Elementary Lead Guide

Gillett has been a Montessori educator since 2012 after transitioning from a successful business career inspired by volunteering in his daughters’ classrooms. He completed AMI Elementary training at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota. At NewGate, he has guided both middle school and elementary students, valuing each developmental stage. Gillett brings steadiness, curiosity, and deep respect for Montessori principles. He enjoys reading, pickleball, exploring pour-over coffee, and time with his family.

Elementary Assistant Guide

A lifelong Montessori student, Libby attended Montessori school through eighth grade before earning her degree in education from the University of Tampa. She joined NewGate in 2024 and now works alongside her father, fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming a Montessori educator. Libby brings energy, positivity, and a strong understanding of the Montessori approach. She enjoys athletics, creative projects, outdoor activities, and time with her family.

Sophia (Sophie) completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Education at Saint Olaf College in Minnesota. She studied as both a pianist and vocalist and has several years of experience as a music director in children’s theater. Outside the classroom, Sophie loves to sew, cook, and hike, especially in National Parks! Sophie joined the NewGate community in 2024.

Secondary – IB Social Sciences

Natasha is a NewGate alumnus. Her experience at NewGate taught her the value of a Montessori education early in life. She is thrilled to be teaching and giving back to the NewGate community.  She received her Bachelor of Liberal Arts from the University of Florida, where she studied Political Science and French. During her time at UF, she studied abroad for a semester in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was fortunate enough to travel around South America, an experience that reinforced both her global perspective as well as her love of learning about other cultures and languages. In her time off, Natacha can be found with her nose in a book on the beach or experimenting in the kitchen. She also enjoys traveling and practicing her Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Secondary – English Language and Humanities

Language and Humanities specialist Glenn Grizzard comes to New Gate by way of Key West, the Appalachian Mountain towns of Asheville and Boone, North Carolina, and his home in Georgia. After spending the Covid years at May Sands Montessori Charter School in Key West, Glenn spent last year teaching gifted children in a public middle school in Asheville.  Glenn earned his B.A. and M.Ed. at the University of Georgia. He took his Montessori Secondary training at the NAMTA program in Ohio.

From 2004-18, Glenn launched and taught in the middle school – and also served as the Director – at Mountain Pathways Montessori School in Boone. He also taught educational psychology at Appalachian State University during this period, where he raised his two children, Sawyer and Savannah. Prior to moving to Boone, Glenn taught gifted classes and social studies at a public middle school just outside Athens, Ga. where he had attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate and graduate work. (Go Dawgs!)In addition to his passion for college football, Glenn enjoys golf, travel, and learning all he can about the world so he can share it with kids!

Secondary – IB Natural Sciences

Alfonso was born and raised in San Cristobal, Tachira, Venezuela. He holds an industrial engineering degree and an MBA from The Universidad Nacional Experimental del Tachira, and his Ph.D. in Pedagogy from the University of Los Andes. He has put to work his passion for teaching in unconventional settings, outdoor and indoor classrooms. He has over twenty years of experience as a university teacher in undergraduate, MBA, and doctoral scientific research and business programs. He was associate dean at the University of Los Andes for five years, supporting students in academic activities. Alfonso holds certification as an IB teacher in Science and Business.

He is passionate about Qualitative and quantitative analysis and using various technological approaches. He has published in editorials such as Routledge-UK, and Gedisa-Spain, and papers in journals categorized Scopus in Spain, Venezuela, Ecuador, Perú, Colombia, and Chile. Alfonso has also been a social entrepreneur for over 30 years with San Nicolas de los Paramos Andinos, an NGO that supports vulnerable people at the Venezuelan and Colombian border.

Alfonso moved with his family, Gabriela, and David, from Venezuela to Kansas to complete his Ph.D. research and in 2022 moved to Florida and joined NewGate. He likes to run, play baseball, and basketball, and do all kinds of outdoor activities. He completed his first half marathon in 2023.

Secondary – IB Mathematics

Isaac is originally from Mexico City and moved to Sarasota Florida in 2005. He graduated from Sarasota High School with an AICE Diploma and graduated from New College of Florida with a B.S. in Physics. Isaac is passionate about learning how the natural world and universe work, with specific interests in quantum mechanics and relativistic electromagnetism. In his free time, he enjoys solving tricky integrals, working through physics textbooks, playing video games, reading about various cultures’ histories, and partaking in Dungeons and Dragons with friends. Isaac has always appreciated mathematics and physics and hopes to eventually earn a Ph.D. in either physics or material science and engineering. Other than his nerdy interests, Isaac also loves the outdoors (except when it is hot!) including long hikes and experiencing nature.

Secondary English | IB Educator

Jessica rejoined NewGate with extensive experience, teaching middle and high school students in the United States and United Kingdom. An experienced IB educator, she has also served as a department leader, pastoral leader, and international trip leader. She holds a degree in English and United States Literature from the University of Essex, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Brighton, and a master’s-level certificate in Early Professional Development. Jessica is passionate about helping students grow as confident, articulate communicators. She enjoys reading historical fiction, theater, cooking, and outdoor adventures with her family.

Secondary Spanish

Braeden (he/him) attended the University of Florida, where he studied environmental science and the Spanish language. Braeden studied abroad in five different countries while at UF, including an immersive Spanish semester in Barcelona. He fell in love with Spain that summer and resolved to go back. Braeden lived in central Madrid for two years, teaching English as a second language at a local high school, and counts it as one of the most valuable experiences of his life.

Braeden is also a graduate of NewGate. He enjoys fencing, which he has been doing competitively for over ten years. He was the Men’s Foil Captain of the UF Gators Fencing Club, has won tournaments in both the US and Spain, and attended USA Nationals and the North American Cup. Braeden also likes to read sci-fi and fantasy books, spend time in nature, and watch comic book movies. Braeden lives in England and is pursuing and MS degree in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation at the University of Bristol. He joined NewGate in 2024.

Pam has taught math at the upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels for many years in a variety of settings: public and private, accelerated and remedial, in small groups, in large classes, and one-on-one, most recently in a Montessori Adolescent Program. She enjoys helping students explore the connections and overlaps between algebra and geometry and, as a result, gain depth of knowledge in both of those mathematical disciplines. She loves seeing all sorts of students gain confidence in their abilities as mathematicians. Pam graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.A. in Mathematics and International Studies. She did her undergraduate honors math research in number field theory and its application in the proofs of certain cases of Fermat’s Last Theorem. In addition to her experience as a mathematician, she also taught English to students of all ages during a two-and-a-half year adventure living in China. Now Pam lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband and three children. She enjoys cooking, reading, spending time with friends and family, and being outdoors.

Lydia Dumais teaches high school science and art. She is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Instructor. This is Lydia’s 6th year at NewGate. She graduated from New College of Florida with a double major in Biology and History and an M.S. in Biology from Clemson University. She presented academic papers at the Florida Conference of Historians and New Scholars. Part of her undergraduate research included working with wild sea turtles in Costa Rica as part of international conservation efforts.

Lydia is a Secondary Montessori Teacher. She is a lifelong learner and earned the IB Diploma in high school; she brings enthusiasm, hands-on learning, and a spirit of keen intellectual inquiry to the secondary program. She works on conservation projects in her spare time, including working with leatherback sea turtles, gopher tortoises, and wetlands water quality monitoring.

Amy has taught throughout the NewGate Secondary Program since 2002 primarily with English reading, writing and theater projects and has been teaching for 24 years. She is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Instructor, Librarian and CAS Advisor. She has spent many years developing the Secondary Program’s experiential learning programs and looks for every opportunity to get students off campus and into the community for learning opportunities. She also leads the annual Drama Immersion Weeks with students at each Secondary level to build memorable theatrical productions in the space of a week. One of her great joys is helping every student find gateway books that lead to a life long love of reading, and she builds every opportunity possible to share books with students from toddler through high school levels.

Amy earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology at Loyola University where she also enjoyed studying Spanish during a study abroad term in Quito, Ecuador and learning about world religions as her minor. She began her teaching career in a refugee resettlement program teaching ESL to adult students from around the world followed by teaching Spanish at the elementary level. While teaching at a Great Books Foundation high school in Arizona, she earned her Master’s Degree in Experiential Education at Prescott College with a focus on building schools and learning experiences to promote engagement, eco-literacy and stewardship.

Amy enjoys her family time, reading, and travel, all preferably at the beach!