Cincinnati Montessori Secondary Teacher Education Program
Teaching Staff
Katie Keller Wood, MEd is the Executive Director of CMStep. She has over a decade of full-time teaching experience with middle and high school students, including serving as the coordinator of the middle school program at Richmond Montessori School. Katie has happily worked as an instructor and guide with CMStep since 2011, joined Marta as co-director in 2015, and assumed the role of executive director in 2017. Katie is also an adjunct instructor with Xavier University, a member of the AMS Montessori Research Working Group, and serves on the board of MACTE, the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education. Katie has presented via webinar and at conferences for AMS and for Montessori schools in the US and internationally. She holds a BA from the University of Virginia, a Masters in Education from Xavier University, a Secondary I-II credential from AMS, and she is currently pursuing her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Virginia, focusing on teacher leadership.
Barb Scholtz, MEd is the Practicum Director of CMStep. She taught middle school in urban schools for 33 years, the last eleven at Clark Montessori where she was a lead teacher. She is an adjunct at Xavier University and is a commissioner with AMS’s Teacher Education Action Commission (TEAC). Barb has presented at AMS conferences, at the International Workshop at the University of Indiana-Bloomington, and in Seoul, South Korea. She holds a Secondary I-II credential from AMS.
Marta Donahoe, MEd is the Director of Professional Development of CMStep. She was the founder of and program coordinator for Clark Montessori Jr & Sr High School. For 18 years Marta coordinated the development and implementation of the middle and high school Montessori program at Clark Montessori. She studied organizational development and Flawless Consulting with Peter Block and consults with Montessori schools all over the country. Marta has a master’s degree in Education from Xavier University. For 34 years she has taught ages 6-Adult and holds AMS credentials for ages 6-18. She serves on the editorial board of Montessori Life. She is a frequent presenter at Montessori conferences and has published a dozen articles in Montessori journals. Marta is a certified instructor with Mindful Schools.
Susanne Gregory, MPH is the Director of Leadership Programming at CMStep. Having served for the past ten years as Head of School for Richmond Montessori School and as Interim Head of Orchard House School, Susanne now joyfully turns her work and energies to cultivating Montessori leaders. Susanne holds her master’s degree from the University of Minnesota and her Montessori Administrator credential from the American Montessori Society. She is a trained facilitator with several decades of experience in leadership development, nonviolent communications, coaching, generative governance, philanthropy, and long-range planning. Her board service is extensive and most recently includes serving as a founding board member for the Virginia Montessori Association and serving as the American Montessori Society representative to the Virginia Council for Private Education Board. Susanne has also chaired several school accreditation teams, for both the American Montessori Society and for the Virginia Association of Independent Schools.
Adrienne Barth Parrott, MEd is an instructor and field consultant with CMStep. She has taught ninth and tenth grade English at both Gamble Montessori and Clark Montessori where she also led multiple field studies. Adrienne was a Montessori educated child and has been inspired by the Montessori philosophy throughout her life. After receiving her B.A. in English from Tulane University, she worked as a co-teacher in a Montessori 3-6 classroom for two years before deciding to pursue a graduate degree in Secondary Education and English. She received her MEd from Xavier University in 2008 and her AMS Secondary I-II credential in 2011.
Andrea Lulka, MEd, the designer of the Overview online course, has a passion for Montessori philosophy that stems from her childhood experiences in a Montessori school and home as well as her experience as a Montessori mom. In between her childhood and professional Montessori experiences, Andrea worked in the corporate sector and in a variety of roles in small businesses. Andrea designed the Middle School program at the Montessori Jewish Day School in Toronto. She has been a lead Casa and Middle School teacher as well as a music teacher and volunteer for Toddler through Upper Elementary. She has also spent time as a school Communication and Admissions Coordinator and has plenty of experience in Parent Education. Andrea holds an AMS certification for 3-6 and an MEd with a focus on Montessori education for adolescents.
Rosemary Quaranta, MEd is currently the Head of School at the Xavier Montessori Lab School in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a graduate of Edgecliff College (which merged with Xavier University in 1980), The Washington Montessori Institute, and Cleveland State University. Rosemary holds AMI credentials (EC, EI-II) and has over thirty years of experience in Montessori classrooms.
Drew Ramsay is a high school Social Studies teacher at Clark Montessori where he has taught since the high school was launched in 1997. Drew has created and participated in many intersessions including the Civil Rights Tour of the South, Habitat for Humanity in Eastern Kentucky, Peace and Justice in El Salvador, Hiking the Appalachian Trail, the Southwest Quest to the Grand Canyon, and a local study of the Underground Railroad. He has served as a Clark team leader, a Lead Teacher for Cincinnati Public Schools, and coach of the Mock Trial team. He currently holds National Board certification and an AMS Secondary I-II credential.
Joshua Shanklin, MEd is an Upper Elementary Lead Teacher and Clinical Faculty at Xavier University. Since graduating from Indiana University in 1998, Josh has worked as a camp counselor, youth worker, basketball coach, coffee-shop barista, and pastor. In 2012 he earned his Masters in Montessori Education from Xavier University. Josh, his wife Elizabeth, and two daughters Gracie and EllieAna, live in Cincinnati, OH.
Brandt Smith, MEd helped launch Clark Montessori in 1994. He has taught Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Science at the middle school level. He has helped in the design and implementation of many of the field studies at Clark, and served in a variety of leadership roles. He has worked for years as a teacher-presenter at CMStep. He has presented nationally at Montessori conferences and holds an AMS credential for ages 12-18 and a Masters in Education from Xavier University. When not engaged with teaching, he can often be found playing his banjo and howling at the full moon.
Note – Resumes available with CMStep