Our Edmond Campus Staff Team

Meet our Team

Our staff members are carefully selected. Cimarron School of Living Education teachers are inspired by the Cimarron vision and are delighted to come alongside families in raising life-long learners. These teachers desire to grow in their own personal and educational lives while consistently applying the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education. Cimarron teachers are be called to create an atmosphere where our students can grow in wisdom and knowledge, to mentor our children in the shaping of character, and to shepherd our students in truth, beauty, and goodness.

Minda Ciardi, Head of School & Founder

^{Originally hailing from west Texas, Minda moved to Oklahoma with her family in 2018 and quickly fell in love with Oklahoma and all this state has to offer.}

_{Minda hold degrees and certificates from Abilene Christian University, Stephen F. Austin University, and the University of North Texas. She has worked in education for over 20 years, serving students in a variety of settings and in positions of both teacher and administrator.}

_{However, it is the experience of teaching her own children at home that is the driving force of this new educational adventure. The vision of Cimarron School of Living Education came out of the desires for her own children as well as the spur to share the beauty of a Charlotte Mason education to the community around her.}

Kate Geesaman, Director of Education & Edmond Campus Principal

_{Born and raised in Illinois, Kate developed a love of nature and was often found in the pastures or and prairies seeking her next flower treasure or injured animal to nurse back to health. Music, however, has always been her real passion. The deep hymns, playful folksongs and full choral anthems were what inspired her to earn a bachelor degree in Music Education in 2000. She taught K-12 general and choral music for six years before she came home with her first son in 2006. Their family added three more boys in the next 5 years. Kate’s love for education brought her family into homeschooling. A Charlotte Mason way of educating found Kate in those early years of homeschooling and was a natural fit to her love of music, nature, history and literature. Kate is a follower of Jesus and most mornings can be found studying God’s word and learning more about our God that knows her and loves her. She also wonders at the intricacies of God’s creation through nature water-coloring. Kate enjoys teaching music with the Central Oklahoma Homeschool Choir where she leads the middle school and early elementary choirs. She is looking forward to this next adventure and sharing the feast of a Charlotte Mason education with her community.}

Erin King, Preschool Teacher

_{Erin graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma and has a background in dance and movement. She taught dance at her home studio in Texas for many years before moving to Guthrie in 2019 to live a slower pace of life. She loves gardening, hiking, making connections with neighbors, and being involved with her parish. She has homeschooled her three kids since her oldest was in kindergarten, and they are now in 8th grade, 5th grade, and 3rd grade. Some of her favorite homeschool years were teaching pre-k to her younger two — such precious memories were made.}

Cherry Lunsford, Kindergarten Teacher

_{Cherry Lunsford graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a Family Studies Degree and a Vocational Ministry Degree. Later on she got the Curriculum and Instruction Certificate from MACU and became alternatively certified to be a teacher. She has enjoyed teaching Pre-K, Third Grade, and First Grade for the past nine years and now Kindergarten at Cimarron for the tenth year of teaching! She and her husband Josh live in Edmond with their five kitties. Josh works in data management. They both enjoy serving at Rosh Pinah Messianic Jewish Congregation.}

_{Cherry enjoys singing worship and is working on a recording of original worship music. She also enjoys basic crochet, crafting, and encouraging others. She loves sharing about God and His Word especially to children and meditating on God’s Word. Psalm 139 is one of her favorite passages (among many others) because it shows God’s purpose, planning, and care for everyone alive. One of her favorite quotes is from missionary Jim Eliot: “Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” She enjoys walking in nature especially with trees and water. She thinks someday she’ll write a book and currently she’s wondering what it will be about!}

Angie Haubrich , 1st Grade Teacher and Primary Lead

Angie is a wife, mother of two girls, and a home educator. She was introduced to the Charlotte Mason Method about two years ago and after starting to read “School Education” by Charlotte Mason she was drawn to the wisdom of Mason’s 20 Principles. The beauty of an educational philosophy which made relationship with God, community, and nature the center from which all learning flowed, drew her and her family to Cimarron School of Living Education.

A childhood of traveling, in the United States and England as an Air Force kid, expanded and shaped Angie’s worldview, gave her a deep appreciation for different cultures, and grew in her a desire to learn more about the world. She attended Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, OK, where she studied Music, Business, and Theology and continued the adventure of traveling with the SNU Chorale on 2 separate tours through Europe, and a summer mission trip to Slovenia. After SNU she married Jesse, her husband of 17 years, worked in insurance as a trainer, and had two beautiful girls.

Angie loves people of all ages. She is active in her parish group at church, where she also enjoys taking spiritual formation and theology classes. She enjoys doing crafty things, hanging out with good friends, amateur gardening, reading with her kids, bird watching, and hunting for deals and treasures at thrift shops and garage sales.

Seeking a personal relationship with Christ has been woven through her entire journey. As she continues to seek the wisdom of God and practices walking the way of Jesus she realizes, more and more, how much about God she can experience and learn from “the least of these.” She considers it a blessing to get to learn with and from the children of Cimarron and is excited for this new adventure in education.

Mindi Robertson, 2nd Grade Teacher

Mrs. Robertson earned her BA in Elementary Education from OPSU and has spent over 20 years teaching in public schools across several states and grade levels. She married her husband in 2005 and has moved to support his oilfield career, settling in Edmond in 2014, which they now proudly call their forever home. While they were not blessed with children of their own, they are proud fur parents. Mrs. Robertson is excited to join the Cimarron family, deepen her understanding of the Charlotte Mason philosophy, and share her passion for learning and the outdoors with her students.

Rachel Callarman, 3rd Grade Teacher

_{Bio coming soon!}

Meredeth Duncan, 4th Grade Teacher

Meredeth Duncan received her Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma Christian University in 2011. After getting married in 2014, she and her husband Rob began teaching childrens’ Bible classes at their church and have continued on to today. After Meredeth’s busy engineering career with much traveling, they welcomed their son Moses and a few months later, their daughter Daisy was born. Meredeth learned the beauty of being home with her children and teaching them about God, nature, and the wonders of life. While researching homeschool ideas, she was drawn to the Charlotte Mason method and especially to the ideas that children are valuable and precious whole people.

Meredeth and her family enjoy playing outside in all weather, taking care of their chickens, reading books, cooking, and attending church. She can’t wait to pour into your Cimarron students and continue on their journey of education together! While teaching her own children or others, Meredeth truly believes that having the attitude of Jesus is essential. “Rather, in humility value others above yourself.” (Phil. 2:3)

Matt Cottle, 5th Grade Teacher

_{Bio coming soon!}

Nikki Thomas , 6th Grade Teacher

Nikki attended OSU and received her degree in Secondary Education Social Studies. She has always loved learning, traveling, exploring, and teaching! During her time at OSU she studied abroad twice including her student teaching at a DoDS school in England. After this she worked in the public school system for five years and taught numerous ages and classes from 5th-12th grade.

She has been married for almost 10 years and has served alongside her husband in youth ministry and now college ministry at UCO. They both have a heart for students and teaching the gospel. When their children were born she had a desire to stay home with them and eventually this became a reality. With this shift she began researching how she wanted her children to grow up and fell in love with the idea of homeschooling.

In 2021 Nikki and her friend Emily created a small business called The Schoolyard creating homeschool physical education curriculum. Nikki discovered Charlotte Mason through an antiquated form of physical education called Swedish Drill. As she learned more about Swedish Drill and how brilliant it was she was instinctually drawn to the this women and her method of homeschooling. After learning about Miss Mason for the past year she firmly believes in her method and form of education.

She is excited to teach in an atmosphere that truly feeds and nourishes students mind, body, and soul with a living education. It is going to be a great year!

Kendi Weicht , Middle School Teacher

Kendi grew up in southcentral Pennsylvania, where she spent a lot of time outdoors exploring, camping, rock climbing, and caving. Her fascination with the living and non-living facets of nature led her to the study of geology. She obtained her B.S. in Geology from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and M.S. in Geology from West Virginia University. During her role as a teaching assistant at WVU, she discovered her passion for teaching. After moving to San Antonio, Texas with her husband in 2015, Kendi obtained her teaching certificate in secondary science, tutored geology and chemistry at Alamo Colleges, and taught high school science. When her daughter was born, she decided to stay home and focus on family. Her family relocated to Fort Worth, Texas in 2019 and Edmond, Oklahoma in 2022 for her husband’s job.

As a homeschool mom following the Charlotte Mason philosophy, she likes to spend time learning with her daughter and appreciating the beauty of God’s creation. She enjoys morning Bible study with a cup of coffee, arts and crafts, reading cozy books, gardening, long-distance running, and spending time with friends and family. The Charlotte Mason lifestyle brings joy and life to her home, and she is excited to share her love of learning with her students at Cimarron School of Living Education. She hopes to be a mentor and role model for her students as they grow in faith, expand their knowledge, and discover their unique gifts and talents.

Meredith Cooper, High School Teacher, Humanities Focus and Secondary Lead

_{Mrs. Cooper received her BA in Communication from James Madison University and her MA in International Studies from The University of Oklahoma. Following a career in politics, she moved around the world with her husband while he served in the Air Force. The Coopers have four children. Mrs. Cooper has homeschooled her children from the beginning, and is eager to join the Cimarron community. She loves to learn about the Charlotte Mason philosophy, and is passionate about reading (and finding friends who love to read). As a mom of kids with disabilities, her favorite Charlotte Mason principle is “Children are born persons.”}

Shannon Goodchild, High School Teacher, Science Focus & Inclusion Lead

_{Shannon grew up in Texas and Colorado and has wonderful memories of being homeschooled alongside her 3 siblings for elementary school. She studied a variety of subjects at The University of Oklahoma including pre-med classes and fine art classes. She went on to get a Master’s of Education and started a career in Applied Behavioral Sciences. After the birth of her second child she switched gears and began to focus more on family. She took one of those “what type of home schooler are you” quizzes and was introduced to the wonderful world of Charlotte Mason. Since then, she has learned so much about what it truly means to educate and many of the obstacles that can prevent students from becoming self-motivated learners.}

_{Shannon loves being outdoors, especially backpacking, camping, and trying to grow things in Oklahoma’s crazy weather. She has a daughter Josie born in 2014, a daughter Isla born in 2016, and a son Shepherd born in 2021. Her husband Chris is a professor of biology at the University of Central Oklahoma. Shannon is so thankful to be a part of the compassionate, rigorous, and joyful learning community at Cimarron School of Living Education.}

Rachel Sheppard, PK-8th Grade Spanish Teacher

Bio coming soon!

Mariah Ramirez, High School Spanish Teacher

_{After taking her first Spanish class in the 8th grade, Mariah has always been passionate about the language. She continued studying it through high school and college in the US, on her own and in local conversation groups. She has also studied abroad 3 different times at a Spanish language school in Chihuaha, Mexico.}

_{Mariah and her husband have been married for 10 years and have 4 children together, all students at Cimarron. Marrying a Mexican has also helped her in her goal to become fluent. Her and her family travel to Mexico often to visit family.
In her free time you can find her, at church, reading novels (some Spanish!), learning Brazilian Jujitsu, and rollerblading with the family.}

_{Mariah seeks to create a love for languages in children so that they will be lifelong learners. She also strives to have her students feel comfortable and confident when speaking in Spanish rather than only focusing on how to read and write it – using a Charlotte Mason approach is a great way to achieve that!}

Sharon Arnold, High School American Sign Language Teacher

_{I became interested in learning sign language when my children were young. We attend a church which had a large Deaf population in the 80-90s. I was staying home with my children during most of this time, taking a break after teaching science in public schools for 6 years. I took basic sign language classes at my church. The year before my youngest was to start kindergarten, I was asked to be a long-term sub for a Deaf Education teacher who was on maternity leave. I fell in love with the language and deaf students. I decided to study more and in 1998 became certified in Deaf Education. I taught middle school Deaf Ed for 13 years. Abilene ISD added ASL to their foreign language choices in 2008. I studied and received my ASL certification, and have been teaching High School ASL since 2009.}

_{Along the way while learning ASL, I decided to become a certified interpreter and have maintained my Texas certification since 2000. I keep my certification current by taking classes offered by state and local organizations. I’m involved in community, educational and medical interpreting.}