Our seventh and eighth grade program (which Maria Montessori called Erdkinder) strives for high academic expectations, community involvement, and an atmosphere of respect. Our program prepares students very well both for high school and for productive adult lives. Our teachers believe in creativity and innovation in education and emphasize every student doing their best quality work at all times. Our low student-teacher ratio creates strong relationships and allows for individual attention. All students have the same teachers for both seventh and eighth grade; in this way, a great deal of trust and rapport is built up between teachers, students, and families.

Meghan Booth
Science Teacher

About Meghan Booth

Meghan Booth, Science, hails from the great Northwest and is a lifetime fan of the Timbers. She enjoys spending time with her dog Larry, her cats, and her husband and two children. When she is not prepping for her science job at Bluffview, you can often find her enjoying game night with her friends.

Casey Johnson
Math Teacher

About Casey Johnson

Hello all! This is my second year at Bluffview, first year as a lead teacher. I graduated from Winona State University in December 2019 with a degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. I look forward to getting to know all the students, staff, and parents, as well as working closely with Meghan, Laura, and Susan!
I grew up on a farm in rural Kasson, MN. I graduated from Kasson-Mantorville High School in 2010. I then wrestled on scholarship after high school. I moved/transferred to Winona in 2012 and fell in love with the town. Shortly after moving to Winona, I started a job at Home & Community Options and continue to work there 10 years later. You can often find me jamming out to classic rock or searching up jokes to share with everyone. (Two fish are in a tank. One says, ‘How do you drive this thing?’) I am an avid college football and college wrestling fan. GO GOPHERS! I love the colors baby blue and matte black. My favorite animals are moose and cows. My favorite foods are smoked pulled pork and pho. (Pho is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meats.)

Laura Kruger
Social World Teacher

About Laura Kruger

Laura Kruger is originally from a small town in southern Minnesota. She moved to the Winona area to attend college and by the time she graduated she didn’t want to leave the community. In Laura’s free time she loves to go outside to play disc golf, fish, and tend to her plants. She is very excited to be a part of the Bluffview Montessori community and Erdkinder!

Shelby Wagner
Language Teacher

About Shelby Wagner

Shelby Wagner is originally from Rochester, MN, but transplanted to Winona when she took on the position of Youth Development Director for the local YMCA. Eventually, she decided to return to teaching and after all the fantastic things she had witnessed at Bluffview, landed a position with the wonderful Erdkinder team. During her time as the Social World teacher, she enjoyed getting to meet all the families and staff involved with the school. However, due to lingering Covid illness issues and having a newborn son at home, she decided to teach online for a while. But now she is back and even more excited than ever, given that she is teaching with the latest and greatest Erdkinder team and teaching in the subject area where her career began, middle school language arts! Not to mention, last time she was working at Bluffview her daughter was at school with her and now this time, she has her son by her side. And on top of all this, she is now teaching siblings and family members of her former students and gets to catch up with them. Shelby is elated to be back and can’t wait to persuade all the Erds into creating and enjoying POETRY!
Fun Fact: Her family has plenty of rescue animals at home, she collects and loves all rocks, and she enjoys drawing and painting as often as she can!

Erdkinder Photo Gallery

2022-2023

2021-2022