Education Levels

Early childhood (age 3 - Kindergarten)

Applications for the 2025-2026 school year will be available in January.

Lower elementary (Grades 1-3)

Now accepting applications for 2024-2025. Applications for the 2025-2026 school year will be available in January.

For the 2024-2025 school year, lower elementary includes kindergarten.

Upper elementary (grades 4-6)

Now accepting applications for 2024-2025. Applications for the 2025-2026 school year will be available in January.

Adolescent (grades 7+)

Applications for 7th grade only for the 2025-2026 school year will be available in January.

Enroll

Print out this form and return it, along with a $200 enrollment fee per child. $100 of this fee will be applied to first month's tuition.

This application is not a guarantee of placement at Bluestem Montessori. Families must still complete an application and interview process to secure placement.

Executive Director & lead teacher, elementary ii

Laura Roberts

Laura is our Executive Director and is also our Lead Teacher for Elementary II.

Her own Montessori education developed a life-long love of learning that has led her to a BA from Hastings College, an MA in Medieval History from the University of Washington, and most of the way through a PhD (oh that pesky dissertation!). In 2008 she became a Fulbright Scholar, and took her family to study medieval manuscripts in Germany. She has taught hundreds of college students as a teaching assistant and then as an instructor, and was recognized by her department for her excellence in teaching.

In late 2015, Laura decided that she was done wishing for alternative elementary education in Lincoln and decided to do something about it.  She quit writing her dissertation and began work on what would become Bluestem Montessori Elementary, gathering friends and like-minded folks to start brainstorming.  Since then she has learned all about founding and managing a nonprofit, Montessori education and philosophy, and educational administration. 

Laura is a Girl Scout leader and a mother of two spirited girls, and completed her Montessori certification for ages 6-12 at Mid-America Montessori Teacher Training Institute in Spring of 2020.

lead teacher, elementary i

Emrys Warner

Emrys is our Elementary I Teacher here at Bluestem Montessori.

They are no stranger to alternative education.  They attended the Science Focus Program here in Lincoln for two years during their high school career, which is where they fell in love with student led learning.

Em attended University in Colorado where they earned a Bachelor’s Degree in General Sciences and became certified to teach middle and high school science.  They spent a semester student teaching for a STEM middle school program and spent a year working with preschoolers in Community Action’s Head Start program. 

Em also had the privilege to travel to Rwanda in 2013, and Indonesia in 2017, to visit children that they sponsor there through letter writing and paying their school fees. 

Em completed their Montessori Teacher Training at Global Montessori Educators Institute in Summer 2023.

classroom assistant

Nichole Hansen

Nicki Hansen is a teaching assistant at Bluestem. This is her first time working in Montessori education and every day is an eye-opening experience. She loves being a part of the community that develops when educators, students, and families work together closely so that students can learn and grow to be the best version of themselves possible.

Nicki has a bachelors in Psychology from Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS. She is also a children's book author and publisher, and teaches after school and summer clubs for LPS and camps for Bright Lights Summer Learning Adventures.

early childhood lead teacher / Office Administrator

Sarah Beckley

Sarah is from Lincoln and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan with a BA in Theatre before moving to the East Coast in 2005. She worked as a teaching artist and interned at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia before going to graduate school at New York University where she got her Master’s Degree in Theatre Education in Colleges and Communities. She has taught classes in Philadelphia, New York, London, and Rio de Janeiro.

While at NYU she started subbing at a Montessori School and fell in love with watching children learn at their own pace in a nurturing and positive environment. She was amazed at how capable even the youngest child was when they were given the time and space to “do it myself”. Sarah was a lead teacher at Riverside Montessori School in New York City for 17 years. She has taught hundreds of students, supervised over a dozen interns, and has collaborated on developing curriculum and assessment tools. Sarah is Early Childhood certified (3-6) from CMTE New York and has a Masters in Early Childhood Education (Birth – Second grade) from the College of New Rochelle.

Sarah has two children who started Montessori as infants! They are in elementary school now at LPS. Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, watching movies, traveling and trying new restaurants in Lincoln.

Music teacher

Luke Thallas

Luke Thallas is a freelance musician and music teacher based in the Lincoln/Omaha area. Trombone is his primary instrument, and he performs with 5-6 different groups regularly covering a wide variety of genres. Luke also performs on keyboards, drums, bass, guitar, and vocals with a few other groups in town. Luke maintains a small yet successful private trombone studio in Lincoln, coaching students from 6th-12th grade. He received his Bachelor’s of Music Education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2015, and proceeded to work for seven years as the K-5 General Music Teacher at Belmont Elementary in Lincoln. During his tenure at LPS, Luke became a fully certified Orff-Schulwerk teacher, taking all 3 levels as subsequent graduate courses through UNL. Luke attended and presented at many elementary music education workshops throughout the midwest, helping to broaden his horizons as a music teacher. In his time not spent on music or teaching, Luke likes to cook, read, lift weights, go camping, hike, play video games, and spend time with his wife Natalie and their dog, Nola.

yoga teacher/aftercare teacher/substitute support

Vanessa Wurz

art teacher/aftercare teacher/substitute support

Molly Phemister

Aftercare teacher/classroom and office support

Anna Unruh

Aftercare teacher/classroom support

Ren Eckery

Ren is one of the aftercare teachers and classroom assistants at Bluestem. She joined us in 2023.She enjoys getting to see what the children learn and helping them become wonderful human beings. 

In 2025, Ren will begin studying at Southeast Community College in the Early Childhood Education Program. When she is not at Bluestem, she enjoys playing video games and listening to music and shopping.

substitute support

Em Hammans

Em is senior at UNL pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in music. They are a passionate teacher as well as a passionate student— they teach violin and viola as a Suzuki certified instructor. Em is enthusiastic about alternative education and is excited to be serving the Bluestem community!

Aftercare teacher and substitute support

Jaymie Stillwell-Edler

Jaymie’s background is in opening restaurants internationally and domestically for Applebee’s. She is a book fanatic and can be caught reading with her dogs in any spare time she has! She is very excited to have found a place to call home for her child in Bluestem, and thrilled to be part of this community and to help it thrive. Jaymie is also our current PTO president.

Board of Directors

Lindsey Knop - Interim Board President

Lindsey Knop is has been involved with Bluestem since her son started attending in 2018. She has served as PTO president and has been on the board of directors since 2022. She enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and playing disc golf with her family. She has volunteered in local schools via the Junior Achievement and TeamMates programs for the last ten years. Lindsey knows the importance of being a part of a community and is devoted to our Bluestem community.

Melody Vaccaro - Treasurer

Melody Vaccaro is a mother of two children, the youngest currently attending Bluestem Montessori. Melody is originally from Papillion, NE where she earned her Girl Scout Gold Award in high school. She graduated from UNO with a liberal arts degree. After college, she served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Bulgaria. Melody now serves as the executive director at Nebraskans Against Gun Violence.

Melody’s favorite thing about Bluestem is the school’s devotion to hands on nature based exploration and the classroom rule of “no punching the flowers”.

Vicky Wood

Sarah Zuckerman

Louis Todd-Meyer

Lois Todd-Meyer earned her BA and MAT degrees from Hastings College and taught high school English/Language Arts in two rural Nebraska school districts for 28 years. She and her husband moved to the Lincoln area in 2014 and Lois completed her Doctorate in Education degree at UNL in 2015. Beginning in 2014, Lois taught as an adjunct in the Teacher Education Department at Concordia University and for the Developmental English program at SCC until she retired in 2023. She was a Commissioner for the Nebraska Library Commission for six years and is currently a board member of the Nebraska Center for the Book and the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association. Lois will always have a passion for education and literacy.

Lois has two grown children and (currently) three growing grandchildren. She appreciates the opportunity to be a part of Bluestem Montessori’s continued growth as they provide excellent education experiences for a growing number of children in Lincoln.