Faculty

OUR 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. Most recently, 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 and both daughters now attend Riverwood. Kelsey organized and led our first week-long Summer Nature Camp in August 2017. In May 2017, she completed the online course, Home as the Model - Life is the Curriculum, with LifeWays North America. In July 2017, she attended an intensive training for Waldorf Early Childhood Education in Seattle. Kelsey is currently enrolled in the two-year Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Training program through Sound Circle Center, a WECAN-recognized certified training institute. She will be graduating in the summer 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. Kelsey is a certified yoga instructor and teaches a weekly yoga class in her community. She relishes time outdoors with her family, enjoys handwork projects and loves to read.

Ara Bush - Assistant, Early Childhood
Ara is our assistant in the Mixed-Age Kindergarten. She is one of our founding parents and has served as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors since 2011. Her two daughters attend Riverwood. She is also the school bookkeeper and co-administrator and has volunteered in the Chickadee classroom and grades’ classes for several years. She completed teacher training intensives for first and second grade in 2016 and attended the Waldorf Early Childhood Symposium at Rudolf Steiner College in November 2016. Her enthusiasm for Waldorf education, her reliability, and her compassion for our school families, parents and children alike, ensure that she is an integral part of the successful function and health of our school.

GRADES PROGRAM

Natalie Brown – First & Second Grade + Spanish Specialty Teacher + Art Teacher
Natalie joined the team at Riverwood in 2016. Before coming to Riverwood she worked for almost four years with children in various locations and schools in Mexico as a volunteer for the charity organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM). There she staffed five-month Discipleship Training Schools for young adults and older, which entailed aiding the students in digesting the content of the lectures, and developing life skills. She was involved in co-planning and leading international outreaches. She also worked with an amazing program called Homes Of Hope, building houses for Mexican families living in poor conditions. In her spare time Natalie relaxes by knitting hats and socks, snowboarding in the winter, and spending quality time with family and friends. Natalie has completed Waldorf First and Second Grade Teacher Training Intensives.

Aja Bridge – Third to Fifth Grade + Nature/Science Specialty Teacher + Literature Specialty Teacher
Aja home schooled her own children for six years, and her children attended Riverwood part-time since the school’s founding. Since 2016, she has been a full-time faculty member, and her children attend Riverwood full-time as well. She has additional experience volunteering with children at the Greenwood Institute D'Art in Chewelah, Washington from 2010 - 2012. Aja has an A.A. from Tacoma Community College (1996). She has completed Waldorf Third and Fourth Grade Teacher Training Intensives. She enjoys spending time with her family, crafting, and managing the local farmers’ market during the summer.

Monica Voltz – Sixth to Eighth Grade Teacher + Handwork Specialty Teacher + Co-Administrator
Monica is one of the founders of Riverwood, and has been a teacher, administrator, and board member since the school’s inception. She has led her class from second grade through its current year. Prior to Riverwood, she operated a home preschool for two years, and prior to that was a founding member of Fingerprints Preschool in Chewelah, Washington. She has a B.A. in Scandinavian Studies and a B.B.A in Business/Marketing from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, 1986.

Since she discovered Waldorf education in 2008, she has completed a wide variety of Waldorf teacher training courses and conferences throughout the country including: Grade 4, 5, 6, and 7 Teacher Conferences; Math Intensives for Grade 6 and 7; Thinking, Feeling, Willing – a one year online course with Waldorf Essentials; the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) Summer Conference; The Magic of Waldorf Summer Teacher Training Conferences from 2010 to 2013; Early Childhood Symposiums at Rudolf Steiner College in 2010 and 2011; Juniper Tree Puppetry Workshop; Helle Heckmann Workshop for Educators; and a workshop with Rahima Baldwin-Dancy, author of You are Your Child’s First Teacher.

Her two daughters attend Riverwood. She enjoys skiing locally and around the world with her family, playing with the family dog, reading and knitting.

Marci Bravo - Yoga Specialty Teacher, Grades Program
Marci joined our faculty in 2016 and teaches yoga to Grades students, focusing on movement and mindfulness as tools to center, calm and resolve conflict. She completed her RYT200 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 12+ years. 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.

Alley McNeil - Fiddle Specialty Teacher
Alley McNeil teaches our weekly fiddle class to grades three and up.
She started playing the fiddle in 2007 and has been giving private lessons since 2011. Alley teaches her students by using tablature instead of notation, which simplifies the process of learning new songs and is a great way to train the ear of the fiddler. Alley also plays the guitar and uses it in class to help the students keep a steady rhythm and learn to play with others. Alley plays the piano as well and has taught piano lessons since 2006. She often plays for services at her church as well as the recitals that she organizes for her students. Alley enjoys playing music with her family. The McNeil family has performed at the Chewelah Farmer’s Market, The Valley Fair, Rendezvous Days, and various other events; as well as playing once a month for the residents at St. Josephs Long Term Care in Chewelah. She has also helped her family with organizing the Fiddler’s on the Peak fiddle contest that has been held for three years at the Chewelah Peak Learning Center. Alley and her family have also enjoyed attending and competing in other contests. Alley received her education at home. She is the oldest of 12 children and loves her role of being a big sister.