Enrollment
We are grateful to our teaching staff, and seek to provide competitive compensation to highly qualified, passionate, and well trained professionals.
Becky comes to us with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies and a Master’s Degree in Education, both from Prescott College. We were impressed with her experience working with children in a variety of settings. Becky has taught both in a Head Start program and in a bilingual kindergarten, and has also worked with children at a guidance clinic and at adventure education camps. Becky served as an AmeriCorps member at Roosevelt Elementary School in Olympia.
Becky is passionate about environmental and democratic education, and values an emergent curriculum that is hands-on and empowers students.
Jeriann joined the OCS community in 2006. She brought with her three years of experience teaching in a small teacher/parent governed K-3 school on Vashon Island. Prior to entering the teaching profession, Jeriann studied sustainability and community at The Findhorn Foundation in Scotland and lived in Brazil caring for children through a community service internship. She also served two years as an AmeriCorps member at Roosevelt Elementary School and has taught art and gardening to children in a variety of settings in Olympia. Jeriann is passionate about connecting children to the natural world and providing opportunities for them to make a difference in their own community and beyond. She values individualized, hands-on learning, compassionate communication and tending to the social and emotional growth of children as well as the academic. She believes that real learning occurs when it arises from authentic experiences that have meaning for a child. "As a teacher, it is my job to recognize how each child learns and provide authentic learning experiences while s/he takes ownership of his or her own learning. I love that I get to explore and discover with the kids!" She feels passionate about the mission and core values of OCS and the creativity that she can bring to the curriculum and the classroom. She holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and in 2003 received her Masters in Teaching degree from The Evergreen State College. She is currently working on adding a reading endorsement to her teaching certificate. She also loves being outside, playing in the kitchen, getting crafty, and elephants.
Jen comes to the Olympia Community School as a relatively fresh teacher. Jen has lived in the Olympia area since 2001. She worked as a paraeducator at East Olympia Elementary, Capital High School and Peter G. Schmidt Elementary, and then returned to school to earn her teaching degree. While at Evergreen she worked as an after-school art enrichment teacher at Madison Elementary and volunteered at Peter G. Schmidt. She holds a B.A. and Master in Teaching degree from The Evergreen State College, where she focused on Elementary Education. She has worked in several different public school districts as a substitute teacher. The 3rd/4th/5th grade range is, hands down, her favorite, and she is excited to learn together with her students and community for years to come. Jen uses a constructivist approach to curriculum that allows children to learn by exploration. Hands-on, experiential learning-by-doing, followed by application of skills and knowledge learned is what she likes to see in her classroom. She loves it best when she sees children helping each other to learn, and values the endless, curious questions that shape this developmental stage. She loves knitting and sharing her knitting knowledge, and also loves to show off pictures of her Akita dog, Toshi. Our teachers are supported by teaching interns and work study students from The Evergreen State College and St. Martin’s University. If you are a student of education, please consider the benefits and experience you could gain from an internship at Olympia Community School.Becky Schmid
Jeriann Schriner
Jennifer Chaney
Internships