Mary Lee, director/lead teacher
Mrs. Mary Lee has been educating children in Montessori since 2000. She has three Montessori certifications, two from Montessori Institute of America (MIA) – one in South Korea and one in the United States, and one from MTPI. In addition, she is certified as a kindergarten teacher and has TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certification. She has taught in Montessori schools in South Korea, the Philippines, and in the United States at Blue Valley Montessori and Willow Montessori on the Plaza.
Mrs. Mary received her Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Education in South Korea and has 24 credits toward a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Philippine Christian University in the Philippines. Her aim is to provide a great Montessori environment in which children can develop freely and independently. She lives with her husband and daughter in Olathe, Kansas.
Renee Crabtree, teacher
Renee Crabtree has over 30 years experience working with children, having taught children using Montessori methods since 1991. She has her Montessori certification from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and has taught at Children’s Village Montessori School in Overland Park and Little Lambs Montessori in Mission. She enjoys her work and loves working with children. She has two children of her own, and currently lives with her husband, son, and cat in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kitty Degler, office manager
Kitty Degler has taught in Montessori classrooms for sixteen years. She received her Montessori elementary training for ages 6-9 and ages 9-12 in 2002 and 2003, and then taught in upper elementary (ages 9-12) classrooms for three years, was a lower elementary (ages 6-9) director for five years, and spent five years as the middle school director, all at Clay Platte Montessori School in Kansas City. During that time, she also developed and taught week-long summer camp programs for ages 6-12, led students on local and international trips, and began Clay Platte’s adolescent farm program with the hatching and raising of chickens. She worked at Willow Montessori on the Plaza with toddler, primary (ages 3-6), and elementary age children for three years beginning summer 2015.
She has a B.A. in Geography and an M.B.A. in Marketing, both from Indiana University. She lives with her husband and three cats in Overland Park. Her now grown daughter attended Montessori schools from age 2-through middle school.