Kathleen Cotter Lawler is the daughter of Dr. Joan A. Cotter, author and creator of the RightStart™ Mathematics program. She is one of the first children to grow up under the RightStart principles. Kathleen has a degree in Home Economics and a minor in Business from the University of Minnesota and has two Masters Degrees from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kathleen is the mother of four children ages 25 to 29 and one delightful grandson.
Dr. Joan A. Cotter holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an AMI Montessori diploma for ages 3-6, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from College of St. Thomas, Minnesota, (now University of St. Thomas) and an earned Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Cotter designed the double-sided AL Abacus and wrote RightStart Mathematics, a comprehensive elementary and middle-school mathematics program that incorporates visualization, the AL Abacus, math card games, and drawing board tools. The RightStart curriculum is an outgrowth of her doctoral research. Dr. Cotter speaks at conferences across the US and worldwide.