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Heather Andersen, M.A.,
taught kindergarten at Saint Andrew’s School in Saratoga for four years before coming to Nueva in 2008. Heather is known for her love of curriculum planning, based on her students’ interests and passions. She integrates art history, multicultural awareness, and technology into her kindergarten program. Heather studied child development and psychology at California State University Chico, including a semester at Griffith University in Australia. She completed her MA in humanities at Dominican University. Heather loves the arts -- she has worked as an art docent and she created a highly successful hands-on art history program. She also enjoys working with teens, and has taught business classes with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship to at-risk teens. |
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Dan Bennett, B.A.,
has been a math teacher in grades 6 through 8 for the past 10 years at Nueva. Dan worked as an editor and writer for Key Curriculum Press, a math textbook publishing company, for ten years before coming here. He has authored two books, Exploring Geometry with The Geometer's Sketchpad and Pythagoras Plugged In, as well as numerous articles for professional journals. Before his stint in publishing, Dan taught all levels of math at International Studies Academy, a high school in San Francisco. He earned his degree and teaching credentials at San Francisco State University. |
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Matt Berman, M.A.T.,
recipient of the NEH Teacher-Scholar Award, has been an elementary school teacher for more than 30 years, with certification in gifted education, and degrees in education and philosophy for children. A nationally recognized expert in children's literature, Matt has written four books on the subject, and his reviews, articles, and columns have appeared in many journals, including Kirkus, School Library Journal, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He has also taught children's literature at Tulane University and the University of New Orleans and is a frequent speaker on the subject. Matt's reviews currently appear on numerous websites, including Common Sense Media, Disney Family, Family.com, iVillage, and the ChildLit Wiki. |
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Nancy Blachman, M.S.,
has led Math Clubs for 4 years in the Lower School at Nueva School, taught a lower-school math camp last summer, and taught Mathematica (software for doing mathematics) for 10 years. She founded the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival and MathDelights.org to provide opportunities for children who enjoy math to do more math and to present a variety of activities so that all participants find something of interest. |
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Jo Elsner, Ph.D.,
has been teaching for over thirty-five years at all levels in five different states. Here at Nueva she has taught grades 6 through 8 in algebra, geometry, enrichment, and advanced student studies. At Stanford, Jo was a Teacher Education Program Supervisor and Coach. She was a math specialist at Woodside Elementary for 15 years and at Portola Valley for 12. She has been a Silicon Valley Math Coach with the Noyce Foundation for the past 10 years. Jo is a State and National Conference speaker who has given talks on her different specialties of problem solving, relational and algebraic thinking, proportional reasoning, and using questioning skills to develop students' ability to learn how to manage their own learning and develop deeper understanding of mathematics for making connections with the real world. |
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Stephanie Englehaupt, M.E.,
is starting her sixth year at Nueva and has taught elementary school for more than 20 years, beginning in a small bilingual public school in Illinois, then Florida, and on to private school in California at Seeds University Elementary School (now UCLA Lab School). She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in education, certification in elementary education and educational administration, with a minor in mathematics education, and has completed the Illinois Gifted Institute. She teaches art after school, produces a summer children's drawing and writing course called Publishing Boot Camp, and teaches summer enrichment math classes. |
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Fred Estes, Ed.D.,
Lower School Science Coordinator at the Nueva School, has taught at the early childhood, elementary, middle school, high school, and university level for over 25 years. He has written over a dozen professional articles, several book chapters, and a book, Turning Research into Results. Fred regularly presents at the annual conferences of the National Science Teachers Association, the California Science Teachers Association, and the National Association of Gifted Children on topics such as inquiry science, assessment and standardized testing, curriculum and instructional design, and learning theory. Last spring he presented a day-long workshop on applying the methods of inquiry science across the curriculum at a conference co-sponsored by the California Association for the Gifted and the University of California, Riverside. He also consults for schools and school districts on science education, gifted education, and curriculum assessment. |
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Hillary Freeman, M.S.,
a middle school science teacher and 2009-2010 Google Fellow, has devoted her life to interdisciplinary pursuits. Through in-depth studies in a wide variety of disciplines, Hillary develops curricula that ensure her students discover academic and social connections. Hillary has an M.S. degree in Fisheries Biology and post-graduate work in Education. Her professional experience includes being a Chief Scientist (Marine Biology), a statistician, a computer programmer and systems analyst, a corporate executive (sales and marketing), an elected official (Palo Alto City Council), and a conflict resolution trainer. As a member of a team of designers from the Stanford Design School, she applied her range of skills and interests to help design Nueva's world class Innovation Lab. |
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Mark Garibaldi, B.S.,
is an early childhood educator and researcher in the field of psychology with extensive experience in social and cognitive development, constructivism, autobiographical memory, motivation, and special needs. In collaboration with Laraine Ray for the past year, he has developed innovative early childhood curricula integrating social-emotional learning with academic subject matter. Since 2006 he has been conducting research and regularly guest lecturing at Santa Clara University on various topics across the developmental span. His current investigations through SCU and Nueva examine autobiographical memory development in early childhood and the notion of ethical giftedness, respectively. He is also pursuing a master's in psychology with an emphasis in creativity and cognition at Teachers College, Columbia University. |
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Kim Gitnick, M.A.,
has 15 years' experience teaching elementary grades in both the regular classroom and special education. Her start was in SFUSD, where she taught special education classes for students with learning disabilities. She is beginning her tenth year at Nueva, the first nine of which were spent in first grade. This year will be her first in her new role as learning specialist at Nueva for grades K through 4. Kim earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UC Berkeley and her Master of Arts in Special Education from San Francisco State University, as well as her Multiple Subject Professional Clear Credential. Kim has specializations in reading development and language acquisition. |
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Nick Haisman, M.A.,
is a teacher and researcher in the field of educational psychology and social and emotional learning. He has conducted research on a range of topics, including HIV education in South Africa, the development of social and emotional learning programs, and most recently the effects of in-school yoga classes on students' self-perceived competencies. Nick holds his undergraduate degree from the University of Oxford and his master's degree from Stanford University. He currently teaches 4th, 5th and 7th grade SEL and Future Problem Solving classes at Nueva and has developed new curricula in Mindset, Team Work, Sports and Competition, and Body Image and the Media. Nick's master's thesis was titled "Guidelines for Success: A Case Study Investigation of Guidelines for Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs in Two Northern California Schools" and was accepted for presentation at the Comparative and International Education Society Conference in 2008. This past summer, Nick was a facilitator at the Nueva School's Social and Emotional Learning Teacher Training Institute, where he led sessions about purposeful play, media and the middle school student, and emerging themes for middle school SEL. |
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Marilyn Kimura, B.A.,
teacher/librarian at the Nueva School, is passionate about fostering the intellectual, social, and emotional growth of young gifted children using the words and visual images from literature. She is equally committed to providing resources in the Nueva Library to support the parenting and teaching of these exceptional students, recognizing that gifted children bring special talents, and often special needs, to their relationships with adults. |
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Peter Koehler, Ph.D.,
has taught for over 25 years at elementary through university levels, including 10 years teaching mathematical enrichment at Nueva, and has earned degrees in theoretical and elementary particle physics from Imperial College and the Royal Holloway College, University of London. Peter was a presenter on "Student-Inspired Teaching and Math" at the 2009 Nueva Summer Math Institute. His Visual Art Summer Camps are now in their 15th year. For many years he has offered independent enrichment programs to several Bay Area schools, integrating science, math, and art and also Math-E Magical ART at UC Santa Cruz Extension for teachers and the SMART program at the Simonds School in San Jose. |
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Cynthia Hirsch Kosut, B.A.,
a recipient of the American Memory Fellowship from the Library of Congress, has been developing integrated curricula and teaching gifted students at Nueva for 15 years. With a diverse background in the scholarship of Homeric Greek and Euclidean geometry, French literature and Pascal, and Japanese language and cultural history, Cynthia has embraced the concept of integrated curricula to convey the impact of discoveries in mathematics, science, and technology through an understanding of the humanities. In addition to teaching Middle School humanities, Cynthia has been the High School Placement Counselor at Nueva for 12 years. |
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Peggy McLean, M.A.,
classroom teacher, workshop leader, math coach, is the author of numerous books and materials on teaching mathematics through the use of manipulatives. She has taught college-level courses in teaching methods; presented at local, state, and national conferences; and worked with both public and private schools and school districts nationwide. She has led workshops for the National Science Foundation, various universities, and major publishers such as McGraw-Hill, Addison-Wesley, and Wright Group. Through her extensive teaching experience, Peggy has developed strategies for direct instruction in the classroom that enable teachers to understand how to differentiate and meet the needs of all types of learners. With over forty years of experience in classroom teaching and teacher training, including twenty-seven years on the faculty of Notre Dame de Namur University, Peggy is currently the Lower School Mathematics Specialist at Nueva School. |
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Elizabeth McLeod, M.Ed.,
has, for the past twenty years, been creating safe learning environments as a classroom teacher, wilderness instructor, yoga teacher, and teacher trainer. Elizabeth graduated from Boston College, holds single and multiple subject credentials from San Francisco State University, and earned her master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 1997, Elizabeth co-founded Girlventures, a Bay Area nonprofit, that empowers adolescent girls to discover and express their strengths through outdoor adventure, creative arts, and group experiences. In addition to her classroom teaching experience at Live Oak School and Nueva, Elizabeth has worked as a trainer for Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, consulting with public schools in San Mateo County to set up conflict resolution programs and to improve school climate. She currently teaches social-emotional learning to first through third graders. |
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Rebecca Newsom, M.A.,
has taught kindergarten through 2nd grade for 12 years in public and independent schools around the Bay Area. She is a two-time presenter at the Gifted Learning Conference. Rebecca is involved in classroom research on using mathematical discourse with young students and is inspired by the deep thinking that accompanies hands-on inquiry-based mathematics. She delights in watching students become more articulate about their mathematical problem-solving strategies. She earned her degree in Interdisciplinary Education from Santa Clara University, and is currently in her fifth year at Nueva. |
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Pote Pothongsunan, M.E., M.A.,
has taught physics and mathematics at independent and magnet schools for 11 years, and has also taught the Principles of Engineering Design course for Johns Hopkins' University's Center for Talented Youth (JHU-CTY) for the past six summers. Pote earned his master's degrees in physics and electrical engineering from the University of Virginia. Pote is known for infusing interesting hands-on projects with humor to promote and teach science to his students. |
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Laraine Ray, B.A.,
has been an early childhood educator for 30 years. Throughout her career, she has developed programs that honor play-based learning, emergent studies, and the integration of social-emotional learning with core curricula. For ten years, Laraine served as a parent educator, holding workshops on such topics as conflict resolution, communication, positive discipline, and behavior styles. She currently teaches kindergarten at Nueva. She and her colleague, Mark Garibaldi, have developed extensive curricula based on the latest research on motivation, brain development, and the young gifted child. Presently, they are conducting research and developing curricula in the area of giftedness and effective ethical decision-making in early childhood. |
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Kim Saxe, M.S.,
is the Director of the Innovation Lab at Nueva and a lecturer at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) at Stanford University. Kim was instrumental in both the design of Nueva’s Innovation Lab and the Design Thinking curriculum at the d.school. In addition to holding a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford, Kim has worked as a Director at ASK ComputerSystems, Inc., leading a team of twenty software developers and managers in new product development. Having taught for the past 19 years, Kim is known for consistently creating engaging and integrated curricula with depth and complexity, teaching and fostering design-thinking mindsets and strategies, and championing individuals who think with their hands as well as their minds. Currently, she and her colleagues are adapting the Design Thinking process that Stanford teaches to develop a model Design Thinking program for K-8 students at Nueva, with the goal of sharing this program with other schools. |
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Maya Sissoko, M.S.,
has been teaching for 13 years, the past 10 at Nueva in second and third grades, as well as a one-year sabbatical spent teaching at the International School of Dakar in Senegal. Maya received her Master of Science in early childhood and elementary education from Bank Street College of Education. She has presented workshops on integrating music and movement into mainstream curricula, and is currently working on using technology in the classroom as a tool for differentiation and curriculum integration.
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Dave Susman, B.A.,
has taught middle school writing at Nueva for the past six years. A Nueva alum himself, Dave earned his degree in American Studies and VIsual Arts from Columbia University, where he completed the program with honors. He has also worked as a graphic designer and on communications and publications in Nueva's Advancement Office. |
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Janice Toben, M.A.,
coordinates Nueva's Social-Emotional Learning Program. For nearly 30 years, her teaching efforts have focused on gifted children, ages 5-14, generating a model for curriculum design and comprehensive lessons that creatively foster inter- and intrapersonal skills. Janice facilitates parent education programs and leads training institutes for teachers at numerous public and private schools in the Bay Area and around the country. She has conducted teacher-training seminars at Wheelock and Columbia Teacher's College; consulted for eight years with the Center for Advancement and Renewal of Educators; and presented at conferences such as CAIS, NAIS, CAG, and at NEA in Singapore. Recently, she designed and co-led the SEL Teacher Training Institute to promote best practices in the field of SEL. Janice appears in the video Emotional Intelligence: A New Vision for Educators (based on the book Emotional Intelligence [Bantam, 1995]) and is the author of many lessons used in the Institute for the early and mid-elementary grades, including the Open Session student-generated discussion format. On the strength of the SEL program, Nueva was recognized by the Templeton Foundation as a National School of Character in 2002. She promotes the importance of SEL’s role in developing environmental awareness, and she initiated the film Constructing Learning: The Nueva Forts Experience, based on children’s imaginative, cooperative outdoor play. |
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Joshua Zucker, M.S.,
currently teaches at the Art of Problem Solving online school and at several local math circles for students and teachers, having co-founded the Math Teachers' Circle program. He directs the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festivals and the Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad. He taught high school mathematics, computer science, and astronomy for more than 10 years, and before that worked at Stanford's Education Program for Gifted Youth. |