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Mathematics
Mathematics: Math is seen as another language. We could call the subject “numeracy” in keeping with “literacy”, which may more accurately reflect our understanding of the subject. Children need practice in mathematics in order to build confidence, and they often do best when the approach to the subject allows them to grow their sense of number over time. A “spiral curriculum”, one that keeps returning to certain basic concepts while at the same time pushing outward, meets the needs of most children. We work with math standards established by the National Council of Mathematics and draw our resources from the Miquon Math Program, Bridges Mathematics Curriculum, Math Their Way and Marilyn Burns material.
Sources that Inform Our Curriculum
The Curriculum in Action:
Students Write about Time
Faculty
Teaching at Lake and Park is collaborative as themes are shared across the grades and among the teachers. We believe that children benefit from learning art (and sports and music) from a teacher whom they also learn to read and write and do mathematics with; each teacher operates as a generalist. Because there is a strong multi-age component to each school day, each child is known and supported by the entire faculty.
Quynh Cao
Quynh Cao teaches the children in the North Room. Cao received a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education from Texas A & M. She also holds a degree from Del Mar College in Digital Media. She joined our faculty in September of 2013, having taught in the Texas public schools before moving to Seattle. Cao serves as the school's registrar.
Deborah Cooper
Deborah Cooper is a certified, licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with over twenty years of experience working with children and adolescents. She works throughout the school supporting students in speech, language, literacy and processing skills. She joined the Lake and Park School community in 2025.
Melissa Forster
Melissa Forster is the After Care Teacher at Lake and Park School and brings over four years of experience in nature-based early childhood education, with a focus on child led learning, social emotional development, and emergent curriculum. Forster currently attends the University of Washington, where they are completing their final year towards a Bachelor’s degree in Early Care and Education. Additionally, Forster also holds a degree from the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building and spent four years co-managing an organic farm in Washington’s Okanogan region.
Camille Hayward
Camille Hayward is a graduate of the University of Washington with a degree in English and Elementary Education. Before founding the school is 2003, she taught at various independent schools in the Seattle area. As well as being Head of School, she continues as a teacher working in the Beginning Room. Camille grew up in the Greater Seattle area, in both King and Kitsap counties, which allows her to keep in regular touch with friends and family.
Eileen Hynes
Eileen Hynes holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Bank Street College, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from Kenyon College. Eileen is the Director of Thematic Studies and the Admissions Director. Nationally Board Certified in 2006, she is a National Geographic Teacher Fellow and a NOAA Climate Steward. Eileen was named the Seattle World Affairs Council World Educator in 2016. She has been a faculty member since 2011.
Kim Martinson
Kim Martinson teaches the children in the Very Beginning Room and works in various capacities throughout the school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and the Teaching of Social Studies from Western Washington University. Kim joined the Lake and Park faculty in 2016. When not in the classroom, Kim loves to travel. As a recently certified scuba diver, Kim enjoys observing that natural world through new perspectives.
Cally Nicholls
Cally Nicholls has been working in independent schools since 2018, starting her career working with highly capable students at Seattle Country Day School. She further established her teaching as a Montessori educator in a lower elementary classroom for several years. Nicholls took a brief hiatus from independent schools while getting her Master’s in Elementary Education, completing her student teaching in Seattle Public Schools. In addition to her Master’s, she holds her Bachelor’s of Art in Psychology and a Minor in Writing from University of Washington.
Marian Sheehan
Marian Sheehan holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota in Speech-Language Pathology. She works throughout the school as an academic support specialist. Sheehan joined the faculty at Lake and Park in 2015.
Katie Vos
Katie Vos joins Lake and Park to lead the Big Room classroom, having taught in the Mt. Baker neighborhood’s Lakewood Cooperative Preschool from 2007-2024. She has broad-based experience in elementary education, teaching kindergarten in the Issaquah School District and fifth and sixth grades in the Lake Washington School District. A graduate of the University of Washington’s Jackson School of International Studies with a B.A. in International Political Economy, Vos holds a Masters Degree in Teaching from Seattle University, with credentials in Spanish and Economics.