Who We Are

Compass Montessori School is a public charter school dedicated to offering an authentic Montessori education to students in Children’s House (Preschool) through 12th grade in Wheat Ridge and Golden, Colorado. Established in 1998, we are committed to guiding students to a love of learning by protecting concentration and nurturing their curiosity.

Inspired by Maria Montessori and her philosophy, over 20 years ago a dedicated group of Montessorians and parents came together with an idea - to create a free charter school open to all children, with a true Montessori experience. Although they were humble beginnings, Compass has grown into a thriving learning environment for over 450 families each year.

Compass Montessori is governed by our Compass School Board of Directors. Our Executive Director, Dr. Cameron Gehlen leads a Leadership Team including Kymm Garcia, Principal for the Golden Campus, and Dr. Amy Fleig, Principal for the Wheat Ridge Campus.

Our Children's House Directors include Rachael Vu for the Wheat Ridge Campus and Serra Draper for our Golden campus. Our Administration team includes our comprehensive staff teams which support our school in many different ways, including teaching teams, IT, communications, enrollment, facilities, food service facilities and SpEd and Mental Health Support.

Check out our complete Staff Directory to meet all of our amazing staff!

Dr. Cameron Gehlen, Executive Director

Dr. Cameron Gehlen is the Executive Director for all grade levels on both campuses at Compass Montessori. She is led by our Compass Board of Directors, and she oversees the principals and administration teams. Prior to her role as ED, Dr. Gehlen was a Lower Elementary teacher for ten years, as well as a principal at the Wheat Ridge campus. She was appointed the Executive Director role in 2018.

A true Montessorian, she completed AMS Montessori training from the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies (MECR) in Boulder; she has a Master of Science in Education from Regis University, and a Doctorate from CU’s Leadership for Educational Equity Program with a focus on Educational Law and Policy. As Executive Director at Compass Montessori, Cameron is committed to ensuring that our programming is exceptional, pure, and consistent throughout all levels and across both campuses.

She has a knack for learning every child’s name, and she is committed to really knowing them and leading a school that meets each student where they are academically, socially, and emotionally. The students know her, look up to her and respect her because she believes they are capable of great things. Cameron makes herself accessible, and she has mastered the art of setting an amazing example by reminding students to be themselves, think for themselves, and leave Compass Montessori with a motivation for life-long learning.

Dr. Amy Fleig, Wheat Ridge Campus Principal

I have been in this school community since 2013, and I feel so fortunate and humbled to serve on the Compass Montessori Leadership Team as the Principal at our Wheat Ridge campus since 2023.

I have enjoyed applying my experiences teaching Upper Elementary in the Earth Room and then serving as the cross-campus Head of Student Support administrator to lead our Section 504, intervention, special education, gifted and talented, English language learning, and multi-tiered systems of support programs for six years.

I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and moved west to attend Colorado College. I earned my B.A. from CC in Psychology of Education and also received my Colorado State Teaching License in Elementary Education. I then moved to Charlottesville, Virginia to complete my M.Ed. in Educational Psychology: Applied Developmental Science. After moving back to Colorado, and teaching at a neighborhood public school, I knew I envisioned something more student-centered for public education.

I learned about Compass Montessori at that time and joined an Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) Elementary Montessori training cohort in Atlanta, Georgia. I then completed my K-12 principal licensure through Western Colorado University and earned my Doctorate of Education in Executive Leadership for Educational Equity from the University of Colorado, Denver in Summer 2024. My doctoral studies focused on non-profit leadership and expansion of Montessori offerings in the public sector.

I love working toward a true Montessori experience for all of our students, and believe in the significant difference it can make to bring a whole child perspective to understanding students’ needs.

Kymm Garcia, Golden Campus Principal

Kymm Garcia is the Principal for our Pre-K through Secondary (7th - 12th grade) programs. She has over 25 years of Montessori experience, and she has been at Compass for 20 years.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies and Developmental Psychology from Metropolitan State College of Denver, and a Master’s in Education from St. Catherine University. Additionally, she holds a Principal’s License through UNC, AMI Infant/Toddler Training, and AMI Primary Training. She spent three glorious summers in Elementary Training at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota, and she holds a Colorado State Teaching License in Early Childhood Education with an Elementary Endorsement. Kymm was previously a teacher in Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary at our Golden Campus. Currently, in addition to her role as Principal, she trains new Montessorians at the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies (MECR) in Boulder, Colorado.

Kymm is a Compass veteran and her insight about where Compass Montessori began and vision for where it’s headed is a treasure to us all. As principal to adolescents, she is graceful with this age group and rooted in the belief that meeting students where they are developmentally is the key to a lifelong love of learning for each of them.