About
Plum Tree School offers a small, home-based care and education program where children take part in mindfulness activities throughout the day, free unstructured play in indoor and outdoor environments, and creative projects in story, song, visual arts, and outdoor play. Sessions integrate music and movement, and the program emphasizes a “Mother Earth” culture along with time spent singing, painting, reading, creating music, cooking, growing organic food, foraging for wild edibles and medicinals, hiking, backpacking, practicing yoga, traveling, and spending time outdoors. The program also offers regular family gathering experiences and seasonal celebrations.
The leadership team includes Melanie Luedders as Director of Plum Tree School, along with Administrator/Teacher Phaedra Jarrett and teachers Heidi Montez, Jayme Almanza, Kelsey Bickel, and Josie Barbe. The mission of Plum Tree School is to nurture and sustain warm, consistent, and long-lasting relationships between children, parents, and teachers, based on the belief that all meaningful learning happens within the context of a loving and dependable relationship. Community involvement includes regular family gathering experiences, seasonal celebrations, and consistent communication with each child’s family through daily conversation, family gatherings, and conferences about the child’s growth and learning.
Melanie has lived in Spokane for 30 years with her three daughters and various animal friends, and she is also the Director of the Spokane Community Choir, an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in the Integrated Teaching of the Arts program, and Director of Plum Tree Center for Mindfulness. Phaedra is a native of San Francisco with a 15-year career as a professional ballet dancer, has headed the children’s department at the Academy of Dance working with children ages 3 to 7, and completed her RYT 200 yoga teacher training and certification after settling back in Spokane. Heidi has a dual BA/BS in Sustainability and Biology from Evergreen State College and has been practicing mindfulness and meditation through yoga and Mindful Self Compassion. Josie received a BA in Art History with a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Western Washington University and is pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois.
Last updated June 13, 2026.
The leadership team includes Melanie Luedders as Director of Plum Tree School, along with Administrator/Teacher Phaedra Jarrett and teachers Heidi Montez, Jayme Almanza, Kelsey Bickel, and Josie Barbe. The mission of Plum Tree School is to nurture and sustain warm, consistent, and long-lasting relationships between children, parents, and teachers, based on the belief that all meaningful learning happens within the context of a loving and dependable relationship. Community involvement includes regular family gathering experiences, seasonal celebrations, and consistent communication with each child’s family through daily conversation, family gatherings, and conferences about the child’s growth and learning.
Melanie has lived in Spokane for 30 years with her three daughters and various animal friends, and she is also the Director of the Spokane Community Choir, an Adjunct Professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in the Integrated Teaching of the Arts program, and Director of Plum Tree Center for Mindfulness. Phaedra is a native of San Francisco with a 15-year career as a professional ballet dancer, has headed the children’s department at the Academy of Dance working with children ages 3 to 7, and completed her RYT 200 yoga teacher training and certification after settling back in Spokane. Heidi has a dual BA/BS in Sustainability and Biology from Evergreen State College and has been practicing mindfulness and meditation through yoga and Mindful Self Compassion. Josie received a BA in Art History with a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Western Washington University and is pursuing a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois.
Last updated June 13, 2026.
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