Quick Links
- OPM Report an Absence Form
- OPM Attendance Line: 517-706-5402
- OPM Peace Pledge
- OPM School Website
- OPM Montessori FAQs
- OPM Community Connection Video – My Hand In Your Hand (Created in Spring 2020)
- Okemos Kids Club
(where you sign up for before and after school care) - Okemos Community Education
(where you sign up for some sports and enrichment clubs offered through Okemos School District) - Meridian Township Parks & Rec Sign Up
(where you sign up for some sports and activities offered through Meridian Township)
About Our School Community
Okemos Public Montessori (OPM) is housed in what was historically called “Central School.” It was called Central School because in 1920 the building was the first in the area to consolidate area schools of varying grades into one central location to combine resources. You may see our school called Okemos Public Montessori at Central, Okemos Public Montessori, or shortened to OPM or Central.
Okemos Public Montessori is a public elementary school in Okemos School District, however, because we are a limited enrollment school, students must apply to be entered in the lottery for enrollment. Our school serves a diverse population including 3 to 10 years olds, from Preschool to 4th grade, including our school district’s Begindergarten and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students. Together, with their families, our school community spans a greater geographic reach than most neighborhood elementary schools because our students come from all across the district, as well as including school-of-choice students from out of the district.
Our school was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School, which awards schools for overall academic excellence and progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Our school is unique because there are only a small number of public Montessori schools in the state of Michigan. OPM is aligned with the American Montessori Society philosophy, while also meeting the district’s learning objectives. As part of the Montessori philosophy, our classrooms span multiple ages and include PPK (3 and 4 year old Preschoolers and Kindergarten), Lower Elementary (also called, “Lower El,” which includes 1st and 2nd grades), and Upper Elementary (also called, “Upper El,” which includes 3rd and 4th grades). Since the classrooms are multi-age they each have a Paraprofessional/Parapro, in addition to the teacher, to support classroom learning. In the classroom, teachers and parapros go by their title (Mr. / Ms. / Mrs. / Miss.) and first name. Each of our classrooms are named after a tree, to help incorporate the Montessori connection to nature throughout our school. You can see the name of each classroom listed by teacher name in the list of teachers below and you can also see the name of each classroom featured in the OPM Community Connection Video – My Hand In Your Hand (Created in Spring 2020).
Peace education is also a major component of the Montessori classroom. Peace lessons are incorporated throughout the year and each school day we start with reciting our school’s Peace Pledge, in addition to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.
We use Montessori lessons and materials in the classroom – from Montessori grammar lessons in English Language Arts to Montessori manipulatives in Math to learning about the Montessori Great Lessons in Cultural Studies.
You can find out more about what it means to be a Montessori school by visiting the OPM Montessori FAQ Page or the OPM Montessori Information Resources Page.
Teachers
This list of teachers links to the teacher’s contact info. On their webpage, you can look for a menu on the left-side of the page to see if the teacher has other pages of information.
Begindergarten- Mrs. Jennifer (Jennifer Schlicher) – Apple Blossom Classroom – Begindergarten
- Mrs. Lorie (Lorie Latsko) – Flowering Dogwood Classroom – PPK-K
- Mrs. Beth (Elizabeth Lieber) – Mulberry Classroom – PPK-K
- Mrs. Kara (Kara Thurber) – Catalpa Classroom – PPK-K
- Mrs. Theresa (Theresa Weber) – Honeysuckle Classroom – PPK-K
- Mrs. Susie (Susan Black) – Paper Birch Classroom – 1st/2nd Grades
- Mrs. Erin (Erin Gould) – Sycamore Classroom – 1st/2nd Grades
- Mrs. Holly (Holly Heie) – Red Cedar Classroom – 1st/2nd Grades
- Mrs. Lauri (Lauri Johnson) – Willow Classroom – 1st/2nd Grades
- Mrs. Christine (Christine Batora) – Redbud Classroom – 3rd/4th Grades
- Mrs. Erin (Erin LaFerier) – Silver Maple Classroom – 3rd/4th Grades
- Mrs. Iris (Iris Parasca) – Paw Paw Classroom – 3rd/4th Grades
- Mrs. Sybil (Sybil Ford) – Tulip Tree Classroom – 3rd/4th Grades
- Mrs. Caity (Caity Biermann) – General Music
- Mrs. Daniele (Daniele Budd) – Physical Education
- Mrs. Marcia (Marcia Morehead) – Art
- Mrs. Cynthia (Cynthia Trygier) – Exploratory
- Mrs. Sally (Sally Langley) – Library
- Mrs. Michelle (Michelle Arndt) – ELL
- Mrs. Jamie (Jamie Delong) – Basic Classroom
- Mrs. Carolina (Carolina Giraldo) – Preschool Enrichment / Before and After
- Mrs. Amanda (Amanda Hall) – School Psychologist
- Mrs. Erin (Erin Kanitz) – Speech/Language Pathologist
- Mrs. Rachel (Rachel Krier) – Resource Consultant
- Mrs. Corey (Corey Nieland) – RTI Coach, Learning Resource Room
- Mrs. Abby (Abigail Showerman) – Basic Classroom
- Mrs. Chelsea (Chelsea Young) – Social Worker
- Mrs. Shannon (Shannon Nedds) – Principal
- Mrs. Kelly (Kelly Herald) – Administrative Assistant