BH DEVELOPMENTAL PHILOSOPHY:

We believe that children construct their knowledge of the world through hands-on, integrated, and active child-centered learning experiences.
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Berkwood Hedge School
1809 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94703

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Classroom Teachers

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Hanan Masri, Kindergarten SPIRIT Teacher

Hanan graduated from Brown University with a degree in English and American Literature, focusing on texts by 20th century women of color. She completed the credentialing program at National Hispanic University in San Jose and taught kindergarten in East Palo Alto and El Cerrito before coming to Berkwood Hedge. Hanan has actively served on the school's Diversity Committee for several years and is currently one of its co-chairs. In addition to speaking Arabic, Hanan is studying Spanish in hopes of becoming fluent. She has been teaching kindergarten at Berkwood Hedge since 2001.

Sela Steiger, Kindergarten SPIRIT and Grade 1 WOOD and Grade 2 EARTH Assistant Teacher, Aftershool Teacher

Sela was born and raised in Berkeley and is excited to be returning home after four years at Oberlin College. She has always enjoyed working with children, spending many summers as a counselor at Berkeley's JCC summer camp and tutoring during the school year at Oberlin's Prospect Elementary School in Ohio. Sela has spent the last two summers at College Preparatory School in Oakland teaching in the Partners program for academically motivated OUSD middle school students. Pursuing her passion in progressive learning and teaching, Sela will be working in the SPIRIT and WOOD classrooms, as well as helping out with the Afterschool and Lunchtime programs.

Marti Mogensen, Grade 1 WOOD Teacher

Marti received her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and Social Sciences from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire. She earned her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education with an elementary teaching credential at UW-LaCrosse. Marti has taught in Wisconsin, Alaska and California, including four years at Berkwood Hedge ending in 1996. She returned to Berkwood Hedge to teach first grade in 2004.

Elisa Edwards, Grade 1 WOOD Math Teacher, Grade 2 Math Teacher

Elisa earned her B.A and M.S.Ed at Sarah Lawrence College in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Her Master's thesis was in first grade mathematics assessment. From 1997-2000 she taught second through fourth grade at the Muscota New School in Manhattan and participated in the Mathematics in the City program at City College. She taught math and literacy to third through fifth graders in San Luis Obispo before arriving at Berkwood Hedge in 2006.

Kristin Kinnings, Grade 2 EARTH Teacher

Kristin graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2001 with a degree in biology. Kristin has taught internationally and locally, working and volunteering with fifth and sixth grade science students in Katauna, Nepal, seventh and eighth grade science and physical education students in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood, and pre-school and early grade children in Chiapas, Mexico. She received her teaching credential in 2007. Kristin joined Berkwood Hedge in 2006, working in the Afterschool program and as the Assistant Teacher in the third grade. In 2007, she began co-teaching with Deanne in the second grade class.

Seema Patel, Grade 3 AIR Teacher

Seema is the third grade AIR teacher at Berkwood Hedge School. She graduated from from U.C. Irvine with a B. S. in Psychology and Social Behavior, with a minor in Spanish. She continued her Spanish education when she moved to Spain for a year, earning her Teaching English as a Foreign Language Certificate. Back in the Bay Area, she received a Bilingual Multiple Subject Credential and an M.A. in Elementary Education (Critical Research on Language, Culture, and Society) from San Jose State University. Seema taught first and second grade at Cherrywood Elementary School in the Berryessa Unified School District for three years before joining the Berkwood Hedge staff in 2006.

Patricia West, Kindergarten SPIRIT and Grade 3 EARTH Teacher

Patricia graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2001 with a B.A. in English and minors in Education and Dance. In 2004 she taught second grade at Matsumoto Elementary in San Jose. In 2004 Patricia received her M.A. in Elementary Education (Critical Research on Language, Culture, and Society) from San Jose State University. Most recently, Patricia taught third grade at Windrush School in El Cerrito.

Patricia is also a professional dancer who performs and tours throughout the United States.

Erica Ryan, Grade 4 WATER Teacher and K-5 Environmental Science Specialist

Erica graduated from the College of Natural Resources at U.C. Berkeley in 2002. After graduating, she worked for one year at Berkwood Hedge in the Afterschool program and as a classroom assistant. Erica left Berkwood Hedge to earn her teaching credential at Mills College. She returned in 2005 to teach Environmental Science in kindergarten through fifth grade. In 2006, she began co-teaching the fourth grade class while continuing to work as the Science Specialist. In 2007, she set a personal goal of becoming bilingual and began studying Spanish at Berkeley City College.

Vera Balarin, Grade 4 WATER Teacher and Grade 5 FIRE Math Specialist

Vera graduated with degrees in Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science from the University of Zagreb in Croatia. She worked as a programmer for several years in Switzerland, Austria, Croatia and the United States. Before joining the Berkwood Hedge teaching staff in 1999, Vera conducted math workshops for elementary age students.

Marianne Burkhead, Grade 5 FIRE Teacher

Marianne received her undergraduate degree and teaching credential from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she majored in English and Education. She began teaching in non-traditional settings, including a GED program at an in-patient drug treatment program and a high school completion program at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina. From there, she moved into a position teaching sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Charlotte Country Day School, where she taught for 24 years. In 1986, she received a Master's Degree in Middle Grades Education from Queens College in Charlotte. Marianne began teaching at Berkwood Hedge in 2001.

Loxie Hoshino, Learning Specialist & Assistant Teacher, Grades 2 EARTH, 4 WATER and 5 SPIRIT

Loxie received her undergraduate degree from Mills College. She worked at computer software companies for many years before enrolling at Holy Names University to earn her Master's in Education with an emphasis in Educational Therapy. She has been working at Berkwood Hedge since 1998, beginning as a classroom Assistant and since 2005, working as a Learning Specialist as well as an Assistant Teacher.