Faculty

OUR FACULTY

"May wisdom shine through me, may love grow within me, may strength penetrate me, that in me may arise a helper of humankind, a servant of sacred things selfless and true." - Rudolf Steiner

2020 - 2021 Faculty

Current Faculty

EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM

Kelsey Huguenin – Lead Teacher, Early Childhood
Kelsey is our Mixed-Age Kindergarten lead teacher. 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 and Raising Anti-Racist White Children with the Center for the Study of White American Culture. In the fall of 2018, she attended a Therapeutic Puppetry Workshop with Juniper Tree Puppetry that was held in Spokane. Kelsey was most recently enrolled in 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. 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.

Renata Tripp - Assistant, Early Childhood
Renata is our assistant in the Mixed Age Kindergarten. She and her family joined our Waldorf community in the fall of 2018 at Riverwood, when her daughter began her first year as a Chickadee. Her two daughters are both enrolled, one in the grades program and the other in the kindergarten class. Renata is very tender-hearted and has such a love for children, it really shows in her work in the classroom. As a mother, caring for others and little ones comes very naturally and she has found such a connection to the classroom and all of the children. Renata has read various Waldorf books and has continued her education through LifeWays international completing Learning to Observe Young Children. Renata loves to read, cook, and care for others, including serving in her church and her community, which are all very close to her heart.

Joshua Grooms - Chickadee Assistant Intern
Bio coming soon.

Tiffany Lakatos - Chickadee Assistant
Bio coming soon.

GRADES PROGRAM

Elisabeth Sitts - First & Second Grade Teacher
Elisabeth first connected with Riverwood in 2018 when she volunteered in the Chickadee classroom. She looks forward to leading the first and second grade class this year. 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. 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. 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 continuous education can be achieved outside the world of academia and 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. Her three daughters will join her at Riverwood. She enjoys hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family. Joining her family of five are six animals that include one dog, one cat, one parrot, one snake, and two rabbits.

Caite Antoine - Third & Fourth Grade Teacher
Caite became friends with Riverwood at its inception in 2011. In 2019, she officially joined Riverwood as a Chickadee Class Assistant and Grades substitute, and some of her children began attending at that time. In March 2020, the First Grade teacher took maternity leave and Caite filled that position. This year she will serve as lead teacher for the Grade Three/Four Class, Outdoor Stewardship and Nature Studies classes. Before joining our school, Caite actively involved herself in her children's education. She homeschooled some, while also serving as a para-educator in the others' public school classrooms.

In anticipation of teaching at Riverwood, Caite attended an in-house Introduction to Waldorf Education course in July 2019. In February 2020, she represented Riverwood at both the east and west coast WECAN Early Childhood conferences. She then attended a Curative Education Intensive at the Mulberry School in southern Oregon, after which, she enrolled in - and currently attends - its three-year Curative Education Certification program. Finally, this summer, she completed a Grade Four Intensive with Sunbridge Institute in New York.

Caite is an outdoor education enthusiast as a result of her unique, diverse upbringing. Raised by her
parents as a missionary child with the Salvation Army, she and her family traveled and relocated often. Public outreach and service was a family focus. She helped her parents lead children's summer camps and an adult skills center. For the past few years, she assisted with the Between the Rivers Primitive Skills Gatherings youth programs in Valley, Washington. Each provided the opportunity to learn and experience the healing properties and wonder of the natural world.

Her education also influenced her passion for outdoor learning. As a teen, she attended the Lincoln
Science Focus Zoo School, linked to and taught by, professors of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
The education focused largely on conservation, preservation of endangered species and animal
husbandry. After high school, she traveled throughout Europe, settled in Kursk, Russia where she taught English for two years at the Pedagogical University there. After returning to the States in 2006, Caite enrolled in and completed the Eastern Medicine and Anatomy program at Myotherapy Institute, graduating in 2008.

In 2012, Caite purchased a home in the mountains above Chewelah, Washington where she lives a
blended family life with her husband and their six children. They use the clear running water of
Huckleberry Creek as well as the surrounding forest, to sustain themselves, their garden, horses, goats, pigs and various small critters. They value family time, honest effort and togetherness overall.

Monica Voltz – Fifth & Sixth Grade Teacher + Handwork Specialty Teacher + Co-Administrator
Monica is one of the founders of Riverwood, and she has been a teacher, administrator,
and board member since the school’s inception. She led her first class from second
through eighth grade. Then, she taught a class of second and third graders. This year, she
is the lead teacher for the fifth and sixth grade class. Prior to Riverwood, she operated a
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 6 online 2020 summer intensive at Sunbridge Institute in New York;
Grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 Teacher Conferences; Math Intensives for Grades 1 – 3 and
Grades 6 – 7; 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.

Her oldest daughter graduated from Riverwood, and her youngest still attends as a seventh
grader. She enjoys skiing locally and around the world with her family, mountain biking,
playing with the family dog, reading and knitting.

Kris Grooms - Seventh & Eighth Grade Teacher
Kris began teaching at Riverwood as a substitute in 2018 and is now a full-time faculty member. 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. Kris’s oldest son has graduated high school, and she lives with her husband, one son who attends high school, her youngest daughter who attends 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.

Marci Bravo - Yoga Specialty Teacher
Marci joined our faculty in 2016. She focuses on movement and mindfulness as tools to center, calm and resolve conflict. She completed her RYT-200 teaching certification at Harmony Yoga in Spokane in 2015 and has training in Prenatal Yoga from the Seattle Holistic Center as well. She has practiced various styles of yoga for more than ten years. She also completed a grades summer intensive at Sound Circle in 2019 entitled Beyond Labels - Nurturing the Genius of Each Child and Building New Skills for Waldorf Teaching. Marci has worked with children in the fields of education, childcare, and the CASA organization since 2008. She holds a M.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Tulane University.

Stazya Richman – Music & Singing Specialty Teacher
Stazya has been on our faculty since 2011 and teaches singing and music to all grades. She is a conservatory trained vocalist with a B.F.A. from the State University of New York. In addition to singing at the Northwest Bach Festival for seven years, she has produced two CD’s, one a solo album of world music, and the other jazz music with her band Stazya and the Naturals. She is the vocal director for the Kettle Falls Woodland Theater and has also acted in several of the theater’s productions. She has been giving private lessons as a vocal instructor since 2004.

Sara Brown - Music & Singing Specialty Teacher
Sara Brown is new to our faculty in 2020. Sara Brown is a full-time professional musician and music teacher. She studied classical and contemporary music. She has recorded three albums that are streaming on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon. She has won numerous awards with the Inland Empire Washington Blues Society and currently holds the title of Best Female Blues Performer. Sara also teaches individual voice lessons as well as vocal master classes.

Photo coming soon

Mo Oliver - Violin Specialty Teacher
Mo joined our faculty in 2019, and with him he brings over 35 years of strings teaching experience to Riverwood. Mo studied the “Sukuki” Talent Education Method pedagogy and philosophy and earned his book-levels by attending SAA-approved Summer Institutes at various colleges including Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon; Western Washington University in Bellingham; and University of Montana in Missoula. His passion for music began when he received a ¾ violin for his eighth birthday, and it has never stopped. In 1983, he established studios in Chewelah, Colville, and Kettle Falls, as well as Grand Forks, B.C. There, he helped the Selkirk College start a music department where he taught from 1994 to 2000. With the late Alex Starr, a Cuban-born composer, Mo produced two CDs of original music, Midnight Cactus and Castanet, and performed at many venues throughout Washington and British Columbia between 1995 and 2004. Concurrently, he also played violin and viola in the Woodlands Orchestra in Kettle Falls and later served as its concertmaster. While living in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he started the Celtic band Turning Tide which performed in Idaho, Washington, and Montana. With Turning Tide, Mo produced a CD, Ebb & Flo. From 2010 to 2015, Mo taught violin, viola, and guitar at Music Conservatory Sandpoint, during which he also performed as a violinist with the trio, “Triolet.” While living in Sandpoint, he was instrumental in designing the strings program at Sandpoint Waldorf School. Mo retired from MCS in 2015 to care for his mother. He currently teaches violin and guitar at Post Falls Music Academy. In addition to teaching violin and guitar, he instructs all levels of viola and ukulele students.

Walter Stichart - Latin Specialty Teacher
Walt joined our faculty in 2018 as our second foreign language teacher. He holds an AA degree from St. Lawrence Seminary in Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin and a BA degree in Philosophy from St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His passion for theology and classical studies led him to become fluent in both Latin and Greek. Later, in Oregon, he obtained an Oregon K-8 teaching certificate at Portland State University. His diverse job history includes being a teacher in elementary schools for three years, the Administrative Assistant for a large Parish in Northeast Portland for eleven years, and the Administrator of St. Michael’s Mission in Inchelium for about three years. In 2001, he entered the home schooling movement and taught Latin and Greek in the HomeLink programs of Kettle Falls, Colville, Chewelah and Valley School Districts. He has been married for thirty-one years, has two grown children, and has lived in Washington for the past twenty years. He enjoys summer gardening and winter forest-thinning on their twenty acres. Their 3000-volume library reveals his interest in academia – research, reading, studying, and teaching. He favors classical music, movies that inspire, stamp collecting, playing board games and doing crossword puzzles. He is involved in church activities and continues to tutor homeschoolers on a regular basis. Walt is honored to teach Latin at Riverwood and be a part of our vibrant community.

Molly LeCaire - Literature and Games & P.E. Specialty Teacher
Molly received her degree in Elementary Education in 2011. She has a passion for working with children and feels as though she becomes the best version of herself when teaching. Molly ran our first Arts & Adventure Summer camp in June 2019. In edition to her education background, Molly has taught gymnastics to all ages for the past thirteen years. Born and raised in Colville, she is excited to give back to the local community of children at Riverwood and to help create lifelong learners. She finds the Waldorf method intriguing and inspiring and can't wait to learn more. Her daughter currently attends the Grades Program at Riverwood.

Roy Antoine - Practical Mechanics Specialty Teacher
Roy joined Riverwood as an enthusiastic parent in 2019. Last year, he proposed a new class idea that would deepen the educational experience for our grades’ students. We are thrilled to be able to make it happen for this school year. He joins our faculty as the Practical Mechanics teacher. Roy’s love for working on vehicles began at an early age. A family photo shows little two-year old Roy perched on the fender of his dad’s Kenworth, red plastic wrench in hand. He has worked for the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) for six years and holds a degree in Welding and Fabrication. Roy also attended Auto Mechanics school for one year. He enjoys working with children and creatively sharing his knowledge and experience with them. In 2012, Roy purchased a home in the mountains above Chewelah, Washington where he lives a blended family life with his wife and their six children. They use the clear running water of Huckleberry Creek as well as the surrounding forest, to sustain themselves, their garden, horses, goats, pigs and various small critters. They value family time, honest effort and togetherness overall.

Shelly Waldon - Substitute Specialty Teacher
Bio coming soon.

ADMINISTRATION

Courtney Smoke - Administrator + Bookkeeper
Courtney joined the Riverwood staff the same way many of the faculty did, as a parent first. In 2015 she enrolled her oldest child in the Chickadee class and loved the feeling Waldorf education brought her family. Always looking for ways to help, she found her place as the bookkeeper in the spring of 2018. Courtney brings to this role an Associate's Degree with accounting courses, five years of experience working for the state legislature on Capitol Campus in Olympia, and training with the former bookkeeper. She's very excited for her second child to be joining the Chickadee program this fall and is excited to continue seeing the benefits of Waldorf education. When she's not making spreadsheets and balancing budgets, Courtney is using her creative side in floral design for her flower farm business, spending time with her family and pets, and exploring the beautiful area where she lives.