Our teachers are the heart of Spring River, and have been chosen because they are proven educators devoted to an arts-infused, whole-child curriculum that honors the natural world and the developmental phases of childhood.  
 
Some of our teachers are also homeschooling their own children, or have done so in the past, and can prove to be a helpful resource for families new to homeschooling. Many of our teachers have backgrounds as public school educators who have chosen a new path with a focus on Waldorf and Outdoor Education.  If you are interesting in becoming a teacher or joining the staff of Spring River, please apply through our Employment Opportunities page.

Sierra is a Jacksonville, Florida native and was one of the first students at The Playgarden, a local Waldorf Kindergarten, over 25 years ago. Sierra speaks fondly of her childhood and is overjoyed to have the opportunity to share her love of Waldorf education with our community.   

  

Sierra has taught at Spring River since 2018 and has been the Kindergarten Lead Teacher for four years. She enjoys a warm and supportive relationship with the families in her classes. 

  

Sierra is an accomplished violinist and pianist and has been studying music for nearly 20 years and playing professionally for over 16 years.  Her heart is drawn to a diverse range of interests, from culture and backcountry trekking to music and international relations. She has a deep love for animals, insects, plants, fossils, and holistic medicine. Her adventurous spirit led her to spend a semester in India, where she studied wilderness first aid, botany, language, yoga, and white-water rafting. through a program offered through University of Utah. One of the highlights of her journey was contributing to the construction of a greenhouse for the town of Ranikhet.   

 

Sierra's commitment to Early Childhood Education is unwavering. She is currently enrolled in the prestigious  Sophia's Hearth  Early Childhood Education and Certification Program, a three-year, 500-hour intensive recognized by WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America.)  She is set to complete her certification in 2025, a testament to her dedication to continuous learning and professional growth.    

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Sierra recently completed the year-long Building Bridges to Waldorf Education certification course offered by Antioch University and the Center for Anthroposophy. She has also been trained in CPR/First Aid, with an emphasis on urban wilderness first aid, and completed an American Red Cross Lifeguarding course.  She studied International Relations at the Univeristy of North Florida.

Whitney is a dedicated wife and mother of two wonderful little beings that always keep her on her toes. She and her family moved to the Jacksonville area from the mountains of Western North Carolina early in 2023 and have quickly fallen in love with the local community and environment. 

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Whitney has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and ten years of experience in education and children’s behavioral health. This background has allowed her to work closely with both children and their families in pursuit of collective goals surrounding not only academics, but other essential developmental skills such as emotional intelligence and regulation, social and verbal communication, behavior management, gross and fine motor operations, and many more. This interdisciplinary experience has reinforced her belief in the importance of an Anthroposophical lens in guiding children’s development.

 

She is passionate about helping children cultivate a love of learning and growth mindset, characteristics that nourish the human experience as well as intellectual fluency, and will continue to be valuable in all endeavors throughout their lives. 

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In her spare time, Whitney enjoys visiting the beach and local parks with her family, creating art, teaching her children to cook, and snuggling on the couch with her husband and two Frenchies with a good book. 

Kelly brings with her a love of and curiosity about the outdoors. She loves learning about her natural surroundings and bringing those stories to the children. She focuses on rhythm, creating opportunities for young people to observe what is around them and how to integrate lessons from those experiences. She fosters collaboration and teamwork among parents and colleagues to participate as partners on each child's educational journey. 

Kelly's commitment to her profession is evident in her continuous professional development. She received her Waldorf teacher training certificate from Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento and holds a bachelor’s degree in child development from Brigham Young University. She has taught in various Waldorf Schools, including Whidbey Island Waldorf School and Olympia Waldorf School, and in mixed age homeschool settings. Each summer, she dedicates time to grades training to ensure her understanding of her students' development level is up to date. She has also attended courses at the Center for Anthroposophy's Renewal Trainings, Sunbridge, and Rudolf Steiner College, and has a certificate in Spacial Dynamics. Kelly's commitment to learning is further demonstrated by her participation in Spellbinder's Storytelling and Suzanne Down's Puppetry course.

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Kelly's personal connection to Waldorf Education is profound. Three of her children attended Waldorf private and public charter schools from grades K through 8. This unique perspective as a parent has enriched her teaching, allowing her to understand the needs of her students better. For instance, she can anticipate the lessons a first grader needs to transition into second grade and beyond, based on her own children's experiences. 

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In her quest to strengthen her own skills, Kelly likes to write poetry, study history and genealogy, hike, bike, and walk along the beach.

Katie grew up knowing she wanted to be a teacher (like her mom) and taking every opportunity to spend time with young children. As a teenager, she taught summer camps in Pensacola and volunteered overseas at understaffed orphanages. Through college at Florida State University, she worked with middle and high school students, leading youth trips and mentoring young adults. She graduated in 2005 with a B.S. in both Communication and Literature and moved to Jacksonville with her husband, Luke, where they were delighted to find an almost immediately close community of other new-married friends who were also outwardly minded and adventurous. 

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     In Jacksonville, Katie worked as a community development director for three years before realizing that she wanted to give her full attention to children. She transitioned to teaching through Florida State College of Jacksonville’s Teacher Certification Program, earning a professional teaching certificate in Early Childhood Education (Pre-Kindergarten- 3rd Grade), Exceptional Student Education (K-12),  and English Education (6-12). In 2007, she began teaching a self-contained class of 5-year-olds with Autism at Abess Park Elementary in Duval County. Through the patient guidance of experienced teachers and a site coach dedicated to helping students thrive, Katie learned the value of loving and appreciating each student, adapting to their ever-changing needs, and honoring them as individuals. By the end of three years, many of her students had successfully joined regular education classrooms, and with a new baby at home, Katie decided to step away from teaching. 

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     When that first baby turned five, Katie and Luke were delighted to find Seaside Charter School and learn about Waldorf Education. Katie fell in love with the “head, heart, hands” model, and decided that if she were to go back to teaching, she would want it to allow for such a holistic approach; preserving childhood, encouraging the imagination, and spending a majority of the time out of doors. In 2020, amidst Covid complications, Katie embarked on homeschooling, which brought about too many learning experiences to list here. The following year, Stevie, now the oldest of five daughters, would join Ms. Julia’s middle school class at Spring River, discovering the beautiful community that we now affectionately call “our people.” 

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     Katie lives with her husband, Luke, and their five daughters here in Atlantic Beach, where she enjoys singing, playing the piano, surfing, reading, playing volleyball, creating things, and climbing trees with her daughters. 

Ashley Craft was raised in Inverness, Florida, and came to Jacksonville in 2000, where she completed high school and went on to graduate with her Bachelors in Marine Science from Jacksonville University. Ashley has always had a passion for nature and animals, so after graduating, she went on to be an environmental educator for 4H at Mayport Middle and was an adjunct lecturer for microbiology at Jersey College. She also has worked with the Sea Turtle washback program in St. Johns County and has years of experience in the veterinary field. 
Her hobbies are yoga, painting, and being outdoors. She acquired her yoga teacher certification from Big Fish Yoga, and she has taken many classes and taught acrylic and watercolor painting to all ages. 

She is married to her husband Chris, and they have 3 kids. They enjoy exploring trails and fishing at Dutton Island, near their home,  going to the beach and surfing at Hanna Park, board games, and creating art. When her oldest child, Emma, started school is when Ashley fell in love with the Waldorf philosophy. Her family values are perfectly aligned with the Waldorf approach, and she  experienced the amazing impact it had on her daughter as a person and as a student.  

After being a stay at home mom and homeschooling for several years, she is excited for the opportunity to teach at Spring River.  She looks forward to getting to know each of her students while making learning fun.  Her goal as a teacher is to discover and appreciate each student's individual learning style and personality while encouraging meaningful relationships throughout our community.  

Nika is from Germany and moved with her family to Jacksonville in fall 2022. 

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Her husband Alex runs a small coffee shop in downtown Jacksonville.  They have a daughter Elina and three sons Julian, Timo and Lukas, five cats, one horse and one dog.

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In Germany, Nika was a teacher for many years at a public school for the grades 1-10, before she discovered my passion for the Waldorf way of teaching.

 

Nika believes that the heart, hand and head teaching is the best way to guide children into this difficult world. 

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She is very glad she found Spring River and grateful to be part of this wonderful place for teachers and students.

 

Her hobbies are hiking, crafting, baking, cooking, gardening, handworking, reading books and going to the beach.

Katie got her degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Florida and holds a teaching certificate for the state of Florida. She taught in public school for 5 years before becoming a mom, at which point she decided to change course and enjoy the gift of staying home with her 2 young children.

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She discovered and fell in love with Waldorf Education while her family was living in New Hampshire. When her children reached school-age, she knew she wanted to homeschool. She served as the main lesson teacher for a homeschool group in New England for grades K/1 and Grade 4 before moving back home to Florida to be closer to family and ultimately finding this wonderful beachside community of Waldorf homeschoolers that her family has been a part of since 2021!

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She has completed Waldorf Teacher trainings through the Center of Anthroposophy and continues her education through yearly summer renewals.  She has a deep love and respect for Waldorf Education and the quality of life and healing it can bring to children and their families.  

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Katie enjoys spending time with her family, going for walks with her dog, going to the beach, reading, crafting, and all things music.

Leah was first introduced to Waldorf Education when her daughter started at The Playgarden in 2017. She was soon enthralled and eventually became their Lead Forest Teacher. 

 

Through her professional development and experience at The Playgarden, Leah fell in love with the whole child approach to learning, understanding that the head, hands, and heart are all essential. This was a sentiment she had long ago discovered on her own journey through academia and as a professional in the field of education, and she was excited to see this sentiment echoed in the Waldorf community. As her daughter moved on from The Playgarden and into Spring River, Leah also wanted to follow the journey through the grades. 

 

Leah holds a Master’s degree in Teaching Secondary Science Education from the Univ. of Southern California and has a Florida Educator Certification in teaching Biology. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with minors in Chemistry, Computer Science, and Studio Art from the University of NC at Wilmington. She’s instructed Science and Engineering camps and programs for various organizations and schools. She is also a certified Lifeguarding/First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor and Water Safety Instructor.

 

Leah is currently completing Waldorf Teacher Training through the Center for Anthroposphy.  She is also holds a certification through the LifeWays of North America early childhood teacher training program. In 2022 Leah led a session on the “Benefits of Risky Play and Risk Assessment” for an ERAFRANS Teacher retreat. She led the same format in April 2023 at a workshop called "Nurturing the Roots.” She’s attended numerous workshops focused on outdoor schooling, learning in nature, and caring for the young child. She also is the recipient of the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) 2008 Woman of the Year Award.

 

Leah spends her free time listening to music, dancing, exploring the outdoors, reading, enjoying food, relaxing, and sharing space with her daughter, Cali.

Julia has been a class teacher at Spring River since 2017 and has taken two groups of students through 8th grade so far. She is loved and respected by our families and the greater community and is known for teaching her students through hands-on activities and field trips for her classes. The creative aspect of Waldorf education and Ms. Julia’s love for nature and adventure bring forth the middle school curriculum uniquely and excitingly.

 

Julia is a trailblazer for Waldorf Education dating back to 1994, when she led Waldorf mixed-age programs as one of the founders of The Playgarden.  She branched out to teach school-age children at various homeschool co-ops, including middle school classes in physics and chemistry.  Julia also homeschooled one of her daughters from 1st through 8th grade.  Her daughter transitioned into public school beautifully, earning A/B honor roll at Fletcher High. 

Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in mathematics and a certificate in the Master of Waldorf Education from Antioch University. She attended Sunbridge Summer Institute for nearly eight years, receiving Waldorf certification for the programs Preparing for Grade 1 through Preparing for Grade 8. These programs covered all grade-specific main lesson subjects: watercolor painting, movement, games, singing, form drawing, handwork, and much more.

Tulsi’s love for teaching stems from her childhood, sensing even then that children walk this planet with a healing light that is meant to shine undisturbed.

Tulsi holds a degree in biological anthropology with a focus on ethnobotany. She began her Waldorf Teacher Training with Gradalis out of Colorado. She spent time teaching seventh and eighth grades at Running River Waldorf School in Sedona, AZ, and as a permanent and long-term sub at Potomac Crescent Waldorf School in Alexandria, VA. Tulsi has over 15 years of experience teaching in holistic nature-based schools, such as Montessori, Reggio- Emilia, and Green Schools. She has specialized as a science instructor across grade levels from early childhood through high school! 

 

Tulsi has spoken on panels at events such as Donna Karen’s “A Healthy Path for Kids,” and the Green School’s National Conference on exploration and the embodied learning experiences of combined play, music, and movement. 

 

One of the endless aspects of Spring River that Tulsi treasures is the reverence for the ever important homeschooling initiatives that can truly pave the way for the educational revolution our children are calling for! Tulsi understands that parents are our children’s first Teachers, and can’t wait to work in tandem and grow as a family alongside the inspiring families of Spring River!