About

Lindsey Schnell Preschool Teacher

Lindsey joined Great Oak School as an assistant for the Rose Garden in 2015 and began her Waldorf Teacher Training at Pleaides Initiative in Austin the same year. She grew up in the West Texas town of Midland where she worked in the oil and gas industry. Lindsey has four children ranging from 17 to 4. She has been involved in community theatre as an actor, director and stage hand. She is also a runner, a vegetarian, a recent convert to trough gardening, and a live music fan.

Helen Brinkel Kindergarten Teacher

Helen was born in The Netherlands near Den Haag. After getting married, she lived in Switzerland in the French-speaking city of Neuchatel and then moved to the United States. Helen speaks four languages: Dutch, French, German, and English. Helen has an Early Childhood degree and Elementary degree from Maria Regina College in The Hague, The Netherlands and a Master’s degree in Waldorf Early Childhood Education from Sunbridge College in New York. Helen is a co-founder of Great Oak School and has also served on the Board of Directors of Great Oak School since the school’s inception until April 2017. Helen is a talented handwork artist and has an ongoing interest in art, music, theater, and cooking.

Vanessa Williams Kindergarten Teacher

Vanessa joined the Great Oak Staff in the fall of 2018. She holds two degrees, a bachelors in piano performance, and a masters in music history. She has taught in the classroom for 15 years and has devoted her last 7 years to teaching music to families with young children and developing music and movement curriculum for several preschools. She holds music certifications including Kindermusik and Smithsonian World Music Pedagogy. She has also studied yoga through several organizations earning her RYT 200 in 2018, and enjoys teaching both children and adults. Currently she is working on her Waldorf certification through The West Coast Institute for Studies in Anthroposophy. Vanessa lives in the Woodlands with her husband and two sons. Her other hobbies include rock climbing, camping, hiking, and writing folk songs for children.

Beth Holden Parent Child Teacher

Beth’s family joined the Great Oak School community in 2015. As a parent she sat on various committees including the Parent Education Committee, lead the Simplicity Parenting study group and substituted for Parent Child classes as needed. Beth also organizes the annual Ladies Handwork Retreat. She joins the faculty as lead Parent Child Teacher in the upcoming 2019/2020 school year. Beth grew up in West Texas and moved to The Woodlands area in 1995. She enjoys studying holistic nutrition and herbal medicine, is passionate about working with parents and their children, and she loves music, theater, yoga, crafts, and coffee. Her husband Buck is a member of the Board of Trustees and all three of their children attend Great Oak School.

Tami Arndt-Beatty First Grade Teacher

Tami was born and raised in the small Northern California coastal village of Point Reyes Station. As a young adult she was employed as a nanny in Hawaii where she discovered Waldorf education. This discovery lead her to pursue a study in anthroposophy on the islands and ultimately to return to California to enroll in the Bay Area Waldorf Teacher Training. Tami graduated in 2002 and started her family in West Marin. Over the course of her teaching career, Tami has taught as an assistant and lead teacher in a home preschool using Waldorf principles, was an assistant at Marin Waldorf School for four years and eventually created and opened her own home-based preschool inspired by Waldorf education once her two sons were born. In January 2015 Tami moved to the Houston area with her husband and three children. Tami taught as a Lead Kindergarten Teacher at Bayou Village School in Houston for two years. Tami is an active runner, enjoys crafts and creative work and is devoted to her family.

Hayley Kay Haynes Second Grade Teacher

Hayley joined Great Oak School in the Spring of 2014 as a child shadow in the 1st and 2nd grade classes. Since then she has worked 2 years as an early childhood assistant and approximately 2 years as an assistant for 1st through 6th grade. She has led a 1st grade play and a 6 grade play. She has also taught movement, handwork, and substituted in every grade level throughout the years. Hayley has her Bachelors of Arts in Child and Adolescent Psychology and has started her Master’s of Education and Waldorf Certification in the summer of 2018. Hayley enjoys drawing, hand work, obstacle course training, theater, and working with children.

Dawn Coe Third Grade Teacher

Dawn received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas and her Waldorf teacher certification and Master’s in Education from Rudolf Steiner College in California. For her Master’s Capstone project, Dawn created a math curriculum based on origami for grades one through eight. Dawn feels that her greatest accomplishment has been in the homeschool education of her five daughters that spanned two and a half decades. Having tested Waldorf methods in her own home laboratory, Dawn became convinced early on that it is the education of the future. The top two items on Dawn’s bucket list are living long enough to celebrate her 80th wedding anniversary and assisting the birth of an accredited Waldorf school in the Houston area. Dawn also created and currently teaches a series of adult education classes to help parents learn more about the philosophy behind Waldorf education. Dawn’s favorite artistic media are fiber arts, sandcastling, origami and photomontage; and she recharges by gardening, dancing with her husband, and hacking up stacks of magazines to feed her photomontage habit.

Angela Maar Fourth & Fifth Grade Teacher

Angela grew up in Austria, where she graduated from a business school. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Keene State College in Sociology and French. She is currently pursuing her Master’s of Education and Waldorf certification at Antioch University. She has worked as a Key Account Manager for three industrial valve companies dealing with companies in the chemical, pulp and paper, water and waste water, as well as the oil & gas industry throughout Europe. Together with her husband Wolfgang and their two sons, she moved to Texas in 2008. Angela taught German in diverse settings before joining Great Oak School in spring of 2016 as the German teacher and becoming a lead teacher in 2017. She joined the Great Oak School’s Board of Trustees in 2017. Angela’s hobbies include bikram yoga, weight lifting, reading, cooking, skiing, snowboarding, running, and writing.

Tara Roth Middle School Teacher

Tara grew up on the East Coast and received her B.S. in Geology and Anthropology from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. After working as a geologist for 6 years she completed Masters’ work in Structural Geology from Arizona State University while simultaneously working as a resource geologist in the southwest. Tara discovered Waldorf after moving to Houston in 2008 and searching for a like-minded community. She was very active in the Great Oak parent community for 7 years, teaching hands-on workshops and supporting the school in any way she could. She began teaching math and science blocks for the Middle School in the Spring of 2018. Tara just completed her first summer at Antioch College New England where she is studying to receive her M.Ed. in Waldorf Education and a Waldorf Teaching Certificate. Her hobbies are anything involving the use of her hands, including gardening, cooking, fermenting all the things, woodwork, eco-printing and natural dyeing, fiber arts, jewelry making, bookbinding and leatherwork.

Angela Harris Middle School Teacher

Angela was born in Southern California and has since lived in or near five major cities, including San Francisco and New York. Growing up, she enjoyed a bit of an unconventional education and, together with her husband, decided to homeschool their two boys. In 2011, Angela co-founded a learning community for homeschoolers in Northern New Jersey and began teaching a variety of subjects including world history, literature, and writing. She has contributed articles to online magazines such as Education Revolution (AERO). Before moving to Texas in 2013, Angela piloted a course for a fellow homeschool mom and former NASA Goddard rocket scientist which focused on teaching math concepts to young children through play and exploration. In 2015, she became a staff teacher for Brave Writer, LLC. During the 2018 academic year, Angela served Great Oak School as an after-care teacher initially and then as the Preschool Assistant in the Butterfly Garden. She will begin her Master of Education with Waldorf certificate training in the Summer of 2020. Angela enjoys practicing yoga, writing, and photography. In her spare time, she manages multiple youth baseball teams in the Houston area.

Becky Blanton Handwork & Gardening Teacher

Becky was born and raised in rural west-central Wisconsin in a small farming community. Her love of all things handmade started at an early age when she participated in 4-H learning many skills including hardanger embroidery, pattern drafting and clothing construction. She received a BA in Costume Design from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. Becky has worked in the costume shops of The Guthrie and The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis, MN, and the Houston Grand Opera. She has a permaculture design certificate from Urban Harvest (Houston), and as the community gardens coordinator for Urban Harvest, taught gardening classes for adults and children in addition to providing support for over 100 community gardens in the Houston area. She and her husband, JR, have two children Jack and Cecelia. Her family joined the Great Oak community in the Fall of 2014, when her son Jack enrolled, and Becky became an enthusiastic garden volunteer. Becky’s interests include gardening, cooking, handwork, music, reading, and spending time with her family.

Dana Fleming German Teacher

A German teacher since 1987, Dana pours a great deal of energy into every type of lesson. She thrives on the versatility and flexibility teachers must demonstrate at a young school. She enjoys teaching adults as well as children, offering classes and workshops. Dana joined Great Oak School’s Faculty in Fall 2012, and served for 6 years on the Great Oak School’s Board of Directors. She has taken two wonderful groups of children from first through fifth grade as a Waldorf class teacher. Dana is married to a theoretical physicist who cooks like a chef and invents astonishing things. Education: B.A., University of California, San Diego and M.A., M. Phil., and ABD, German Literature, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Dana completed her Waldorf Class Teacher Training at Sunbridge College while earning her Foundation Studies Certificate in Austin.

Marine Kojanyan Eurythmy Teacher

Marine has a BS in Chemistry and MS in Biology from Yerevan State University, Armenia. She has a Certified Diploma and also Advanced Level in Artistic Eurythmy from Eurythmeum School, Stuttgart, Germany. She performed artistic eurythmy in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, Scotland and Poland. Marine became a Eurythmy Teacher at Great Oak School in 2013. She is also a dance teacher and choreographer in The Russian Musical Theater for Children in Houston, TX and an art teacher at the Russian Sunday School in Houston, TX. Marine’s interests include dance, music, art, literature, design, traveling, plants and swimming.

Heather Matthews Strings Teacher

Heather grew up in the Houston area and graduated from Klein High School. She and her husband have been married for 19 years and have 3 children ranging from 7 to 15 years old. Mrs. Matthews holds a degree in Music from Pensacola Christian College where she studied violin with Dr. Alberto Jaffé. She has been playing professionally and teaching strings classes and private lessons since 1994. Over the years, she has been hired to play in concert halls, recording studios, musical theater orchestras, weddings, and other special events. She has taught strings in both public and private schools as well as college pedagogy courses. Many of her students have received music scholarships. Mrs. Matthews enjoys being involved in her church where she plays violin and piano and sings in the choir. She also plays violin with the Symphony North of Houston.

Hilda Rueda Spanish Teacher & Art Teacher

Hilda is a native Spanish speaker and teacher, born in Columbia, who has taught the language abroad in public and private school settings. Hilda is a talented artist who possesses a deep love for connection and learning. She joined Great Oak School in Spring 2016.

Paul Sommer Strings Orchestra Teacher

Paul is the founder and director of Instruments of Praise bands and orchestras. Since 1993, he has directed over 100 home-school and private school bands and orchestras in the Greater Houston area. His professional life includes teaching, performing, speaking and conducting at various churches and schools. He has a B.B.A. from Baruch College in New York City. Throughout the years, his bands and orchestras and students have been recognized for their musical excellence and individual achievements and have received numerous awards. Paul has four children ranging from ages 18 to 24 who still play their string and/or brass instruments along with him in a local orchestra. Along with his passion for music, he enjoys the beautiful outdoors while fishing, kayaking, hiking and biking.

Zuzana Leckova Enrollment & Finance Director

Zuzana has a BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, MBA in Managerial Accounting from Pace University, New York, NY and MS in Taxation from Fordham University, New York, NY. She is a CPA in the state of New York. Zuzana’s accounting and tax experience ranges from Big Four Accounting Firm to VP of Tax in The Royal Bank of Scotland plc. She has served on the Board of Directors of Great Oak School as the Treasurer from January 2010 until becoming a full time staff member at Great Oak School in November 2014. Zuzana joined the board back in September 2016. Zuzana’s two daughters Emma and Kate joined Great Oak School in September 2009, when the school first opened its doors. Zuzana loves traveling, photography, tennis and music.

Britney Maxwell Shirk Administrator

Britney holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Akron University. She also works part-time as a child and family counselor. Britney and her three children found Great Oak School in 2012. They fell in love with the community and have been happily connected ever since that time. In free time, Britney enjoys yoga, her artistic endeavors, cooking, traveling and the outdoors. Britney is grateful for the opportunity to connect children, families and teachers together at Great Oak School.

Toby Rolf Administrative Assistant

Kathy Morgan Before Care & After Care Teacher