Our Teachers

 Margaret Lotz

Margaret Lotz has been a teacher for over 45 years, and she remains as passionate about her work now as when she first began.  Graduating from California State University with honors, she was initiated into the honorary history society, Phi Alpha Theta. She then joined a masters program at the University of Wisconsin where she began her teaching career.  Margaret has been an administrator, designed award-winning curriculum, and taught in both public and private schools in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, southern California, and in the Monterey Bay area.  Widely traveled and with an insatiable universe of interests, Margaret considers herself blessed beyond measure to be a teacher, mother and grandmother.

 

Lorraine Gerstl

Lorraine Gerstl is truly a woman for all seasons! She taught deaf children in her native South Africa before migrating to the United States, where she raised her own children, then recommenced her teaching career at Briarcliffe Academy / Robert Louis Stevenson before moving to Santa Catalina for nearly three decades as its beloved third grade teacher. She’s produced, directed, and acted in plays, musicals, variety shows, and programs of all kinds, picked up a National Disney Teacher of the Year nomination along the way, and traveled a good slice of the world in the process. An editor and internationally published writer, who won’t hesitate to stretch her students’ reach to the stars, she still revels in her favorite title – “Mom.”

 

Naomi Burwell (Reading, Japanese)

Naomi Burwell has been teaching English for eight years in both public and private school settings, including San Benancio Middle School and All Saints Day School. Naomi earned her Bachelor’s degree in English and her teaching credential from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and later pursued a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. She is passionate about teaching and finds great joy in seeing her students grow and succeed. Naomi is dedicated to creating a warm, positive classroom culture where every student feels valued, supported, and encouraged. She loves teaching reading in small group settings, where students can develop their skills in a safe, nurturing environment that invites confidence-building. In addition to her classroom experience, Naomi has coached cross country and track, advised student council, and mentored a student teacher. Her love for English and strong commitment to student growth are at the heart of her teaching. Naomi believes that strong relationships are the foundation of learning and strives to connect personally with every student. She looks forward to helping each child discover their potential and develop a lifelong love of reading.

 

Richard Lake (Math, Writing, Chess)

A polymath, Renaissance Personality, and “Man for All Seasons,” Richard attended the University of Pennsylvania (sociology) and trained on the 1972 Munich US Olympics Crew team. He spent four months traveling in India climbing in the Himalayas and taking trains to all points south into Sri Lanka. He wrote his thesis on the Evolution of Western Civilization from Mesopotamia to the Renaissance and the founding of America. When he relocated to Monterey, Richard obtained his California Teaching Credential. He taught English at MPC before moving on to the Monterey County Office of Education, where he taught life science, physical science, math, algebra, English, World and U.S. history, English as a Second Language, Environmental and Outdoor Education, Computer lab skills, culinary arts, performance art, guitar, and chess in the Alternative Education Department for 27 years. Along the way, Mr. Lake served as a chef at numerous high-end Peninsula restaurants. While working with Carmel High’s Desert Spring trip for 30 years, he taught workshops in survival skills, cooking, yoga, meditation, night poetry readings, photography, and Eastern philosophy and led many desert hikes and climbs. He recorded the sound for documentary films on location in Nepal and Samoa. Subsequent to his retirement from the County, Mr. Lake has taught math, creative writing, and the popular chess class for Omni Learning Center.

 

Susan Smith (Strokes of Genius – Creative Art)

Susan Smith’s brilliant Creative Arts Class —Strokes of Genius – has been oversold with a substantial waiting list each semester it has been offered – and with good reason. Susan is passionate about two things: children and art. Her work in the art world has inspired thousands of people in museum exhibitions, public and private schools, outreach programs, art docent groups, and private art classes. She is best known for creating inspiring adventures in art using the links between visual art, cultural anthropology, and art history to help students make real-world connections through art and interdisciplinary study. With over 40 years of experience, she has taught students of all ages at Santa Catalina School, the Washington Union and Monterey Peninsula Unified School Districts, as well as the Monterey Museum of Art, where she developed a multicultural curriculum and directed school site visits for the Museum on Wheels which served 10,000 students annually in four Central Coast counties. A member of InSEA and the NAEA, she has presented at national and international art conferences and published several articles in art education journals. A practicing artist, educator, program director, and consultant Susan earned her B.S. in art education and art history from Southern Connecticut University with advanced work in curriculum, instruction, and administration.