Our Roots
wBees' journey began as a parent-run cooperative located in Williamburg in 2013. Parents acted as teacher assistants and our classrooms consisted of living rooms and church basements. We then evolved solely as an outdoor learning school using Brooklyn's local parks and community gardens as our classrooms. For the next few years, we operated co-working classes where parents were on-site while children learned in a Montessori-inspired classroom next door.
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In 2018, we opened our beautiful sister school, wBees Forest School, located in the vibrant neighborhood of Ridgewood / Bushwick. We are beyond excited to make wBees Montessori our next forever home at Brooklyn Bridge Park!
Our Founder -
Lanny Cheuck
Lanny has always been passionate about investigating how children demonstrate their learning and how they reflect on their own growth. She taught for the NYC DOE for 8 years and held other roles such as Literacy Coach, Department Chair, and a member of the Principal's Cabinet. After moving to San Francisco, she worked in a charter school for 3 years and became immersed in project-based learning and portfolio assessment as alternative methods of measuring success to testing.
After returning to NYC and becoming a mother, Lanny began working as an education consultant to principals and lead teachers. She taught school leaders how to integrate portfolios into a graduation requirement for the 20 lowest performing high schools in Detroit, Michigan. This work led to transformative results in those schools.
With the birth of her two young daughters, Maddie and Willa, Lanny became very interested in creating high-quality preschool programs that are part-time and flexible for families living in North Brooklyn. The need for such a program and a love for green spaces and nature were the catalyst for wBees.
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Lanny is an active member of AMS and is part of the 2019 cohort of Montessori leaders in the "Administrator Montessori Certification" Program at Westside Montessori. Opening wBees Forest School in Ridgewood and now wBees Montessori in Brooklyn Heights has been an incredible dream come true for her!