Faculty & Staff
Early Childhood Faculty
Jill Weber, Lead Kindergarten Teacher
While studying anthropology in university, Jill became aware of Waldorf education, and after moving to the west coast, further explored ‘being human’ through the lens of Rudolf Steiner’s works and anthroposophy. She completed her Waldorf teacher training in Eugene, Oregon, in 2012, and has been teaching in outdoor kindergarten programs since then, first in Oregon, and then in southeast Iowa. She is inspired by a holistic approach to education, one which calls not only on students’ intellectual capacities for learning, but on their hearts and active bodies, as well. She appreciates the continual renewal of imagination, inner flexibility and warmth that come through working with young children, and is committed to helping build strong foundations through time in Nature, consistent rhythms and healthy sensory experiences.
Diana Guzman, Assistant Kindergarten Teacher
Diana has always enjoyed working with children. Since she was a young girl she helped alongside her mother, a pioneer of nature-connected teaching in Colombia. Although Diana’s formal education was in systems and technology, she returned to her vocation of working with children. She has taken the LifeWays/Early Childhood training and enjoys Waldorf philosophy. She worked at Singing Cedars School in 2017-2018, Maharishi School 2019-2020, and has returned to Singing Cedars.
Patricia Cornelius, Kindergarten Aftercare Teacher
Patricia is an experienced Waldorf early childhood teacher and school administrator with 20+ years of experience. She began her career in 1998 as an assistant kindergarten teacher at The Waldorf School of Philadelphia (WSP). In September 2003, she was hired as a lead teacher in a mixed-age early childhood program at WSP where she worked until January 2021. In addition to working in the kindergarten, Patricia held an administrative position at WSP as Faculty Chair from 2016-2020. She loves being with and supporting young children, especially through the Waldorf early childhood curriculum. She is the mother of six and now resides in Fairfield.
In addition to being a kindergarten teacher, Patricia is a certified yoga teacher who has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1992. In her personal time she enjoys reading, walking, cooking, gardening, handwork, yoga and meditation.
Grades Program Faculty
Erin Adams, Grade 1 Teacher
Erin grew up in the town of Fairfield where her love for nature and art, including camping, hiking, swimming, watercolor, drawing, and crafting were strongly supported. After graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in elementary school education, she became a public school educator teaching art. Throughout the next 10 years Erin taught other areas of elementary education, including 4th and 5th grade and supporting fellow teachers with curriculum and instruction. As her own child grew closer to school age, Erin began exploring more holistic approaches to education. In her own words, she shares, “My family loves and values imagination, nature, and the arts and I wanted to be able to incorporate this into my daughter’s schooling and my own teaching. When I found Singing Cedars I knew that this was exactly the community I had been searching for.”
Martha Mullenneaux Sperry, Grades 2 & 3 Teacher
Martha Mullenneaux Sperry comes with extensive teaching experience in a variety of school settings and homeschooling environments. Her love of nature, art, learning, growing, animals, and children drew her to Waldorf education as the choice for her own children.
True to the fundamentals of the Waldorf classroom, Martha creates an atmosphere where learning is integrated in the body, mind, and spirit. By accepting the diverse interests and aptitudes of each individual, the love of self is instilled.