Experienced, Devoted, Present
Meet the Teachers
Kelly Kietzman
Grades 4/5
Long ago, Teacher Kelly rode the trolleys and subways of Philadelphia to get to her college classes at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a BA in Religious Studies. A bit later in life, she walked through wooded, hilly paths to an enlivening world of Waldorf teacher training at Antioch University New England. Now she is grateful to live and play amongst the majestic lakes, mountains, rivers and forests of Northern Idaho, where she has taught for the past 12 years. Woven within her traditional education, has been a study of art, music, movement, storytelling, deep nature connection and ancestral healing and skills. It is these things that deeply inspire her to bring her most authentic and inspired self to the world and her teaching. Teacher Kelly loves working at The Hedge because of the land, the children and their families and the beautiful and meaningful curriculum that The Hedge provides.
Teacher Gerald has been involved in anthroposophy since 1981 and started a Waldorf homeschooling venture in 1991 for two years, taught full time as a class teacher at the Sandpoint Waldorf School for 16 years and has been tutoring, mentoring (including China), subbing, teaching blocks for an additional 7 years for 25 total years involvement in Waldorf. He has a BA in Social Science from CSU Chico. He is very pleased to be able to teach here at this thriving school with such wonderful colleagues.
Teacher Gerald
Grade 3
Carron Mulligan
Grades 1/2
Teacher Carron earned a B.A. in Sociology and a teaching certificate in Waldorf Education. She has been teaching, co-teaching and mentoring in Waldorf schools and initiatives in Canada, Peru and the U.S. since 2003 and is grateful that her path has led her to co-founding The Hedge School. Carron is thriving in our classrooms and out on the land working with mixed aged classes and appreciates the intimate relationship she is able to develop with the students and families at The Hedge School. Teacher Carron brings courage, devotion, wisdom, creativity and playfulness to her work in our school community.
Cara Johnson
Nature Crafts Teacher
Teacher Cara experienced all of her childhood in the mountains, forests and lakes of North Idaho. After high school, she went North to Alaska for the next 10 years, where she studied fine art at the University of Alaska, Anchorage and immersed herself in the wild lands of the North. Skiing, hiking, and mountaineering filled her days as she also completed a Diploma in Herbal Medicine from the Australasian College of Herbal Medicine. The birth of her son in 2004, brought her back to Sandpoint to be amongst family. Teacher Cara has always been inspired to mentor children and has over 25 years of experience teaching art programs for youth of all ages. She is an artist, wild plant crafter, skier, lover of light and form, natural teacher, and pollinator advocate. Teacher Cara adores innocence and beauty. She loves working at the Hedge because of the deep meaningfulness woven into every day and the devotion to nurturing each person’s authentic free being to come forth and be honored.
Elinor is a native Spanish speaker from Mexicali, Mexico. Her first experience teaching was at Walt Disney Elementary school in San Ramon, California, in 1997. Though her career was brief, she was a sensation with a rush to video her classes for future use. Elinor then resumed teaching at the Waldorf school in Sandpoint for one year in 2004. As Elinor and her husband, Rick, met more people in Sandpoint, inquiries were made if they would teach/tutor Spanish, which was a pleasure to oblige. Teaching private lessons to individuals from 6 years old to 60+ for the past 15 years, Elinor has experience and a serious, yet playful nature in her approach to effectively teach Spanish.
Professora Elinor
Foreign Language Teacher
Professor Rick
Foreign Language Teacher
Rick has been teaching Spanish for 24 years. Teaching in 1999 before he was certified to teach Spanish in 2004, he has always had an interest in the Spanish language, especially after meeting his wife, Elinor in 1991. With the birth of their daughter in 1998, Rick and Elinor moved from San Ramon, California to Sandpoint to raise their children. Aside from Spanish, Rick has taught English, journalism, history, and psychology. In San Ramon he was a supervisor for the parks and community services department running adult sports, special events and more. In addition to teaching in the public school and privately at home, Rick has recently written a historic fiction novel, The Last Conquerors.
With a background in Montessori education, Teacher Jenna has been serving children and their families for over 14 years. Passionate about local food and communal resilience, she has been diligently expanding both her garden and her land-based knowledge for over a decade. She specializes in empathy building and anti-bias work with both children and adults. When not teaching, you may find her writing, in the kitchen, or frolicing around town with her family. These days, she is increasingly pulled to spend her time participating in the growing movements of 'Rewilding' & ancestral skill revival, and is elated to be joining the Hedge community.
