Sunflower Kindergarten

 I was born in Portland Oregon, third of six children. My childhood was spent in Marin County, California enjoying its beaches, hiking Mt Tam and Point Reyes, camping in Big Sur, Yosemite, and skiing at Tahoe.  As a young parent, for college and work,  I lived in the Midwest and New York.  I have three adult children and a lovely granddaughter who live in the Bay Area. My interests are gardening, cooking, crafting, exploring new places and traveling. 

I have a BS in Early Childhood Education, a Master of Arts in Teaching, California and Oregon multiple subject teaching credentials. I completed a full-time 2-year Waldorf Teacher Training in New York, becoming a grades 1-8 teacher at Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa.  My teaching is influenced and shaped after working in diverse educational settings; from a university preschool, kindergarten, grades 1-8, and mentoring new teachers.  A highlight of my teaching career was the opportunity to supervise Sonoma State University AmeriCorps and VISTA volunteers tutoring economically disadvantaged multilingual students grades 1-6. 

This year marks my 14th kindergarten year at Live Oak Charter. These youngest learners inspire me to do better and continue learning new education methods. I am committed to helping children of all abilities progress in areas where their social, emotional, and educational needs are met. I strive to create a classroom community that nurtures children’s growth in a positive, welcoming environment.

Mary Alice Reis, Teacher

Lori Christopher, Kindergarten Assistant

Lori was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. Her family owned a Cornish pasty shop (British
turnovers) using her grandmother’s recipe. After graduating from high school, she and her father moved to San Francisco to open a shop in the heart of what is now known as the SOMA district.
Lori studied at City College of San Francisco while managing the family business. Lori switched gears upon her father’s retirement and became the office manager at Pentagram Design in San Francisco where she met her husband John. They moved to Petaluma to start their family while looking for a community and schools that aligned with their approach to raising a family. After a long exhaustive search for a preschool, Lori found Golden Circle of Friends, an in-home program that opened her eyes to Waldorf education. It was there the seeds were planted to create a K - 8th Waldorf inspired elementary school. As a founding member of Live Oak Charter School, Lori has watched the school grow from its original location at a church with grades K - 3 to now twenty years later at the Fairgrounds. Her two daughters Emma and Juliette have attended Live Oak Charter School and Credo High School where Emma was in the first graduating class. Lori has been a student of Early Childhood Education, Restorative Practices and Education through Music which she applies in her work as the Assistant Teacher in the Sunflower Kindergarten and as the Kindergarten Aftercare Lead Teacher. Lori loves hiking, nature, cooking, reading and singing.

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Rosemary Kindergarten

​Rebecca was born in the hills above Santa Cruz. Her early years were spent in Santa Cruz, Mendocino, and Fort Bragg. Rebecca moved to Sebastopol and attended Summerfield Waldorf School from 3rd through 8th grade and Summerfield High School from 10th through 12th grade, graduating in 1993. She attended Mills College graduating in 1998 with a BA in Anthropology & Sociology. In 1996 Rebecca married her high school sweetheart Colin Teague and their son Raven was born in 2002. After college Rebecca and her husband worked for the family construction company doing architectural steel fabrication and small remodels. In 2006 Rebecca began teaching movement at Live Oak and found a deep and renewed interest in education.  In 2007 she began a combined Masters in Waldorf Education and CA Teaching Credential program through Touro University and Rudolf Steiner College and became the lead teacher of Rosemary Kindergarten in 2008. Rebecca’s hobbies include silversmithing and jewelry making, D&D, and other roleplaying games.

Rebecca River-Teague, Teacher

Carlee King, Kindergarten Assistant