Elizabeth Petruccelli

Head of School

28 Years (13 Years at MCSH)

• B.A., Education, Pennsylvania State University
• M.S., Dual Degree in Curriculum and Instruction 
• Primary Montessori Education (3-6), Infant-3 Montessori Education, American Montessori Institute (Note: This is the Montessori Organization founded by Maria Montessori)

As the Head of School, Elizabeth is a leader in the Pittsburgh Montessori and preschool teaching community. Her professional experience includes Educational Director and consultant at The Glen Montessori School in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. She has also taught at Mount Lebanon Montessori and was a consultant for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Montessori school program. In 2007, Elizabeth joined The Montessori Children’s Schoolhouse team. 

As our school leader, Elizabeth continuously cultivates an environment of joy and discovery. She is committed to ensuring that our school environment is child-centered, warm, collaborative, self-directed, and dynamic. Her goal is for children to complete their preschool years as embodiments of Maria Montessori’s description of great scholars: “To produce great scholars will be useless unless they are also integrated, committed, respecting, loving and caring human beings.” 

Elizabeth embodies the notion of global citizen. As a college student, she traveled the world with The Semester at Sea program and she is also a alumna of Outward Bound. As an adult, travel and learning about other cultures and community service has continued to form her notion of what it means to be an educational administrator and teacher. Elizabeth grew up in Mt. Lebanon and after living in Denver and Cleveland, she returned to raise her family. She has three children; Michael 21, C.J. 19, and Sommer, 17. She is an avid practitioner of Pilates and yoga and she also enjoys gardening, skiing, and Pittsburgh’s cultural art scene.