Tom Crowe
President, Co-Founder, Member of the Board, Elementary Guide
Tom Crowe has lived in the Labelle neighborhood of Steubenville since May 2008. He has been involved in non-profit, mission-oriented organizations dedicated to helping people improve their lives his entire professional life. After he and Noëlle were married in 2017 he learned more about the Montessori method and its underlying philosophy and recognized that it had significant potential to aid what ails the society around him. He and Noëlle founded Hilltop Children’s House in 2017, with the Primary Program opening in fall 2018. Since the founding, Tom has served as president of the organization, chief maintenance man, chief fundraiser, web guru, assistant to the guide in the Primary Program, and whatever else is needed.
As of the 2022-23 school year he took on the role of lead guide in our newly launched Elementary Program, with the aid of a very capable assistant, Rebekah Feeley. Tom has completed the course work toward his AMI Elementary Guide diploma and will complete the practice teaching in fall 2024, thus earning his AMI Elementary diploma. He also has completed the orientation training for the Primary level. Both of these programs were completed through the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies, one of the AMI training centers in the United States.
Noëlle Crowe
School Director, Co-Founder, Member of the Board, Primary Guide
Noëlle Crowe earned her bachelor’s degree from Franciscan University in 1995 and then lived in the Labelle neighborhood of Steubenville for two years while she was earning her MBA, also at FUS. She then left Steubenville, but moved back in 2016. Noëlle’s professional career has been mostly in education, particularly as a leader of religious education programs. She received training in all three levels of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, which is the Montessori method applied to religious education. From that foundation she sought other opportunities to bring the Montessori method to others who could benefit from it. After she and Tom were married in 2017 she introduced the idea of establishing a Montessori program in the Labelle neighborhood, where many families are struggling. Since Hilltop Montessori School opened in, 2018 Noëlle has served as the guide in the Children’s House, the Primary Program.
In 2021 Noëlle completed the AMI Primary Guide diploma program through the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies, one of the AMI training centers in the United States.
Since opening the doors in fall 2018, Noëlle has served as the guide in the children’s house, as well as vice president of the organization, plus as a major fundraiser, bookkeeper, secretary, and whatever else has been needed.
Members of the Board of Trustees
Ryan Budd
Ryan Budd is a resident scholar at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and research assistant to Dr. Scott Hahn. Before moving to Steubenville, his background was in pastoral and community ministry. Before that, he was a practicing attorney. His main goal as a board member is to help the HMS program thrive as a “neighborhood school.”
Matt Coakley
Matt Coakley is an entrepreneur, the founder and creative lead at Blue Mantle Media. He and his wife, Holly, have four children at Hilltop Montessori School. Two of their daughters were the first two students to enroll when Hilltop opened our doors in 2018.
Paul Crowe
Paul Crowe is the founder and former president of Crowe’s Cabinets, Inc. He is a past member of Rotary Club of Hubbard, Ohio, and has extensive experience as a volunteer on community projects and with organizations in which he is involved.
Robert Corzine
Robert Corzine lived in the Labelle neighborhood of Steubenville from 2003 to 2021, and still works in education in Steubenville. He is a charter member of the Board of Hilltop Children’s House, and served as chairman of the Board between our founding in 2017 and 2023.
Jenny Leutkemeyer
Jenny Luetkemeyer is a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother living in Northern Virginia. She is a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd-trained catechist with almost thirty years experience and has been an AMI Montessori guide since 2011. She has a Masters in Education from Loyola University with a specialization in Montessori. Guided by the wholehearted belief that the life of the young child should be centered on a relationship with Christ and that they belong, first and foremost, within a prepared home-setting with their parents as their primary educators, Jenny founded The Laetare Center in 2022 to walk alongside parents in bringing God-loving, well-rounded, joyful children into the service of the Lord.
John Tuttle
Ayla Wolfram
Ayla Wolfram is the president of the Home-School Association at Hilltop Montessori School. She has two sons at HMS, one in Primary and one in Elementary.