Absorbent Minds Montessori School

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Our Staff

Brandy Franks is a graduate of Tallmadge High School and Mount Union College. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Preschool/Kindergarten Montessori Education diploma from North American Montessori Center. Brandy has worked with children in many settings including day care facilities, coaching athletics (softball, swimming and basketball), Montessori schools and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation treatment programs. Throughout Brandy's life she has had a passion for teaching and guiding children. Some of Brandy's fondest memories are of her own experiences attending Montessori school as a child. The impact this had on Brandy's life is the reason she has chosen the Montessori Method of education for her own school. Brandy continues to pursue her dream of helping children learn and grow through Absorbent Minds Montessori School. Brandy resides in Stow with her husband and two children.

 

Kelly Andamasaris, graduate of Stow-Munroe Falls High School, has always had a passion for running businesses. Kelly's business experience began in the dental field where she was hired to lead the start up of a new dental practice. After the successful launch of the practice, Kelly continued to manage day to day operations until 2002 when she decided to start her own business after the birth of her first child.

While Kelly enjoyed running her own business, her greatest fear was not that she wouldn’t succeed in business, but that her success would be in something that didn't matter. After enrolling her child in Absorbent Minds Kelly began to see the impact Brandy and her staff are having on the next generation first hand.  Kelly is excited to have that opportunity to serve the students and families of Absorbent Minds Montessori School.  Kelly resides in Stow with her husband and two children.

 

John Kotradi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology from The Ohio State University (O-H, I-O), and is a certified Montessori Director through the American Montessori Society. John’s experience with the Montessori Method of education began when his own children started school. Through watching them thrive in the environment he was inspired to get involved, and become a teacher. John’s passion for influencing his students shows in everything he does. John strongly believes the Montessori environment promotes independence, self-reliance and good statesmanship.

In addition to John’s passion for the Montessori teaching philosophy he shares his enthusiasm for science with all of the children at Absorbent Minds Montessori School. One of John’s favorite things about teaching science is exploring through experiments and seeing the children develop their own hypothesis. John resides in Akron with his wife and three children. Go Buckeyes!

 

Courtney Seckinger is a graduate of Stow-Munroe Falls High School and Northwood University in Florida. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Business and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Courtney earned her Montessori teaching credentials from North American Montessori Center. Courtney’s teaching experience spans across the United States from Florida, Hawaii, Texas and Ohio. Her first introduction to the Montessori Method of education was with her oldest daughter who attended Saint John's Catholic Montessori School in Mililani, Hawaii. Courtney found this experience to be very rewarding for her daughter. She believes strongly in the Montessori Method of teaching and strives to create an engaging and meaningful learning environment for her students. Courtney resides in Munroe Falls with her three children.

 

Adrian Carnahan (“Mr. C”) is a graduate of Union High School. While attending Butler County Community College Mr. C also worked towards an Americorps Education Grant through the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps, was involved in the America Reads Work Study program, wrote for his college newspaper, The Cube, and worked with special needs students in Butler Area School District’s Life Skills classroom. After completing two years of community college Adrian took a teaching position with Nature’s Classroom®: New England where he taught outdoor/environmental education for three years. There he taught science, humanities and natural history classes, as well as leading field group nature hikes and large group activities. Mr. C has worked with a wide variety of age groups and looks forward to inspiring a life long love of learning to take root and later blossom through the Montessori teaching philosophy. Mr. C is currently enrolled in an on-line writing course through the Institute of Children’s Literature. Adrian’s travels have led him here to Absorbent Minds Montessori School where he is very excited be a part of the bright future that awaits us all. He currently resides in Stow, because it is the place to grow.

 

Katharine Case ("Kate") is a graduate of Firestone High School and the University of Akron, where she earned an Associate degree in Early Childhood Development. Throughout the past nine years, Kate has worked in the childcare field as an Assistant Director, Lead Teacher and Co-Teacher in the Pre-Kindergarten and Preschool age classrooms. Kate also has experience as an Early Learning Initiative teacher. Kate is excited to join the Absorbent Minds family and looks forward to using her experience and education to positively impact the children of our community.

Kate is a twin and values spending time with her and her husband's family. She enjoys reading, walking and spending time outdoors. While a native Akronite, Kate presently resides in Cuyahoga Falls with her husband and son.

 

Danielle Spangler joins Absorbent Minds as a person who absolutely loves children and has a natural passion to work with them and help them grow in a caring and loving environment. Danielle is a graduate of Joseph Badger High School and of Trumbull Career Center for Cosmetology. She has taken classes at Kent State University, Brown Mackie College, and is currently working towards finishing her degree in Child Therapy at Malone University.

Danielle also volunteers as a mentor for teen moms at a non-profit organization. She loves being able to share her life experiences with these mothers, while teaching them basic techniques of caring for a child. She enjoys sharing her knowledge on how to raise children in a healthy environment - with love, respect, perseverance, discipline and patience. Danielle is excited to be teaching in a Montessori environment where the principles and values are focused on each child’s individual development and their learning. She enjoys being able to working one-on-one with the children so they can excel in their learning experience while she gets to know each child and their unique sense of self. Danielle loves to spend time with her son, travel, hike, bake and read. They reside in Akron, Ohio.

 

Nichole Zimmerly (Nikki) holds a state of Ohio teaching license and earned her Early Childhood Education degree from Malone University. She has gained an appreciation for the Montessori philosophy through various observation experiences, student teaching and learning how the philosophy aligns with her personal goals for teaching and guiding her students. Nikki values the innocence and curiosity of children and cherishes each child’s uniqueness. Her ultimate goal is that every child receives the chance to be successful and feel confident in what they do.

Nikki is close to her family and values those relationships. She enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures in her spare time. Nikki lives close to her family in Sterling, Ohio.

 

Rebecca Gruccio (Becca) is a graduate of Ellet High School and the University of Akron. She has Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media Communication and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She studied American Sign Language as a minor. She is currently a graduate student at Kent State University studying Deaf Education. She has worked as a substitute teacher and paraprofessional aide to children with special needs at Lake Center Christian School. Becca loves working with children and watching how quickly they catch on to learning new material. She strongly believes that teaching a child based on their exceptional learning styles and development will help them succeed and become confident in themselves. Becca feels that there is no greater reward than being a part of a child’s education.

 

Michele Hayden is a graduate of Stow-Munroe Falls High School and resides in Stow. She attended the Art Institute of Cleveland and is currently attending Kent State University in pursuit of an Art Education degree. Along with her many years of experience in preschools, Michele has worked for two years as a Co-Directress at Absorbent Minds Montessori School. Michele has a passion for art, especially ceramics and jewelry. It is this passion that has led her to pursue her career in teaching Art. Michele brings this love of creating to Absorbent Minds, where she is excited to help each student develop their own love and appreciation for art.

 

 

Lisa Adams is a teacher, singer and co-arranger of music used in the Exploring Music curriculum. Lisa has a Bachelor of Arts in music education and over 20 years of teaching experience. She has also sung professionally throughout the United States. For each of her weekly classes, Lisa selects songs and develops lessons to teach many areas of music in a way young children can both understand and enjoy. Lisa loves sharing her passion for music with children.

 

 

 

Elisabeth Ihde Cavallaro received her training from the Akron Dance Institute. She was also a scholarship recipient with the Jofrrey Ballet, The Rock School and the Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Throughout high school, she performed many leading roles with the Akron University’s Repertory Dance Company.

Elisabeth has performed professionally with the Ohio Dance Theater, the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Ohio Ballet. She has been teaching dance throughout Northeast Ohio for the past 12 years and loves working with children of all ages and abilities. Her goal as a teacher is to instill passion and enthusiasm for the performing arts. In addition to running her own studio, IhDe Rather Be Dancing, located in Cuyahoga Falls Elisabeth partnered with Absorbent Minds Montessori School. Together they will utilize her talents, passion and artistic ability to bring the world of dance to the preschool environment.

 

Abby Rea is currently studying at the University of Akron, pursuing a degree in English. She enjoys taking dance classes at the university as well. Miss Abby has danced for 14 years; the last 5 of those years have been at IhDe Rather Be Dancing School of Dance. Abby’s dance experience spans a variety of styles; from ballet, pointe and lyrical to tap, jazz and hip-hop. She has danced competitively for 3 years, traveling all over the state of Ohio to attend different competitions and conventions. Abby has a strong passion for tap dancing and greatly enjoys interacting with children. She is very excited to share her love of dance as she co-teaches with Ms. Elisabeth at Absorbent Minds Montessori School.

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