Rebecca is a 1st/​2nd asso­ciate 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.

Richard is the kinder­garten asso­ciate teacher. He has a B.A. in fine arts/​graphic design from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Los Angeles and holds an Early Child­hood Devel­op­ment Creden­tial from the State of Cali­for­nia. Richard has been with Waverly since its days as a preschool, and has taught in the elemen­tary school for over 25 years. He says, ​“Waverly chil­dren inspire me by their open­ness, their creative approaches in problem solving, and an incred­i­ble school-wide vibe of it’s okay to be different.” 

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.” Molly’s eldest son, Aiben, is in kindergarten.

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.”

Sahaj is a 5th/​6th asso­ciate teacher. Sahaj has a B.A. in soci­ol­ogy from the Univer­sity of Cali­for­nia, Berke­ley and an M.A. in educa­tion admin­is­tra­tion and a teach­ing creden­tial from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, North­ridge. He appre­ci­ates working at Waverly because ​“acad­e­mics can be approached differ­ently to include all learn­ing styles. The class­room is a chem­istry exper­i­ment in and of itself. We have distinct person­al­i­ties and diverse mixtures that lead to unique results and expe­ri­ences every year.” Sahaj enjoys Hatha yoga, playing basket­ball, and exploring science.

Kevin is a 3rd/​4th grade lead teacher. Kevin received a B.F.A. from Otis Art Insti­tute of Parsons School of Design. A life­long learner, Kevin has partic­i­pated in work­shops and confer­ences on diver­sity, child devel­op­ment, Writer’s Work­shop, and Every­day Math. Prior to teach­ing, Kevin was an art direc­tor for a publish­ing company and at various anima­tion studios. His work with children’s liter­a­ture instilled a passion for inspir­ing young minds.

Brit­tany is a 1st/​2nd lead teacher. Brit­tany holds a B.A. in psychol­ogy and fine art/​art history from Buck­nell Univer­sity, a Multi­ple Subject Creden­tial from CalState TEACH, an Early Child­hood Educa­tion Certifi­cate from UCLA Exten­sion, and will soon complete her program for a Master’s in Teach­ing with a focus on social justice, multi­cul­tur­al­ism, and action research through Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Fresno. Brit­tany believes that all students should be given the space and oppor­tu­nity to love learn­ing and to realize that there is so much that can be uncov­ered through the learn­ing process. She says, ​“The class­room is set up to meet varying student needs in a variety of learn­ing expe­ri­ences. In this envi­ron­ment, students are given the space and support to take risks, ask ques­tions, and express themselves.”

Megan is a 3rd/​4th asso­ciate teacher. She holds a B.A. in child devel­op­ment from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, North­ridge. Megan became an educa­tor to help students achieve their poten­tial and to help build their self-confi­dence. She supports and chal­lenges Waverly students by being their biggest moti­va­tor. Megan says, ​“Should students approach me, proud to have told their parents what they have learned, this shows me I’ve done my job well.”