Erica Greenberg is beginning her first year not only living in the city of Seattle but also working as a full-time teacher in August 2006. Born and raised 3,000 miles east of Seattle, in the much smaller town of Portland, Maine, Erica emigrated west in 2001 to attend Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, where she received her B.A. in Religion. She continued to live in Walla Walla following her graduation, serving as an AmeriCorps volunteer at a local elementary school, where she worked as a literacy and math tutor, a facilitator for an advanced fifth grade reading circle, and a Spanish teaching assistant for the school’s dual-immersion language program. In her free time, she enjoys vegetarian cooking (she is currently perfecting her pie-making technique), working in the first garden she has ever had, and attempting to adapt to an urban environment. She intends to continue her education, hoping to attend graduate school to receive her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education in the future.

Erin Robb was born and raised on the Olympic peninsula and moved to Seattle for college where she received her Bachelors of Arts in English Literature. After receiving her teaching certificate from Seattle Pacific University, she has enjoyed working with children in an array of settings including a preschool serving children with disabilities, a parent-child music classroom, a mixed-age Seattle Public School, a k-12 private academy located in Chapel Hill NC, and most recently Seattle’s Lakewood Cooperative Preschool. Throughout all these teaching endeavors, Erin has shared her passion for teaching children social skills and honoring their individual ways of learning. When Erin is not teaching she enjoys spending time with her children and husband, practicing yoga, hiking in the mountains and reading novels.

Kirsten Esslinger grew up in the Puget Sound area before venturing over the mountain passes where she earned her Elementary Education and Reading Specialist degrees at Central Washington University. While in Ellensburg, Kirsten worked in a preschool/daycare, volunteered at several elementary schools, and worked with a middle school alternative program. She has held many jobs at Spruce Street School, beginning in 2003 as a summer camp counselor. During this time she has worked with all grade levels and is currently the Summer Camp Director and an Intern Teacher. When she is not teaching, she can be found reading, riding her bike, playing Boggle, and running around outside.

Laura Gates Montagner is a Seattle native who graduated from Franklin High School and Seattle Pacific University. She taught for four years at University Child Development School in Seattle and two years at Escuela Campo Alegre in Caracas, Venezuela prior to joining the Spruce Street faculty in 2002. Laura has brought boundless energy and a deep commitment to artistically rich, integrated curricula to Spruce Street, offering electives on everything from post-impressionist painting to city planning. She also serves as our Cross Country Coach, cheering our team along each fall. Laura loves good food, dancing and training for the occasional triathlon.

Neill Warfield began his career teaching French in southern Louisiana as a Teach for America corps member. After three years on the bayous he moved even further south to serve as first grade teacher and curriculum coordinator for a small bilingual school in the mountains of Honduras. He readjusted to urban life while teaching in public elementary schools in Manhattan and the South Bronx before returning to his native Seattle to join the Spruce Street faculty in 2002. Neill earned a Bachelors degree in English from Yale University and a Masters in Bilingual Elementary Education from Bank Street College of Education. He speaks Spanish and French fluently and plays the violin semiprofessionally. In his spare time, Neill loves to cook, travel to places with no electricity, and play soccer in the mud.

Shana Reiss de Reyes moved to Seattle from New York City, where she taught for five years in Harlem and the Upper West Side. Growing up in rural upstate New York taught her a love of nature that she brings to the classroom. She earned a bachelors degree from the University of Massachusetts and spent a semester abroad learning Spanish in Spain. She taught preschool for a year in Boston then earned a Masters degree from Columbia University’s Teachers College in Manhattan. While in school she lived at the International House and made many friends from all over the world, including her future husband. She enjoys photography, jewelry making and traveling.

Shawna Wilson, a Pacific Northwest native, growing up in Kirkland, Washington has lived in Seattle for over 14 years. Coming from a long line of teachers, she knew she wanted to teach young children from an early age. Passionate about multiage and the social well-being of children, Spruce Street School is a great match for Shawna. Before receiving her Master in Teaching degree from The Evergreen State College, she earned a Bachelors degree from the University of Washington. When not in the classroom, Shawna, her husband of 11 years, and her 2 young boys love spending time outdoors and traveling just about anywhere.