Amanda Swiger

Amanda is the director and lead educator for the Montessori Internationale School [MIS].  She

has a Master’s Degree in Education from Loyola University in Maryland and her AMI certified

Primary Montessori Diploma from the Montessori Institute of Atlanta, now known as the

International Montessori Training Institute.  AMI, Association Montessori International, is the

international authority on Montessori Education.  AMI trained teachers undergo rigorous

training and examinations to meet the standards of this organization, and teachers attend

regular training and workshops to maintain a connection with AMI and its expectations for

Montessori education. 

 

Amanda has worked with children in the primary age group for over 15 years. She is a

dedicated and talented educator with a desire to improve our world through the best possible

education for young children.

Shirin Boghani

Shirin is an AMI certified Montessori teacher and has been with MIS since 2012.  Shirin has a

Bachelor’s of Commerce degree from Shadan College, Osmania University, India.  She received

her AMI certified Primary Montessori Diploma from the Montessori Training Research Centre in

Hyderabad, India.  Since her training, she has worked as a Montessori teacher in both India and

the U.S. and offers her rich experience to the children and the classroom as a whole. 

 

Shirin is a dedicated teacher and an active part of our local community, and she gets great

satisfaction from watching the children grow and succeed throughout their classroom

experience and beyond.  The success of the children is the greatest mark of success for a

teacher.

Kim Bradbury

Kim has been with MIS since 2007.  She has her Bachelor’s Degree in Human Ecology, with a

focus in early childhood through adulthood and aging, from the University of Tennessee,

Knoxville.  Kim previously worked as a Case Manager for the Knox County Community Services

Agency where she gained much experience working with the Knox County School system. 

 

Kim offers a unique perspective to Montessori education because, both of Kim’s children

attended MIS when they were young. This gives her a clear understanding of the parent

community as well as creating a love for the school that transferred to her involvement as a

teacher. Kim loves the young child’s eagerness to learn and watching them take pride in their

accomplishments.

Cheryl Puryear

Cheryl has been with MIS since 2008.  She has her Master’s degree in Special Education from

the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the

University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.  Cheryl is in constant acquisition of new training,

knowledge, and skills, and has over 35 years of teaching experience at various schools in

Knoxville and the surrounding areas.  She has taught a variety of age groups in both the public

and private sector, and continues to work with the surrounding area schools as a substitute in

Special Education classrooms.  

 

Through her years of teaching, Cheryl came to really love working with preschool aged

children.  She appreciates the child’s limitless ability to learn at this young age and seeks to

provide children with accurate and interesting information about whatever topic is of interest

to them.  Cheryl offers her wealth of experience and love of learning to each student and the

school community as a whole.

Janice Mitchell

Janice first joined MIS in 1997.  Janice has a Bachelor’s of Music from Auburn University, AL and

further studies at the Universities of Illinois, Iowa, and Tennessee.  She has many years of

teaching experience in public and private schools as well as church choirs, musical theater, and

private lessons in vocal production, piano literature, and brass instruments. 

 

Janice loves watching the “Aha!” moment when a three-year old moves like a tree in the breeze

to music, or a four-year old feels the “eternal” rhythm of his heartbeat, or the five-year old

learns all the lyrics plus motions to a new song.  Along with teaching, Janice plays French horn

in two orchestras and two concert bands, and plays organ and piano as well as directing an

adult choir and hand bell choir in Rockwood.  She is active in the Knoxville community in

representation of the arts and the revitalization of downtown Knoxville.