Grades Teachers
First Grade Teacher
Lois Wildgrube
Lois Wildgrube
Lois grew up outside of Philadelphia. She received her B.A. from Valparaiso University in Indiana and spent a semester studying in Cambridge, England. As a senior, she enjoyed teaching freshmen in the honors program. She continued her study of English Literature at the University of Chicago, where she received her M.A.. She worked in law firms and taught Legal Research and Writing at Sonoma State University and San Francisco State University. She then worked with emotionally disturbed children in residential treatment and taught in a private school for special needs children. When her son was born she opened a family daycare and preschool. Realizing that working with children and teaching gave her the greatest joy she got her credential from San Francisco State University and has taught at Live Oak Charter for 20 years. She has completed the Waldorf teacher training program with the Center for Educational Renewal. She has one son who has a graduate degree in physics and works for a start-up in San Diego, where he loves to surf. She lives with her husband of 40 years and loves to boogie board, hike, bike, read and quilt.
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Second Grade Teacher
Amy Ross
Amy Ross
I have been married to my super-supportive husband, Brian, for 24 years. I have two boys, Jack (20) and Xander (17), who both attended Live Oak TK-8. We have a cat (Mochi), a parakeet (Buster), and many fish.
I started volunteering in the classroom, at Live Oak, when Jack was in kindergarten. When Xander started kindergarten, I was hired as a classroom assistant and worked in that role for four years before becoming a classroom teacher. This is my ninth year as a classroom teacher at Live Oak Charter School. In my off-time, I most enjoy spending time with my family. When we're together we enjoy trying new restaurants, camping/backpacking, and playing games. In my free time, I love to read, garden, learn new skills, hone my teaching craft, listen to audiobooks and podcasts, walk/hike, and watch Netflix. |
Third Grade Teacher
Leah Brosio
Leah Brosio
Leah Brosio was born in the midwestern United States and grew up in Indiana and Tennessee. As a child she was part of a choir that traveled the UK several times. She went to college in Ohio, majoring in English Language Literature. During college she spent time studying in Ecuador. She began teaching in bilingual schools in Oakland, California in 1993. She completed her M.A. in Education with an emphasis on Waldorf through Touro University in 2009. She has taught in schools all over the Bay Area of California and in all grades k-8 as well as working in adult education throughout her career. She is the mother of two almost grown children; Sage, 22, studies ECE at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Artemis, 18, who is a student at Credo High. She enjoys hiking, camping, travel, being outdoors, people, cooking, and her rescue dog, Frances.
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Fourth Grade Teacher
Gila Mann
Gila Mann
Gila has been involved in Waldorf education for decades, teaching grades 1 through 8 at Waldorf schools in the Bay Area, San Diego, and in Germany. She sat on the board of trustees, served as faculty chair, and spent many summers teaching art and music to adults in Waldorf teacher training programs. At Live Oak, Gila has taught the middle-school loop since 2007.
Recently, she joined the grades 4 and 5 loop. Gila holds a California Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential and a M.A. in Education from Touro University, and a B.A. in Psychology from San Francisco State University. She received her Waldorf Education Teaching Credential in Hamburg, Germany. Gila is passionate about Waldorf lesson planning, finding many ways of weaving artistic elements into academic subjects and making the subjects relevant to students. In her spare time, Gila enjoys painting and sculpting, gardening, cooking, traveling, spending time with family, and playing with her cat. |
Fifth Grade Teacher
Mary Cassidy
Mary Cassidy
I was raised in northern Illinois with a brother and two sisters. I grew up along the Mississippi River, loving the nature outside my back door and having only my imagination, siblings, and friends to play with. I loved to bake, sew, put on shows, and began playing the piano in First Grade. In Fifth Grade I took up the French horn and played throughout high school and into adulthood. In high school, I spent a year in Australia as a Rotary Exchange student. I earned my bachelor’s degree in International Business with a minor in German from Elmhurst College. After college, I had the chance to live and work in Japan for two years. When I returned to Chicago, I took a Master’s degree in Education and continued to teach English as a Second Language at the City Colleges of Chicago. After I moved to California, I earned my teaching credential while teaching 3rd grade in the LA Unified School District. After four years, I moved to San Jose to be near my brother’s family and taught for eight years in the Franklin McKinley School District. During my time in San Jose, My colleagues and I received a scholarship to learn to bring music into the classroom with The San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score, year-long program. This, I believe, spurred me on to work towards a more creative experience for my students. I earned a Waldorf teaching certificate from the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training (BACWTT) in June of 2013. I have recently worked for 10 years taking two classes from 1st to 5th grade at Stone Bridge School in Napa. I will soon begin my 23nd year of teaching in a public school.
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