Molly Simmons

Molly is the Director of Early Childhood at Bennett Day School, where she brings over a decade of experience supporting young children, educators, and families through a progressive, relationship-centered approach. She began her journey in early childhood education while attending Syracuse University, working in a Reggio-inspired preschool that sparked her passion for Project-Based Learning and family involvement. Since then, she has supported a range of learning environments—including helping to pilot San Antonio’s PreK4SA schools and gaining experience in Montessori classrooms—each deepening her understanding of developmentally responsive teaching.

At Bennett, Molly spent eight years teaching in both the PreKindergarten and Junior Kindergarten programs while serving as Division Chair for Early Childhood. In that leadership role, she coached teachers on bringing progressive values into their classrooms, with a focus on brain development, cultural differences in child-rearing, and the influence of family values on children’s behavior. She also founded a family book club at Bennett, helping parents and caregivers build community through shared learning and a deeper understanding of early childhood development.

Molly holds a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Erikson Institute and has presented on family partnerships and documentation practices through The Alliance for Early Childhood, ISACS, and NAEYC. She was a panelist at the ACM Interaction Design and Children (IDC) Conference, where she spoke about empowering children as designers of their own learning, and has been published in Teaching Young Children, NAEYC’s professional journal, with an article on innovative literacy practices in preschool classrooms.

Molly is committed to ensuring the early childhood program at Bennett continues to reflect the progressive, family-first vision it has held under the leadership of Meg Fitzgerald. Encouraging creativity and integrity in the classroom, she looks forward to continuing to build an inclusive, research-informed program where children, families, and educators thrive together.