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Our People

Our People

Our Leadership Team

Our Leadership Team oversees company vision and governance, program strategy and design, curriculum development, and quality assurance.

Keith Whitescarver
Chief Executive Officer

Keith is cofounder and former executive director of the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. Since its founding in 2012, NCMPS has paved the way for 50,000+ students to access high-fidelity, equitable, and humanizing public Montessori education. He is also cofounder of Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School, a fully implemented, public Montessori program for students PreK3–grade 6 in Washington, DC. A passionate Montessori thought leader and nationally recognized historian of literacy and American schooling, Keith has written extensively about the evolution of the Montessori Movement in the United States. He has imparted wisdom across multiple universities, taught high school history, and coached athletics at both the secondary and higher education levels. Keith holds an EdD in History of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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Marcy Krever
Director of Operations

Marcy brings a lifetime of experience in project development and management to her work. As senior director of communications for the American Montessori Society for nearly 20 years, she oversaw the publication of a magazine for Montessori educators; led the production of company websites, informational videos, and more; and collaborated with other senior staff on organization programming and strategy. She also served as director of communication & publications for Brooklyn Heights Montessori School in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to her work in Montessori, Marcy produced a live, nationally broadcast, Peabody-award-winning radio show for children. She developed and directed a cultural enrichment program for severely disturbed adolescents in a residential treatment facility in New York City. And she designed and taught integrated-subject-area classes to junior high school students experiencing abandonment, violence, and other severe forms of adversity.

John Freeman
Academic Consultant

John Freeman, our academic consultant, is a foremost authority in the creation and delivery of literacy strategies, materials, instruction, and assessment. His primary area of focus is reading exceptionalities. John has worked in public education for over 30 years, serving as a reading specialist, classroom teacher, district-based language arts consultant, and Montessori school principal. Currently, John works as a language arts consultant in the New Haven and Hartford (Connecticut) Public Schools and for the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, in conjunction with the Connecticut State Department of Education.

Chris Lohse
Board President

With his passion for linking people, systems, and knowledge, Chris Lohse plays a crucial role in developing alliances that support Discourse Montessori’s growth and expansion. Currently, he is chief of staff at Learning Ally, which helps educators drive transformational change in literacy leadership and student achievement. Chris has held director-level positions at the Council for Chief State School Officers in the areas of research and information systems. He has also held several positions at Teach For America. Chris served as vice president of strategic and government relations at both Pearson (Education) and Renaissance Learning, which makes cloud-based, PreK–12 educational software and adaptive assessments. He was chief academic officer and senior VP of government affairs for Teachers 1on1, an online tutoring platform for students grades K–12. He has taught teaching methods courses at multiple universities.

Our Expert Tutoring Team

Our Tuors
Portrait

Our tutors are literacy specialists who are grounded in an understanding of Montessori principles.

 

They use a Montessori-aligned phonics curriculum that we’ve designed and reading materials that we’ve approved. We routinely evaluate and assess their sessions to ensure outstanding delivery of service, student engagement, and student progress.

 

Before being brought onboard, every tutor is rigorously vetted through personal interviews, background checks, and reference verification.

Join Our Tutoring Team

Are you a trained literacy tutor with a passion for helping struggling readers? Do you cherish the opportunity to work with the best core-literacy program available? Does learning how to build a tutoring practice founded on Montessori principles intrigue and entice you?

 

If so—and if you’re interested in the possibility of joining our remote tutoring team—please introduce yourself to us. Be sure to include a synopsis of your skills and qualifications.

Our Partner: Purple Ruler

Purple Ruler provides Discourse Montessori with the state-of-the-art platform that supports our work. They serve as connectors with tutors, oversee scheduling, and provide administrative support and customer service.

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