Kindergarten Teachers

Karen Atkinson, Tarrytown Nursery/Kindergarten Teacher

BA, Vermont College in Liberal Arts and Education, Waldorf Certification, Antioch New England in both Early Childhood and Elementary Education

Karen has been working as a Waldorf Educator since graduating from Antioch New England in 1995. Inspired by a love of teaching and a calling to become a Waldorf educator, Karen has devoted her years in the classroom to the care and development of young children. In addition, she has served as a guide and support to their parents. Karen maintains a deep connection with the natural world, is involved with the local and organic foods movement, and is committed to preserving family values. Prior to joining the Green Meadow faculty, Karen served as a Representative for WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America) as well as a Delegate for AWSNA (Association of Waldorf Schools). She has served on two Waldorf School Boards, has been a member of the College of Teachers and mentored both individuals and schools on their path of Waldorf education. Karen’s two children attend Green Meadow. Outside the classroom, she and her family can be found hiking along a nature trail, or in the colder winter times, keeping up with local and NBA basketball fun.

Carolyn Barton

MS. Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; BS, Hearing and Speech Sciences, Ohio University

Lyn has been working as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher for more than 13 years.  For the past five years, she has been leading Green Meadow's satellite kindergarten, Child’s Garden, located at the neighboring Rudolf Steiner Fellowship Community.  She also directs the Summer Farm Days program, which provides children with many of the same activities that are offered in the early childhood classes.  Lyn serves as a Co-Chair for the Early Childhood Section, is a member of the Collegium and is the chair of both the Media Resource Group and the Go Green Initiative. In addition, she teaches part-time in the Early Childhood Education program at Sunbridge Institute.  In her free time, Lyn enjoys working in her garden.

Leslie Burchell-Fox

MS.Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; BS, Speech Pathology, Kent State University 

Leslie, who has been teaching since 1996, began her Waldorf teaching career at the Waldorf School of Baltimore.  She joined Green Meadow eight years ago, and is currently the chair of the Collegium.  In addition, she serves on the school's Teacher Development, Diversity, and Emergency Response Committees, while also serving on the boards of Green Meadow and Sunbridge Institute.   She teaches in the part-time Early Childhood Program at the Institute, as well as mentors students enrolled in that program. Prior to becoming a Waldorf teacher, Leslie worked as a Speech and Hearing Therapist for several years before becoming a full-time fiber artist. She successfully plied her craft for ten years before she met Waldorf Education.  At that point she was inspired to unite her skills as an artist with her love of working with young children in a career as a Waldorf teacher.  In her spare time, she is a Lazure artist.

Andrea Gambardella

MS. Ed., Remedial Education, Sunbridge College; Waldorf Training/Towson State University; Montessori Certificate (ages 2 1/2- 7 years);  BA, Human Development, Antioch College.

While Andrea may be a new teacher at Green Meadow this year, she actually began teaching in 1977 at the Waldorf School of Baltimore, and has more than twenty years teaching experience in parent-child, nursery and kindergarten classes. In addition to being an early childhood teacher, she has also been active in WECAN (Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America) as both a membership coordinator and board member, and was formerly an Academic Administrator/Instructor for early childhood education at Sunbridge College.  She is among the authors of Mentoring in Waldorf Early Childhood Education and has written articles published in Gateways, the professional journal for Waldorf early childhood teachers.  Being outdoors, and sharing the wonders of nature with young children, is one of Andrea's greatest pleasures.  She is the mother of three children, who are all Waldorf alumni.

Lisa Miccio

MS. Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; MS, Elementary Education, C.W. Post, Long Island University; B.A. English, College of Charleston

Prior to teaching, Lisa worked as a Personnel Administrator for seven years.  She began her teaching in a public school before becoming a Waldorf early childhood teacher in 2001.  Prior to joining Green Meadow, she was a kindergarten teacher at Mountain Laurel Waldorf School, and a nursery teacher at Dayspring Community School.  She is a Co-chair in the Early Childhood Section and a member of the Collegium and the Communications committee.  Lisa enjoys both research and writing, and authored Eingefallen and Rabbit Holes, (Sept./Oct. issue of Sunbridge College Online News).  She is continually inspired by her work, her observations of the children, and her experience as a part-time teacher in the early childhood training at Sunbridge Institute.  As the mother of two boys at Green Meadow, she often attends school basketball, baseball and soccer games, helps coach girls volleyball, and plays doubles beach volleyball with her husband.

Nursery Teachers

Carol Grieder-Brandenberger

MS. Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; MS, Nursing, Women's Health, Rutgers University; Registered Nurse and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner; Lactation Consultant

For many years, Carol has worked part-time with women, infants and children as a maternal-child health nurse. Before joining Green Meadow as a nursery teacher in 2006, she taught Waldorf-inspired art classes, Parent-Child classes and in a Waldorf-inspired nursery school in New Jersey.  Carol is the early childhood enrollment liaison, and is a member of the Go Green Initiative and Diversity committee.  As a native of Switzerland, she is multi-lingual.  Carol has written two articles on festival life in the nursery pending publication.  She enjoys spending time in nature with her family, working with fiber arts and plant dyeing, making dolls and puppets, and practicing the art of puppetry.  Carol is the mother of two Green Meadow students.

Rebecca Ruof

BM, Mannes College of Music; Certificate from The Child and Family in the First Three Years, Sophia’s Hearth Family Center in Keene, NH; Foundation Studies, Sunbridge College, NY

Rebecca grew up in Germany and attended a Waldorf school from kindergarten through high school.  Before becoming an early childhood teacher, Rebecca taught English in a Waldorf school in Budapest, Hungary, and taught private music lessons to students at Green Meadow Waldorf School from 1993 to 1994 while studying at Sunbridge College.  Her experience in Waldorf early childhood education began when she assisted in the nursery at the Waldorf School of Baltimore.  She joined Green Meadow in 2006, began her formal training at Sophia’s Hearth, and has now been teaching for four years. She has seamlessly woven her early experiences as a Waldorf student with the wisdom she has gleaned through mothering and studying child development. She has two children attending Green Meadow.  In addition to teaching, Rebecca enjoys playing her violin.

Meadow’s Nest Early Childhood Afternoon Teachers

Meadow’s Nest is an option for parents who need care for their children following the nursery or kindergarten morning. The afternoon teachers, working cooperatively with the morning nursery and kindergarten teachers, focus on the art of care-giving and provide as seamless an experience as possible for the children staying until 3:00 pm.

Patricia Lynch LoParrino

BS, Psychology;  BS, Special Education;  Associate's Degree in Human Services, Mercy College; Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge College, NY

Patricia has 20 years teaching experience in private and public New York City schools. She has taught in nursery and kindergarten classes and first and second grades; as well as, in a Waldorf-inspired kindergarten class for children who have special needs. Patricia is also a certified reflexologist, who works with children, senior citizens and adults with developmental disabilities.

Azusa Ammar

BA, Kyoto University of Foreign Language, Japan; Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge Institite, NY

Azuza joined Green Meadow in 2009, assisting in the kindergarten and nursery, and in the Saturday Japanese kindergarten.  Prior to becoming a Waldorf early childhood teacher, Azusa’s taught Japanese language and culture (Ikebana Flower Arrangement) for 20 years in Japan, Taiwan, Brazil and the U.S. She co-authored several Japanese language textbooks (workbooks and curriculum) for beginners to advanced students, and wrote a series of articles on Japanese kindergartens, primary, and secondary schools for Japion Japanese Newspaper in New Jersey.  Her son is a student at Green Meadow.

Meadow's Gate Parent-Child Teachers

Mayuko Matsuda

MS.Ed., Waldorf Education, Sunbridge College; BA Intercultural Studies, Kobe College, Japan
 
Mayuko joined Green Meadow as a parent-child group teacher in 2009.  Prior to teaching parent-child classes at Green Meadow, she taught play group classes out of her home and for other New York Waldorf schools. Mayuko, who is bi-lingual, was born and raised in Japan.  She is the mother of a three-year-old daughter and a newborn baby.  She enjoys handwork, especially plant dyeing and spinning, and plays the koto, a Japanese instrument.

Saturday Japanese Kindergarten Teacher

Kiyomi Kato

BA, Home Education, Yashimagakuen University; Elementary Education, Nagoya University of Arts; Certificate in Waldorf Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge College; Foundation course, Sunbridge College; Elementary Teacher’s license, Kindergarten Teacher's license, School librarian’s License in Japan.  

Kiyomo began teaching at Green Meadow in 2008 when she started as an early childhood assistant.  She has continued to assist Rebecca Ruof in the nursery, while also leading the Saturday Japanese Kindergarten.  Kiyomi enjoys handwork and is currently enrolled in the Applied Arts Program at The Fiber Craft Studio.  One of Kiyomi's favorite hobbies is writing Haiku. She has been a member of the New Jersey Japanese Weekend School Teacher’s Haiku Club since 2002. The club has future plans to publish a book. 

Early Childhood Assistants

Kaori Fuller

Certificate in Early Childhood Education, Sunbridge College; Foundation Studies at Sunbridge College; AA, Japanese Literature, Bunkyo University

Prior to becoming an assistant at Green Meadow in 2009, Kaori worked as an intern in the kindergarten and at the Pfeiffer Garden.  In addition, she worked extensively as a costume designer and technician for dance theater productions in Japan and the U.S. She practiced organic farming and Western astrology in Japan, and has also been studying Native American ceremonies for eleven years.  Her son attends Green Meadow.

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