Administration

Ms. Tamara

Principal

 

Greetings to you! My name is Ms. Tamara and I am Mission Bay Montessori Academy's principal. It is nice to meet you! It is a pleasure to be a part of our wonderful MBMA community. 

 

To give you a little background information about me, I am originally from Washington D.C., and have spent over 28 years in both the private and public sectors of education. Working with children as a teen all the way through adulthood, I followed my passion of helping children reach their academic goals while fostering individual growth and development.  
 
After completing my undergraduate and graduate degree in education in Boston, I worked as a lead teacher at a Montessori center, an inclusion specialist, a teacher for 4th grade, and a math enrichment teacher for 1st through 5th grade. In addition, I served as an active member for the local Teachers' Union, as well as a mentor to Student Teachers at a local university. After obtaining my school administration certificate from Johns Hopkins, I was fortunate to do my principal internship in Montgomery County. 

 

Here in San Diego, I taught English as a Second Language to students (ranging in age from 14 to 90)  from all over the world. As my passion for diversity was nurtured, I transitioned further into school administration and then my journey continued to Mission Bay Montessori Academy. It is my goal to bring my years of experience both as an instructor and as an administrator to enhance your child's learning experience while maintaining both the academic integrity and legacy of MBMA.  
 
I look forward to working with you and learning about your child's individual needs

Ms. Andrea

Children's House Director   

 

Hello everyone!  My name is Andrea Suckau and I recently joined Mission Bay Montessori Academy in July 2022.  I received my BA degree in Organizational Management in 2013 from Ashford University and hold a Program Director permit through the California Department of Education.

 

I have extensive experience in various childcare roles- both as an administrator and as a preschool teacher. Additionally, I have also managed and implemented the standards and requirements for Title 5 and Title 22. In all roles, I have enjoyed helping families, students, and teachers.

 

As the Children’s House Director, I am most excited about getting to know our families, maintaining licensing compliance with health and safety standards, and supporting MBMA teachers.

 

In my free time, I enjoy indoor and outdoor cycling, hiking, and scrapbooking. I am originally from Temecula, California, and have been in the San Diego area since 2006.

Ms. Catherine

Administrative Assistant 

 

My name is Catherine Jewell.  I am the Administrative Assistant at Mission Bay Montessori Academy.

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I was born and raised in Sunnyvale in Northern California and am the youngest of three girls.  I come from a family of educators, so it seemed logical that I too, would go into education. I spent my high school and college years working in preschools. I graduated from UCSD in 1987 with a BA in Psychology and my California Teaching Credential.

 

In 1989, I joined MBMA as a teacher in a 2nd & 3rd grade classroom, where I taught for 5 years.  During my five years of teaching, I met my husband, Steve, right here on the MBMA campus. Steve takes care of the landscaping and his son, Jeremy, was at MBMA in 5th grade when I joined the staff. We married in 1992 and I completed my fifth year of teaching while pregnant with our daughter, Rebecca.  I left the classroom in 1994, choosing to work part-time while raising our family. Our son, Randy, was born in 1997.  

 

In the fall of 2000, after a few part-time administrative jobs, I returned to MBMA to work part-time in the office to assist with registration materials and provide general office support.  Over the past 20 years, my position has transformed to full-time and now includes accounting, registration, immunizations, whole school communications, and much more.

 

I feel so blessed to be a part of the MBMA community. I have raised my children here, with all three attending Children’s House and completing the 6th grade program.  I started working at MBMA to simplify life, allowing me to have the same schedule as our children. It turned into so much more, including a marvelous foundation for our children and an amazing family-like support group through the staff and families alike. I am so honored to be a part of this amazing school.