School History Montessori Academy was established by a group of parents and staff of Villa Montessori in Scottsdale. When Villa decided in January of 2002 to consolidate their campuses, parents and administration met to consider their options. It was clear that a new charter must be sought. Lead by Juli Newman and Krista Cross, Montessori Academy’s charter was applied for on February 28th 2002. The charter was unanimously approved, without incident, on June 10th, 2002. Juli Newman and Krista Cross signed the charter on June 17th 2002. The first day of school was August 19th, 2002. The Chinese symbol for good fortune was chosen as the AZMA logo. It is an adaptation of the Chinese Five Fortunes Surrounding Longevity symbol. These five good fortunes are: Health, Wealth, Longevity, Love, and Virtue. Founders Juli Newman Juli Newman is the Executive Director and Principal, of Montessori Academy. Montessori Academy has two entities: Montessori Academy, Inc. is a K-8 public charter school and MA Management is a private school for toddlers, 3 and 4 year olds and manages the before and after-school program, Carpe Diem. Juli has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Utah and a Masters of Arts in Education – Supervision and Administration from the University of Phoenix. Her Doctoral program begins in January of 2008. In addition, she has attended over 20 trainings ranging from, Special Education Law to Leadership in Technology. She has also attended the Center for Montessori Teacher Education and holds a certification in Montessori School Administration. She is proud of the environment Montessori Academy has created for our students and the dedication to Excellence that is abundant. She is also proud of our student’s outstanding results on the Terra Nova and AIMS tests. Montessori Academy students have earned some of the highest scores in the state of Arizona. We are a highly performing charter school. On a personal note, she is the proud mother of two Montessori educated children, ages 13 and 17. Her daughter attends our Middle School and her son attends Webb, a boarding preparatory school in California, and (a family tradition). She is originally from Manhattan Beach, California. Widowed at age 37, she devotes her time and energy to make a difference in the world and focuses on creating an atmosphere where children can learn and grow both academically and socially. She is dedicated to her children (both biological and those that attend Montessori Academy), to excellence, and to following the needs of every child. Krista Cross Krista is the Educational Director of Montessori Academy. She graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She began her teaching career as an assistant in an Early Education classroom and steadily began coursework in the Foundations Level of the Montessori curriculum out of St. Nicholas in England and then continued to complete coursework for both Elementary I and Elementary II through the Center for Montessori Teacher Education—Phoenix. She has an extensive background in language and literature in education which includes Project Read training, Resiliency through Reading, and emphasis work in childhood language development. In 2000, Krista’s exemplary teaching abilities were recognized when she was a recipient of the prestigious Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. Currently she is working on her Master’s Degree in Curriculum Development at Ottawa University.