Meet our Director

Ms. Monica Gargiulo-Benitez is a passionate and visionary teacher whose dedication to Montessori education spans more than three decades. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, as well as Infant & Toddlers and Early Childhood teacher certifications from the American Montessori Society.

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In 2002, she founded Montessori Academy of Broward (MAB), a thriving private school in Pembroke Pines, Florida, serving children from infancy through 8th grade. Two years later, in 2004, she established Montessori Academy Training Institute (MATI), an AMS-affiliated and MACTE-accredited teacher education center that offers Infant & Toddler and Early Childhood certification programs in both English and Spanish.

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Monica is the co-founder of “AMS en Español,” an international interest group sponsored by the American Montessori Society to support and connect Spanish-speaking Montessorians around the world. She is also a founding board member of the Montessori Florida Coalition, a statewide organization committed to unifying and elevating Montessori practices across Florida. Her leadership extends into the broader education community through her service with the Association of Independent Schools of Florida (AISF), where she has served as an Early Childhood Commissioner and actively participates in accreditation teams evaluating schools across the state.