Our Founders
Barbara Sheaffer – Directress, Owner
Barbara has been a kindergarten teacher and directress / owner of Medford Montessori School for 40 years. She received her BA from Southern Oregon University and obtained a Reading Endorsement on her Oregon Teaching Credential. Barbara loves working with the children in her class and their families. She loves the bubbly energy of kindergarten students as they keep her feeling young and refreshed. She feels fortunate that she gets to come to a place each day doing what she loves.
Scott Sheaffer – Director, Owner
After serving in the U.S. Naval Air, I attended Arizona State University graduating with a degree in education. My wife Barbara and I decided to brave the harsh winters of Vermont and moved to Westfield, a very small village near the Canadian border. I was employed with the Orleans School District and taught 4th grade for two years.
We loved the area, but after our daughter was born we moved to California where both sets of parents lived. I secured a teaching position with the Trinity County School District, teaching K-8th grade in the mountainous community of Zenia.
While there, two important events took place. First, our second child was born at home which was quite an experience. Second, a large farmhouse was purchased and turned into a private high school offering alternative education. During the two years in Zenia, Barbara and I became friends with the teachers at the alternative school and it was at that time we made a decision to look into starting our own private school.
We left Zenia and moved to Eagle Point, where I was took a 6th grade teaching position with the Eagle Point School District. The job was short lived because the Eagle Point School District’s budget failed and all schools were closed. Not waiting for the schools to reopen, I went to work at Rosenbaum Aviation as a structural mechanic at the Medford Airport.
It was during this time that our plans for starting a private school began to take shape. My wife completed her degree in education and we enrolled our daughter at the Medford Montessori School, which was fairly new. My wife volunteered there and learned that the director/directress had decided to move out of the valley but wanted the school to continue operating. With Montessori training, my wife and I took over in 1976.
Our dream became a reality and throughout the forty plus years of teaching at Medford Montessori School, we continue to strive for quality education. Much appreciation goes out to our devoted, caring, loving, and creative teachers who also strive for excellence and have helped make MMS a special educational environment for your children.