Early Childhood Village Faculty
Parent Child Program
Sarah Dunbar, our Parent-Child Teacher, has lived in the varied landscapes of California since birth. From a love of the mountains, rivers, and unique community of the Nevada City-Grass Valley area, she and her husband, Dr. Daniel Allen, decided to move there in 2001, and she began her work at Live Oak as a class teacher in the upper grades. For the past five years, she has been at home with their children, Lucas (2), Miriam (7), Elias (16), and Kaelle (19), while running the phones for their osteopathic clinic. Now Sarah, in teaching our Parent-Child Program, is honored to cultivate a vibrant and nurturing space for families with young children to enjoy each other, explore Waldorf education, and meet our school community. Outside of school, she loves gardening, handwork, making slow food, tending her bees, and playing outdoors with family and friends. Sarah and her family live in their eco-remodeling construction zone, or as Daniel refers to it, the quarter-acre, ultra-urban biodynamic ranch, in downtown Grass Valley. Her accolades include a B. S. in Biology, with a concentration in Ecology from Sonoma State University, a C. M. T. from the School of Shiatsu and Massage, and a Waldorf Teacher Credential from Dorit Winter’s program in the Bay Area and Rudolf Steiner College.
Jerre Whittlesey, our Parent-Child Teacher, was born and raised in southern California and completed her Waldorf Teacher Training at Rudolf Steiner College. She came to Live Oak over two decades ago to assist/apprentice with Janet Kellman in the Early Childhood programs. After teaching kindergarten for three years, she met her husband, Ed, and soon gave birth to two sons, Frederick and Roger. She also has a daughter, Summer Waggoner; all of her children are graduates of Live Oak. Between the years as a faculty member at Live Oak, Jerre had a playgroup in her home for four years.
Nursery School
Deborah Thompson, our Nursery School Teacher, has been at Live Oak since 2000 except for a year's leave of absence in 2006-2007. Deborah learned about Waldorf education from a friend while searching for the right education for her three children. She walked into a Waldorf Kindergarten and never wanted to leave. She began her own Waldorf journey by immersing herself in a Nurturing Arts program. Soon after, she left her job of twenty five years to enroll in the Early Childhood program at Rudolf Steiner College. Deborah brings to the classroom her love and respect for each child as well as an unhurried peacefulness. During her interactions with the children, Deborah looks beyond what is presented physically to develop a deep emotional connection with each child. Deborah creates a playful and nurturing environment in the Nursery School and is a constant model of calmness. She currently lives in Colfax where she enjoys gardening and spending time with her family. Her youngest son, Daniel, is now a senior at Sacramento Waldorf School; her older son, Matthew attends American River College; and her daughter, Amanda, has begun the journey into motherhood, blessing Deborah with her first grandson in 2009.
Sunny Ricks, our Nursery School Assistant, was born in Auburn, California. She grew up in the Foohill area with her father, who built houses and worked construction, her mother, who was a homemaker, and three younger siblings. After high school, she broke a leg and was unable to drive a car. She lived on campus at Sierra College for a year and was a Liberal Arts major. Sunny enjoyed just being among other students and studying academics. During her time in college, Sunny married her high school sweetheart and bought a house her dad built in Foresthill. Shortly thereafter, she had a daughter, then just thirteen months later, a son. During their first five years, Sunny stayed home, and once a week, attended Live Oak’s Parent-Child program. As Haley, the eldest, got ready to start kindergarten, the family moved closer to Live Oak. Haley joined Lavender Kindergarten in 2007 and Sunny worked in morning care program. Occasionally Sunny assisted in the Sunflower preschool, and there she found her true calling to be with the littlest ones here at Live Oak.
Preschool
Sallie Cowan, our Sunflower Preschool Teacher, has served at the school in many capacities since 1987. Sallie found Waldorf education long before she had children of her own. Her older brother became involved in the Waldorf program in the 1970’s, and Sallie immediately recognized it as a way to educate children with a balanced approach. She appreciated the emphasis on both arts and sciences in the curriculum, as well as the attention to understanding the needs of a developing human being. After completing school for business management, Sallie entered the Waldorf Institute of Southern California Teacher Training program where she trained in early childhood education. She worked with the kindergarten program at Highland Hall Waldorf School in Northridge, CA. Having recognized the importance of the artistic needs of children, she decided to pursue them herself and went on to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in visual Arts at California State University, Fullerton, with an emphasis in ceramics. Sallie and her husband, Bob, began a family with the birth of their daughter, Renee, and shortly thereafter moved to Northern California. A brother, Howard, later joined Renee. As her children grew, Sallie knew she wanted them to be educated in a Waldorf school and enrolled her children at Live Oak Waldorf School. Sallie participated in the school community first as a parent. As her time became more available, she began taking on working positions at the school including school receptionist, aftercare teacher, as well as assisting in the kindergarten and preschool programs. In the Sunflower Preschool, Sallie believes it is her responsibility to be a role model and create a space filled with love, joy and warmth. Sallie creates a daily rhythm of activities including art, cooking and imagination.
Sonja Van Heel, our Sunflower Preschool Teacher, was born in Sacramento in 1973, where, at age five she was enrolled at the Sacramento Waldorf School kindergarten. She and her sister both were “Waldorf lifers.” Her love of children and her appreciation for her own education led her to Waldorf teaching. She graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Liberal Arts. After completing her teacher training she moved to Santa Monica where she taught in a preschool and kindergarten for five years. She was married, to her husband Wayne, in the fall of 2001 and then taught preschool at the Sanderling School in northern San Diego. Sonja and Wayne moved back to the Sacramento area in the Summer of 2003 and were blessed with their daughter Genevieve in November. Most recently she has worked at the Lifeways Children’s Center at the Rudolf Steiner College and at the Cedar Springs School in Placerville.
Kindergarten
Katherine Friedland, our Rosemary Kindergarten Teacher, was born and raised in northern California. Her spiritual striving took her to India in 1971 where she studied yoga and meditation. Her first child was born there. Upon returning, she was a chaplain’s assistant in a juvenile detention home for girls, and taught yoga and meditation classes. Over the next years, she held yoga retreats, and she and her husband established a meditation center in the hills of Oregon. In 1978 upon once again returning from India, she started looking for a community in which to raise her two children. It was then that she became aware of Waldorf education. Within months, her children started attending the Sacramento Waldorf School, and Katherine became a student at Rudolf Steiner College. Upon graduation, Katherine joined the faculty of the Sacramento Waldorf School where she taught kindergarten for 12 years. After both children graduated from the Sacramento Waldorf School, Katherine once again returned to India where she lived for seven years. While there, she helped a friend establish a school for “Tribals” in the foothills of the Himalayas. Katherine has been at Live Oak since 2000.
Noelle Thompson, our Rosemary Kindergarten Assistant, was born in Marin County. She attended college at Humboldt State where she received a B.A. in Spanish and a B.A. in Psychology in 1993. Following Humboldt State, Noelle attended UC Davis where she received a Bilingual Credential in 1996. From there, Noelle went straight into the private school sector; working with “alternative” schools where honoring the whole child and nurturing life long learners is vital to education. As Noelle continued investigating education and child development, she found Rudolf Steiner College where she attended workshops and weekend courses. Along with her interest in early childhood development, Noelle loves nature and traveling. Noelle has two children at Live Oak; Boden, who is in the first grade and Colby, who is in kindergarten. Noelle and her family currently live in Penryn.
Carolyn Geoffroy, our Lavender Kindergarten Teacher, was born in a small town in Texas. Her family then moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where she spent her early childhood. She has lived in California since age six. Carolyn received her B.A. in Child Development in 1975 from California State University in Sacramento, as well as her California teaching credential. She attended Rudolf Steiner College from 1980-82 and worked at Sacramento Waldorf School for seven years while her two children, Aaron and Jessica, attended school. Both her children have grown and started families of their own, making Carolyn a proud grandmother.
Sheryl Adler-Eldridge, our Lavender Kindergarten Assistant, spent her early years in the Pine Barren forest of Southern NJ where she worked as an outdoor educator. At the age of 16 she moved to Nashville, TN. She studied Psychology at the University of TN in Knoxville, and at age 18 moved to Israel where she lived on a kibbutz, learned Hebrew and taught in a communal Kindergarten. Sheryl found her way to Berkeley, CA where she studied Early Childhood Education and became a preschool teacher. In 1999, Sheryl moved to Arcata, where she attended Humboldt State University and completed a BA in Liberal Studies/Elementary Education with minors in Speech Communication and TESL. She earned a CA Teaching Credential for K-8th grade while teaching in an aftercare program, two first grades, third grade, a Spanish Immersion Kindergarten and a fourth-fifth grade Hebrew class. In 2002, she moved to Laguna Beach and attended Healing Hands School of Holistic Health where she became licensed as a Holistic Health Practitioner and Massage Therapist. During this time, Sheryl also taught music and Hebrew at a private school in Newport Beach. In 2005, she moved with her family to the Sierra Nevada foothills, began attending various courses at Rudolf Steiner College, and guided a Waldorf class from fourth through sixth grade at Golden Valley Charter School in Orangevale. After the birth of her second daughter, Sheryl taught a Waldorf inspired class for homeschoolers and in Fall 2009, she and her children, Asherah and Neshama, joined Live Oak Waldorf School. Sheryl is also in a Singing Training with Christiaan Boele’s School of Uncovering The Voice, and works as the US Organizer for the Singing School.
The Grades Teachers
Natasha Vinson, our First Grade Teacher, has been preparing for her eight year journey of shepherding a Waldorf class through academics, social work and personal development. Academically, Ms. Vinson holds a B.S. in Anthro/Socialogy from Eastern Oregon State, an Elementary Education Licensure from Western State College in Colorado, a Child Development Certificate from Humboldt State University in California, and a Masters of Education Waldorf Certificate from Antioch New England Graduate School in New Hampshire. Most recently, Ms. Vinson has been a sixth, seventh and eighth grade teacher at Yuba River Charter School. She has completed internships in Waldorf schools, including a fourth and fifth grade practicum, has experience as a primary school teacher and has participated in the Center for Anthroposophy Mentorship Program. Ms. Vinson's social work includes work with the Americorps child protection program, residential counseling and work as director of an ESL/GED literacy program. She is an avid skier and snowboard instructor, as well as a yoga therapist and instructor.
Rev Bowen, our Second Grade Teacher, was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After earning his B.A. in English, he found work as a substitute teacher in and around Richmond, working in every grade and in every type of class. He then realized that he should become a teacher, but abhorred the idea of teaching within the same kind of compulsory schooling system that he had experienced. During his search for another way to educate, he picked up a hitchhiker who told him about Rudolf Steiner. Soon after, a grocery cashier told him about Waldorf education. He earned his Waldorf Teaching Certificate from the Rudolf Steiner College in 2000. He earned his M.A. in Human Development from St. Mary’s University in St. Paul, MN in 2004.
Mr. Bowen took the class of 2008 from first through eighth grades and is now journeying through another eight year cycle at Live Oak. He loves to hear and make music, paddle in canoes or kayaks, swim in lakes and rivers, backpack, hike and camp, read and write, and play games of all kinds. His son, Seren, is in fifth grade and his daughter, Rosa, is a student in his second grade class.
Julia Batsel, our Third Grade Teacher, has been an Educational Sign Language Interpreter for sixteen years, wherein she developed numerous educational and behavioral programs on behalf of autistic and hearing-impaired children. She has taught preschool, second and third grade classes, as well as served for five years as an arts and crafts program director for a summer camp. Her varied life experiences include living on the plains of Mt. Kenya and participating in cultural exchanges with indigenous people of Guatemalan villages. Ms. Batsel enjoys cycling, hiking, cross-country skiing, rowing, swimming and both river rafting and guiding. Her environmental awareness and expertise in installing solar water heaters, earned while working with the California Conservation Corps, has been a valuable resource. She has one daughter, Kaiya, who is now attending the California College of the Arts, Oakland. Ms. Batsel graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mills College in Oakland, with a B.A. in Ethnic Studies. She completed her Waldorf Teacher Training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training, and was honored as recipient of the Michael Foundation Grant in 2007 and 2008. She credits “passionate artistic teachers who brought learning to life” as her inspiration to become a Waldorf teacher.
Pamela Harris, our Fourth Grade Teacher, was born in Syracuse, New York. Her childhood was spent in both upstate New York and Illinois. She studied Costume Design at the State University of New York at Geneseo, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in 1982. Her interests led her to work in costume shops for theatre, opera, and ballet on both the east and west coasts. In San Francisco, while working for the San Francisco Opera and the American Conservatory Theatre, she trained with a wig master. Her career then specialized in wigs and make-up for opera, ballet, theatre, and film. After the birth of her daughter, Sophie, her focus shifted to child development. Ms. Harris began her Teacher Training at the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training in 2003, while working as the Aftercare Assistant for the East Bay Waldorf School. She then was the first grade assistant and the head of aftercare at the East Bay School as she finished up her training, graduating in July 2006. Her daughter, Sophie, is in the 7th grade.
Teresa Thorman, our Fifth Grade Teacher, was born in Saudi Arabia and went to school there through the ninth grade. For the next seven years she went to school in California and traveled back to Saudi Arabia for winter and summer breaks. Overseas living allowed her to travel to different cultures and be among different peoples, offering her many rewarding and enriching experiences. After college, Mrs. Thorman received her California teaching credential while working at Lennox Middle School in southern California for five years. She then moved to the Tahoe area where she met her husband, Chris Gilwee, and continued teaching in the fourth and fifth grades for three more years. Life in the public schools and starting a family of her own led to a desire to find a more satisfying and unique approach to education; she discovered Waldorf Education. It was within the study of Waldorf principles and the work required starting a Waldorf initiative in Reno, Nevada, that she found the real heart center of an education she could truly stand by. Mrs. Thorman and her husband wanted this for their own children; Mrs. Thorman knew that with her experiences she could offer this to other children as well. While living in Reno, Mrs. Thorman gave birth to her two sons, taught classes out of her home, worked as a home-school consultant, helped with the initiative for a Waldorf school, and edited the community newsletter. These were all steps on a path that brought Mrs. Thorman and her family over the mountain to Live Oak Waldorf School. Her son, Christopher, is in second grade, and son, Nathaniel, is in Sunflower Preschool.
Jane Mulder, our Sixth Grade Teacher, grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, in northern Illinois. Her family moved to the suburbs of New York City for her high school years, and then she crossed the continent to California for college. After graduating from Stanford University in 1971, Mrs. Mulder moved to the lovely Sierra Foothills. In addition to learning all the skills necessary to manage a small homestead, she also worked in home design and building, and wrote and edited in the field of organic agriculture. Mrs. Mulder taught at Hidden Valley Home School for ten years, and has enjoyed being a part of the Live Oak Waldorf School community where she has taught since 1992; this is her third class. She and her husband, Otis Wollan, have three daughters, all graduates of Live Oak Waldorf School. Malia, an honors graduate of UC Santa Cruz with a Master’s in journalism from UC Berkeley, is an AP reporter in San Francisco. Holly, also an honors graduate of UCSC, is a multitalented artist in the Bay Area. Byranna is studying for her Master’s in social work at San Francisco State.
Lynne Poirier, our Seventh Grade Teacher, took the Class of 2011 as class teacher in the fall of 2007. Ms. Poirier was born in Queens, New York. Her father’s career in the aerospace industry brought her family to Southern California and she spent most of her school years there. She began her college education with the ambition of becoming a teacher. Yielding to her father’s pressure to take up a more lucrative career, Ms. Poirier began searching for the right path. This took her on a course that went from business, to biology, to biomedical illustration, and finally to fine art. In 1988, the year her oldest son, Derek, was born, she discovered Waldorf education. At that time, while living in San Diego, she began to attend workshops and lectures at the San Diego Waldorf School. She also went back to college to take some courses in early childhood development. She began a playgroup in her home during which time her second son, Kyle, was born. When Derek began first grade, she was hired as the kindergarten assistant at SDWS. In 1996, Ms. Poirier and her family moved to the Sierra foothills so she could attend Rudolf Steiner College and work as the aftercare director at Live Oak Waldorf School. Finally realizing her goal of teaching, she began her began her first eight year cyle with the class of 2006 in the fall of 1997.
Gail Lescher, our Eighth Grade Teacher, has been with her class since they started first grade. She was born and raised in Chicago, and surrounded by a family of musicians, she took up music and the arts in middle school. Ms. Lescher finished her education at Northern Illinois University with a B.F.A. in Printmaking and Art History. In 1985, she moved to California and began a family. While raising three little girls and building/remodeling several homes, she became involved in the more practical and artistic aspects of Anthroposophy, studying biodynamic agriculture, Waldorf education, and early childhood themes, as well as singing, painting, and acting. In 1994 – 1995, she led a Waldorf playgroup in her home. After being called in for several extensive substitute teaching opportunities, Ms. Lescher was inspired to take her first class at Live Oak in 1998. After completing five years with her first class, she returned to pick up the first grade again in 2002. Her children Carmen, Diana, and Nicole are all graduates of Live Oak.
Subject Teachers
Andrea Pronto, our Music Teacher, was born in Germany. Her mother introduced her to the world of music early, which led her to a musical high school from hich she graduated. At age 14, Mrs. Pronto met Anthroposophy through a Waldorf teacher. Through her special interest in people, communities, and social work, she found her way to Camphill Villages in England, Ireland, and Holland. In 1982 she received her B.A. in Special Education. After that, she returned to music studies in the Independent Music School, a school of music as it is applied in art, therapy, and education. These studies led her to teachers in Europe and finally to a tour in the United States. In 1986, Mrs. Pronto moved to California and taught music at Live Oak Waldorf School until her son, Lindon, was born in 1988. She has been a Music Instructor at Rudolf Steiner College since 1986 and conducts workshops on a regular basis. In 1993, Mrs. Pronto returned to Live Oak as our Music Teacher.
Nan Shaw, our Guitar Teacher, is a native of Southern California and grew up in the Ojai Valley. In this “nest,” private schools and spiritually oriented organizations abound amidst orange orchards surrounded by spectacular mountains. The beauty of nature was a major influence in her childhood, as were a theosophical family and many wonderful teachers in the several idealistic schools she attended where parents often worked to help pay tuition. Family activities included music, art, writing, reading, sewing, Spanish, gardening, and endless talking about theosophy, history, religion, esoteric subjects, and cats. Early music studies included violin, piano, and clarinet, but in the teen years, it was a love of the guitar which took root for life. At age 18, Nan began studying with the world renowned guitarist and composer Vicento Gomez, with whom she continued for many years. Driven by multiple interests, however, she attended Chorinard Art Institute (which became California Institute of the Arts) beginning in Fine Arts and graduating with an M.A. in Design. Next came marriage to Norton and a child who led the way north and eventually to Live Oak Waldorf School. There more children were born, grew up in the Live Oak “nest” and took flight. Nan stayed on in the music room to become a Live Oak grandmother.
Tim Stanley, our Strings Teacher,
Doug Thorley, our Orchestra and Band Instructor, grew up in Massachusetts. He began musical studies in the fourth grade, later attending the University of Massachusetts in Lowell as a voice major. After leaving school, he spent five years dairy farming in upstate New York before moving to California and completing his music studies on the trombone at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He performs throughout northern California in all styles of music ranging from Mantovani to Mozart to Monk and has toured Asia twice. For the past fifteen years he has been teaching classroom and private music in both public and private schools in the Bay Area. Mr. Thorley is living happily in Colfax with his wife, Beth Miller, and her daughters, Lauren and Erica.
Steven Casperite, our Games Teacher, was born April 2, 1962 on the Arizona/Mexico border at a small military outpost established in what were once Apache country and the home of Cochise, the great Apache Chief. His father was in the military, so by the age of three Mr. Casperite had lived in Europe and different parts of the United States. By the age of 3 1/2 his family settled in the county of Orange in the southern part of California. His teen years were filled with much exploration and exhaustive efforts to understand who he was. At 21, his life began to take a new direction and many wonderful and painful events would cross his path clearly. Mr. Casperite is a husband, a father of three, and a devout student of the history of western esotericism. He has coached men’s water polo and swimming at a local community college and took on the role of Games Teacher at Live Oak in 2001. All of these roles seem to have a symmetry that is interlocked in a certain way, helping him to see more clearly the path that is unfolding before him.
Barbara Wauters, also known as "Doña Bárbara", is our lower grades Spanish Teacher. She was born in the small town of San Rafael, Argentina, in the foothills of the Andes to German-Jewish immigrants. She grew up bilingually, and soon added English to her storehouse of language skills. When she was 11, the family moved to Berlin, Germany, where Doña Bárbara went to high school and earned her Abitur. During her last year of high school, her family hosted a foreign exchange student from Newcastle, California, who invited Doña Bárbara to visit. She did so in the fall of 1973, and soon thereafter met William, the brother of her "sister". She and William married and moved to Clipper Gap, where they settled in an old pear orchard, and proceeded to raise a menagerie of animals, mostly sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. Meanwhile, Doña Bárbara pursued her formal education, first at Sierra College, and at California State University, Sacramento, where she earned a B.A. in Spanish and German. After a few years, the family increased by two children, Leon and Vivian, and when it was time to send them to school, Doña Bárbara already knew that Live Oak would be her choice. Doña Bárbara has always made the school a central part of her life, and has been involved in many different functions within the school structure. She has been a faculty member since 2003.
Nanci Zecchin, our Eurythmist, was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and lived there until she was 22. After she received a psychology degree at the University of Sao Paulo she left for England where she spent two years at Emerson College. There she studied the Foundation Year in Anthroposophy and was introduced to eurythmy. Her eurythmy training was at The Hague, Holland, where she spent six and a half years, first learning this art and then teaching at a Waldorf School in Tilburg, South Holland. In Germany, Ms. Zecchin worked for two and a half years with kindergarten eurythmy and eurythmy for adults. There she also had the opportunity to work with handicapped children for one year in an anthroposophical institution. When she went back to Brazil in 1994, she worked at the Colegio Waldorf Micael in Sao Paulo, performing eurythmy programs in Brazil and abroad. Since Ms. Zecchin came to the United States, she has been doing some artistic work in eurythmy at the Rudolf Steiner College and teaching eurythmy to disabled adults in Sacramento. With pleasure she is again teaching children at Live Oak Waldorf School.
Douglas Struble, our Woodwork Teacher,
Tesa Briles is our Educational Support Teacher. Ms. Briles personal journey with Anthroposophy began to take shape in 1999 when she made the difficult decision to take two weeks off work to attend a class in art therapy taught by Jannebeth Roell at the Rudolf Steiner College. This meant traveling from Bend, Oregon, living with strangers for two weeks and entering a completely “unknown” world —– a world of color, movement, form and shape, all wrapped in a philosophy that felt familiar to her. As fate would have it, it took no time at all to go from being a small business owner, satisfied with her level of education, to feeling a passionate desire to change her life completely. Ms. Briles then made the decision to travel abroad, spending the next three years to become certified in Anthroposophical Art therapy at Tobias School of Art and Therapy. She spent nearly two years in England, painting every day, followed by a year of work with the Tacaks’ clinic in Portland, Oregon, with Jannebeth as her mentor and supervisor during her practicum work. After working a year at the Waldorf School of Bend as an art teacher, giving art classes to adults in the community and managing to work as an art therapist as much as possible, it became clear to her that her desire to help children meant one more training. Ms. Briles embarked upon another three-year training, the Remedial Education Program at Rudolf Steiner College. She felt fortunate to be able to put her training into practice immediately at the Waldorf School of Bend. Ms. Briles came to Live Oak knowing she was entering a new chapter in her life.
