Faculty
Bret Schacht, 4th-5th grade teacher
Bret Schacht was born and raised in Nebraska. He earned his masters degree in Education and Waldorf certification by attending Antioch New England Graduate School in Keene, NH. After a practicum at Christchurch Steiner School in New Zealand, Bret taught second grade at White Mountain Waldorf School in North Conway, NH before returning to the midwest to teach at Prairie Moon Waldorf School. He is currently pursuing certification in Spacial Dynamics along with his wife, Megan Corcoran, who teaches movement and games.
Kathy Farwell, 2nd-3rd grade teacher
I served the public schools as an elementary teacher for fifteen years in a Latino community and for most of these years at Hillcrest Elementary in Lawrence, Kansas when it was one school with three hundred-seventy kids from thirty-five countries and six continents. Through these years I realized the importance of community, compassion and respect for other paths. I learned why educating the whole child is essential and that we must treat our children with great respect so they in turn will give us hope for the future.
I find it very exciting to be part of the pioneering years of Prairie Moon Waldorf School in Lawrence, Kansas. After years of working with pedagogical groups and committees I recognize the Prairie Moon faculty, staff and community as exceptional and bringing a phenomenal level of integrity to their work in creating this educational campus. I look forward to the ways we can serve the Lawrence community and the children who are cultivating a love of lifetime learning.
Mr. Kris Carlson, 1st Grade Teacher
Kris Carlson was raised on a horse ranch in British Columbia with five siblings. Mr. Carlson is a man of many talents: cowboy, foundry worker, guest lecturer at universities, carpenter, vegetarian cooking instructor, hindu priest, artist, mechanic and Waldorf teacher. He was drawn to pursue his training in Waldorf after being inspired by witnessing the miraculous changes of his two children, once they began their schooling at the Eugene Waldorf School. Mr. Carlson received his Waldorf teacher training at the Eugene Waldorf Teacher Training Institute from 2000-2003. He completed a practicum in Waldorf education at the Meadowbrook Waldorf School in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, and taught at Front Range Waldorf School in Lakewood, CO for 5 years and, most recently, Mountain Phoenix Community School in Golden, CO. He has also served as an aftercare teacher and woodworking teacher.
Kimberli Eddins, lead teacher, Sunflower mixed-age kindergarten
Ms. Kimberli is a native of Kansas City. She has been an early childhood teacher, serving also in an administrative capacity since 1993. Most recently, she has taught kindergarten for three years at the Scuola Vita Nuova, a charter school in Kansas City. Ms. Kimberli has been substitute teaching in the Sunflower and Daisy Garden classrooms this spring. She will be the Rainbow Garden summer camp lead teacher at Prairie Moon this summer, while also completing Waldorf early childhood professional development courses with intent to begin a Waldorf teacher training program in the summer 2010. She will continue into the year with a Waldorf teaching mentor.
Sara Stalling, MA, lead teacher, Daisy Garden (nursery)
Ms. Sara received both her bachelor’s and master’s from Goddard College concentrating on Arts and Education. Her thesis focused on “we teach who we are” and exemplifies Sara’s deep understanding of Waldorf education. She has been teaching since 1996 in one way or another, within preschool settings, as well as working with at-risk youth. Ms. Sara comes to us from Lawrence Community Nursery School in Lawrence, after serving as lead teacher there since 2006. Her teaching experience also includes the Lawrence Arts Center Summer Youth Theater, as well Art Facilitator at GaDuGi Safecenter. Ms. Sara is a mother to two sons – Maya, 8 and Animos, 6 months, and is wife to David Spitzer. The family lives in Lawrence. Ms. Sara will begin professional development coursework this summer in Waldorf early childhood education and will receive mentoring during the course of the year, with the intent of beginning formalized training in Summer 2010.
Ms. Elizabeth Rowley, BA, BFA, Daisy Garden Assistant Teacher
Ms. Elizabeth was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, with creative roots in her linage with an artist/writer father and homemaker mother, her childhood seemed magical. After travel and many work and life adventures, she finished her education at Wichita State University with three undergraduate degrees, including a BFA in painting and drawing. She then pursued a life as a working artist. The journey began at Prairie Moon Waldorf School when she left Wichita and moved to Lawrence. Although it was a relationship that brought her to Lawrence, it was the landscape that beckoned her to paint it. In October 2005, the first year Prairie Moon opened, she began her beautiful journey as the After-Care Teacher. She writes:
“The gardens we planted grew just like the community at Prairie Moon. The vision that this small group of parents had in the beginning was so passionate and still is. Nature is my muse and the thrill of passing this reverence on to children is truly a soulful experience. The prairie surrounding the school speaks to me as I come to work daily – I am home.”
Monika Eichler, LMSW, MEd, teacher of parent-child class, Sweet Pea Gardens
Monika received her bachelors in psychology and moved into a doctoral clinical program at Western Michigan University. Thereafter, her heart longed for a more holistic approach to the helping profession and found herself at home in social work. After receiving her Master’s Degree at KU she began to work for the School of Social Welfare at KU, where she currently conducts research on mental health settings. In the meantime, Monika discovered Waldorf education in the late 90’s and when talk of a school in Lawrence began, she quickly joined forces with others to make a Waldorf school in Kansas a reality. Since 2001, Monika has been either on the board or a faculty member of Prairie Moon. In fact, she was so curious about Waldorf education that she decided it was time for her to receive her early childhood teacher degree in Waldorf education from Sunbridge College. This allowed her to teach the Sunflower classroom for one year, after which time she had her second child. Since 2004, Monika has been leading playgroups, and the parent-child class, now called Sweet Peas Garden.
Ms. Nina Kinti-Ross, Spanish and Handwork Teacher
Ms. Kinti-Ross has been a teacher of either young children or university students for most of her adult life. She worked as a primary school teacher in Ecuador for 6 years. In the United States, she has worked with young children in Wisconsin in an After School Program and Head Start, and with primary school children as a Parent Involvement Facilitator and para-educator. In 2007 she was a para-educator at Hillcrest School in Lawrence, KS. In addition to her regular duties, she translated for Spanish-speaking parents and translated the newsletters. She received a B.S. in education and a masters in social work. In addition to her teaching status at Prairie Moon Waldorf School she lectures for the KU Center of Latin American Studies. She enjoys teaching and working with children and looks forward to working this year with the Prairie Moon community.
Ms. Bekah Zachritz, Director of After-Care Program (for early childhood)
Ms. Bekah Zachritz is the Director of the Afternoon Program for early childhood at Prairie Moon, as well as the music teacher for the grades. Ms. Zachritz joined Prairie Moon in January of 2008, after which she led the very first Daisy Garden classroom for the children age 2 years 9 months – 4 years of age.
Originally from Macon, GA, Bekah’s family moved to Topeka just in time for her to attend Topeka High School, where she got to enjoy nurturing her desire to act, sing and put paint on things. Since then she has been performing and teaching theater in the area. Somewhere in between touring elementary schools around the nation with Ric Averill’s Tell-a-Tale players and being a nanny in Kansas City, she received a BA in theater from Washburn University.
Outside of Prairie Moon, Bekah enjoys hanging out with her dog, Blue, and making music with her friends. She is trying to kick off her music with her band, The Belfry Owls, who have performed at the May Music Festival the last three years.
Sue Nutterfield, Bookeeper
Sue joined Prairie Moon in spring of 2007. Even though Sue’s education is in accounting, she has always been involved in the education of children through volunteering, substituting, being a paraprofessional, and now as bookkeeper. She enjoys the learning environment and being involvedin the process of educating our young.
Melissa Watson, Office Manager
Melissa become the Office Manager (ex-officio member of the board) in Summer 2009, but has served on the board since Summer 2008 as Secretary (pro-tem), and Chair of F & E. What brings Melissa to Waldorf education and Prairie Moon is beauty, art, respect for the children, and reverence for where they are developmentally. Melissa’s background is in art– she earned an MFA degree and has experience with commercial design, layout and publishing. She assists Prairie Moon with publications (flyers, ads, etc.). Melissa is detail-oriented, a good listener, a right-brained thinker and enjoys problem solving. She “doesn’t run with scissors…much” – and has a great sense of humor. Oh…and she always welcomes finding chocolate on her desk.