November 19

---

Marie-Pierre Baltz, is a native of France. Her twelve years of Montessori education gave her a strong sense of independence and the desire to experience the world. Her supportive parents encouraged her to pursue her studies and practice of languages, as well as her interest for dance, music, theater and writing. She attended the Catholic University of Lille, France where she majored in foreign languages (English, Spanish and German), and traveled through Europe, Canada and the US. as an interpreter for her "Haute Couture" father's business. A shift of interest brought her to the US in 1969 to study the Montessori philosophy of education, taught in Cincinnati and came to Joliet II in 1973, where she met her husband Joseph M. Baltz, an actor, a framer, and a photography teacher. Their two artistic children, Emilie and Timothee, are her constant inspiration. Now retired, Marie-Pierre feels that elder hood opened up exciting new avenues, and her stories from both sides of the Ocean could make you wonder where lies her center of gravity!

Karen Scott moved to Lockport in March 2023 after having lived in Maryland for almost 30 years, where she worked as an education specialist in Washington DC for the US Environmental Protection Agency. Karen worked in education her whole career, starting in elementary education in public schools and the US Peace Corps, as well as adult education for the US Army, and in evening schools, community colleges, and workplace literacy programs. She is now retired and lives with 3 cats near her son and daughter-in-law and 3 grandchildren, which has been delightful, but she misses her daughter in Baltimore.