Staff | Grand Lake Montessori

Adrienne Pratt

Adrienne grew up in Fort Worth, Texas where she attended a public Montessori school from 2nd-5th grade. She graduated from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York with a Bachelor’s Degree in Cinema and Photography and moved to the Bay Area in 2003. As an elementary student, Adrienne fell in love with Montessori principles and experienced first-hand the benefits of a Montessori education. It was this experience that led her to Montessori teacher-training. She earned her American Montessori Society Primary Certificate from St. Mary’s College in 2008. During her training, she interned at a Montessori school that was also a farm- complete with goats, chickens, horses, vegetable gardens, and fruit trees. She taught there for seven years, serving as the Lead Teacher and Director for the last four years. Adrienne stopped teaching full-time to have her first child. She is delighted to be a part of the GLM community as a staff member and parent. She enjoys spending time with her husband and sons exploring all that the area has to offer and is passionate about travel, reading, and photography.

Cristina Graham

Ms. Graham was born in Monterey Park, California and moved to the Central Valley as a young child where she had the pleasure of growing up. Ms. Graham particularly enjoys the scenery on GLM’s campus as her grandfather owned a farm where she spent many days picking whatever fruit she wanted. Ms. Graham holds a B.A. in Liberal Studies from St.Mary’s College where she also received her Montessori Certification in 1997. After the birth of her second son in 1999, she became a stay-at-home mom for nine years. She joined GLM in October of 2008. Ms.Graham likes to say “it is a wonderful feeling to help share in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders.” Ms. Graham loves nurturing the Child’s world view as it is beautiful and a reminder to her of what unconditional love truly is. She has three sons as well as a dog named Lola. Outside of her work at GLM, Ms. Graham, also trains adults to be Montessori teachers at EMBT in Concord, CA. In her free time she enjoys sewing, crafting, dancing, and relaxing in her backyard with family and friends.

Karen Johnson

Born in Southern California, Ms. Johnson moved to the Bay Area to complete her education at St. Mary’s College, and become an early childhood educator in 2000. She joined GLM as an assistant teacher in August 2023, and is thrilled to celebrate the joy that her students ignite while exploring their environment and the Montessori method. When not being inspired by children and her team of co-teachers. She is an art and yoga specialist for Girl Scout volunteers, yoga studios, and in the GLM aftercare program. She loves to dance, scrapbook, go on hikes and dress up as famous artists like Georgia O’Keefe, Frida Kahlo and Yayoi Kusama.

Kerry Mehling

Kerry Mehling is from Utah and moved to California 26 years ago. She has a BFA in dance performance, an MFA in choreography, and her AMS Early Childhood Credential. She had been teaching dance to all age groups for 20+ years and found herself humbled and inspired by young children daily. She began her Montessori journey after learning of Maria Montessor’s Philosophy while discussing the state of american education with a Montessorian. Finding a teaching method that catered to each child’s way of learning, which started with teaching independence, was just what Ms. Mehling was looking for. She retired from dance and began her studies in the Montessori Method in 2015. Ms. Mehling now shares all the passion she once threw into her performance career with her Montessori students. She feels the breakneck speed at which children develop and learn when actively participating in their education is an exciting process to engage in and observe. Ms. Mehling feels fortunate to have found her way to The Montessori Method. She sees it as a crucial key in unlocking endless possibilities for these children who are learning to be contributing members of their local society and our greater world society; they are our future leaders. How they are led now is of the greatest importance. Ms. Mehling is so excited to have joined GLM in the summer of 2023! It is exciting to be in a community of well-established Montessorians! When not being inspired by children, she enjoys dancing, hiking, and biking through Northern California’s beauty. She is also an animal advocate that focuses on rescuing cats.

Leta Koerber

Ms. Koerber was born in Seattle, Washington to the proud parents of Mary and Johnny Anderson of Hot Springs and Hope, Arkansas. She grew up in Monterey, California near the beach. In 1971 Leta’s family relocated to Berkeley, California where Leta enjoyed taking care of her three younger siblings. Leta graduated from Golden Gate Academy and moved to Riverside, California and attended Riverside Medical School; after a year she realized that this was not the direction she wanted to go. Leta graduated from Contra Costa Collage in San Pablo, California persuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. In 1989 Leta started searching for a job closer to home. She feels blessed to be a part of the Grand Lake Montessori community. After working in the afternoon program and assisting Ms. Campbell in the toddler classroom, she realized that furthering her education in Montessori would be a good idea. She started taking classes at Contra Costa College through Fountainhead Montessori School. Following, supporting, having fun, and being a true advocate for the child is what Leta believes helps children develop fully. She enjoys all types of music, singing, dancing outdoor adventures and being in the Juniper classroom, which keeps her young and her brain sharp.

Somsy Phonexaysitthidet

Ms. Phonexaysitthidet (PON-SE-SIT-TI-DAY) was born in Laungprabang, Laos and came to the United States in 1980. She graduated from high school in 1984 at Fremont High. In 1985 she began working at a public elementary school as a Laotian bilingual support teacher and stayed until 2003. While in the service of public education, she went back to college for five years to study liberal arts. In mid 2003 she was introduced to Montessori and impressed with the philosophy, she decided to take the Montessori training at the Montessori Teacher Education Center in San Leandro. She then worked at Rising Starr Montessori school for seven years years, before joining GLM in 2011. She has been living in Oakland for three decades and married for thirty three years to a wonderful husband who served in the social services in Oakland. It is an honor for her to support and teach within the GLM community. In her spare time she enjoys working out at the gym and cooking healthy food from scratch.

Kassandra Covarrubias

Teacher Kass was born in San Francisco and raised in Berkeley, California. As a first generation college student, Teacher Kass takes a lot of pride in their Human Development Bachelor’s Degree from CSUEB with a concentration in Early Childhood Development. One of the things Teacher Kass loves most about being an educator is having the opportunity to enter each child’s unique world through play. In their free time, Teacher Kass enjoys live music, hiking, dancing, and walking through cities to take pictures of the hidden gems they discover.

Danny Tien

Mr. Tien was born in Beiha, China. His family immigrated to this country when he was 10 years old because his parents wanted a better life, especially for him. At six months old, he had an accident and hurt his right leg. He was very lucky to get into Shriners Hospitals for Children and the care he received there changed his life. He attended Merritt College and studied Child Development. In addition he received his Administrative Site Director units and holds a AMI diploma from the Montessori Institute of the Northwest for Infant/toddler level. When he first stepped into a Montessori classroom at GLM he observed how quiet, calm, patient, and well mannered the children were. His teaching philosophy is supporting children to make their own choices and helping them develop intrinsic happiness. He joined GLM in the early 1990s. He taught in a primary classroom for seven years before switching over to work with toddlers. In his free time Mr. Tien loves spending time with his family, cooking, and bowling.