Children’s House Montessori School Board

On January 1, 2010, twenty years after the school began as a corporation, Children’s House Montessori, converted to a 501(c)3. George and Janell Jewett were ready for a change and the parents were ready to take on the responsibilities of owning and operating the school.  Even though the CHM School Board now presides over the operations of the school, very little has changed. The strong commitment to the Montessori philosophy and the positive child-centered environment will continue to be the main focus of Children’s House Montessori.

Meet the Board
Tricia Hoeke, President
E-Mail Tricia
Tricia is a past PTO President, and she worked to grow Children’s House Montessori into a welcoming family. As a member of the School Board, she will continue to focus her energies on expanding and improving Children’s House Montessori. For the last three years, she has been known as the “Fairy Godmother” of CHM. She, and her husband, Troy, have two children that attend CHM, Katie and Jacob. They also raise goats and chickens, in their spare time. She is also Vice President at H-S Precision, a family business her parents started in 1978.“My kids love CHM; I would love to see the program expand to a Middle School and High School to meet the growing private school needs of families in Rapid City.”
Robert Scremin, Vice-President
Robert and his family moved here from Chicago in 2009.  Born in Dubuque, Iowa, Robert has lived and worked in Tampa, San Francisco and Chicago before relocating to Rapid City.  Robert graduated from the University Of South Dakota School Of Law and is also a member of Leadership Rapid City.  Robert’s wife, Andrea, is a psychiatrist with the VA Hospital and Robert is a police officer with the Rapid City Police Department.    Robert and Andrea have one child at CH and one who can’t wait to join his big brother at school.
Angela Crossland, Secretary
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Angela is our former PTO secretary who now serves as School Board Secretary. She and her husband Jay relocated here from Arizona several years ago. Their oldest son is in the Kindergarten program and loves it. They also have a 2 year old son, and a brand new baby daughter. Angela is a part-time dental hygienist and full time Mom to this busy family.
Arnold Ganje, Treasurer
Arnie has been a “behind the scenes” support of CHM for many years helping with yard work, bus maintenance and all around “handy man” tasks. He and his wife Evon have two daughters that both work in the medical field and live in Oregon. Arnie worked for the federal government for 42 years in the finance and auditing fields. Since retirement, Arnie spends his time volunteering for several community organizations and enjoys spending time outside working and playing.
Mark Ingalls, Member
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Mark Ingalls has been in the software industry for over 15 years. He has two children attending Children’s House Montessori. As the son of a teacher, education has always been very important to him.
Jan Schultz, Member

Jan works for Black Hills Corp. Her free time is spent with friends, family, and two poodles–She enjoys summer and winter sports and loves our Black Hills! Jan has one son, Donald, a freshman at the University of Colorado.
Jan joined the board because she passionately endorses Montessori education and watched it create a lifelong love of learning and exploring in her son.