Diane Zink - Heart of Penn-Mont Honoree 2024

Penn-Mont Academy is delighted to announce Diane Zink as the 2024 Gerald P. and Aline D. Wolf “Heart of Penn-Mont” Honoree. Each year in honor of our founders and Montessori leaders, Gerald and Aline Wolf, Penn-Mont recognizes an individual considered a true champion of Penn-Mont and Montessori education by virtue of their leadership, dedication or philanthropic support.

When Diane enrolled her young daughter in the preschool program at Penn-Mont in 1990, she found herself with a lot of time on her hands to volunteer at the school. After a brief stint as a part-time assistant in the Toddler classroom, she fell in love with Montessori and everything it offered to young children. She quickly signed up to spend the summer in NY at the Center for Montessori Teacher Education to get her Infant/Toddler Certification. And for the next 20 years, the name "Miss Diane" became synonymous with the Toddler program at Penn-Mont.

In addition to classroom teaching, Diane continued to work for CMTE on-site for several summers as support staff as well as working as a field consultant for interns across the East coast. She was frequently asked to present workshops at Montessori schools, offering her expert Toddler classroom management and curriculum ideas to new teachers.

In the summer of 1992, she became instrumental in restoring the Elementary Program at Penn-Mont for students. She, along with a core group of parents, colleagues and Board Members, worked tirelessly to extend the excellence in Montessori education to elementary aged students. They secured classroom space, prepared materials, painted or repaired furniture - anything necessary to allow the Montessori Elementary Program to prosper, as dedicated teachers completed their intense Elementary Montessori Certification. Her daughters, Emma and Maggie, both completed their Montessori Elementary education as some of the first graduates of the program.

Beyond the classroom, Diane's experience and expertise in Marketing and fund-raising helped the school during the major Capital Campaign to build the new school in Holliday Hills development . She worked part-time after her mornings in the classroom to coordinate events, draft marketing materials and worked with consultants to make the building that stands today a reality. She continued to provide her talents in communication and marketing when she left the classroom and worked full-time in Administration for several years. Before retiring, she helped to secure the funds to complete the Outdoor School space.

Diane has continued to share her love of Montessori throughout her retirement years, through parent workshops, teacher training and acting as a mentor for new teachers. She is seen frequently at Penn-Mont as she drops off her granddaughter, Tessa, and enjoys watching the second generation of her family experience a Montessori education at Penn-Mont.

Please join us with a gift honoring Diane in support of the Penn-Mont Academy Montessori Professional Development Fund. Your gift will express what words often cannot. This fund supports the professional development of our teachers. Your gift will shape the future of our school and enable students to continue to benefit from a Montessori education; a method that Diane embraced and lived each day. It will also enable Penn-Mont to recruit, train and retain the very best teachers, ensuring an extraordinary Montessori educational experience. On behalf of those whose lives have been enriched through Diane’s commitment to our school, as well as teachers now and in the future who will benefit from your gift to the Montessori Professional Development Fund, THANK YOU!