1st Grade Teacher

Barbara brings over twenty years of teaching experience to Crestmont. After graduating with a BA in Developmental Psychology from UC Berkeley, Barbara began teaching preschool/Pre-K at the H.E. Jones Child Study Center (part of the School of Education at UC Berkeley). From there she went to Cragmont Elementary School in Berkeley to teach 1st grade, followed by ten years at Camino Pablo School in Moraga, during which time she earned her MA in Educational Psychology from Cal. She then left the Bay Area for Prescott, Arizona, where she taught one year of preschool/ Pre-K, followed by nine years of teaching 1st grade at Primavera School. Barbara says 1st grade is her favorite. “I just really appreciate the sense of humor that 1st graders have.”Barbara also appreciates the challenge and frustration that learning to read can present for many 1st graders. Her husband, Marc, learned to read at the age of four without even being taught. Barbara had to work much harder at it, and she credits that struggle with leading her on the path to become a 1st grade teacher. Her delight in helping kids learn to read, and seeing them succeed, is palpable. She loves teaching literature-based reading, and arrived at Crestmont with an extensive library in tow.

Asked what attracted her to Crestmont, Barbara mentioned many things, the first being the “wonderfully supportive community that lets me teach using my methods.” She has spent almost twenty years developing her curriculum, which includes hands-on math, lots of art, and literature-based reading. “The school empowers me to teach reading creatively.” She loves not having to “teach to the test” or use contrived phonics reading materials. She also knew it would be vital in a school of this size that all of the teachers mesh well together. She could sense right away that they would. She says the teachers have a mutual respect not only for each other, but also for what each teacher does in the classroom. She is excited to be a part of such a strong team of teachers who share similar goals and philosophies of education.