Monocacy Valley Montessori Public Charter School (MVMPCS) is managed by Monocacy Montessori Communities Inc., (MMCI) and is governed by a Governing Council, consisting of parents, the principal, staff representatives, and members of the Frederick community. Details on these governing bodies can be found below.

What is MMCI?

MMCI is a local, volunteer-driven, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages two Frederick County public Montessori charter schools – Carroll Creek Montessori (CCM), opened in fall 2012, and Monocacy Valley Montessori (MVM), opened in fall 2002. 

MMCI is the legal entity which originated the application and holds the school's charter (or contract) with the Frederick County Board of Education and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the charter agreement and negotiating any necessary changes or amendments to the charter. It also runs and funds all support programs that serve our school community such as before and after care, after school enrichment, and summer camps. MMCI is the leaseholder for our current building and holds the responsibility of securing our new location.

MMCI’s schools are open to all children that live in Frederick County and begin with Pre-K at age 3. All members of both the MVM and CCM communities—parents, staff, founders whose children are not yet school age—are automatically members of  MMCI. The nonprofit is governed by a Board of Trustees (BOT), elected annually from the membership. The BOT is responsible for setting the mission and strategic direction of the organization with oversight of the organization’s finances, operations, and overarching policies.

What is the Governing Council?

The Governing Council is a standing committee of the Board of Trustees and serves as the policy making body for MVMPCS. The Governing Council also serves as our School Improvement Team (SIT), required by the FCPS charter school policy, This independence is a result of our status as a charter school and allows us to develop policies necessary to realize the goals of our school’s charter and meet the needs of our families. This is a truly unique opportunity within the public school system.

The parent positions on the GC are filled by parents or guardians of current MVMPCS students. Elections for these positions are held every fall as current members’ two year terms expire in rotation. Staff elects their own representatives. GC meetings are open to all parents and staff; minutes are published on our Google groups School News Forum.

Much of the work of the GC and MMCI is carried out by parents and teachers working on a large number of committees—library, volunteer, building & grounds, strategic planning, staffing, community outreach/hospitality, communications and fundraising. Parents, faculty and staff are urged to join a committee and help in the development and continuing operation of the school. Parental involvement is critical to the success of the school.

MVMPCS School Leadership

2024-2025 MVMPCS Governing Council Member Contact List

GC Chair/ Parent Representative
Bob Weiland
gcchair@mvmpcs.org
Elected 2nd Term | End date: Dec. 31, 2025

Principal
Amy Dorman
gcprincipal@mvmpcs.org
Permanent Member

Parent Representatives
[Vacant]
parentrep1@mvmpcs.org 
Appointed 1st Term| End date: Dec. 31, 2024

Staff Representative
Darlene Overholtzer
staffrep1@mvmpcs.org 
Elected 2nd Term | End date: Summer 2025 

Parent Rep./ GS Secretary (acting)
Caitlin Benisek 
parentrep2@mvmpcs.org
gcsecretary@mvmpcs.org
Elected 1st Term | End date: Dec. 31, 2024

Staff Representative
Sharite Espinoza
staffrep2@mvmpcs.org
Elected 1st Term | End date: Summer 2026

Parent Representative
Kaitlyn Wheeler
parentrep3@mvmpcs.org
Appointed | End date: Dec. 31, 2024

Staff Representative
Brandon Sowers
staffrep3@mvmpcs.org
Elected 1st Term | End date: Summer 2025

Parent Representative 
Lauri Palmer
parentrep4@mvmpcs.org
Appointed 1st Term | End date: Dec. 31, 2025

Friend of Education
Zoe Alexandratos
friendofed1@mvmpcs.org
Appointed | End date: Dec. 31, 2024

Parent Representative 
Jason Lininger
parentrep5@mvmpcs.org 
Elected 1st Term | End date: Dec. 31, 2025

Friend of Education
Dani Hawkins
friendofed2@mvmpcs.org
Term | End date: Dec. 31, 2025

BOT MVM VP
[Vacant]
vp-mvm@mmci.md.org
Elected 1st Term | End Date: June 30, 2025

Friend of Education
[Vacant]friendofed3@mvmpcs.org
End Date: Dec. 31, 2025

 

2024-2025 MMCI Board of Trustees
Member Contact List

 
Name Title Email End of Term
[Vacant] President president@mmcimd.org 6/30/2025
[Vacant] Vice President for MVMPCS vp-mvm@mmcimd.org 6/30/2026
[Vacant] Vice President for CCMPCS vp-ccm@mmcimd.org 6/30/2026
Jan Francis Secretary secretary@mmcimd.org 6/30/2025
Shreenidhi Prabhakaran  Treasurer treasurer@mmcimd.org 6/30/2026
Meggan Sombat Assistant Treasurer assistanttreasurer@mmcimd.org 6/30/2025
Adawndria Sanni Parent Trustee, MVMPCS mvmpt1@mmcimd.org 12/31/2025
Jessica Lawrence Wujek Parent Trustee, MVMPCS mvmpt2@mmcimd.org 12/31/2024
Stephanie Budnicki Parent Trustee, MVMPCS mvmpt3@mmcimd.org 12/31/2025
Louisa Diggs Parent Trustee, CCMPCS ccmpt1@mmcimd.org 12/31/2025
Jennifer Mayo Parent Trustee, CCMPCS ccmpt2@mmcimd.org 12/31/2025
Paul Gouge Parent Trustee, CCMPCS ccmpt3@mmcimd.org 12/31/2024
Kathleen Lutrell Friend of Education klutrell@mmcimd.org 12/31/2025
Cynthia Florez Friend of Education Cflorez@mmcimd.org 12/31/2024
Bob Weiland MVMPCS GC Chair (Non-voting) gcchair@mvmpcs.org 12/31/2025
Nikki Burgee CCMPCS GC Chair (Non-voting) gcchair@carrollcreekmontessori.org 12/31/2025