Milca is an asso­ciate teacher in the kindergarten/​1st grade class­room. Milca has a B.A. in art history with a minor in anthro­pol­ogy, an M.F.A., and a Multi­ple Subject Teach­ing Creden­tial from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Los Angeles. Prior to coming to Waverly, Milca substi­tute taught in Spanish Dual Immer­sion class­rooms in South Pasadena USD and was on the faculty of the Creative World Art Camp held at our campus during summer.

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.” Molly’s sons attend Waverly: Noah in preschool and Aiben in 2nd grade. (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)

Sahaj is a 3rd/​4th 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. (Email)

Brit­tany is a kindergarten/​1st grade 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 a Master’s in Teach­ing with a focus on social justice, multi­cul­tur­al­ism, and action research from 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.” (Email)