpiper since 2018, when she began volunteering as the Parent Voice Lead. Over the years, she has transitioned into the school’s General Assistant/Substitute teacher position.  She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from George Mason University. Ms. Kelly also has more than 10 years of Project Management experience in the Organizational Development space.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, two daughters, and labradoodle.

Ms. Reina Nevius – Substitute Teacher

Ms. Julie Wysocki – Substitute Teacher