Nick Beermann is Great River School's Adolescent Program Director! Joining GRS just this year, Nick actually worked in a previous capacity with his predecessor, Tami Limberg doing great work in advances in Biology! Small world! With a smile on his face, you will often see Nick providing daily support to students, going from meeting to meeting, working behind the scenes in collaboration with the Leadership team and or at the front of an Adolescent classroom teaching! In addition, you might also find him helping out with key experiences. Let’s get to know Nick!

Biography provided by Nick Beermann, Adolescent Program Director, in addition to excerpts from a 2013 University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences article

I am a Twin Cities native, but with a mother from Germany, I spent a lot of time there too. I am a product of District 197 and graduated from Two Rivers High School (then Henry Sibley). I attended the University of Minnesota and after time in Australia, Honduras and many trips to the Itasca Biological Station, I graduated with a degree in Ecology, Evolution and Animal Behavior. It was also this time where I developed a passion for education and met my spouse. We have two children, Axel and Ewan, who are better Montessorians than we could ever hope to be. As a family we are avid travelers, campers, and have enough bicycles that could be described as “problematic.” In my ever diminishing spare time I love mountain biking so I am eager to explore the trails in the Twin Cities and practice my jumping skills and tackling “drops.”

I come to Great River School from the Montessori adolescent programs of Milwaukee Public Schools. After college, I landed at the Montessori High School, then a smaller charter school. This adolescent program was absorbed by MacDowell Montessori School, where I taught almost every science class imaginable and served as International Baccalaureate and Adolescent Program Coordinator. I hold Adolescent Montessori credentials from the North American Montessori Teachers Association, as well as the American Montessori Society and a Masters Degree in teaching from Cardinal Stritch University.

A little more about Nick (excerpt from 2013 U of Mn College of Biological Sciences article):

Fun Facts:

Nick Beermann was highlighted in 2013 by the University of Minnesota as one of the top 20 under 30 in Biology for all of his work with Multicellularity labs.
He worked to develop and implement interactive regenerative biology labs for high school students.
Was part of the team to develop a series of labs dedicated to studying the the Evolution of Multicellularity.

In 2013, Nick was quoted as saying He “hopes someday to take on a leadership role at a Montessori or project-based school” something that he achieved this year, stepping into the role of Adolescent Program Director.

NB Quotes

“I love it when students get the opportunity to investigate things in which they’re interested and conduct research they design themselves,” he says.