Education & Faculty
Faculty and Administration
Stephen Balmer joined the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs in 2000. He was an English teacher from 1980 to 1983 before acquiring a J.D. in Jurisprudence from SUNY Buffalo in 1987. A practitioner of law from 1987 to 1999, Steve now teaches high school humanities.
Eric Belcher graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College in 1988 with a Bachelors of Circus Arts, then flew slapstick trapeze on the road with them in 1989. He is still very active in the performing community. He is new to the Waldorf School in 2007, having taken on the high school movement / Physical Education duties during the day and directing the Circus Arts program after school.
Angela Bjelland has been part of the WSSS faculty since 2005, and is currently teaching kindergarten. She earned her Waldorf certification in Early Childhood Education in 2005 from Sunbridge College. She started her education and working track through accountancy.
Colin Boyd joined the Waldorf school in 2006 as a guest instructor of Practical Arts. He holds an Associates in Sciences from Munson Williams Proctor Institute in Applied Fine Arts (1999), Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from the College of Saint Rose (2002) and is currently pursuing his Masters of Fine Arts in Sculpture at the University at Albany (2008). Prior to his graduate studies, he was the Studio Arts Technician at Hamilton College (2003-2006), supporting teaching assistant in sculpture and printmaking.
Holly Brashares studied Languages, Art, and Education at Indiana University, then moved to New Zealand, where she received her Waldorf Teacher Certification. She holds training certificates in Eurythmy, Pedagogical Eurythmy, and Therapeutic Eurythmy, and has been the middle- and high-school Eurythmy teacher since 1996.
Abby Brill joined the WSSS faculty in 2006; she teaches K-6 Eurythmy and middle-school clay modeling. Abby is the recipient of a B.A. from Washington University in Germanic Language and Literature (1979); a Waldorf Teacher Training certificate from the Waldorf Institute of Detroit (1984); and a Diploma in Eurythmy from the School of Eurythmy in Spring Valley, NY. (1988).
Karen Crandall returned to us in December 2006 as the class teacher for the current grade 4. Karen has taught previously at WSSS, having led a class from grades 1 through 8 (1992-2001). In the interim, she had served as a Lead Family Educator for the Head Start Program. Karen holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Sunbridge College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pennsylvania State University.
Lisa Daigle graduated from The University of New England in 1984 with a B.S. in Physical Therapy. She worked in that field for the next 12 years. Lisa has worked for the school in various capacities for the past 16 years. She is now our Lower School Office and Facilities Manager.
Michael D'Aleo was a co-founder of the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs high school, where he teaches physical sciences and mathematics. A former engineer, Michael lectures widely on the topics of science and education and co-authored the book "Sensible Physics," a teaching guide for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade educators. He is an instructor in both the Foundation Year and Waldorf Teacher Training Programs at Sunbridge College.
Sigrid D'Aleo was born and raised in the mountains of Austria, but completed her Waldorf training in the United States, at Sunbridge College. She has been teaching in our Early Childhood Program for ten years, eight of them as a lead teacher.
Jane Dudley Ruel began her Waldorf career at the Garden City Waldorf School on Long Island, and went on to teach the middle and high school curricula in various Waldorf-Steiner settings. Jane has a B.A. in English Education from Rivier College in Nashua, NH, and has undertaken foundation studies/pedagogical courses in Waldorf Education at Micha-el Institute, Portland, OR and at the New England Waldorf Teacher Training in Antioch, NH. In September 2007, she became our class 8 teacher.
Tracie English, the WSSS Registrar, holds a B.A. in Philosophy and English Literature and has worked previously as a paralegal.
Richard Fron has served as a Waldorf class teacher as well as a Waldorf music teacher. He studied music at Oberlin Conservatory and Boston University, receiving a Bachelor of Music degree. He is the Music Program director for WSSS, and also leads the middle and high school orchestra programs.
Melinda Fuller earned her degree from Bennett College. She has been working with children since 1987, working at several schools in Connecticut before coming to the Waldorf school in 2005. Melinda works with Linda Stallard in our aftercare program at York Avenue.
Kathryn Hampson graduated from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1984 with a B.A. in economics. She has also completed a five year training with the Spacial Dynamics Institute in movement education, graduating in 2003. She joined our faculty in 2004, and teaches Movement Education in grades 1-8.
Katie Hooper received a Bachelor of Music degree from Ohio Wesleyan University, and also studied at The Cummington School of the Arts in western Massachusetts. She has been a Suzuki piano teacher for twenty-five years and has taught choral music at WSSS since our high school began.
Debbie Howard joined us in 2006 as the school's Bookkeeper. She has studied both Marketing and Accounting, and has worked in business management since 1986.
Sarah Jenks attended the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs from grades 4 through 8. She graduated from SUNY Albany with a BA in English, and is currently pursuing her M.S. in Nursing. Sarah has been with WSSS since 2004, first working as an assistant in the early childhood programs, and currently as the director of aftercare at the ECC.
Gina Gutierrez Karp graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986 with a joint degree in English and Anthropology. She taught widely in public school settings (including ESL) before attaining a Masters degree in Waldorf Education from Antioch College. Gina joined the WSSS faculty in 2004, and is now our first grade teacher.
Lucy Kriger has been playing piano and other instruments for Eurythmy classes at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs for the past 10 years. She received a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University with a major in music.
Cindy Litts holds a B.S. in Nursing from Syracuse University and an MSN in Maternal-Child Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh; before joining WSSS, she worked as a nurse in a pre-school setting. She began the school's satellite pre-school program in Vischer Ferry, and has been teaching preschool at the Early Childhood Center in Saratoga Springs since 2005.
Carly Lynn is presently teaching mixed age kindergarten, having joined our school in 2005. She did her undergraduate work at SUNY Potsdam in K-6 education, and has her Masters degree in Waldorf Early Childhood Education from Sunbridge College.
Joshua Lytle, a native of Saratoga Springs, teaches humanities courses in the high school. He has a degree in Philosophy and Creative Writing from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and spent several years teaching English in Japan before coming to WSSS. He has completed his certification in Waldorf High School Education with the Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, NH.
Beth McDonald received a B.S. from the University of Vermont in 1989 and an M.Ed. from St. Lawrence University in 1991. She first joined WSSS in 2002 as a Handwork teaching assistant, and has also worked in our Admissions office. Currently she is the Handwork Teacher for grades 1-8.
Gina Michelin joined the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs in the summer of 2007. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and holds a B.L.A. with concentrations in the areas of Psychology, Sociology, and English. She has worked professionally in marketing, advertising and human resources and brings her passion for Waldorf Education to her role as Development Director.
Sydney Morrell has taught French at WSSS since 2002, and formerly taught at the Waldorf School of Princeton. She received a B.A. in 1982 in French and Italian Literature from London University (Royal Holloway College), and has also directed and taught at Foreign Language Conferences for the Waldorf Teacher Education Center at Sunbridge College. She is currently teaching grades 1-12.
Shirley Painter attended Ohio Wesleyan University and is one of the founding parents of our school. She has taught in our early childhood center off and on in various capacities during the past 20 years, and has kept current on her Waldorf training by regularly attending early childhood conferences. Shirley has been teaching our parent-child program since 2002.
Raphael Paquin, the Class 3 teacher, graduated from Suffield University in 2006 with a B.A. in education. He completed his Waldorf Teacher Education certificate at the Hochschule fur Anthroposophische Padagogik in Manheim, Germany. Prior to joining our school faculty in 2005, Raphael worked in Waldorf kindergartens and taught English as a second language. He is currently pursuing his M.S. in Waldorf Remedial Education at Sunbridge College.
Jennifer Lee Rathner graduated from The Beverly Hills Playhouse for actors and studied Art History at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She worked in the film industry in LA and New York, with such directors as Woody Allen and Ron Howard. Jennifer is currently pursuing her High School Teacher Training at Antioch Center for Anthroposophy and is directing the 10th and 12th grade play blocks in addition to her duties running the high school office. Jennifer joined WSSS in 2004.
Abigail Reid holds a B.A. from Skidmore College, graduating in 1978 and completed her Waldorf teacher training in 2001. In the early years of WSSS, she assisted in the Early Childhood Programs. She is currently the sixth grade teacher.
Kristen Rice graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English Literature and a Secondary Teaching Certificate. She is a certified Waldorf Teacher who has been teaching in Waldorf schools for more than 15 years. Kristen joined WSSS as the first-grade teacher in 2003; her class is now the fifth grade.
Michael Rice holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin, and completed his Waldorf Teacher Education at Sunbridge College in 1993. Michael led a class from first through eighth grade at the Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School in Wisconsin, where he also served as the Remedial Teacher. Upon arriving at WSSS in 2003, Michael served for three years as the Remedial Educator, and took on his current class (Class 7) in 2006.
Mary Roberts was trained in Art Education at the State University of New York at New Paltz, and she has done graduate work at St. Rose College, SUNY Albany, and Skidmore College, with an emphasis in fiber arts. Prior to coming to WSSS, she taught art in the public schools. She now teaches painting in various classes in the Lower School and in the High School.
Brian Ruel joined the WSSS as the class 2 teacher in September 2007. Brian completed his Waldorf teacher training at Antioch University in New Hampshire and has taught in the early grades at Waldorf Schools in Maine, Washington State, and Oregon. Most recently, he has taught grades 2-5 at the Canterbury Steiner School in Kent, England.
Katherine Scharff has reaped the rewards of a Waldorf education, having graduated from the Green Meadow Waldorf School in 1979. She is a registered nurse. Since 2003 she has served on the WSSS Board of Directors; in 2005 she was appointed Administrative Manager. Katherine has also taught Waldorf curricula in parent-child classes and home school settings, including teaching the 2-year-old program at WSSS.
Tim Scherbatskoy came to the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs in 2000 from the University of Vermont, where he was a professor of Natural Resources. Tim's background includes a PhD in plant physiology and twenty years of research on acid rain, air pollution, and forest health. Tim teaches classes in biology, chemistry, earth sciences, and mathematics. He is Waldorf trained.
Linda Stallard holds a B.S. in Health and Physical Sciences from the University of Wisconsin (1986). She has worked in a variety of educational settings, including the High Mowing Waldorf High School, where, among other things, she served as a dorm counselor. She has been working in the WSSS aftercare program since 2002, and is currently the Lower School Aftercare Director.
Kirsten Suberg was born and raised in the northern part of Germany and is a graduate of the Waldorf Schule in Oldenburg, Germany. She is a Masters graduate of the Carl von Ossietzky Universitat in Oldenburg, Germany, with a degree in linguistics (majoring in English). She is currently enrolled in the Waldorf teacher training and Master's program at Sunbridge College, to be completed in March 2009. Kirsten teaches German in grades 1-12, having joined the WSSS faculty in 2005.
Diane Tribley has been with WSSS since its inception in 1981, when her daughter was in our very first preschool class. In the past 26 years, Diane has worn many hats at our school, working as a teacher's aide, co-teacher, business manager and office support person.
Bryan Whittle has taught high school mathematics and computing at WSSS since 2002. Prior to teaching, he spent more than twenty years in private industry as a mathematician and engineer, working for British Aerospace and Bell Laboratories; he has held elected leadership positions in a variety of national and international industry bodies and has published numerous papers in leading journals. Bryan holds MA and BA degrees from Brasenose College, Oxford University (England), and is also Waldorf Teacher certified.
Cynthia Wright holds a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts, magna cum laude, from Houghton College, and a Masters in Arts Education from the University of Illinois. She taught public high school students for 20 years prior to coming to WSSS. A painter, sculptor, and puppet maker, she received her Waldorf Teacher training certification from the Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, NH.
Jan Zemba has been teaching in Waldorf High Schools for the last seven years. She holds a doctorate in ocean physics from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jan is experienced as a physical oceanographer and is also an accomplished musician. Currently, she teaches mathematics, meteorology, chemistry, and recorder in the WSSS middle and high schools.
For the past ten years my teaching responsibilities have compelled me to inform myself not just about what would-be teachers need to learn. All of my instructionally related research into childhood has pointed toward the superiority of Waldorf education over all other current educational methods.”
– Jane W. Hippolito, Ph D, Professor of English and Adjunct Professor of Liberal Studies, California State University, Fullerton