Isabelle joined the Toddler Community in the spring of 2021. A former NewGate student, she brings over a decade of childcare experience as well as a lifelong love and respect for Montessori practices to the teaching team. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Media Production from the University of Florida and previously worked in a safe house as an advocate for survivors of trafficking and exploitation. Outside of school, she can often be found reading, road-tripping and adventuring with her dog, Moxie.

Jenni holds a B.A. in Print Journalism and Photography from the University of Kentucky. She completed her Montessori Infant-Toddler (0-3) training with the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in North Carolina and earned her Master’s in Education with a specialization in Montessori from Xavier University. Her Master’s research focused on the complementary practices of Montessori and Magda Gerber’s RIE techniques and the ways that respectful, responsive caregiving can facilitate a positive learning environment for infants and toddlers.

This will be her 2nd year at NewGate and her fifth year in the classroom. Jenni lives in Arcadia with her husband, Mike, and her 10-year-old son, Finn, who also attends NewGate. She and her family run a nonprofit farm animal sanctuary on their five acres and share their lives and most of their free time with dogs, goats, pigs, chickens, cows, a cat, and a duck.

Kat graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design in 2002. She received her Montessori Early Childhood certification from the American Montessori Society while teaching at NewGate from 2002-2009. She also spent eight years teaching at Island Village Montessori.

Kat is excited to be at NewGate where she believes she can focus on the beauty and philosophy of Montessori. She shares that she has always felt that NewGate is her second family.

When Kat is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her husband, friends, family, and her cat. Other activities include running, yoga, CrossFit, spinning, swimming, and dancing. She has a passion for vintage clothes and enjoys crafting.

Alexandra (Alex) joined NewGate during the summer of 2019. She fell in love with the Montessori Method when her daughter Juliette attended a Montessori primary classroom. Alex has been teaching in the early learning environment in public and private schools since 2007, upon graduating from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. Alex also has an Early Childhood Montessori Credential from MACTE/Montessori Live and a diploma from the North American Montessori Center.

She is originally from Lima, Peru and is excited to implement the Spanish language in the learning environment. She is married and has three children, Linda, Juliette, and Thomas, and enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with her family and considers herself a ‘foodie.’ Her daughters will be joining us at NewGate.

This is Jennie’s 8th year at NewGate. Jennie supports the elementary program by offering co-curricular classes in physical education, art, cooking, music, and teaching and supporting the eLearning classes.  Jennie earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts at New College of Florida, with a concentration in Comparative Psychology. She holds IMC Elementary (ages 6 to 12) Montessori Teaching Certification under MACTE accreditation. She can often be found strumming a ukulele, sketching a portrait, or telling a story around campus. On the occasion that she is not found there, she is probably off dancing or observing nature and dreaming about ways to excite people about it.

This will be Jennifer’s 2nd year at NewGate but her 27th year in Montessori education. She will be teaching in the Upper Elementary program with Natacha Stutzman. Jennifer has 20 years of classroom experience. Over the years, she has been a Head of School, Montessori Teacher Trainer, Curriculum Coordinator, Summer School Coordinator, Supervising Teacher, and Parent Educator. She has also taken many hours of professional development in order to continually meet each child’s needs.

Jennifer holds a B.S. in education from the University of Northern Michigan and has both her AMS early childhood 3-6 and elementary 6-12 certifications. She has been a teacher trainer and received additional training in Applied Behavior Analysis with an Autism specialization. Jennifer is excited to join the NewGate team. “I love Montessori Education!” As Dr. Maria Montessori said, “The essential thing is to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality.”

Jennifer believes that her objective as a teacher is to help each child discover the joy of learning, and to help the child develop a strong belief in his or her own ability. Each child is encouraged to do his or her best and to have a sense of pride in his or her accomplishments. She also believes it is of primary importance that her students appreciate and respect the differences of others.

Casey is thrilled to be joining the team at the NewGate Ashton campus; he is passionate about the Montessori method and alumni from one of the oldest Montessori schools in the country, Whitby School. Casey will be joining Ms. Nora as a guide and working with students and faculty to develop the beautiful grounds on the Ashton campus as he is passionate about sustainable living and agriculture. Casey has a BA in Liberal Arts from Eugene Lang College in New York City, and a post-graduate certificate & MA in international education from Keele University in Staffordshire, England. Cha–Casey’s son–will be joining the NewGate community as well on the upper campus; his wife Nan is an international educator and librarian, the entire family have invested their lives in education and believe strongly that we have to be the change we want to see in the world. Casey is passionate about the outdoors, dancing, snowboarding, trail running, open water swimming, cycling, hiking, multisport, and spending time traveling with his family. He is happy to return to the United States after living abroad and teaching in northern Thailand for nearly 20 years. 

This is Jeff’s 10th year at NewGate and his 25th year in education. In addition to his Montessori experience, Jeff has taught English, history, math, and maritime studies in both private and public schools. At NewGate, Jeff teaches History and the Humanities. He holds a B.A. in History and English from Tufts University and his M.A. in Teaching from Simmons College.

Jeff studied Secondary Montessori teacher education at the AMI affiliated North American Montessori Teachers’ Association Montessori Orientation for Adolescent Studies at Hiram College. He is also an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Instructor. Jeff is currently completing the IMC Secondary Montessori Teacher Education Program. His interests include sailing, bicycling, woodworking, and spending time with his family. Jeff has a son who graduated from NewGate and is now at the University of Florida and a daughter in the Secondary program and loves spending time with his family.

Gillett joined NewGate in August 2021 after relocating from St. Paul, Minnesota. He has his AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher Certification from the Montessori Center of Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a minor in French. He is a trained Montessori Model United Nations Instructor and a Montessori STEM practitioner. Among his many talents, Gillett is an entrepreneur, co-founding the Twin Cities Closet Company.

Amy has taught throughout the New Gate 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!

This is Caitlin’s 7th year at NewGate. Caitlin is part of our secondary educator team for Cycles 1 & 2 focusing on humanities, creative expression, and physical expression. She is a graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University with a Bachelors in Communication. Caitlin received her IMC Credential from the Center for Guided Montessori Studies. When she is not at NewGate she can often be found going on adventures with her puppy, Oliver, and continuing her lifelong love of learning.

Katie joins New Gate in 2021 with 11 years of Spanish teaching experience in the private school realm. She first discovered her love of world languages as a middle school student, which is one reason why she is really passionate about teaching middle school! Katie is no stranger to studying abroad. Much of her language learning is rooted in field experiences in Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Spain. Her experiential education coupled with her academic experiences at both Elon University (B.A. Spanish/International Studies) and Middlebury College (M.A. Spanish Literature) has deepened not only her understanding but also her appreciation for the Spanish language and the myriad of cultures that it represents. In the classroom, Katie is a big proponent of exposing her students to many resources and strategies, so that they can identify and utilize the ones that resonate with their learning style. In her free time, Katie enjoys hiking outside with her family and gardening.

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