Faculty
Waldorf Education seeks to reclaim the wholeness of human potential for every child by carefully nurturing and developing the artist, the thinker, and the doer in each one. That is why the Waldorf curriculum integrates academic, artistic, and practical studies. Teachers strive to develop in each child the ability to act out of freedom, based on knowledge, self-reliance, and skill in body, mind, and spirit. Waldorf education is a journey toward freedom, through wholeness. We want to see young people arrive intact at the threshold of adulthood, knowing they can bring all the gifts of heart and mind, imagination and discipline to whatever purpose and di rection they choose to take in their lives.
Preschool Faculty
Catalina Edwards
Lavender Preschool Lead Teacher
Catalina Edwards is originally from Colombia and moved to the California Bay Area when she was a teen. She began her journey in Waldorf early childhood education at DWS as she was attending the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training. After working at DWS for several years as an Assistant Teacher, she was asked to help plant the seed of Waldorf education in Vacaville, CA. Catalina was the inaugural Lead Preschool teacher at the Waldorf-inspired Pleasant Valley Preschool. She transitioned her class of preschoolers into Kindergarten and is excited to now return to DWS.
Catalina holds a Waldorf Early Childhood Certificate from The Sound Circle Center of Arts and Anthroposophy in Seattle, WA. She is a singer and songwriter and holds a certificate in Voice and Songwriting from The Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, CA. Catalina is thrilled to be back to where it all began for her. She loves the magic and wonder of the early childhood years. Most recently her studies have been focusing on the cultural healing songs from the indigenous peoples of South America. Catalina is looking forward to bringing her music and culture into the curriculum and being a part of the wonderful DWS community once again.
Jennifer Mason
Buttercup Preschool Lead Teacher
Jennifer Mason born and raised in Sacramento. After attending community college, she moved to San Francisco and attended San Francisco State University. A week after graduating with a BA in Psychology, she gave birth to her daughter and moved back to Sacramento to be close to her family. Because her daughter was a strong willed child, she read many parenting books. While reading “You are Your Child’s First Teacher,” she discovered Waldorf education. Within a month she signed up to become a Waldorf teacher at Rudolf Steiner College and has been teaching ever since. After her training, Jennifer went on to work as a nap teacher in the kindergarten at Sacramento Waldorf School. She also had two sons and when they were toddlers she owned and operated a Waldorf inspired home preschool program. When her youngest son was in third grade Jennifer became the preschool teacher at Camellia Waldorf School. She is a proud parent of three children who attended Waldorf School from kindergarten to twelfth grade. When she is not teaching she likes to garden, practice yoga and spend time with her children.
Par Duncan
Golden Poppy Preschool Lead Teacher
Par Duncan was born and raised in a small village in Punjab, India and grew up on a farm surrounded by life in all forms - plants, animals, and a large family. Food and traditions were everything. Mrs. Duncan was 14 years old when her family moved to Dublin, CA. Par, along with her husband and two sons, moved to Davis in 2004. Once in Davis, Mrs. Duncan and her husband looked for a holistic education for their sons and they came across Davis Waldorf School (DWS). Their oldest son started at DWS in kindergarten in 2005, and her younger son started preschool in 2006. Both of Mrs. Duncan’s boys graduated from DWS then completed high school and their Waldorf journeys at Sacramento Waldorf School (SWS). Mrs. Duncan instantly fell in love with Rudolph Steiner’s whole child Waldorf approach to learning. She dove into Waldorf education and anthroposophy and has worked in Early Childhood (EC) since 2013. Mrs. Duncan has previously volunteered and worked at DWS in multiple roles and has taught at SWS. She has been mentored by several experienced Waldorf EC teachers, including Teacher Mary and, for the past year, Teacher Jenny. Mrs. Duncan is currently enjoying her EC teacher training at the Seattle Sound Circle and will be finished in July 2022. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, reading, long walks, yoga, gardening, handwork, and listening to different types of music. Mrs. Duncan lives in Davis with her two sons, husband, and German Shepherd dog, Adi.
Kindergarten Faculty
Casey Powers
Climbing Rose Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Casey Powers grew up in Davis and has returned to her hometown after finishing up her studies at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where she studied writing and education. Before taking on the role of Lead Teacher in the Climbing Rose Kindergarten, she worked as an assistant kindergarten teacher at Davis Waldorf School and at the Olympia Waldorf School. She received her Early Childhood Waldorf Teaching certification through the Sound Circle Center for Arts and Anthroposophy in Seattle, Washington. In her spare time, she loves watercolor painting, writing children's stories, practicing yoga, playing ukulele, gardening, and making puppets.
B.A. Education and Writing, The Evergreen State College
Sophia Leonard
Morning Glory Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Sophia Leonard is our new Morning Glory Kindergarten Teacher. Last year, she was a fixture in our 2nd grade classroom supporting the class and stepping in to lead a grades class or substitute in Games and Spanish when needed. A Waldorf alumna herself, Teacher Sophia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from UC Davis. She speaks Spanish from her studies abroad and emphasizes multiculturalism in her curriculum. Additionally, her years of dance training of all kinds leads her to center holistic movement in her classroom.
B.A. Sociology, University of California, Davis
Grades Faculty (1st - 8th)
Kiersen Clerkin
1st Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2031
Kiersen Clerkin earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and information studies from the University College in Dublin, Ireland. She has always enjoyed working with young people; spending many summers as a camp counselor. Ms. Clerkin taught and graduated the class of 2018 at the Davis Waldorf School. Most recently, Ms. Clerkin has been teaching the class of 2022 at Camellia Waldorf School and will graduate their class in June.
Ms. Clerkin attended Davis Waldorf School from kindergarten through eighth grade and graduated high school from Sacramento Waldorf School. A Waldorf “lifer,” Ms. Clerkin loves Waldorf education. She believes that the middle school years are the time in which the birth of the intellect and independent thinking takes place. It is a time of wit and exploration. She is thrilled to be guiding a new group of young people through ancient Greece to modern America, exploring the excitement of physics and chemistry, and getting to see the spark that ignites in the students’ eyes when they are loving what they are learning! When not teaching, Ms. Clerkin enjoys traveling, the outdoors, camping and hiking, and spending time with her family and two dogs.
Gabriela Utreras
2nd Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2030
Gabriela Utreras holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education with an emphasis on Human Development from Prescott College. Additionally, Ms. Utreras has her certificate in Curative Education, which she earned while working and living with young adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a Camphill Community. For the past two years, Ms. Utreras has been a member of the lower school faculty at the Sacramento Waldorf School where she teaches Spanish and Seasonal Studies.
B.A. in Special Education, Prescott College, AZ; Certificate in Curative Education
Karen Holt
3nd Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2029
Karen Holt has been a classroom teacher for 20 years; 16 years at the Davis Waldorf School, and four years at Sacramento Waldorf School, focusing on the lower grades and teaching first through fifth grades. She has one daughter in college who attended Davis Waldorf School through 8th grade. In her spare time, Karen enjoys traveling, gardening, camping, and hiking.
B.A. in Elementary Education, Augsburg College, MN; MA in Human Development, Saint Mary’s University, MN; Waldorf Elementary School Teacher Education Diploma, Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, California; Remedial Education Training, Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, California
Robin Schulz
4th Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2028
Robin Schulz is a teacher and the creator of the company Waldorf Inspired by Robin, where she developed and implemented curriculum to suit the needs of her students and their parents. She brings her experience working with children of all ages with an emphasis on "lighting the fire" in each student. Robin strives to bring out the natural passion for learning that she believes is innate in all human beings. A teacher and mentor in many capacities for over 15 years, Robin worked in charter schools, private schools and in homes teaching classes and as a private teacher. She was also a homeschooling mother of two children, with whom she completed the Waldorf curriculum twice, from kindergarten through eighth grade. Robin completed her Waldorf teacher training at WISC in 2017.
B.A. in Psychology with a focus on child development, University of Southern California
Jessica Efstratis
5th Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2027
Jessica Efstratis was born in the foothills of northern California and grew up in the Sacramento area next to the American River. She has a B.A. in Integral Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and her Waldorf Education Diploma from Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks. Jessica has also studied Environmental Science at San Francisco State and Fine Art at Chico State. She has worked as an environmental educator at Hidden Villa Ranch, the parent child teacher at Camellia Waldorf School, and she owned and operated the in-home preschool program, The Rainbow Bridge Preschool. She has three children and is happy to be both a teacher and proud parent in the Davis Waldorf community.
B.A. Integral Studies, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California; Waldorf Early Childhood Education Diploma, Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, California
Adriana Perez
6th Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2026
Adriana Pérez grew up in various parts of Mexico, mostly surrounded by nature and agriculture. She has a deep appreciation for nature, music, and learning. In the past 28 years her professional experience has included working as a landscape/urban designer, graphic designer, art director, visual communications specialist, creative director, and college design educator.
Ms. Pérez is curious and passionate about all creative activities, which she strongly believes connect us deeply to our true self and the beauty of the world. She keeps a daily practice of drawing and music. Her teaching philosophy focuses on bringing joy and reverence to learning by creating experiential learning that is developmentally appropriate and well rounded (engaging children's heart, hand, and head). She enjoys traveling with her family and spending time with Mochi (the cat) and BJ (a rescue bird). She feels blessed to be able to share DWS with her three daughters.
B.S. Landscape Architecture and B.A. Spanish Literature, UC Davis; Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Graphic Design and Print Production, UC Davis University Extension; M.F.A. Design, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California; Ed.D. Education Leadership (ABD), Argosy University, Alameda, California; Waldorf Teacher Training Certificate (in process), Center for Anthroposophy Mexico, Cuernavaca, Morelos
Thea Blair
7th Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2025
Thea Blair operated a home preschool for many years, which both of her children, now 20 and 27 years old, attended. In 2014, she stepped into the classroom to teach in the grades. She has substituted in all grades and many subject classes. Along the way she has been adjunct faculty at Rudolf Steiner College and in the LifeWays program, teaching singing and the dynamics of kindergarten circle time. She also created an online training for Peer Massage in the classroom, and wrote articles about child development for Waldorf publications.
Thea enjoys outdoor recreation, contra dancing, live theater, games of all sorts, and gardening. But most of all, she enjoys being creative. She finds that becoming a class teacher is a great way to be always creating!
Anne Carollo House
8th Grade Class teacher, DWS Class of 2024
Anne Carollo House previously taught at DWS as the lead teacher for the class of 2021. Ms. Carollo House has a B.A. in English Literature from San Francisco State University, a California State Multiple Subject Teaching credential from Sacramento State University and has begun her graduate studies in American and English Literature at San Francisco State University. She has also completed the foundation year in the Waldorf Teacher Training program at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento. Mrs. Carollo House's professional experience includes working in the classroom as an assistant and substitute teacher in private and public schools in Sacramento and the Bay Area, and serving as an as an Aftercare Teacher at Camellia Waldorf School in Sacramento and as After School Program Director at Sutton Montessori School in Dublin, Ireland. Ms. Carollo House is passionate about education, beekeeping and organic farming.
B.A. in English Literature, San Francisco State University, California State Multiple Subject Teaching credential, Sacramento State University