Elementary School Faculty

Early Childhood Education Certificate

Mae Carden Training

Ms. Hardy has been a Jr. Kindergarten teacher at Carden Conejo for six years. She was a stay at home mom until her youngest was three and was attending Pre School here at Carden Conejo . When asked if she would become a substitute, she decided that she would go back to school and get her Early Childhood Education Degree.  Ms. Hardy was asked to be the Jr. Kindergarten aide in 2011 and Kindergarten teacher in 2017. Ms. Hardy attended 3 Carden online training seminars in the summer. Her background and education was in the retail and fashion world. She was a buyer/merchandiser for a few lucrative businesses but after having children, she knew that the long hours and traveling would not work for her family.

Ms. Hardy loves coming to work every day and teaching. It is so much fun watching a child master how to write a letter, learn the sounds and learn how to read sentence structure and subject & predicate. She has seen the growth and the boost in confidence that they experience and it puts a smile on her face. There is nothing more fulfilling than watching a child grow as they learn. She has had amazing mentors and teachers here at Carden Conejo and learns something new from each child.

On the weekends she enjoy hiking with her family and loves going to the beach and baseball games.

iss Fleming is a Carden Conejo alumnus who attended Carden from Kindergarten through Sixth grade. She is now teaching in the same kindergarten classroom in which she started her education.

After Carden, Miss Fleming went on to attend La Reina High School until her graduation in 2009. She then went to San Diego State University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in neuropsychological  development.

Miss Fleming has been teaching the kindergarten summer orientation program with Miss Madison since 2010. She is thrilled to now be a full time teacher at Carden Conejo.

On the weekends, Miss Fleming enjoys running, hiking and going to the beach with friends.

University of Southern California, School of Dentistry

Mrs. Lyon is a graduate of the USC’s School of Dentistry.  She graduated with honors in 1999, and received a Bachelor of Science degree.  She worked as a dental hygienist in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills before moving to Westlake Village.

In 2008, she began teaching at Carden Conejo School as a substitute teacher in Pre-school and was later selected based on her experience to teach fourth grade.  The following year she taught second grade and then moved to first grade where she has been ever since.  She loves teaching first grade and keeps the lessons fun!

Mrs. Lyon’s husband, Jim, is a Vice President and senior portfolio manager at UBS financial services in Westlake Village.  Her daughter, Madison, played D1 water polo at Wagner College in New York City and now works as a recruiter for software engineers at a tech company in San Francisco.  Her son, “J.T.”, is a football player at Cal Poly SLO and is majoring in Construction Management & Engineering.  Mrs. Lyon loves to watch her children play sports, enjoys the beach, swimming, reading, and playing scrabble.

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO

Carden Trained and Certified

This is Mrs. Schmidt’s 3rd year of teaching first grade at Carden Conejo. Other teaching experience includes 2 years as a substitute teacher (Grades 1-5) at Oak Park Unified School District and Carden Conejo School.

Mrs. Schmidt is married with one daughter, Samantha, who attended Carden Conejo from Pre-Kindergarden through Grade 5. This is when Mrs. Schmidt fell in love with Carden Conejo School, its staff, facilities, and Language Arts Program. As a Carden parent, Mrs. Schmidt was actively involved in the CCPA for several years as Room Parent Coordinator and Co-President.

Bachelors Degree in Education – University of Rhodesia

Ms. Hallet was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa. She studied at the University of Rhodesia and graduated with a BA in Education. She enjoyed teaching Kindergarten and First Grade for eight  years before she came to the United States.

Ms. Hallett has been teaching at Carden School for over twenty years.

Outside of school, Ms. Hallett enjoy all kinds of sports. She played tennis, basketball and field hockey at school, and now enjoys watching many of them, but agrees that football, soccer, rugby and cricket are her favorites.

Her other passion is traveling, and she often enjoys visiting her family members living in South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

Bachelor of Science – Behavioral Psychology

National University

UCLA

Early Childhood Education

*Carden Trained and Certified

4th year at Carden Conejo School teaching 2nd grade

Other teaching experience includes:

Pinecrest – Blue Ribbon School

Chatsworth Hills Academy – an International Baccalaureate School

Juan Cabrillo Elementary School Malibu – Blue Ribbon School

Happily married with 2 wonderful daughters – Tessa and Juliana

I love to spend time with my family and to travel!

Member of the National Charity League – a Mother-Daughter Community Service organization. I enjoy volunteering in the Conejo Valley with my daughters.

Debra Gillespie graduated from CSU Northridge with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. She has received her California Multiple Subject Credential, Cultural Language Academic Development.

Mrs. Gillespie has been teaching for 20 years, in Kindergarten, First, and Second grade classrooms. She has experience teaching using the Carden Method for four years at the Carden School of Camarillo and Carden Heights Academy.

Mrs. Gillespie enjoys swimming, reading, and going to amusement parks with her family.

Bachelor of Arts; Child and Family Studies with a specialization in Child Welfare; Portland State University.

Mrs. Martin moved from Oregon where she worked as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children for 7 years, as both a supervisor and a child advocate.

Mrs. Martin has worked at Carden Conejo as a substitute teacher in the first, third, and fifth grades.  This is her 2nd year of teaching full time.  She is Carden trained and certified.

Mrs. Martin enjoys all the beautiful spaces California has to offer.  She likes hiking, going to beaches, and exploring different parts of Southern California with her family.

Bachelors in Education, Temple University, Philadelphia

Elementary and Early Childhood Education Degrees

Mrs. Martilik graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia, where she received both her Bachelors in Education and her dual teaching degrees in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Shortly after she obtained her certificate, she moved to Southern California with her husband and son where she was introduced to the Carden Method by a fellow colleague while volunteering at her local library.

Mrs. Martilik was fortunate enough to teach at Carden School of Camarillo for ten wonderful years.  She has attended numerous Carden training classes and observations. Mrs. Martilik is committed to motivating her students to achieve their full potential and to instill in them lifelong skills and the knowledge necessary for a successful future.

In her free time, Mrs. Martilik is an avid reader and challenges her mind with word games and crossword puzzles.  She loves to learn something new each day.

Phillips Academy, Andover, MA

Bachelor’s Degree, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Master’s Degree, Dominican University

Ms. Schohl majored in Child Psychology and minored in English at the University of Illinois. She then went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science. Upon the completion of the Carden Method training, Ms. Schohl began substitute teaching at Carden. In 2011, she began teaching here full-time. Ms. Schohl hopes that her life-long enthusiasm regarding all things related to language rubs off on her students.

Ms. Schohl’s two daughters attended Carden Conejo School. On the weekends, Ms. Schohl enjoys reading and volunteering at the Agoura Animal Care Center.

Bachelors Degree, Buldelkhand University, India

Early Childhood Credential, UCLA

Mrs. Sharama began her teaching career in 1982 at C.K.C., Jhansi, India.  In 1993, she joined Carden Conejo and has been working at the school ever since.  A dedicated teacher, she draws great satisfaction in helping her students learn effective study skills.  She empowers them to develop a strong moral core by creating an environment where children can discuss, debate and express themselves without inhibition.  She thoroughly enjoys the energy the fifth graders bring to her class which helps her connect with them at a very meaningful level, making them confident contributing members of the society of the future.  Her students have gone on to prestigious universities, and many of them continue to be in touch with her.

Mrs. Sharma holds great interest in all forms of creative expression and is an avid photographer and an art enthusiast.  With a penchant for new experiences she incorporates and experiments with all art mediums in her reflective and illustrative paintings.  Besides painting, Mrs. Sharma custom designs cards and conducts childrens art classes.  Peace and Passion, her art class, helps children unlock their unique creativity.  The students enjoy their own artistic compositions, experimenting through all different processes and mediums.

When Mrs. Sharma visits India, she conducts workshops on self-esteem and self-expression at a local high school in her hometown.