Renaissance Village Family Learning Center has as its focus the entire family, providing Montessori Nurseries for children and other activities that enhance well being and parenting skills for adults. Our goal is to help create and support happy, secure families. Our mission is to support the parent as the child’s primary teacher.

Renaissance Village is a member of American Montessori Society and licensed by New York City Department of Health.

The founder of Renaissance is Dr. Tatjana Matano, fourth generation educator originally from Eastern Europe. Tatjana has over twenty years of experience in education as University teacher, trainer in whole brain and accelerated learning for adults and as an early childhood educator. In 2001, after the birth of her second child, she started a special, enriched Nursery program in Hudson Heights in Manhattan which evolved into a Montessori center by 2007. As a mother of two children she herself knows the struggles of parenting and the importance of choosing the right educational environment during early years.

Tatjana has assembled a team of devoted teachers and assistants who share her own dedication to the early childhood as the most important period for the fulfillment of one’s potential and who also share her dedication to parenting community as a whole. The Education Director and Head Teacher of Renaissance Village is Ms. Jean Caswell, a veteran of Montessori teaching with over 35 yrs of experience. Ms. Olga Schmukler is her partner, an early childhood educator with outstanding talents in the areas of Music and Art and with over 20 yrs of experience in the classroom. She combines Russian Music pedagogy with Montessori principles . Our program has two more teachers and two assistants who make sure the Montessori philosophy of respect and trust in the child is present throughout the day and beyond the class time.

Dr. Matano and Ms. Caswell are dedicated to continuous and thorough training of the entire staff in the principles of Montessori work. They also offer parenting workshops and have developed a nine month program (sept-june) for families entitled “The Joyful Family” which elaborates on all the aspects of family life through the lens of Montessori approach. In addition, the Assistants are trained in Health and Safety, CPR, First Aid, Control of Infectious Disease, Child Abuse Prevention and Food Protection.