Dianna Whitney – Assistant Director

“Hello! I’m Dianna Whitney! I am originally from Jacksonville, Florida but moved from there at the age of 25 to work on a flower farm in Virginia. My love of farming flowers led me to the beautiful mountains of Asheville where I continued to work on flower farms. I first learned of Asheville Montessori School through the owners of a family farm I lived and worked on in Sandy Mush, NC. After having observed their daughters using methods of conflict resolution that I had never witnessed children using, I was compelled to find out more! I had not heard of the Montessori method up until that point and Maria Montessori’s teaching have resonated with me ever since. After getting married and then working on a farm in Maine, my husband and I settled in Swannanoa with our cat and dog and all the flowers I can grow. I began my time at AMS at the beginning of the 2016/2017 school year. My position here is one that has brought enormous amounts of joy and constant learning to my life. One of my very favorite things about this work is having the opportunity to be a safe and respectful ally for the children we teach. I am honored to be able to actively take part in their early learnings of peace, consent and being able to participate in making their first experiences with school a positive and empowering one!”