Willow Creek Acacdemy Staff
Willow Creek Academy is delighted to introduce its Head of School and Teachers
Our faculty is dedicated to providing Willow Creek's students with a rich and exciting inter-disciplinary curriculum centered on language arts, mathematics, history and science with a strong emphasis on the arts, environmental issues, appropriate uses of technology and the nurturing of each individual student's strengths.
Our classroom teachers all have California Teaching Credentials and our Assistant Teachers all have four year college degrees and in many cases are working on advanced degrees and/or teaching credentials. Our instructional specialists are also all college graduates with specialization in their specific fields.
Our Head of School
Carol Cooper, has an extensive background in both teaching and administration. She has been a Marin County resident for 35 years; 18 of which have been in Sausalito. To quote her, "This is the best job I have ever had. Working with Willow Creek families over the last 7 years to create this school has been a remarkable experience. This year our enrollment and staff have tripled since our first year; our 2009-10 school year promises to be even more rewarding and exciting than our past seven. Some new additions to our program this year include participation in a District wide Arts Integration Program funded by the Marin Community Foundation, a Creek Restoration Program organized and implemented by our 6th through 8th graders under the leadership of the YMCA at Pt. Bonita and the implementation of GLAD Program techniques to help differentiate instruction for all of our students.
Assistant to the Head of School
Emily Darawish has taught for ten years in California, three of which at Willow Creek Academy as a Third Grade teacher. Before coming to Willow Creek, Emily taught as a bilingual (English/Spanish) teacher in grades three through seven in Southern California and in San Francisco.
Introducing our Teachers:
Primary (K-2)
Alise Perez and Lisa Goodrich-Boyd, Kindergarten
Jennifer Atterman and Kristin Duran, Kindergarten/First Grade Combination
Emily Enstice and Samerah Eskandaripour, 1st Grade
Jan Loshin and Becky Jackson, 2nd Grade
Intermediate (3-5)
Anne Siskin and Stephen Barbee, 3rd grade
Michelle Morris, 4th Grade
Nathania Jacobs, 5th Grade
Upper School: (6-8)
Wendy Powell, 6/7/8 grade math and lead 6/7/8 teacher
Matt Helmenstinel, 6/7/8th history/social science teacher
Melissa Nestel, 6/7th/8th English/language arts teacher
Katie Beckman, 6/7/8th science teacher
Instructional Specialists (School Wide):
David Singleton, Physical Education
Nancy Spottiswoode, Music
Alise Perez, Kidergarten
Alise is a local, Marin County native. She grew up in San Rafael and told us in her initial interview that she decided to become a teacher because of all the help that teachers gave her in her San Rafael public school experience. Those early teachers taught her to believe that she could become a leader and an educator. Kindergarten under Alise's direction is teeming with enthusiasm as students learn their letters, their sounds and, perhaps most importantly, how to work both independently and with each other.
Emily Enstice, 1st Grade
Emily worked as an Assistant Teacher with at Willow Creek three years ago to help support herself as she worked on her PhD in multi-cultural education. Seduced by the classroom, she left Willow Creek and enrolled in an intensive one year teaching credential program at San Francisco State. Armed with her brand new credential, she has returned to Willow Creek's first grade classroom.
Jan Loshin, 2nd Grade
Willow Creek is fortunate to have Jan Loshin on our staff---coming to us with 15 years of teaching experience. In addition to providing her students with a rigorous math and language program, she plans a series of field trips to urban and rural environments in the Bay Area to share this glorious area with her students. Their first serious study of geography is highlighted with trips to the top of Mt. Tam, ferry rides to San Francisco and the agricultural areas of Pt. Reyes.
Anne Siskin, 3rd Grade
Anne Siskin brings 14 years of teaching experience to her classroom. She taught fifth grade for 10 years, and third for 3 years, and was also the garden coordinator at her school for several years! Her motto is: “Work hard, and play hard! She teaches her students that as a TEAM: Together, everyone achieves more! Yoga, field trips, working in the garden, daily "Morning Meeting" and sharing time, creativity in every shape and form, and economics are as much a part of her program as math, reading, writing, science, and history. Anne’s goal is to create a learning environment where all students feel safe, respected, are challenged academically, and excited to learn everyday. Learning to utilize life skills and critical thinking as problem solving tools is as important as the academics in Anne’s classroom. Students' social and academic challenges are not regarded as mistakes, but instead, processed in class and used as important teachable moments for learning. She believes that the true measure of her success as a teacher is when students enter the classroom each day buzzing about what they learned yesterday and are eager to learn more!
Michelle Morris, 4th Grade
Michelle is our own version of the British Invasion. Experienced in working with English language learners, educational technology and a great comfort level with science, Michelle brings 10 years of experience to our fourth grade class. She runs what she calls literacy boot camp, resulting in terrific young writers and thoughtful readers by the end of their year with her. This year she is also the lead teacher for the Intermediate School and a member of the District wide Arts Planning Team.
Nathania Jacobs, 5th Grade
Nathania has taught English in Japan and then worked with 5th and 6th graders in a Charter School in Harlem. She headed west to join a Master's Program at the University of San Francisco in Education and Social Justice with Herb Kohl. She found Willow Creek three years ago and her students reflect her attention to detail, focus on personal responsibility and in depth studies of creative writing, American History and literature. As with so many other classes, a wide range of field trips expand the walls of the classroom into real iife applications of what is learned in traditional studies.
Wendy Powell, Katie Beckman, Matt Helmenstine, Melissa Nestel, 6th, 7th and 8th grade.
The Upper School teachers have created and implemented a rigorous and demanding program with Matt heading the history/social studies curriculum, Wendy teaching math to all three grades, Katie introducing the students to the intracies of geology, biology and physics and Melissa delivering the English/language arts curriculum. All four teachers coordinate the 8th grade projects. In addition, the Upper School students serve as reading and garden buddies with lower grade classes, take advantage of a group of electives such as visual art, yearbook and chorus.