Tempe Montessori School

Administration

Ms. Irma Letson
Owner & Executive Director
Serving you since 1978

Irma Letson is the founder of TMS and though she has officially retired as the Administrator of the school she remains the business manager from home. An Arizona State Certified Teacher with over 40 years of teaching experience, Mrs. Letson has a Masters Degree in Special Education from ASU and a BA in speech from California State College at LA, and is a reading specialist. She has two AMI teaching diplomas in the Primary and Elementary levels. In 1977 she was introduced to Maaika Van Theil, a teacher at a Montessori School in Tucson who worked with Maria Montessori. Her presence and school were an inspiration and Irma knew what she had to do. Irma founded TMS in 1978.

Ms. Denyse Norby
Administrative Director
Serving you since 1989

Denyse Norby is the TMS Administrator. She earned her AMI Primary Diploma in 1994 and taught in one of our classrooms for 10 years. Her daughter, Jessica, is a Montessori trained teacher and works here also. Her two sons are TMS alumni and her two granddaughters are current TMS students. Denyse has many years of valuable experience at Tempe Montessori School. Her in depth understanding of Montessori concepts coupled with her love of children, respect for parents that is empathetic, and shared experiences with teachers and staff, prepares her for this important position.

Ms. Jakky Sangster
AMI Directress
Educational Director
Serving you since 2005

Jakky has 39 years experience as a Montessori teacher. She came to us from Norway where she has taught Montessori for 16 years. Originally from Washington DC, she studied at George Washington University and earned a BS in Zoology (pre-medicine). She earned her AMI Elementary Diploma in 1971, her AMI Primary Diploma in 1995, and her Assistants to Infancy Diploma in 2006. Jakky has worked in Montessori schools in Texas, New Mexico, Connecticut and Virginia. She has provided Montessori consultation work in Greece and Japan during the ‘06 and ‘07 summers. She speaks five languages and enjoys sports, the arts, cave exploration, space physics, and desert and mountain hiking. Jakky is the teacher of the elementary class for children ages 6 - 12 years.

Mr. Gene Letson
Administrative Assistant
Serving you since 2007

Gene, was trained in Montessori methods during 1976. He built the original Montessori materials, shelves and cabinets for T.M.S. with most still in use today. After completing a B.S. at U of A, he designed and built Montessori inspired interactive exhibits which fostered effective education through inquisitive manipulation. He found that hand/mind activity anchors the intelligence to emotions and learning is retained. For over 30 years Gene delivered hundreds of these exhibits to scores of science and youth museums on 4 continents. Gene owns a recording studio, www.swsaz.com and also teaches music at TMS and Good Earth Montessori school.

Ms. Terese Forsyth
Office Staff
Serving you since 1987

Terese is the teacher assistant in Primary One. She is a NAU graduate with a BA in French and a minor in vocal music. She spent a year in Paris at the Sorbonne in order to complete her degree, and received a teaching certificate in secondary education from ASU. She has completed the AMI Summer Overview. Currently Terese is teaching French to her class and occasionally teaches choral to the elementary students. She has two sons who are TMS alumni.

Ms. Lara Harvell
Office Staff
Serving you since 2005

Lara is working in the office this year and on call for substituting when needed. She is originally from Canada where she started her Elementary Education degree. A Montessori child herself, she earned her AMI Primary diploma in 2000. Lara lives in Chandler with her family which includes 2 daughters who are TMS students. She enjoys material making, scrap booking and cooking with her daughters.

Teaching Staff

Elementary

Ms. Kyung Jeon
Elementary Assistant
Serving you since 2006

Kyung has returned to us after a 6 year hiatus. She is assisting in the elementary classroom. She attended Duck-Sung Woman’s College in Korea. Kyung lives in Phoenix with her husband, a daughter at ASU and a daughter, who is a TMS Alumni who is now at Tempe Prep.

Primary

Ms. Hulya Hisim
AMI Primary Teacher
Serving you since 2003

Hulya is the head teacher in Primary 1. She was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up in Turkey. She got her BS from Dokuz Eylul University in Mechanical Engineering. She worked as a Montessori teacher assistant and earned her AMI diploma from Montessori Education Center of Arizona in 2003. Ms Hulya is married and has a poodle named Snoopy. In her spare time she enjoys listening to music and working on the computer.

Ms. Jessica Ward
AMI Primary Teacher
Serving you since 2006

Jessica is the head teacher in Primary 2A. She was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and grew up in Tempe. She has been working as a Montessori Teacher assistant since 1996 in Peoria and earned her AMI diploma in 2001. Jessica has two girls who are both TMS students. They also enjoy the company of their 2 cats and 1 dog. For fun Ms Jessica enjoys sign language, sewing and scuba diving.

Ms. Smita Devani
AMI Primary Teacher
Serving you since 1997

Smita is the head teacher in room P2B. Smita was born in Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa. After finishing high school she went to England to further her studies in computers. She got married in England and moved to Canada with her husband, where she pursued her career in computers. She moved to Arizona in 1994 and joined TMS in 1997as an assistant. Smita has completed her AMI training in May 2004. She enjoys children and has two girls who are TMS alumni.

Ms. Eun Kyung Lim
AMI Directress
Serving you since 1993

Eun is the Primary Substitute Teacher. She has earned her AMI Primary Diploma and has a BA in Christian Education from Presbyterian Seminary in Korea. Eun has two children, a daughter at U of A and a son who is attending Annapolis Naval Academy. She served 18 years working at a Korean school on weekends.

Toddler

Ms. Cindy Draper
AMI Directress, Toddler Certified
Serving you since 1998

Cindy is a toddler teacher who completed her Assistants to Infancy training (A.I.) in 2002. She has a background in the toddler community as an assistant for 3 years and has studied child development from North Pioneer College. She has also worked with Head Start Programs for seven years. Cindy is an active member in the Navajo Community and has taught Navajo arts and culture. Ms. Cindy has three daughters, who are TMS alumni; her son is in the primary program.

Support Staff

Susan Smith
Recreation Director
Serving you Since 2007

Susan comes to us this year with a wealth of life experiences. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and Social Studies from Morehead State University in Kentucky. She has administered several businesses. Has taught kindergarten and fifth graders in all subjects, developed and implemented lesson plans to adhere to National Education Standards. She was Regional Director of Licking Valley Girl Scout Council for several Years. She is great fun to be with and we are excited to have her at our school.

Sara Kako
Recreation Assistant
Serving you Since 2007

Sara graduated from high school in Baghdad, Iraq where she was raised and later worked as a preschool teacher and office secretary. She left Baghdad in 1992 and traveled to Jordan, Turkey, and Bulgaria. She went from Greece to San Diego, CA in 1993. In 1994 she studied with the Union of Pan Asian Communities, UPAC, where she received training in Pan Asian Children Family Services and Family Day Care. She is a mother of 3 ages 10, 14, and 18 years, and handles children very well. She volunteers at her church as usher and Sunday school teacher.

Ms. Liz Lindsey
Custodian
Serving you since 1988

Liz Lindsey has known Tempe Montessori School for many years as the school custodian and accepts the challenges and excitement each day brings. Liz, herself is a part time student and enjoys reading in her spare time. She has a son, a daughter, three grandchildren and her dog Sugar.

Mr. Kelly Corder
Physical Education Teacher

Kelly has two sons one is in elementary class and one who graduated from TMS in 2006. He has been teaching the elementary P.E. classes since 2000.