Ron Kautzman

Executive Director

Ron graduated from MSU in 1969 and has loved teaching math since. He has 35 years of experience in administration.
His strengths stem from compassion for students, as well as ability to teach math concepts. He currently serves as a Commissioner for Northwest Accreditation Commission. Ron and Char enjoy spending time with family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchild. His other passion is golf.

Charlene Kautzman

Executive Director

Charlene has been teaching since 1976 with teaching experience in alternative education arenas. She has been the
executive director of the Helena center since 1998. She and Ron feel very strongly that any student can succeed if given the individualized instruction,
motivation and encouragement needed. Charlene enjoys scrapbooking and reading in her spare time.

Ryan Collver

Assistant Center Director

Ryan was born July 3rd, 1978 at Balboa Navy Hospital in San Diego, California. His family gradually worked their way north through the years, settling in the small town of Fortuna, California, the same town in which his parents were married. He graduated from Fortuna Union High School in 1996. The next fall, he moved to Helena, Montana to attend school at Carroll College, graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies with Science Concentration. While at Carroll, he met a wonderful woman named Trisha. They were married in October of 2003. They were blessed with a beautiful baby girl in August of 2004.

Ryan started working at Sylvan in November of 2002. To start, he taught just a few hours per week, gradually adding more hours as weeks passed. A year later, he was promoted to Center Operations Director, a full-time position. He also managed the Math programs at the time. In July of 2005, he worked part-time, returning to full-time status in September of 2008. He loves math and enjoys sharing the beauty of mathematics with anyone who will listen.

Elizabeth Clarkson

Director of Education

Elizabeth has been with Sylvan Learning since August 2004. She was born and raised in Townsend, Montana, and she attended the University of Montana to earn a degree in Elementary Education with emphases in math and physics/astronomy. After she and her husband Eli graduated from college, she moved to Columbus, Ohio while her husband attended The Ohio State University.

In Ohio, Elizabeth taught third grade students in downtown Columbus. This was an amazing learning opportunity, and she loved working with children from the inner-city. She learned to be a better teacher and to appreciate the life she had in Montana. City life, however, was not for her, and she missed her home and family, and when Eli graduated from OSU, they quickly packed up and headed back to Montana.

After returning to Montana, she taught Title I reading and gifted and talented for the Townsend Elementary School for two years, and she has worked at Sylvan learning since 2004.

In 2008, she adopted a beautiful daughter, so we see her at the Helena center while her daughter is in school. She has a large extended family and spending time with them is one of her top priorities.

Sydnie Pontillo

Program Manager

Sydnie is the Sylvan Academic Reading program manager, and she has worked at Sylvan for five years. She was born and raised in Massapequa, New York, and she attended Manhattanville College to earn her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and English Literature. Before moving to Helena, she substituted for one year at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. She enjoys reading, teaching, painting, and taking care of her horses.

Karyl Beattie

Teacher

Karyl was born in Great Falls, Montana, but she grew up in Big Sandy where she attended grade school. Then she lived for two years in Butte, attending Butte Junior High School and Butte High School. Next she moved to Billings, graduating from Billings Senior High School and also graduating from Eastern Montana College (MSUB). Her degree is a Bachelor of Science in Education with a major in English and a minor in German.

Karyl has many years of contracted teaching experience, beginning in Whitehall, Montana, and finalizing in Diamondville, Wyoming.

Her work at the Sylvan Learning Center includes Academic Reading and Writing, Advanced Reading, Study Skills, Homework Support, ACT and SAT test preparation, Math Essentials, and testing. She have worked at Sylvan for eleven years.

Karyl is on the “look out” for onferences, courses, or workshops that complement her college training in education. Subsequently she has attended the Helena College of Technology, Montana State University, the University of Montana, and Western Montana College. Periodically she updates her state teaching certificate which is “good” until 2012.

Karyl has been married but has no children from that union.

She is always interested in books, art, music, the theatre, and journalism.

Michelle McNiven

Teacher

Michelle graduated from Montana State University in Billings in 2002 with an Elementary Education degree and a minor in Reading.

Her passion for education began in Kindergarten. She absolutely loved full-day Kindergarten and admired her teacher Miss Abernathy! She still remembers learning letter sounds and practicing writing her name.

As a teacher, her favorite moments at Sylvan are when student's frustration has subsided enough that learning begins to be fun.

She has two fur-babies, a four-year-old pug, Hailee, and a one-year-old puggle, Gracie, who bring entertainment and laughter into her life. Michelle enjoys doing crafts and spending time with her ten nieces and nephews.

Liz Jackson

Teacher

Liz has worked part-time at Sylvan for a little over two years. She grew up in Helena, graduated from Helena High school in 1998 and from Carroll College in 2003 with a B.A. in Elementary Education. She taught sixth grade for one year and kindergarten for three years before deciding to stay home full-time when her first child was born in 2007. She met her husband, Brian, while attending Carroll, and they have been married for five years. They have three beautiful children; Joshua, Joseph, and Abigail. She has always loved teaching, and she thoroughly enjoys teaching at Sylvan.

Dani Erdahl

Teacher

Dani is thrilled to be teaching at Sylvan! She has been teaching at Sylvan since early spring 2010, and she thoroughly enjoys her time here. Her Sylvan certifications are in Academic Reading, Math Essentials, and Beginning Reading, so she gets to see a wide variety of students.

Dani is a graducate of Crown College in Minnesota, and she has degrees in English Education and Biblical Studies. Her English background has come in very handy while working with both Beginning Readers and those who are more advanced. Dani's teaching licensure is in secondary English (grades 5-12). Currently, she is teaching 7th, 8th, and 9th grade English classes at Helena Christian School, and she also teaches a combined 7th-8th grade Bible class. She will be picking up a couple electives in the spring semester as well.

Since January of 2010, She has been married to her high school sweetheart, and she is very thankful for him. He is a great source of encouragement in her life. They enjoy many hobbies. Reading, camping, hiking, and family activities are a few.

Bob Calkins

Teacher

Bob Calkins joined the Helena Sylvan Learning Team in June 2010 to teach math. He started out by helping his sister with her math back in high school and by tutoring while earning his B.A. in Mathematics from Rocky Mountain College. Math still remains his favorite hobby followed by music and watching short-lived television series. He has lived in Helena during his 29 years of marriage. Bob has two grown children who are also good at math. His computer instruction has enhanced Sylvan tutoring for students.

Heather Bode

Teacher

Heather graduated from Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN) in 1996 with a degree in Elementary Education. Upon graduating, she moved to South Dakota where she taught in a multi-grade classroom for four years.

Heather married Gary in 2000 and moved to Sioux City, IA. She began working at Sylvan shortly after arriving in town. She was first introduced to the Study Skills program there.

Heather and her family moved to Helena in 2005. She was able to transfer to our local Sylvan and continue working with a wide range of children. She still loves to teach Study Skills!

In her spare time, Heather keeps busy with her four children (Ben, Aubrey, Brandon, and Owen). She also does freelance writing for children's magazines.

Diane Anders

Teacher

Jan Nelson

Teacher

Jan was born and raised in Great Falls, Montana and attended Montana State University to earn her B.S. in elementary education. She also has a Master's degree focused on technology in education. Jan teaches sign language classes at the adult learning center and enjoys helping others learn how to communicate with others.

Jan started working at Sylvan in February of 2010. She teaches reading, math, and study skills, and she enjoys watching kids make progress with new concepts and skills.

Jan loves to read anything she can get her hands on. She also enjoys walking and swimming for exercise, and sewing projects.

Sarah Bieber

Teacher

Sarah was born in northern California and moved to Colorado in third grade. Many years later, she graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology Education. Sarah spent some years teaching in high schools before moving to Helena in the Summer of 2010 to be closer to family. She started working at Sylvan in November of that same year.

Sarah enjoys staying busy baking, scrap booking, sewing, building things in her garage and exploring all the Helena area has to offer. When she has time left, she reads or plays a round of Wii golf.

Her favorite moments in teaching are when students declare that a previously tough subject is now “cool.”