Sunnybrook Montessori School

Montessori preschool & kindergarten in New Hampshire's North Country

Meet the Teachers

CENTER DIRECTOR & TEACHER – Emily Short


Emily brings 15 years of childcare experience, six years spent in the classroom, countless hours working with children with intellectual disabilities, and numerous years leading early education centers.

Born and raised in the small town of Spring Church, Pennsylvania, Emily was always actively involved in community programs. Her days were spent volunteering at the food bank, coaching two local peewee
cheerleading teams, and babysitting on the weekends. Community involvement and working with children have always been passions of hers.

Her time in college was spent focused on Psychology with a concentration on child development. Throughout college, she spent time volunteering at the YMCA teaching youth sports and being a full-time child caregiver in the summer months.

As a mother herself, to two amazing children, she is still driven to learn and educate. She finds that silly songs about letters, numbers, farm animals, and meatballs never get old. To her, there is no better feeling than to help a child connect with their inherent joy and confidence in their day-to-day activities. In addition to silly songs, her dedication to staying up to date on NAEYC standards, licensing standards, and developmentally appropriate curriculum building is extremely important. Her goal is always to provide a space where children’s imagination comes to life, where they can ask questions, discover, and dream big.

“For a small child there is no division between playing and learning; between the things he or she does ‘just for fun’ and things that are ‘educational.’ The child learns while living and any part of living that is enjoyable is also play.” ~ Penelope Leach

TEACHER – Michelle Broughton

Michelle Broughton

Michelle moved to Lancaster from central New Hampshire in 2017 with her family. Together, they enjoy spending time outdoors exploring the local hiking trails, lakes, and rivers. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, biking on the rail trail, and cross-country skiing. Michelle earned a certificate in Early Childhood Education from NHTI in 2016. She has a background in the restaurant and food service industry and has also worked as a private childcare provider for families in their homes. She is excited to be a member of the classroom at Sunnybrook!

TEACHER – Eileen Williams

While completing her training at New England Montessori Teacher Education Center, Eileen began her career at Walnut Park Montessori School in Newton, MA.  After completing a yearlong internship with a Kindergarten class, she co-taught in a 3-6yr classroom the following year. 

The warm sun and a love of music brought Eileen south to Athens, GA where she taught as lead teacher for 3 years at another Montessori school called Waseca Learning Environment. 

She went on to spend a few years operating a Montessori home daycare before deciding to move back north to be closer to family. 

After taking a break from teaching to work as a professional nanny in the Boston area, Eileen discovered another alternative teaching method and spent a year as a team teacher in an infant classroom at Peabody Terrace Children’s Center, which is a Reggio Emilia-inspired school in Cambridge, MA.

Eileen brings a unique perspective to the classroom that combines both Montessori and Reggio-Emilia philosophies.

ASL TEACHER- Rose Polland

Rose has been a dedicated Sunnybrook Volunteer who has spent her career educating the hearing impaired.

MUSIC TEACHER- Cindy Gay

Cindy Gay has been a resident of Lancaster, NH for the past eight years. Originally
from Connecticut, Cindy came to the North Country to enjoy the many outdoor
recreational activities the area has to offer. The decision to move up here came
out of a desire to live sustainability and after a long search in 2015 she and her
husband decided to call Lancaster their home. Prior to her pursuit in agriculture,
Cindy had been involved in many music pursuits. Cindy has been a certified K-12
music educator, choral director, vocal coach and soloist for most of her career.
Her work experience spans all ages and genres of music. Cindy was introduced to
early childhood music through the Hartt School of Music during her last teaching
experience and she is looking forward to singing, dancing and playing music for all
to enjoy.