Lower Elementary Teachers

Ruth Castañeda is from Mexico City. She is a credentialed Elementary Teacher with a B. A. in Special Education in hearing and speech. She has a Master’s degree in Educational Research. She worked as Speech Therapist and as a Special Education teacher for deaf children and young adults. She is an interpreter in Mexican Sign Language. She came to us with 23 years of experience as a Special Education and Elementary teacher in Mexico. She is a certified Elementary Montessori guide ages 6 to 12 and has a diploma as an Educational Therapist. Ruth started working at TRIS in January of 2004.

Welling­ton Franklin Pontes Filho has over 17 years of experience in education. He began his educational career as a middle and high school math teacher. Originally from Fortaleza, Brazil, Wellington holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, a degree in Education with an emphasis in Math from the Universidade Estadual do Ceara, and a degree in Special Education, specializing in the hearing-impaired, from the Universidade Estadual Vale do Acarau in Brazil. Wellington taught elementary through high school students before coming to the U.S. Ever since, he completed the AMI Primary Montessori training in Mountain View, California as well as an AMI Elementary Montessori training program in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Wellington has been working at TRIS since 2005, where he has taught in Primary and Elementary; he is currently teaching in Upper Elementary. During this time, he has trained many teachers in his classroom on classroom management, and how to use and integrate the Montessori philosophy in their lessons.  Wellington has four children at TRIS. He believes that every child should be valued and treated with respect. An education should empower a child and help her or him make a positive contribution to our world. Wellington is thrilled to be working with an international community, dedicated teaching staff, and sharing his passion for math and Montessori education with his students.

Yesenia Cortez is from Mexico where she completed her university studies in Special Education at the Universidad de Colima. She has been teaching elementary age children since 2013. She enjoys reading and personal fitness in her spare time. She joined the TRIS team in the Spring of 2021.