Jen Bahou is the 1st /2nd grade teacher as well as the Lower School art teacher at the Mountain School . She was raised in New York and attended the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Jen holds a BA in Fine Arts as well as an elementary teaching license in the state of Colorado . She received her certification in lower elementary Montessori education at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder .

In 2003 Jen moved to Telluride and began her involvement with what was then Telluride Montessori School , where she designed and implemented the enrichment program, then took on an assistant teaching role. During the 2004-5 school year Jen became a liaison between the merging Montessori and Mountain School programs, teaching and coordinating the Montessori enrichment program, as well as teaching art to the 1 st -4 th grade Mountain School students and assisting with reading instruction of 1 st /2 nd graders.

During the 2005-6 school year Jen will further facilitate the transition between the schools as she designs a uniquely transitional first and second grade classroom that will integrate Montessori and the more traditional Lower School curriculums. Combining her passion for the arts, her understanding of traditional education and her dedication to the Montessori program, Jen has her dream position here at the Mountain School ! In her free time, Jen enjoys hiking and running in and around the Telluride/Ophir area with her two dogs, Shanty and Ruth. Her watercolor paintings and pastels have been exhibited in local galleries.