Meet the Teams

Rabia Shehzad is a MACTE (AMI/AMS) certified Montessori Teacher with eight years of experience in teaching early childhood. She has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a Nooraniyah certification. Over these eight years, she has also worked as a Primary Montessori co-lead teacher, a Quran and Islamic studies subject teacher, and an Assistant Teacher. She is currently a Primary Montessori Lead Teacher and Montessori Program Coordinator at ILM Academy.

Before becoming a part of the faculty at ILM Academy, Rabia was actively volunteering at ILM PTO. Rabia is passionate about education and implementing the Montessori philosophy in the classroom and is committed to creating classroom environments that encourage students to develop a love of learning.
Rabia has worked with students with special learning needs, gifted students, and students with behavioral issues.

Masha-ALLAH, Rabia is married and has two wonderful boys, fifteen and twelve. Her older son is a high school student at ILM Academy, and her younger son is in middle school. She spends quality time with her family and enjoys discovering new places. She enjoys sports, designing her abayas, crafting, gardening, and organizing if her schedule allows.

My name is Tasleem Ayalew, and I am the co-lead teacher for Bambinos Montessori at ILM Academy. I have a high school diploma and have worked at ILM for three years and counting. During my experience in the Montessori program at ILM, I gained new knowledge about the Montessori concept and am inspired to study it. Also, this job has taught me methods of helping kids I was unaware of before. At home, I enjoy planting flowers, caring for them, and spending time with my family. I have three kids who attend ILM Academy; we all love ILM and are so happy to be here, Alhamdulillah.

My name is Melanie Al-Thanon. I’m a dedicated and compassionate educator, mother of three, and grandmother to five grandchildren, with 19+ years’ experience teaching students various skills and capabilities, leading classes with care and creativity while providing young students with a friendly and safe classroom environment in early childhood education. Most of my teaching experience was gained in Saudi Arabia, where I resided for several years, ranging from nursery school, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade. I joined the Montessori program 2+ years ago as the lead teacher for the Bambinos Toddler Program and, during this time, attained my Montessori Teacher Certification through MACTE (Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education). My lifelong mission is to work hard to help children learn and grow to reach their full potential.

My name is Saffa Abdelmaged. I have been a teacher at ILM for seven years. I teach Arabic, Quran & Qaida Nooraniah in primary and elementary Montessori. I am certified in Qaida Nooraniah from Mohammed Furqan Alraai in Saudi Arabia. I also received my certification as a Positive Discipline Parent Educator, Positive Discipline Classroom Educator, and Positive Discipline Early Childhood Educator (PDA). I completed Montessori Arabic in Egypt.

Masha-ALLAH, I have three young boys and a daughter.

My name is Esti Wibawati, and I am the teacher's assistant for elementary Montessori. I have been with ILM Academy since 2022. Before I joined ILM Academy, I worked as a school admin (2006-2008) Since 2008, I have been teaching Montessori for early childhood in several Montessori schools in my home country, Indonesia (2008-2015). I moved to the US in 2016 and started working in 2022 at ILM Academy.

Over the years, I received several Montessori training and have been actively teaching since 2008. I love and enjoy working with kids. I enjoy making illustrations and painting in my free time.