Rebecca is a 1st/​2nd co-lead teacher. She received a B.A. from San Fran­cisco State Univer­sity in psychol­ogy and art. With an inter­est in devel­op­men­tal psychol­ogy, Rebecca taught preschool for seven years, followed by teach­ing the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades in San Fran­cisco, Brook­lyn, and Los Angeles. Rebecca has partic­i­pated in diverse educa­tional train­ing over her 15-year career, includ­ing Jewish educa­tor train­ing, Reggio Emilia, Reader and Writer’s Work­shop, Respon­sive Class­room, Bill David­son Math, and anti-bias train­ing. When Rebecca isn’t teach­ing, she can often be found baking pie for her small pie company, called Piety. (Email)

Maria is a kindergarten/​1st grade asso­ciate teacher and teaches Spanish in the elemen­tary school. Maria has worked with chil­dren for more than 25 years and has been with Waverly since its days as a preschool. Of her work, Maria says, ​“It gives me joy to watch the chil­dren grow year after year and see how they become passion­ate artists, confi­dent speak­ers, talented musi­cians, and kind young adults who love us all for being part of their journey.” Maria’s two daugh­ters attend Waverly: Aaliyah in 8th grade and Natalie in 10th grade. (Email)

Elah (Waverly class of 2008) is a 5th/6th-grade asso­ciate teacher. She has a Bach­e­lor of Science in jour­nal­ism with a focus in envi­ron­men­tal commu­ni­ca­tions from Emerson College in Boston. Elah truly enjoys working with students in upper elemen­tary as they navi­gate their social dynam­ics, emotional growth, and take pride in their acad­e­mic work. She believes in the impor­tance of creat­ing a commu­nity where students culti­vate curios­ity and feel safe to try new things and make mistakes. Elah loves to bring her love of the natural world into the class­room, as well. (Email)

Molly (Waverly class of 2002) is a 5th/​6th lead teacher. She has a B.A. in theol­ogy and reli­gious studies from the Univer­sity of San Fran­cisco and a teach­ing creden­tial and a Master of Educa­tion degree from Antioch Univer­sity. Molly supports and chal­lenges her students by meeting them where they are emotion­ally, socially, and acad­e­m­i­cally. She explains, ​“Some days they need support, other days a chal­lenge, but knowing they always have a teacher who will support them allows them to be their best selves.” (Email)

Susan is a 2nd/​3rd lead teacher. Creden­tialed by the State of Cali­for­nia as a teacher (preschool-12th grades) and as a reading special­ist, Susan holds a Master of Science in educa­tion special­iz­ing in language and liter­acy from the Univer­sity of Penn­syl­va­nia as well as a Child Devel­op­ment Program Direc­tor Permit from the State of Cali­for­nia. Susan chal­lenges the kinder­garten­ers by first support­ing them emotion­ally. She says, ​“There is so much flux and trans­for­ma­tion taking place socially, emotion­ally, and cogni­tively at this point in their devel­op­ment, that my role is to listen, observe, and recog­nize when and where to push regard­ing their learn­ing expe­ri­ences.” (Email)

Jennifer is the learn­ing special­ist for kinder­garten through 12th grade. Jennifer has a Cali­for­nia Teach­ing Creden­tial, a Master’s in teach­ing, and certi­fi­ca­tion as an educa­tional ther­a­pist. Led to a career in educa­tion by a life­long fasci­na­tion with the many differ­ent ways people think and learn, Jennifer is happi­est when around chil­dren and teens and believes that most kids are natu­rally curious and seek chal­lenges to stretch them­selves. To support them, she explains,​“Often, you just need to give them the time and space to follow their curios­ity. For chil­dren who may find them­selves facing tasks which are too chal­leng­ing, what is often needed is support in build­ing the skills to feel capable of meeting a chal­lenge.” (Email)

Dharinne is a 3rd/​4th lead teacher. Dharinne has a B.A. in human devel­op­ment and a Multi­ple Subject Teach­ing Creden­tial from Pacific Oaks College. She will complete a Certifi­cate in Educa­tional Therapy at Univer­sity of Cali­for­nia, River­side this fall. In addi­tion to teach­ing in elemen­tary class­rooms, Dharinne has devel­oped and imple­mented eques­trian programs for Tom Sawyer Camps and has also served as a Behav­ioral Ther­a­pist in the B.L.A.S.T. Program. Dharinne has a back­ground in Visions Inclu­siv­ity Train­ing and Respon­sive Class­room, and she is commit­ted to child-centered educa­tion. (Email)

Cory is a 1st/​2nd co-lead teacher. Cory holds a B.F.A. in theatre perfor­mance from the Univer­sity of Idaho and grad­u­ated from the School at Step­pen­wolf’s Acting Program in 2016. Cory fosters a safe and creative envi­ron­ment for his students. He has embraced profes­sional devel­op­ment in Respon­sive Class­room, Every­day Math­e­mat­ics, and The National SEED Project (Seeking Educa­tional Equity and Diver­sity). He brings his theatre expe­ri­ence into the class­room to actively engage students during read-aloud, play­writ­ing, and poetry lessons. (Email)