Primary

Katy Brander – Primary Guide

After receiving her Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education and her Montessori training from Oklahoma City University, ‘Ms. Brander’ began her internship at Undercroft and continued on as a Primary Guide. She has since participated in the training program at OCU as an evaluator and supervising teacher as well as supervised interns from several other Montessori training centers.

Lynnah Huxall – Primary Guide

Lynnah began her relationship with Undercroft in 1990 at the age of four and has never left. During her high school years, she worked for the UMS After Care program and ‘fell in love’ with the method and the children and decided to pursue a career in Montessori education. She attended the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado, in 2006. Now, ‘Ms. Lynnah’ is working as a Co-Guide in the Primary classroom with Katy Brander, who was her UMS guide at four years of age.

Lori Karmazin – Primary Guide

Going on 22 years here at Undercroft, ‘Mrs. Karmazin’ received her Montessori Training in 1990 after her son’s first year as a Primary student. She began a Montessori materials company in 1994 and began presenting workshops shortly thereafter. She became a Teacher Trainer for the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in 2000 and for the Center for Guided Montessori Studies in 2008. She is also actively involved in the International Montessori Council Peace Academy. Lori is originally from New Jersey and a graduate of USC. Her hobbies include landscaping, hiking, bird watching and creating natural habitats for animals. She and her husband, John, have been married since 1981 and have a 27 year old son, Wes, who is an Aerospace Engineer in St. Louis.

Mia Gutierrez – Primary Guide

‘Ms. Mia’ is a graduate of Bishop Kelley High School and the University of Tulsa and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. She came to Undercroft in 1998 and worked in the Nap Room and After Care program for 2 years before becoming a Primary Assistant in 2000. She received her Primary Training at the Houston Montessori Center in 2002 and completed her one-year internship in 2003. She has worked as a Primary Guide since that time and is currently co-guiding a classroom with Lori Karmazin, where she assisted and served as an intern.

Barbara Stuart – Primary Intern

Terriann VanDeventer – Primary Guide

After many years of working in daycare, Terriann graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Early Childhood Education and taught Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten in private and publics schools in Dallas, Texas. She came to Undercroft in 2006 as a prospective parent, looking for an alternative to traditional education for her son, Corbin. Terriann admits that she knew very little about the Montessori method and was hesitant, but says the 30 minute classroom observation changed their lives and her career. Corbin began his Kindergarten year that fall and their daughter, Jaiden, began her first year in primary in 2007. ‘Ms. Terriann’ worked that year floating between the 4 primary classrooms and, in 2008, enrolled in an online training course to become a certified Montessori guide. She has spent the 2008-09 school year as a full time intern in the classroom.

Maiko Kasparek – Primary Guide

‘Ms. Maiko’ is originally from Japan and came to the United States at age 19 with a desire to learn about other cultures. After receiving her Montessori Certification from Oklahoma City University, she joined Undercroft as a Primary Guide in 2001 and has been paired in the classroom with UMS Guide Kate Lehman for the past 6 years.

Kate Lehman – Primary Guide

‘Ms. Kate’ grew up in Tulsa and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1999. She attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City and received a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Photography. She is currently working on her graduate studies on a Masters of Education with an emphasis in Montessori Education.  She returned to her family in Tulsa and began substituting at Undercroft in 2003 and says she felt an ‘instant connection’ with the philosophy and the community. She began as an assistant in the Primary classroom with ‘Ms. Maiko’ in March of 2004 and the two have shared the classroom ever since. Kate began her Guide Training at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies in Boulder, Colorado, along with now fellow guides Lynnah Huxall and Shiloh Oliver, and completed her Early Childhood Certification in 2007 which, she notes, is the centennial anniversary of the first Montessori school.  Kate was married to Jordan Westbrook in 2010, they currently live in mid-town with their two dogs.