Teaching Staff

Indu Agnihotri
Indu Agnihotri is the primary classroom directress. She received her bachelor’s degree in botany, chemistry, and zoology from India. She also has a degree in early education. After migrating from India in 1986, she received her Montessori certification from the American Montessori Society in 1988. After working with young children for 27 years, Indu founded Center Grove Montessori in 2007. She lives in Greenwood with her husband and two sons. She enjoys music, gardening, cooking and yoga.

“I feel extremely enriched while working with young children. I love to watch children grow their love of learning. My vision is to spread the Montessori fragrance as far as I can.”
- Indu Agnihotri

Darci Hemmer
Darci Hemmer and her husband recently moved back to Indiana to be closer to her two grown daughters and two-year-old grandson, and this will be her second year at Center Grove Montessori. She has taught preschool for 15 years, the last four years as a Montessori Assistant. She respects the Montessori philosophy that all children are unique and distinctive and each child has their own time table for development. She would love to help YOUR child develop their own sense of order and self reliance.

"I feel fortunate to work with children everyday and couldn't think of a more fulfilling way to spend my day."
-Darci Hemmer

Melissa Plunkett
Melissa Plunkett has worked with children since the age of 14; her experience includes working at the YMCA doing everything from childcare to front desk to swim lessons, loving every minute of it. It was there that she first heard of Montessori, when the preschool teacher opened a Montessori program off-site. The Montessori Method sounded interesting to her but she'd never really looked into it much until she needed to do an informational speech in college and presented on a Montessori education. After much library research and help from the Montessori teacher she was sold! When her daughter was two and they were looking for preschools for her, sheI knew that this is what she wanted for her.

"This is it, Montessori is what I love, working with children is what I love, I love watching them discover and learn and learning alongside them I love the opportunity to share something I have discovered and I reveal in the genius that is the child."
-Melissa Plunkett