In Waldorf schools, the class teacher will usually teach the class of students from first through eighth grade. The teacher accepts extensive and extended responsibility for the students as their main instructor. In this model, emotional ties are fostered, the students and teacher deepen their understanding of one another, and individual learning styles are well-known and addressed throughout the students’ education. Specialty subjects, such as world languages, strings, band and handwork, are taught by specialists.
Kate grew up in a coastal town in Massachusetts and received a BA from Kenyon College. She worked in Boston for the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, then later, while managing a bed and breakfast on Orcas Island, she was drawn to Waldorf education after meeting a couple of Waldorf graduates. She earned her Waldorf Teaching Certificate from Antioch New England Graduate School. After five years as a class teacher at the Whidbey Island Waldorf School, she joined the SWS faculty in 1998 and graduated her class in 2006. After a year on sabbatical, she returns as grade one teacher.
Violetta was born and raised in the Soviet Union. She earned her BA and MA in music, with a focus on choral conducting. She began her teaching career with a class of twenty-two young piano students at the Children's School of Music in Togliatti, Russia. After four years there, Violetta moved to this country to be married. Her young son led her to discover Waldorf education and complete her teacher training. She has worked most recently as the grade one assistant at the Pasadena Waldorf School.
Susan was born and raised in a small town near Berkeley, CA. She spent her childhood playing in the creeks and waters of the bay, and riding horses and milking goats with lifelong friends on a large ranch near Sacramento, CA. She attended colleges in California, Colorado and Oregon where she earned her B.A. and M. Ed. degrees in bilingual and elementary education. Susan has taught grades 1-5 in Seattle public schools, worked as a Kindergarten assistant at the Bright Water School, and earned her Waldorf Teaching Certificate from Sound Circle Teacher Training. Susan is married to a "second generation" Waldorf school graduate from Stuttgart, Germany, and their three sons now attend Seattle Waldorf School.
Mark was born and raised in Seattle. He received his BA in English for Secondary Education, with a history minor, from the University of Washington. He lived and worked in Europe for five years, and spent one year in Eurythmy School at Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland. Mark spent his time as a professional actor in Seattle throughout the eighties. After working in the Seattle and Edmonds public schools, he joined our faculty in 1995, graduating the 2003 eighth grade.
Britt was born in Chelan, Washington where she lived on an apple orchard for 16 years before her family moved to the Seattle area. Throughout college she studied Spanish, music and drama, and graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Sociology. Britt graduated from the Sound Circle Teacher Training Spring of 2005. Britt loves to dance, sing, knit, and eat ridiculous amounts of Thai food.
Michael was born near Philadelphia, PA and later moved with his family to a suburb of St Paul, MN where he spent most of his school years. He studied art in St Paul and Duluth, MN and Madison, WI where he earned a BS-Art degree in 1985. After a few years working in a bakery, a sign-painting shop, and several group homes, Michael moved to France to live at the monastary of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. While there he met and married his wife, Geraldine, and together they ran a hand-made wooden toys business. As their family grew, their thoughts turned to education, and the Klines moved to Stowbridge, England where Michael completed a Waldorf Class Teacher training course. He then pioneered the Practical Arts program for grades six through twelve at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs, NY, as well as taught a variety of main lessons in grade six through nine for eight years, including a five-month period at the Vancouver Waldorf School during 2004. In 2006 the Klines moved to Seattle where, along with teaching, Michael continues to develop his work as a visual artist.
Mary was born in Bloomington, Indiana. She spent her early elementary years living on Washington’s Long Beach peninsula and still feels a strong tie to that area. Later in elementary school her family moved to Tacoma where she spent the rest of her childhood. Diverse interests in college led her to Fairhaven College within WWU, where she designed a concentration in “The Development of Personality.” After graduation, she joined the Waldorf Foundation Year program in Eugene, OR. She then completed the Teacher Training program at Antioch New England Graduate School, where she received a M.Ed., Elementary Teaching Credential and Waldorf Certificate. After serving as Lower Grades Assistant during the 2000-01 school year, Mary took up the first grade class in 2001-02.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Wim worked as a public school teacher before becoming trained in Waldorf education. From 1984 to 2000, he was a class teacher at the Brabant Waldorf School in Eindhoven, where he took two classes from first grade through grades six and eight. In the meantime, he was a remedial teacher for several years. The last six years he was the process manager for all the remedial work in the school. He earned a remedial teaching certificate and an intern manager certificate in 1996. For several years Wim was the chair of the college of teachers and taught adult education in the main school and in Czechoslovakia. He is married to Nettie Fabrie and moved to Seattle to join our school in the winter of 2000.
Sara Canady was born in San Francisco and later moved to Denver, Colorado where she spent most of her school years. She attended Pacific University in Oregon and Indiana University in Bloomington, earning a B.A. in Modern Languages and her M.A. in Applied Linguistics. After teaching English as a second language in China and at colleges in the U.S., Sara left teaching to begin raising her own family. Sara completed the Sound Circle Teacher Training in 2007. Her four children attend Seattle Waldorf School.
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