I am Codi Ramsey, the elementary administrative assistant at Gilpin County School. I grew up in Coal Creek Canyon and have lived in Gilpin County for almost 8 years.  My husband and I have been married for almost 20 years and we have three daughters. In my free time I love fishing, snowmobiling, and dirt biking with my family. I also enjoy continually learning about high altitude gardening and have a lifelong love for big dogs.

Before having children  I worked as an Administrative Assistant for 6 years and I was then given the wonderful opportunity to be a stay at home mom with my daughters. Over the last 12 years I have worked with children of all ages through nannying and substitute teaching. I received my Early Childhood teaching certification in 2021 and have worked for Gilpin County School District for the last 8 years in the cafeteria, substitute teaching, preschool paraprofessional and as a preschool teacher. I enjoy my position at the school  because I love meeting new families and watching each child grow in their journey through education in a safe and caring environment. 

Hello! My name is Rachel Hansard and I have been teaching here at Gilpin for the past 6 years and  have been working in early childhood education for over 20 years. I live here in Black Hawk with my dog, Oliver. I am originally from Michigan where I attended the University of Michigan-Flint and received a degree in elementary education with minors in early childhood and fine arts. I moved here to Colorado to attend graduate school and received my Masters in Education and Human development from the University of Colorado-Denver. I also recently graduated from the Buell Education Fellowship where I received a graduate certificate in Leadership and Advocacy in Early Childhood education. I have been lucky enough to teach in Ireland and also spend time visiting the schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, where I fell in love with the Reggio teaching philosophy and the belief that children are capable individuals with their own unique ideas and interests. 

My name is Kathy Kelly.  I have lived in Gilpin County for thirty eight years.  My husband Ed and I have three daughters that have all attended and graduated from Gilpin County Elementary and High Schools.  I currently have eleven grandchildren of which four attend Gilpin County Elementary and Middle School.

I started out as a substitute teacher here for five years and was hired as a first grade teacher.  I have taught first and second grade for eight years. For the past sixteen years I have been teaching intervention reading, Lexia, and Library.

 I support both elementary and high school functions and love being around these kids.  I feel I am a huge school and staff morale booster.  I love this school and the staff and wouldn’t want to teach anywhere else. 

Hello my name is Ary Knaus and I am a Montessori Primary Guide with Gilpin County School.  My family and I are Gilpin residents, my husband and I have lived here for 21 and a half years.   I started here at Gilpin County School as a classroom parent volunteer, substitute teaching, then a Paraprofessional in kindergarten and preschool.  In 2018, I attended Red Rocks Community College in Golden, Co and received my certificate in Early Childhood for Preschool Teacher.  Then in 2019, I attended Montessori Education Center of the Rockies (MECR) in Boulder, Co. and received my certificate in Associate Early Childhood AMS for Montessori Primary.  

 My two teenage children have attended Gilpin County School since preschool.  Our family loves to go camping, for walks, spending time with our families, atving and exploring this wonderful state.  After having my children, my desire to work with young children grew more.  While they attended half day kindergarten and preschool, I was elated to volunteer.  It was such an overwhelming wonderful experience that I became excited and passionate to help children with their learning.  It is my love and joy to work with young children in either environment be it as a Preschool Teacher or a Montessori Primary Guide.  I am honored to have the opportunity to meet each of you and be a part of your child’s growth and development. 

Growing up, I thought I would be an astronaut or a dancer or a surgeon.  I didn’t realize that I was destined to be a teacher! I have taught everything from swimming, emergency communication, and first aid to cheerleading, fire fighting and handwriting. My students have included infants, young children, teenagers and adults. 

My attraction to the Montessori pedagogy was ignited by the adoption of our two children. My husband and I are teachers but didn’t know as much as we wanted to know about early childhood education. After checking out all kinds of classrooms and curricula, we decided that the Montessori method would best fit our children.

When our oldest was 5 years old, I volunteered in her Montessori Primary classroom and loved it! The next year, when our youngest was 3 years old and in this classroom, I was hired as a Paraprofessional (a.k.a. Teacher’s aide). Already having my B.A. in Education, I went on to get my Early Childhood endorsement and Montessori certification. Our oldest has graduated from the  Colorado School of Mines with her degree in chemical engineering and is employed in a position that utilizes her skills.  Our youngest is a  sophomore at  C.U. Boulder, minoring in Chinese Language and majoring in integrative physiology as she pursues her goal of becoming a physician assistant. 

Considering all of the different types of work I have done in my life, with the only exception of being a parent, being a Montessori Primary Guide,  is without a doubt, my favorite work of all. 

People often ask me what makes Gilpin great? At Gilpin, we have a knowledgeable staff that is focused on student learning and growth. We worked together to create a consistent environment for students to thrive. We care about each other and celebrate our successes together. We are a team!

Hi, I’m Lauren Nelson. My career started out as an importer traveling through Central and South America for mountaineering expeditions. From those experiences, I fell in love with the locals and their handicrafts and arts. This love and involvement with the people and artwork caused me to see an opportunity to support local handicraft work of Women by supporting Women’s Cooperatives and selling their work to friends. Later, I expanded my business and had three stores in the Pittsburgh area, my hometown. My travels caused me to ask myself what would help these people to move out of poverty?  My conclusion was I could best help people with teaching higher quality education. My goal was to teach abroad, and I still have that to accomplish.

I went back to school after selling my business and then moved to the Colorado area after I was accepted into the Master’s Plus program in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. After finishing my Master’s Degree I moved to Idaho to teach a 5th Grade classroom.  I was there one year. Then my family moved to California and I taught 5th Grade in the Bay Area for almost 5 years.

 When my daughter came along I homeschooled for four and a half years. We continued homeschooling so we could travel the world for two years and gained incredible cultural and outdoor experiences that involved climbing mountains, trampling through jungles, exploring different housing, museums, and culinary delights while on the road.

I’ve been teaching Montessori for the last nine years. I started learning about Montessori when I was hired by the Southern Ute Montessori Academy to be a Lower Elementary teacher.  I attended the Montessori Education Center in Boulder to get my Lower Elementary Montessori certification.  I worked for the Tribe for three years before moving to the Front Range in the Summer of 2016. 

I am so happy to be working in Lower Montessori at Gilpin County Elementary with such a great supportive staff. I appreciate our wonderful students who enjoy growing and exploring learning with kindness and enthusiasm.

My name is Beth Olkowski.  I have been involved in education in many different capacities for the last 20 years.  I got my start as an educator working with Americorps, teaching literacy at a bilingual school in Boulder, Colorado.  I loved working with children and other educators so much that I also taught climbing, biking, canoeing and other outdoor skills through Avid4 Adventure, an outdoor adventure company in Boulder.  My passion for all things nature swept me away from teaching for several years and I worked for the Forest Service in the wild mountains of Wyoming as a wilderness ranger on horseback and as a dogsled guide.  However, I craved being back in the classroom, so I obtained my teaching license through CU Boulder.  Promptly after that, I left for South East Asia to teach English in Thailand.  Upon returning to the United States I began working at Gilpin County Elementary as a 4th grade teacher.  Over the last several years, I attended the Montessori Education Center of the Rockies (MECR), and I am now Montessori certified as well.  I currently teach Lower Elementary Montessori (1st-3rd).  I believe that all children want to learn and should be allowed to work at their own pace using hands-on materials.  

I live up here in the mountains near Nederland with my amazing and curious four year old daughter Nandi, my patient and loving husband Skylar, and my fluffy dog Mira.  When I’m not at school I’m probably skiing, biking, cooking or traveling with my family. 

Hello!  I have been in the teaching/early childhood education field for over 20 years.  This is my 3rd year at GES.  My first year was spent as a paraprofessional and the last two as the 2nd grade teacher.   Before moving up here to Gilpin almost 4 years ago, I worked at a private fully inclusive preschool in Broomfield, Bal Swan Children’s Center.

I am a Colorado native and received my undergraduate in Psychology from CU Boulder and my teaching/Masters degree in Early Childhood Education with an emphasis in Special Education.  I love seeing the world through children’s eyes and instilling a love of learning in all my students.  Another one of my favorite parts of this career is helping students be the best version of themselves by teaching social emotional skills daily and planting the seed for kindness, acceptance, understanding and confidence.  My husband, Cory and I have been married for 15 years and have two wonderful 10 year old twins, Jace and Blakely who have attended Gilpin since 1st grade.   We really enjoy being a part of this small supportive, outdoorsy community!  In our free time our family can be found taking our dogs on a hike, golfing, 4 wheeling, playing in the snow and enjoying pretty much all the sports!

Hi, my name is Danette Riehle, and I am delighted to be part of Gilpin Elementary as a 1st grade teacher. I am originally from the Chicago area and live in Gilpin County with my two children; Little Danette, a 7th grader, Maddox, a junior in highschool, and my partner, Matt. I earned an undergraduate in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and later, a masters in Education & Human Development from the University of Colorado. I am a member of the University of Chicago Athletics Hall of Fame, coach Gilpin Middle School Girls Soccer Team. Nederland Girls Ice Hockey team and am a board member for the Nederland Ice Rink. 

In my classroom, it is my goal to establish a safe and positive learning environment for all learners. I take great care in guiding social-emotional growth by nurturing connections and promoting empathy. I embrace diversity by welcoming discussions with the inclusion of families and the community-at-large. I aim to foster the ability to imagine the world from multiple perspectives and encourage flexible thinking in order to problem solve. I strive to deliver meaningful and engaging lessons suited to the needs of the individual child so that all students can develop creative and high-level thinking skills. 

Hi there! My name is Kellie Bayne and teaching is my passion! The University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO is the school I attended for both my Bachelor and Master’s degree in Elementary Education. I was hired at Gilpin County School right out of college and have been here ever since. Over the years, I have taught 1st through 4th grades. Third grade is where I have spent most of my time and where I am currently. It is amazing to watch the 3rd graders grow and become incredible readers and writers. We learn multiplication and division as well as cursive. It is a fun filled year for sure! Because we are a K-12 school, I have also had the opportunity to coach many sports over the years. Currently, I coach middle school boys’ basketball, middle school girls’ volleyball and high school track. I also ski with the Snowdodgers group. Traveling internationally over spring break with high school students is also a passion of mine. It is an amazing experience to watch the older kids learn about the world from a different perspective! The most amazing experiences I have had are watching kids grow up as they go through our school. When I’m not at school, I enjoy being outside with my dog hiking, snowshoeing or running. 

Hi, I am Susan Sepanik, and I love teaching your children, especially Math.  I have been a classroom teacher here at Gilpin for the past  15 years.  I grew up in CT and went to UCONN, but transplanted to CO as soon as I graduated with my degree in Child Development.  My career in education began teaching preschool and then by becoming a ski instructor at Eldora Ski Resort.  I continue this passion currently by sponsoring our Gilpin Snow Dodgers ski club. My three grown children and one treasured granddaughter were all raised in these beautiful mountains where I love to hike, camp, paddleboard,  garden. I  earned my Master’s Degree in Education in 2006 from the University of Phoenix, and have been teaching 3rd or 4th grade ever since. My specialty is Math and I enjoy making it come to life with manipulatives, drawings, and relating it to my student’s everyday worlds.  

My name is Linda Sypert and I am blessed to be the K-5 BOCES  SSN Special Education teacher here at Gilpin Elementary.  This is my 10th year of teaching here and my 29th year in education.  I graduated from Idaho State University with degrees in Elementary Education and Special Education.  I have taught preschool, elementary, middle school and high school special education, 8th grade math, and college prep classes. I have laughed, cried, learned with, cooked with and even danced with my students.  I love the uniqueness of all of them and I give a little piece of my heart to each one to keep as they continue on their life’s journey.  Although I have lived and taught in three different states (Idaho, Indiana and Colorado), I have found “home” here at Gilpin. 

I’ve been teaching for over 20 years and have been in Gilpin for 4 years.  I enjoy teaching the elementary students with all their energy and excitement and I am inspired by the secondary band and choir.  I love sharing in the musical growth of our students in Gilpin.  

I have a degree in Oboe performance and I have played with many local orchestras and ensembles.  In my free time my son and I love to hike with our 4 dogs and we enjoy cuddles with our cat and bearded dragon.  I am always working on a project around the house or going to the Buell Theater.  My favorite thing to do is biking.