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Details: Parent Category: About Us; Published on Saturday, 29 August 2009 20:31

	Jennifer Thompson Secondary School Director and High School Math Teacher BS Applied Mathematics, UCLA M.Ed, UCLA Jennifer is also the College Counselor. She has been with Oak Grove since 2006. "My daughter, Grace, has attended Oak Grove since Kindergarten, and that was our introduction to the school. I believe in the school, its intent and the way the school values the development of the whole student. I love being a learner right alongside the students, parents and staff here."
	Paul Herder High School English Teacher BA, Philosophy, Connecticut College MA International Education, School for International Training Advanced Certificate in TESL “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” –Robert Frost Why Oak Grove? To ask impossible questions…
	Addie Deupree High School Science Teacher BA in Human Ecology, College of the Atlantic M.Ed, Secondary Science Teaching Certificate, UCSB This is Addie's first year at Oak Grove School. She loves being active in the outdoors and investigating the interconnectedness of relationships in nature. She is very excited to be working at Oak Grove!
	Will Hornblower High School History and Religion, Culture, and Ethics Teacher BA in Latin American Studies, University of Chicago M.Ed, UCSB Will joined the Oak Grove community in 2011, coming from Mountain View High School in the Bay Area. Before making the transition to formal classroom teaching, Will worked in outdoor education for many years, having the opportunity to teach kids in nature's classroom. In his free time, you will find Will sailing the world, rafting the great western rivers, exploring the wide open spaces, and surfing the waves of the Central Coast. Why Oak Grove? Oak Grove's emphasis on inquiry based learning and Oak Grove's emphasis on sustainability and appreciation for nature. “We shall never achieve harmony with the land, anymore than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve but to strive.” - Aldo Leopold
	Nick Blake Physics Teacher BA, Chemistry, University of East Angla (UEA) Natural Sciences/Education, Homeston College PhD Quantum Electrodynamics, UEA Nick has worked with Oak Grove High School students teaching Physics and Computing for the past three years. He has also conducted 15 years Post Doctorate Research at UCSB in Physics and Chemistry. "I am learning to overcome my English conditioning and to become a healthy, happy, presence."
	Russ Bowen High School Spanish Teacher BA International Management, Florida Southern College MA Spanish, Middlebury College Russ lived in Spain for two years completing his master’s degree and working for a leadership training organization. Since then, he has taught, translated, interpreted, and tutored Spanish periodically and traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Argentina, and Uruguay. One of his goals is to complete professional development in at least half of the 21 Spanish-speaking countries. “If you don’t make a difference with your life, what difference does your life make?”
	Mia Bortolussi High School Registrar and Art Teacher BFA, California Institute of the Arts I graduated Oak Grove in 1998 before attending Cal Arts as a Photography major. I have been a graphic designer and professional photographer for 7 years now, first with a Ventura based firm and now for my own business. I began teaching at Moorpark Community College in 2006 and at Cal State Northridge in 2007. "I'm so excited to be coming back to Oak Grove after all these years. To share an art building with Christy Sylvester, who was my art teacher from 2nd through 12th grades, is amazing."
	Ron Schindel 8th Grade Homeroom Teacher & Junior High Math/Science Teacher BA, Liberal Studies, CSUN Teaching Credential, CSUCI Ron began teaching at Oak Grove in 2007. He has two children attending Oak Grove. When he is not teaching or playing sports with his students he enjoys playing soccer with the big kids and spending time outdoors.
	Faith Reynado 7th Grade Homeroom Teacher & Junior High Humanities and PE Teacher BA History, UCSB M.Ed, UCSB My passion for teaching lies in the opportunity to help students explore their curiosities about the world around them and sustain an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.I have taught at Carpinteria High School and Junior High, and spent last summer pursuing graduate work at Georgetown University under the James Madison Fellowship Foundation. I am also an avid traveler, and have spent many years trekking the globe. I am grateful for the opportunity to rejoin the Oak Grove community this year!

	Camille Carlson-Holly Junior High Spanish Teacher BA Spanish, UCSB; TESOL certificate UCSB Extension Before joining the OGS faculty in 2010 Camille taught Spanish for five years at Monica Ros School in Ojai. Her passion for world languages and cultures has led her to travels around the globe and a six month study abroad in Santiago, Chile. “I believe that learning and speaking a new language can be one of life’s most enriching experiences. Having grown up in Ojai, I am excited to finally join the OGS community and learn from children while sharing an important aspect of my personal heritage: the Spanish language.”

	Karen Hesli Junior High Advisory Teacher BS, Education, University of Minnesota Karen has played many key roles at Oak Grove for the past 31 years, as a homeroom teacher and most notably the Elementary/Junior High School Director. In her present role she supports junior high students as they transition from children to young adults. "I’ve been trying to live off the grid in Matilija Canyon since 1985, loving the Los Padres as my backyard. I also do wreath-making and massage at home. At Oak Grove I love to participate in learning together about varieties of things, but mostly about how to live together peacefully."
	Debra Rose Library Teacher BA Zoology, UC Berkeley MA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Irvine MA Counseling Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute Debra has been the Library Teacher since 2006. Her background includes lots of pottery and drawing classes as well as computer modeling and geography Information Systems classes. Debra and her husband have one daughter who is currently enrolled in our junior high program. "I’ve been lucky and/or foolish enough to have many careers: zoology, computer programming, accounting, psychological counseling and a lot of teaching. Teaching is the best with my favorite moments doing HS ceramics and teaching poetry in our Owl's Nest Library. Oak Grove is my dream school because the teachers are so dedicated to excellence and community that working with them is a joy."

	Rory Stalwick High School Music Teacher AA, Early Childhood Education, Ventura College; Degree in Guitar, Musician’s Institute UCLA Recording Engineering Program Rory runs the popular Rock Academy at Oak Grove School, teaches High School music classes and manages the Oak Grove Recording Studio. He has been with the school in various capacities since 1999. "I have my own recording studio and record label – Yellow Magic Studio and Pure fun Records. I love the ocean – surfing, sailing and diving. My car runs on vegetable oil. . . In a world where societies are developed with greed and war and corporate blindness, Oak Grove offers a chance to change that outcome."
	Aron Van Alstine Junior High Music and Spanish Teacher BA Education, University of Wisconsin Certification in Music and Movement Education, American Orff Schulwek Association Aron began teaching music to our elementary and junior high students in 2003. "I worked with the Peace Corps in Bolivia on community development and health education. I am at Oak Grove because of the relationships I’ve developed with teachers, students, parents and administrators."
	Christy Sylvester Junior High Art and High School Ceramics Teacher Brooks Institute of Photography Ventura College San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Christy has taught art and ceramics at Oak Grove since 1981, and her two sons each attended the school. In addition to her role as the much-loved Elementary Art Teacher, Christy teaches Junior High Art and High School Ceramics. "My whole family usually hangs out in the kitchen creating delicious colorful food, each one an artist. I am a granny to 3 boys, and I love the fact that my students become my dear friends as they grow with me and often they end up in the kitchen too. Oak Grove is like a family, everyone is special and dear to my heart!"
	Kristy Lee ESL Teacher and International Admissions Associate BA Liberal Studies/History, New University Eugene Lang College, TESOL certified, University of California Santa Barbara Kristy is a graduate of Oak Grove High School. In addition to managing the High School office, she is teaching ESL. "I have a keen interest in bookbinding. In the actual creating of and sharing of this skill. The style I usually like to use is known as Japanese stab-binding. I am glad to be back at Oak Grove so I can contribute to a place that is very special to me."
	Bo Ainsworth Athletic Director BA History, UCSB Bo graduated from Oak Grove in 1998 and began working here in 2006. He comes from an Oak Grove familiy. His first born son attends Oak Grove Kindergarten and his father, Jake, teaches Physical Education at the Elementary School. Bo is also the Boys' Soccer Coach. "I love traveling, backpacking and all sports. My wife, Kamala, is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at UCSB and we have two young sons. I think OGS creates well rounded, educated, confident kids."
	Jake Ainsworth Volleyball Coach BA Psychology, UCLA ESL Certificate, UCSB A 26-year Oak Grove staff member, Jake is the Elementary P.E. Teacher, All-School Camping Coordinator and High School Girls' Volleyball Coach. He is the oldest of three Oak Grove generations. His son, Bo, an Oak Grove alumnus is the High School Athletic Director and his grandson attends the Early Childhood Program. While not teaching, Jake enjoys spending time alone in the wilderness.
	Jason Spelbring Junior High and High School Theatre Arts Teacher AA, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts BFA, Webster University, Theatre MFA, University of California, Irvine, Theatre Jason joined the Oak Grove School community in 2011 from Sage Hill School in Newport Beach, Ca. where he taught in the theatre department and directed several main stage productions, including Cinderella, The Game of Love and Chance and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. He has had the pleasure of teaching theatre at Pine Grove School, Harwinton Consolidated School and Bugbee School all in Connecticut. Jason holds his BFA in Theatre from Webster University Conservatory of Theatre Arts and his MFA in Theatre from the University of California, Irvine. “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find that you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to make today worth remembering.” -The Music Man by Meredith Wilson