Our Team

Primary Directress

Rebecca Pope

Rebecca comes to BAMH with over ten years of teaching experience in the Montessori Primary environment.  Her first taste of the Montessori teaching philosophy came when she was a high school student at Clear Lake HS.  She participated in a work-study collaborative program with the high school and a local Montessori school.  That is where she met and worked with our fabulous Ms. Arrowood.

   After graduating from college with a degree in human nutrition and psychology, she decided to pursue working with her first love of children and Montessori.  “You got to do what you love!”  Rebecca loves animals and shares that love with the children. Many of her animal friends join the children in the classroom.  When asked about what she likes best about Montessori she talks about the children’s desire to learn and that amazement and awe moment when a child is constructing himself.

Elementary Directress & Head of School

Melinda Nielsen

Melinda Nielsen holds both an AMI Primary and Elementary diploma, the latter from the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee. She also holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University in biology/chemistry.

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Melinda has over 40 years of classroom experience at both the primary and elementary levels. She is the administrator and currently teaches a 6-12 elementary class at Bay Area Montessori House in Houston, Texas -a school, which she and her family founded. Melinda is very active in the AMI Montessori community working with the MES Fund, visiting schools as an AMI Consultant and coordinating Refresher Courses. She served on the AMI/USA Board of Directors and most recently as the Chair of the AMI-EAA (Elementary Alumni Association). As a practitioner, Melinda strongly believes in Dr. Montessori's plan for the elementary child of Cosmic Education. She has fostered an extensive "Going Out" program along with integrating all subjects, including the arts into the classroom. In her spare time Melinda enjoys all kinds of fiber arts, reading, visiting art museums, ringing hand bells, archaeology and exploring new environments with her students.

Adolescent Directress

Alyssa Nielsen

Having grown up in a Montessori environment, I developed a deep appreciation for this approach to education and the impact it has on the whole child. I earned my BFA in Cinematography from Stephen F. Austin State University and later completed my Montessori training at Hershey Montessori School. In 2013, I began teaching adolescents (7th & 8th grade) with a desire to give back to the kind of learning community that shaped me.

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I am passionate about creating a safe, supportive space where preteens and teens feel comfortable being themselves—where they can explore who they are, build confidence, and engage meaningfully with the world around them.

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Outside the classroom, I enjoy art, knitting, and photography, and I love sharing these creative outlets with my students I also have a deep love for animals, especially herps (reptiles and amphibians), and enjoy bringing that interest into the classroom.