High School Program: Oneness-Family High School (OFHS)
The World
With
Grades 9-12
Oneness-Family Montessori High School empowers adolescents to become the creative and compassionate leaders our world needs. Here, adolescents engage in meaningful community partnerships, run businesses, conduct in-depth research on issues they care about, and contribute to solving real problems in both local and global communities.
Where Purpose Takes Shape
Grounded in Maria Montessori’s vision for adolescence, we recognize that young people don’t need more simulations or test prep, they need opportunities to discover their purpose, develop their capabilities, and experience the profound satisfaction of work that makes a genuine difference. This is education as it should be: human, whole, and transformative.
Explore Our High School ProgramTake A Look Around the High School
Harkness Seminar
The Harkness method is both a conversation and a practice of awareness. Students sit together around a table and guide the discussion themselves—bringing prepared questions, evidence from texts, and their own perspectives.
Throughout the dialogue, one student acts as the discussion tracker, mapping who speaks and how ideas move across the table. They note patterns like balanced participation, follow-up questions, citations, interruptions, and moments of insight. Afterward, the group reviews the visual map to reflect on what worked, what was missed, and how they can improve as a collaborative learning community.
This intentional process aligns naturally with Montessori: independence, shared responsibility, self-reflection, and honoring every voice in the room.
Individualized and Independent Work
Learning at OFHS isn’t about everyone doing the same thing at the same time. Each curriculum cycle begins with shared experiences: seminars, field investigations, and community partnerships that build common understanding. Then students take the lead, developing research questions that genuinely interest them and pursuing projects that matter to their communities.
A student might spend mornings conducting ethnographic research in Kensington, afternoons analyzing policy while volunteering with refugee families, and evenings preparing presentations for community partners. Another might be deep in historical archives while coordinating their spring expedition fundraising. Each student is assigned work that strikes a balance between challenge and support, enabling them to thrive.
Leadership Teams and Community Responsibility
Students organize into leadership teams that manage real aspects of school life—coordinating community meetings, implementing events, overseeing care of the environment, and handling daily operations. Students make actual decisions about resources, conflict resolution, and community adaptation. They learn to delegate, hold each other accountable, navigate disagreements, and celebrate achievements. Each student is part of two leadership teams per trimester, allowing them to explore different ways to serve and organize our school community.
Travel and Excursions
At OFHS, students travel with purpose and preparation, researching deeply and developing genuine questions before departure. Fall and Spring Odyssey trips take students into new environments for service, authentic work, and cultural exchange. Local investigations in neighborhoods like Kensington teach students to observe carefully, ask respectful questions, and see their community with fresh eyes through interviews, documentation, and analysis.
Driven from Within
The environment is designed to support intrinsic motivation—not through gold stars or grades, but through meaningful work, freedom of choice, and personal responsibility. Guides offer support, not pressure, and students learn to take ownership of both successes and challenges.
A Typical Day
Arrival & Morning Social Time
Doors open at 8:30 AM. Students have a chance to socialize in the classrooms, on the benches along the hallway, or at the picnic tables and chairs in our front garden sanctuary space under the trees.
Academic Periods & Morning Gathering
Students begin their day with an academic period. The Morning Gathering then begins after the first period, where students gather around our Harkness Table. Students lead all aspects of the gathering, including the ringing of the singing bowl, a moment of silent reflection, an inspiring poem or quote, morning stretches, the sharing of acknowledgments, and concluding with announcements. The Morning Gathering focuses on the community in a positive way and sets a successful tone.
Academic Flow
On a typical academic day, students engage in both academic classes and work cycles. Class times range from 90-minutes to two hours, and include a class lesson followed by study and independent work time for students to work on follow-up assignments. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students have World Language classes. Art and Music classes take place on Thursdays at the lower school campus.
Advisory and Community
Students meet with their two academic advisors in grade-level groups for Advisory on Thursdays. Advisory check-insoccur on Tuesdays. During this time, students discuss themes relevant to their life at school, including concerns that emerge over time. Every Tuesday the class has a Community Meeting where students lead discussions with the support of school staff. Topics include planning for school activities such as the Spring Trip, student fundraising projects, and potlucks.
Lunch & Clubs
Everyone has lunch at the same time. Students may use this one-hour break to relax and socialize in the classrooms, outside at the picnic tables in the sanctuary garden, and on the grounds. Students may also use this time to dive back into their favorite novel, work on an art project, or get some exercise outside. Clubs are offered during the lunch period.
Physical Education (P.E.)
On Fridays, students have P.E. for the last period of the day. P.E. activities are determined by student interest each cycle and have included rock climbing at a local climbing gym, strength-training and cardio at the YMCA, ultimate frisbee, soccer, and basketball.
End of the Day & Dismissal
When the academic day comes to a close at 4:00 PM, students are responsible for restoring the classroom environment, giving them a sense of ownership around maintaining the beauty of their learning environment. Dismissal runs from 4:00 to 4:15 PM.
On certain days of the week, students may stay later to participate in after-school activities. The Running Club meets after school on Wednesdays. Other after-school time may be used for tutoring and extra academic support.
Your Classroom
Take The Next Step
If you’re interested in learning more, we can arrange for you to visit the school and take a tour
Book a TourMeet Your Teachers
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Andrew Faulstich
Director of Education, Humanities Teacher
Email
andrew.faulstich@onenessfamily.org
Biography
Andrew believes in the potential for education to be transformative and empowering for all students. He developed and led international and U.S. education programs and taught students from 10 different countries. He also experienced the full breadth of public and private educational institutions, working with early childhood through undergraduate, graduate, and adult learners. All of his work is geared toward providing empowering, culturally sustaining, learner-centered, anti-bias, antiracist, and equitable education to students around the world.
Andrew attended a Montessori school himself through Upper Elementary, which is why he returned to the method as a teacher. He opened two Montessori adolescent programs as a founding lead teacher at the middle and high school level. In those roles, Andrew most enjoyed building deep relationships with students, creating a holistic humanities curriculum, and collaborating with adolescent practitioners across the country.
In addition to his work at Oneness, Andrew is the Co-Host of the Breaking the Paradigm podcast and an Affiliate Instructor of Montessori Teacher Education at the graduate level at Loyola University. He holds a Masters in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a Bachelors in Anthropology from the University of Rochester, an AMI Adolescent Diploma, a micro-certification from Embracing Equity, and a certificate from the Phillips Exeter Humanities Institute.
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Jilly Sher
Humanities Teacher
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Biography
Jilly Sher grew up with three sisters in New Jersey. She graduated magna cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa from Bowdoin College with a major in Francophone Studies and a minor in English Education. In 2025, she completed Bowdoin’s intensive teacher-training program as a postgraduate to earn a teaching certificate in secondary English. In 2023-2024, she taught English-speaking classes to college students in France. Professionally and personally, Jilly is drawn to self-expression in all its forms, including language, art, music, and literature. As a Humanities Teacher, she wants to help students find and hone their voices by building in opportunities for them to hear and share stories, especially those that are traditionally marginalized or silenced.
As an undergraduate, Jilly worked at Upward Bound to provide underserved high schoolers with the tools to become first-generation college students. Also at Bowdoin, she worked as a teaching assistant and completed a French independent study on post-colonial discourse and curriculum. Her love of mentorship extends back even further: in high school, she worked for the Girls’ Leadership Institute to help middle-schoolers develop leadership skills and build service-action plans. As a long-term Girl Scout, Jilly earned her Silver and Gold Awards, which focused on sharing the healing benefits of art and nature.
Jilly is passionate about empowering those in her care through shared respect, wonder, and a heaping cup of joy. She is excited to join the Oneness-Family community this year!
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Jarrett Arnold
STEM Teacher & Curriculum Development
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Biography
Jarrett Arnold became a science educator in his thirties after earning his Bachelors in Biology and Masters in Education from the University of Oregon in 2008 and 2009, respectively. He has taught biology, chemistry, physics, art, and theater set design at the University of Oregon, Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, and The Field School and American University in Washington, DC. Prior to his career in education, he received his first degree in drawing and painting from the University of Georgia in 1997.
Originally from Georgia, Jarrett walked the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 1998 and completed two cross-continental bicycle tours. He remains an avid naturalist, hiker, and biker. He is happily married to Jaylene Arnold, a graphic designer, musician, and illustrator, and they have two adult children, Bodhi and Shashi. Jarrett continues to create art and exhibits his work frequently in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
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Alleanna Lawrence
Science & Math Teacher
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Biography
Alleanna believes education is the most important mechanism for social transformation and is passionate about building confidence in science.
After earning a degree in Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on human and population health, she co-created a data science summer program called Berkeley Unboxing Data Science, dedicated to fostering curiosity and analytical skills in high school students.
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Juan Dopico
Spanish Teacher
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Biography
Juan is the son of Argentine immigrants. At an early age, Juan showed a fondness and a passion for languages and teaching. While growing up, Juan learned Spanish at home while learning Latin in school. He received his B.A. at Vanderbilt University (2012), a M.A. at Washington University in St. Louis (2015), and a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University (2023) in Classics. As a result of his education, Juan is both bilingual in Spanish and conversant in Italian. He can also read Latin, Ancient Greek, French, and German.
Juan began his teaching career at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas, Texas, where he taught Latin and Spanish for two years before pursuing his Ph.D. During his time there, Juan formed deep personal connections with students, often coaching and supporting the soccer teams or engaging with them in their hobbies, such as video games or Anime.
Juan also currently teaches undergraduates as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Some of his courses are Roman World, Classical Mythology, and Word Roots. His teaching style can be described as flexible, tailoring to the needs of his students while integrating activities that reinforce the ideas taught in class.
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Raya Salman
French Teacher
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Biography
After graduating with a degree in Art from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, Raya moved to Paris, France, where she lived and earned a degree in Art and French Literature from the Université de La Sorbonne.
Raya taught Art and French, first in the United Kingdom for ten years and then in the United States. She is passionate about her students and uses an innovative teaching approach to keep them engaged.
When she is not teaching, Raya is a professional artist and is the author and illustrator of the children’s book, “Joey the Leopard/ Have You Seen My Spots?” Her hobbies include painting, cooking, swimming, and Martial Arts. She is a fifth-degree Black Belt Master in Tae Kwon Do and practices regularly.
Her mission in life: Be happy and make a difference in people’s lives!
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Debbie Kahn
American Sign Language (ASL) Teacher
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Biography
Debbie’s career journey is like a winding road trip through diverse landscapes. She began as a computer programmer in a bank but shifted gears to become a Montessori teacher and later the Associate Director at the Oneness-Family School (1992-2009). She then took a sharp turn and ventured off-road to travel to Niger with the nonprofit Amman Imman: Water is Life as the Associate Director, where she inspired students to assist indigenous populations affected by climate change, desertification, and water scarcity.
In addition to her professional pursuits, Debbie has also acquired fluency in sign language through her journey. She learned sign language from her deaf housemate and quickly became her interpreter at local events. As a teacher at Oneness, she taught sign language to students and engaged them in fun performances at festivals and in-house events. Now, over a decade after “graduating” Oneness, she’s back on the road, teaching American Sign Language (ASL) at the high school level.
Debbie holds a Montessori teaching certification from 1992 and a B.A. in Education from Goddard College (2007). In her free time, Debbie writes poetry, enjoys hiking, and loves exploring the wilderness with dogs and kids of all ages.
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Brian Fisher
Art Teacher
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Biography
Brian was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, and loved that he could explore from the oceans to the mountains. He worked as a veterinarian assistant, helped manage a Bed & Breakfast, guided whitewater rafting trips, and worked on a team building and remodeling houses. Eventually he headed off to the University of Washington, where he received a Bachelor degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting.
He moved to Bethesda in 2003 with his wife and son, the latter of whom joined the Moon Room class at Oneness-Family School. Brian saw his son grow exponentially in the warm Oneness environment, and has stayed involved with the school intermittently over the years.
He has worked with the high school students as an art instructor since its inception. With the youngest students, he focuses on exploring materials and colors; as the students age and become more confident in their abilities, he starts focusing them on a more structured academic approach to art and color theory.
In his free time, weather permitting, you can usually find him leading rafting trips or swiftwater rescue training on the Potomac River, just below Great Falls.
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Guido Vitullo
Music Teacher
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Biography
John Guido Vitullo is a musician and music teacher living in Northern Virginia, originally from Youngstown, Ohio. After graduating with a music performance degree from Youngstown State University, he moved to DC where he teaches private percussion lessons, rock band classes, and general music classes.
Guido performs on a drumset with two local groups: Twisted Flags, a classic and modern rock cover band, as well as The i-Talians, an Italian pop band. He also has worked and performed in musical theater pit orchestras in venues like the Keegan Theater, Little Theatre in Alexandria, and Arena Stage. Guido believes that music education is about more than cultivating good musicians. It’s about connecting students to a history of music making and allowing them to find their own artistic voice.
In his free time, he enjoys video and tabletop gaming, cooking, and gardening.
