Mrs. Alvarez teaches our youngest students in the Early Montessori program. Mrs. Alvarez also teaches a “Manners Class” to 8th Grade. She graduated from the Instituto Claret in Guadalajara, Mexico and also holds a Certificate in Child Development from De Anza Community College. She joined Canyon Heights Academy in 2009.
Ms. Blackard is the Resource Teacher for all grades at Canyon Heights Academy. She received a MS in Education from Cairn University. She also holds a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from Harding University and a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Adelphi University. She has over 15 years experience teaching in elementary and middle school grades. Combined with her training and experience as a school social worker, she provides a diversity of enrichment and support to her students. Her goal is to help all students become their best selves.
Ms. Carminati joined Canyon Heights Academy in 2006. She has held several positions including Office Manager and Director of Admissions and will now be joining the Early Montessori program as a teacher. She holds a B.A. in Kinesiology from UCLA and earned a Master of Physical Therapy degree at Chapman College/Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. After working in the physical therapy field for many years, she moved into the area of education. After working in rehabilitation and acute settings, she moved back to the Bay Area. In addition, Ms. Carminati assists with our students in the Atrium.
Ms. D’Silva joined Canyon Heights in 2018 as a substitute teacher. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studying both Communication and Political Science with a research focus on Media Effects and Extremism. She previously taught both Freshman Seminar classes and Public Speaking to university students at Illinois for two years.
Mrs. Fisher joined Canyon Heights Academy as a co-teacher in Preschool and then became the Kindergarten teacher as well as the Extended Day Care teacher. This is her 12th year as Kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Fisher received a BS from the University of California Santa Cruz and holds a Montessori teaching credential.
Ms. Fox joined the Canyon Heights community as the Early Montessori Teacher in April 2017. She graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio with a Bachelors of Science degree in Early Childhood Education and completed her AMI Toddler Montessori education degree in 2017 from the Montessori Training Center of St. Louis. Prior to teaching at Canyon Heights, she worked for almost two years as a preschool assistant teacher at a Catholic Montessori school in Washington, D.C. She has lived all of her life on the East Coast, and is happy to be in beautiful San Jose while working at such a great Catholic school!
Ms. Hamm has taught high school Chemistry and Honors Chemistry at a private high school before joining CHA in 2016. She has also served as a Campus Ministry Associate and an Extended Care teacher. Currently, Ms. Hamm teaches science to students in grades 6-8 and she provides enrichment in science to students in grades 1-5. She has studied Health Science at Saint Mary’s College of California and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. She has also studied Education at the University of San Francisco and has earned a Master of Arts in Teaching.