Early Childhood
Kelsey Warren
Kelsey is our Mixed-Age Kindergarten lead educator and Program Director, as well as our Administrator. She joined our Riverwood community in 2016 when she enrolled her oldest daughter in the Chickadee Kindergarten. Kelsey worked as an in-home childcare provider in the past. In the beginning of her time with us, she served as a volunteer assistant in the Chickadee class for the second half of the school year as well as home-schooled her niece for a year and a half. Her niece is now a Riverwood graduate while both daughters currently attend Riverwood. Kelsey organized and led our first week-long Summer Nature Camp in August 2017 which has continued each summer. She has completed the online courses, Home as the Model - Life is the Curriculum, Observing Young Children, Discipline with Loving Awareness, and most recently Learning in Nature with LifeWays North America, Raising Anti-Racist White Children with the Center for the Study of White American Culture, as well as Rejuvenation for Early Childhood Teachers with Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training. In the fall of 2018, she attended a Therapeutic Puppetry Workshop with Juniper Tree Puppetry that was held in Spokane. Kelsey attended the two-year Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Training program through Sound Circle Center, a WECAN-recognized certified training institute. She graduated with her Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher certificate July of 2019. She is also a WaNPA (Washington Nature Preschool Association) member. Kelsey brings much passion for Waldorf education and a can-do attitude to Riverwood while understanding the important role she holds with the children. She relishes time outdoors with her family, enjoys handwork projects, gardening, and loves to read.
Elisabeth Sitts
Elisabeth is our Mixed-Age lead educator. Elisabeth first connected with Riverwood in 2018 when she volunteered in the Chickadee classroom. She looks forward to leading the Chickadee class this year. Elisabeth discovered Waldorf in 2010 when she was planning her journey to home school her own children. In 2016, she taught first grade to her oldest daughter using Waldorf-inspired curriculum at home. Since then, she co-taught first, second, and third grade with her husband using a combination of Waldorf methods and natural living. Over the years, she has deepened her studies and research of Rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophy. She believes that the highest sense of learning is connecting with one’s self while maintaining balance in nature. In the summer of 2020, she completed the Waldorf Grade Two intensive training with Sunbridge Institute in New York, and an online Curative Education workshop with Robyn Brown. Her four daughters will join her at Riverwood. She enjoys hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family. Elisabeth holds a B.S. in General Science with a Pre-Education option from Oregon State University as well as an A.A. degree with a focus in Early Childhood Education from Portland Community College. In 2019, she became a WSU Master Gardener, and she developed and implemented a community outreach booth at the Chewelah Farmer’s Market.
Grade One
Jeanette Maxson
Jeanette discovered Waldorf education in 2018 as a result of her quest for a school that would support her children in finding love and truth within themselves. After involvement at the Windsong School in Spokane, she began a self-directed educational journey in Waldorf education. Jeanette was drawn to this style of education because of its focus on the development of the whole child and a pursuit of wholehearted living. The heart of their family brought Jeanette, her husband, and two children back to her roots. They now live on her family's beautiful multi-generational property. They wholeheartedly jumped at the opportunity to join the Riverwood community, of which the children happily attend. Nature adventures are her family's favorite pastime. Her happy place is the ocean or really any body of water. She makes a pilgrimage to the pacific ocean at least once a year and in the summer months you might find her on Lake Roosevelt with a smile on her face and a stand up paddle board under her feet. She has continued her passion for Waldorf Education by completing Jamie York’s Grades 1-3 Art of Teaching Math, SunBridge Institute Approaching Grade One, and Robyn Brown’s Curative Education Course. She feels honored to accompany the children as they journey through the 1st grade. Jeanette lived in Japan for a couple months as an exchange student. This revelatory experience set her on her path to attend Western Washington University with a focus in Linguistics, Japanese, and Psychology. She has since returned to Japan a couple of times to visit her host family and friends of which she has remained connected. She looks forward to integrating Japanese into the curriculum. Jeanette is an Advanced Healing Arts Practitioner and Apprenticing Soul Coach. She assists individuals of all ages, including children and families, in connecting with their soul, consciousness, and the realization that they have chosen to be here on earth. Her passion for Waldorf education and experience as an Apprenticing Soul Coach provides a unique integration of Heart, Head, and Hands. She looks forward to helping the students, families, faculty, and community of Riverwood to grow in knowledge and in spirit!
Grade Two
Kristin Grooms
Kris began educating at Riverwood as a substitute in 2018. She holds a B.S. in Architectural Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture, professional degree from Washington State University. She also attended the University of Nevada for one year and completed introductory music courses and learned the basic playing of instruments in the brass, woodwinds, reeds, and percussion categories. She has been playing piano since she was six years old, has taken 14 years of lessons, and has taught piano for two years. She designed and bid landscape construction for several years before beginning a nine-year homeschooling journey using Waldorf methods with her three children. In 2019, she completed a grades summer intensive at Sound Circle Center entitled Beyond Labels - Nurturing the Genius of Each Child and Building New Skills for Waldorf Teaching. In addition, she completed a Waldorf Sixth Grade Teacher Training Intensive. Both of Kris’s sons have graduated high school, and she lives with her husband and her youngest daughter who just graduated Riverwood, and their two cats, Louie and Marlin. Her hobbies include sewing, quilting, reading, landscape design, downhill skiing, boating, camping, hiking, and coaching soccer and basketball.
Grade Three & Four
Kristina Rhodes
Kristina joined Riverwood in the spring of 2021 when she and her husband, Dan, enrolled their daughter. Equipped with a varied background in teaching and education, she gladly accepted a volunteer position in the school as a teacher aide and was grateful for the opportunity of Waldorf education for their daughter. As well, her interest in becoming an educaator at the school ensued as she borrowed a stack of books from the staff library and participated in Ms. Kelsey's in-house training offered the following summer. Volunteering as a teacher assistant in Ms. Kelsey's Chickadee class last year was the true blessing of knowledge and relatable experience. The time spent there afforded Kristina with the foundations of Waldorf education through the eyes of the children themselves. From a family of teachers throughout Texas who cherished their teaching livelihoods, she always felt at home in positions of helping others. She knew her path would follow her relatives when she landed her first gig: teaching swim lessons as a teenager. That simple yet important teaching job led to five years of Red Cross Instructor level courses and positions. During college at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, Kristina taught Lifeguard, Water Safety, and CPR/First Aid Instructor courses. In addition, she played on the Division 1 NCAA softball team with an athletic scholarship. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1996 and continued in the field of lifesaving and teaching lifeguards in Austin, Texas for several years which provided her with a lifetime of fun and an experience she will keep close to her soul. In 2003, she was accepted into a graduate teaching certificate program at the University of Houston in Clear Lake. She lived with her mom to help her through a rough time while attending the graduate program of her dreams: Master’s program/teaching certification - Middle School Language Arts and Reading. Always adventurous and athletic, she became an avid surfer during this time as her mother's home was close to the Texas beaches. Traveling to California, Puerto Rico, and Mexico for the endless wave, she floated the idea of living a life as a surf bum, but started a family instead, in California. Surfing took a back seat and so did just about everything, including teaching at a school. Being a parent of a special needs child took first priority in all thoughts and processes for the next 10 years. As she dove into everything Autism related to get the proper supports and services for her child, she and her husband became advocates for other special needs families. Together they organized support groups and events to connect the community. A weekly "Kids Open Mic Night" for special needs families at a local café brought families together where they shared tears of joy while their children shined on stage for their smiling families. When an assisted living "group home" of young adults showed up to the event, the patio was filled with love and energy so thick that the experience changed the life of every person there. People with disabilities have value. They are here to teach us about the miracle of life, and the responsibility that we all need to care for one another with compassion and love. During this time, Kristina worked at the Oceanside Unified School District as a para educator in the Behavior Intensive Department of Special Education Services. Attending a Special Education Law Conference, she and Dan learned how to read and interpret laws relating to education, discrimination, and civil rights. They used their new skills to make positive changes for the community. Gaining confidence in presenting laws to school districts and opening doors for special needs families in the district, Kristina was appointed as one of four parent advisors representing Oceanside at the North Consortium for Special Education (NCCSE). The duties of this position included providing input for future budgets of valued programs and offering solutions to provide fair and appropriate access of these programs to all students. Kristina and her family came to Northeast Washington several years ago to find peace and quiet, to give their young daughter a better life, and to provide more space and calming of the senses for their older son. She appreciates outdoor activities immensely, exploring nature in all seasons, hiking/wandering through the woods, reading, gardening, crafting, traveling, and being with her family.
Grade Five & Six
Monica Voltz
Monica is one of the founders of Riverwood, and she has been an educator, administrator, and board member since the inception of Riverwood. She led her first class from second through eighth grade. Then, she taught a class of second and third graders. Next, she was the lead teacher for the fifth and sixth grade class. She enjoyed carrying her students forward as the sixth and seventh grade teacher last year. In addition, she is the lead Handwork Specialty Teacher. Prior to Riverwood, she operated the Enchanted Forest home preschool for two years, and before that was a founding member of Fingerprints Preschool in Chewelah, Washington. She holds a B.A. in Scandinavian Studies and a B.B.A in Business/Marketing from Pacific Lutheran University. Since she discovered Waldorf education in 2008, she has completed a wide variety of Waldorf teacher training courses and conferences throughout the country including: most recently, a Grade 7 intensive at Micha-el Institute in Milwaukie, OR and a Curative Education intensive at the Mulberry School in Gold Beach, OR. In addition, she holds certificates in the following teacher training courses: Grade 6 online 2020 summer intensive at Sunbridge Institute in New York; Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Online Teacher Conferences with Eugene Schwartz; Math Intensives for Grades 1 – 3 and Grades 6 – 7 with Jamie York/Making Math Meaningful; a grades summer intensive at Sound Circle Center in 2019 entitled Beyond Labels - Nurturing the Genius of Each Child and Building New Skills for Waldorf Teaching; a one year online course - Thinking, Feeling, Willing – with Waldorf Essentials; the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) Summer Conference in Austin, Texas; The Magic of Waldorf Summer Teacher Training Conferences at Shining Star Waldorf School in Portland, Oregon, from 2010 to 2013; Early Childhood Symposiums at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento, California in 2010 and 2011; Juniper Tree Puppetry Workshop at Windsong School in Spokane; Helle Heckmann Workshop for Educators at Seattle Waldorf School; and a workshop with Rahima Baldwin-Dancy, author of You are Your Child’s First Teacher at Portland Waldorf School. Both of her daughters have now graduated from Riverwood. She enjoys skiing locally and around the world with her family and friends, mountain biking, playing with the family dog, reading and knitting.
Grade Seven & Eight
Kim Kalua
Kim came to us last year as a volunteer and substitute teacher. In addition to
homeschooling her children for several years, she has previous classroom
experience in the K-12 setting. Recognizing the need for supporting the
whole child as they grow, Kim believes strongly in the importance of kids learning as
individuals, teaching common sense, how to be adaptable, and training them to think
and be responsible for themselves and their own actions. She tries to model these
traits and support kids to grow through their weaknesses and into their strengths, to
learn how to make a difference in their own worlds.
Kim has four lovely children. One has followed her interest in education and recently
completed her AA in Early Childhood Education. Two are married and making
successful choices as adults. She is the primary provider for a son with severe
disabilities. She will primarily be teaching our older students this year, including her youngest daughter. If you catch her during a spare minute, you’ll most likely find her outdoors, in the
garden, on a walk or playing with the kids and pets. She dearly loves her Creator
and has found an outlook of gratefulness and mercy to always make life better. She
enjoys observing others, constantly learning and creating art and food with her
hands.
Kaitlin Davidson - Chickadee Assistant
Bio coming soon
Rachel Schoonover - Grades Program Assistant
Bio coming soon
Jennifer Williams - Grades Program Assistant
Bio coming soon
Buddy Wilson - Yoga Lead Educator
Bio coming soon
Hector Torres - Spanish Lead Educator
Bio coming soon