1st Annual "Montessori Access in MN" Event

Following the screening of "Inside Montessori" on March 2, 2019, MNMN hosted our first annual "Montessori Access in MN" event. On the stage of the Heights Theater, local Montessori advocates participated in a moderated discussion about the current state of Montessori in MN. The panel answered prepared questions, provided by our own community members, to explore the state of Montessori accessibility in our state from the lens of the filmmaker, school leaders, teacher training providers, researchers, advocates, and policy makers.

Vina Kay, "Inside Montessori" co-director/co-producer

Vina is Executive Director at Voices for Racial Justice, which advances racial justice in Minnesota through organizer training, multiracial partnerships and campaigns, and research and policy tools. She is a writer of creative nonfiction and poetry, and has received the Loft Mentor Series award in creative nonfiction and a Jerome Foundation Emerging Artist Residency at Tofte Lake Center for poetry. She has served on many boards, currently including the Seward Community Co-op. Her two sons attended Lake Country School and she has served on the boards of Lake Country and Bright Water Schools in Minneapolis.

Ann Luce, Founder of Brightwater Montessori and Sweet Pea Montessori

Ann Luce has been a Montessori guide, advocate, parent, consultant and administrator for nearly 40 years. Ann has always believed that all children deserve a quality Montessori Education, and has worked in public programs and nonprofits to realize that dream. In 2003, Ann received a grant from the Hiawatha Education Foundation to start a school in North Minneapolis that would serve low and middle income families with a Toddler Community and Children’s House class: Bright Water Montessori School. The school was successful and eventually expanded serve elementary students via a charter school. Bright Water Montessori School continues to thrive in North Minneapolis with almost 200 students. Ann left the school to return to teaching in 2013. Ann is delighted to be a Teacher Leader (Head of School & Teacher) at Sweet Pea Montessori, a member of the Wild Flower Schools Network (a network of one- or two-room authentic Montessori schools that are committed to serving a racially and socioeconomically diverse mix of families.)

​Tammi Limberg, ​Lower Adolescent Program Director for Great River School

Tami has dedicated most of her career as a guide, administrator, and board member at Great River School.  As one of the school’s longest tenured faculty, her service has scaffolded the development of hundreds of children, dozens of adults, and countless pedagogical, financial, and facilities strategies as the school has expanded in place to more than 3X its size when she joined the community. 

She has a passion for working with adolescents-connecting them to each other and to society through working with one another, the land, and their community.

Katie Toghramadjian, Montessori Advocate

Katie’s Montessori journey began at the age of two in a Children’s House classroom. Her mother subsequently became the founder and administrator of a Montessori-based early learning program in rural Minnesota, where Katie spent several afternoon and summers. Recognizing how these childhood experiences were fundamental in her own self-development, her volunteer efforts over the past 20 years have been focused on improving access to Montessori programs for her four children and for all children.

​She has served on boards, committees, and task-forces at privately and publicly-funded schools that have all confronted accessibility and expansion: Children’s Workshop, Oak Hill Montessori, and Great River School. Presently, she is in her sixth year of service as a community board member supporting the continued expansion of Great River School to the largest Montessori charter school in MN. In her professional capacity, Katie is the founder, owner, and president of Isthmus Engineering, a St. Paul-based civil engineering firm.

Teresa Ripple (EdD), program director of Early Childhood and Montessori programs

Teresa is an assistant professor and program director for the Early Childhood and Montessori Programs at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN, where the early childhood program recently received Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board of MN (PELSB) approval to offer a state-licensed early childhood program. The early childhood program also offers embedded Montessori education, and is being reviewed at this time for accreditation by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE) and the American Montessori Society. Dr. Ripple actively consults and presents at local, regional, and national conferences. Dr. Ripple serves on the Achieve Advisory Committee and the American Montessori Society Online Task Force, as well as being active in NAEYC and MNAEYC. Dr. Ripple worked as an Early Childhood guide for over 10 years and then as a head of school for several years before coming to St. Kate’s. She has served on the boards of both private and public charter Montessori schools.

Erin Doan, Oak Hill Montessori, Head of School

Erin began her career as a traditionally trained science teacher who later found Montessori learning while completing her master’s degree studies in child development and psychology. She is currently the Head of School at Oak Hill Montessori school, in Shoreview, MN and a parent to two Montessori alumni.

Erin is the former Executive Director of the Board of Teaching and has extensive experience in the teacher licensure process in the state of Minnesota.

Barbara Williams, Montessori Center of MN, Director of Outreach Programs

Barbara Williams has been part of the Montessori Community as the Director of Outreach Programs for the Montessori Center of Minnesota since 2018. She is one of the founding board members of Cornerstone Montessori Elementary from 2010-2011 and was a member of the board of trustees for the Montessori Center of Minnesota from 2014-2018. Barbara researched, developed and facilitated “Critical Social Services for the Early Childhood Montessori Center” at the North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA) Conference and “Cultural Awareness through Mindfulness Training” for the Montessori Center of Minnesota. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and African American Studies and has 20 years of experience in the field of social services coordinating resources for children and families residing in St. Paul Public Housing and serving people with severe and persistent mental health diagnosis. She has served Minnesotans as the State lead for Social Security Benefits Advocacy as well as developed and coordinated training for employees, managers and supervisors for the MN Department of Human Services.