by: Marti Stewart, Administrative Director on behalf of Administration and The College of Teachers
We hope you are having a wonderful summer! The Administration and the College of Teachers are excited to announce several new hires. Please join us in welcoming new staff members and current staff who will step into new roles in the 2014-15 school year.
Neela Bettaglio will join our staff as an Educational Support teacher with Kerry Miller, our program coordinator. Neela is an experienced educator who has completed the Educational Support training at Rudolf Steiner College. She has worked with children, adolescents and their families for the past decade in a variety of settings, most recently as the Achievement and Integration Coordinator for the East Metro Integration District. Neela is an alumni of the Minnesota Waldorf School and holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Art Therapy at Long Island University and a Masters of Arts in International Service and Leadership at University of Roehampton, London.
Anette Safverblad will serve as the lead preschool teacher for our Maple Preschool classroom. She has recently returned from Sunbridge Institute where she began her Waldorf Early Childhood teacher training program. Anette was educated as a Drama Pedagogue at Ljungskile Folkhogskola and previously taught classes for children at both Stages Theater Company and Steppingstone Theatre for Youth Development. She has served as a City of Lakes Waldorf School early childhood staff member for the past six years, serving as an assistant to Miss Melissa in both the preschool and the kindergarten.
Anette will be joined by Sarah Rose Miller as assistant in the Maple Preschool classroom. Sarah Rose, City of Lakes Waldorf School alum, daughter of Waldorf educators, will also bring her many gifts to the Maple Preschool. Sarah Rose is completing her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Religious Studies at the University of Minnesota this summer and has previous experience as a Childcare Assistant at Learning Tree Development Center and a Volunteer Coworker at The Bridge Camphill Community in Ireland.
Melissa McPartland is taking a leave of absence for the first half of the upcoming school year while she and her family spend time abroad in Mexico. Carllie Bene Bowers will join as interim lead teacher for the Birch classroom until Melissa’s return in January of 2015. Carllie has been supporting our classrooms in various capacities since 2005 as an aftercare and substitute teacher, handwork assistant and Little Sprouts assistant. Carllie has a wealth of experience working with young children. She taught first grade at the former Spring Hill School, and served as a teaching assistant at Greenwood Children’s Garden and Sweet Waters Childcare, Waldorf-inspired early childhood programs. Carllie is completing her Waldorf teacher training at Antioch University.
Scarlett Larson has accepted the position of Kindergarten Assistant in the Birch Kindergarten. Scarlett joined our early childhood staff last February as the assistant in the Oak Kindergarten. Miss Scarlett has worked with children since 2009 as a direct care provider and teacher. She graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and worked as a teacher and Education Manager for youth programs at the Textile Arts Center in New York City.
Martha Mathis will serve as the Aftercare Assistant in our Willow Kindergarten classroom, in addition to her work as our Early Childhood Extended Day Program Coordinator. Martha is currently completing Educational Support training through the Association of Healing Education. In addition, she completed a Waldorf teaching certificate from Arcturus Rudolf Steiner Education Program and a Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin, Stout with a concentration in Special Education Cognitive Disabilities K-12.
Zoe Weingarten will join our staff as a Kindergarten Aftercare and Early Childhood Extended Day Teacher. Zoe completed her Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education & Cultural Anthropology at Ripon College. Zoe comes to us after serving as a lead Preschool Teacher at VA Neighborhood Child Care Center. She also completed a year as an AmeriCorps LEAP Initiative volunteer at Longfellow Elementary School’s Hand in Hand Program in Northfield, Minnesota.
Rosie Cole will join our staff as our Grade 1 teacher. Rosie first joined City of Lakes Waldorf School in 1993 and co-founded our beloved Circus. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Evergreen State College and has studied Waldorf education at Whidbey Island Waldorf School, the Spacial Dynamics Institute, and with Helen Lubin, Leo Klein, Elena Baba and Dennis Klocek. Her circus, theater, mime, clowning and movement experience includes American Ballet Theater, Bond Street Theater Coalition, Alvin Ailey and Theatre of Fools. She has performed at The Fringe Festival, Guthrie Theater and Disneyland, among many others. She won the Minnesota Independent School Forum’s Story Award in 2012 for her extraordinary work at City of Lakes Waldorf School.
Alicia Mehle will take on an expanded role as the Grades 1-8 Assistant. She first joined City of Lakes Waldorf School in 2009 and has managed the extended day program and served as assistant in many of the classrooms. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Women’s Studies from the University of Minnesota. She is completing her Waldorf teaching certificate at Antioch University.
We also welcome Leah Welch as our new Front Desk Coordinator. Leah has recently returned to the Twin Cities after living for six years in Seattle working at the L’Arche Noah Sealth in Seattle. After completing college and a Master of Theological Studies at Duke Divinity School, Leah began her service to the L’Arche community as an AmeriCorps volunteer and eventually became the Program and Volunteer Coordinator. Leah brings many personal strengths and administrative skills to this important role and we are looking forward to working with her!