Our Team

Co-Founders

Tom Crowe has lived in the Labelle neighborhood of Steubenville since May 2008. He has been involved in non-profit, mission-oriented organizations dedicated to helping people improve their lives his entire professional life. After he and Noëlle were married in 2017 he learned more about the Montessori method and its underlying philosophy and recognized that it had significant potential to aid what ails the society around him. He and Noëlle founded Hilltop Children’s House in 2017, with the children’s house opening in fall 2018. Since the founding, Tom has served as president of the organization, chief maintenance man, chief fundraiser, webmaster, and whatever else is needed.

This year, 2020-21, that also means he has stepped into the role of classroom assistant after the sudden departure of the new assistant at the beginning of the year. As assistant the appreciation he already had for Montessori has deepened significantly. He also had the benefit of completing the Assistant Training with the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies, one of the AMI facilities in the U.S.

Noëlle Crowe earned her bachelor’s degree from Franciscan University in 1995 and then lived in the Labelle neighborhood of Steubenville for two years while she was earning her MBA, also at FUS. She then left Steubenville, but moved back in 2016. Noëlle’s professional career has been mostly in education, particularly as a leader of religious education programs. She received training in all three levels of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is the Montessori method applied to religious education. From that foundation she sought other opportunities to bring the Montessori method to others who could benefit from it. After she and Tom were married in 2017 she introduced the idea of establishing a Montessori program in the Labelle neighborhood, where many families are struggling.

In 2021 Noëlle significantly upgraded her Montessori expertise by completing the primary guide certification program through the AMI-certified Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies.

Since opening the doors in fall 2018, Noëlle has served as the guide in the children’s house, as well as vice president of the organization, plus as a major fundraiser, and whatever else has been needed.