CATCHING UP WITH TEACHERS

I came to Village School by way of Tumbleweed Day Camp. I was a year-round camp director at Tumbleweed and during the school year I drove one of the school buses for Village. Even before I began my career at Village School, I would come and watch the winter concert, the variety show, and the 6th grade play. These are still some of my favorite traditions here at Village.

When I decided to leave Tumbleweed, I knew Village was where I wanted to work. The students I drove to school every day were kind and caring. In 2002 I started out in the TK classroom. Since then, I have worked in almost every grade from TK–3rd, with most of my teaching years spent in 2nd grade. In 2nd grade one of my favorite projects was the Rainforest project. Even though I did many Rainforest projects over the years, somehow each year was just as fun and satisfying to watch the students’ presentations come together. Seeing them become experts on their Rainforest animal and the pride they showed in sharing their newly acquired knowledge with friends is something I never grew tired of seeing.

What I love about Village School is that even though it is a private school and students live in many different areas, it still feels like a neighborhood school, and that’s because of the parents and students. After 21 years, how many people can still say they love coming to work every day? I am most certainly one of those people.

I always knew I wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher ever since I could remember. Spending my day with these amazing young minds and their warm smiles brings me so much joy. Kindergarten is definitely my happy place! The excitement of teaching children and their love of learning is something I cherish. I always strive to create a warm, safe and nurturing environment for every child to feel successful. I have been teaching at Village for 25 years and have seen so much growth with the campus, curriculum, and extraordinary educators who are some of my dearest friends and family. Village is a wonderful place and has been instrumental in who I am today. I always say each year “I’ll be back if I don’t win the lottery,” but I already know I won the lottery being part of this amazing place.

Being part of the Village School community has been a wonderful journey! To my family and me, Village is more than a school or a job; it is our home away from home. Village is the place where I not only get to share about my heritage through the Spanish language program, but also a place where I have found the most dedicated and supportive administration, inspiring colleagues, and the most updated resources for our students. Having two of my own children graduate from here has also been a wonderful experience, as I have gotten to see them go out into the world and keep with them the Village Values and traditions that characterize Village. I am very proud and grateful to be part of this community.

Working at Village School has always been more than just a job to me, it’s been a calling. I knew this the moment I first stepped on to the campus to interview for the position of Director of Physical Education and Athletics. The Village School community was much smaller back then, but it reminded me of the elementary school that I attended when I was a child. It was a place where the teachers I worked with everyday inspired, supported, and celebrated me. Though much has changed at Village School over my 23 years, these teaching principles remain the cornerstones of our school’s mission. And being a physical education and wellness teacher is fun! I get to spend my time in a gym or outdoors, teach and play games, and see firsthand the positive effects my work has on students, as they grow and learn over their years at Village School.

When I was interviewed by Nora Malone in 2000 and toured the campus, I knew I wanted to be part of the Village School Family. I was lucky enough to become the Transitional Kindergarten lead teacher at Village.

I felt very comfortable and happy to work in such a friendly environment. I was able to expand my passion for teaching and develop a new TK curriculum. I was so excited to bring the Letterland phonics program to the school from my previous experience teaching in England. I was sad to leave in 2004, but also excited to start a family.

Three years ago, my children now in high school, life led me to ask about positions at Village. It was amazing to see the La Cruz campus, it was the plant nursery when I left in 2004! Even though Village has expanded since I was first here it still has that same friendly warm environment. The Village Values are still the same. I was excited to have the opportunity to return “home.”

There is something very special about teaching at Village School and I am proud to be a part of this community.

Stephanie Walker

I have had the privilege to work at Village School for the last 16 years. I knew from the moment I stepped through the front gates that I had found a special place. Immediately I knew that I just had to work at this school. I can’t say how, but I knew I had found a place where it would be safe to learn and grow. I just didn’t expect to experience this so profoundly, alongside the students.

I have seen this school through its highs and lows, through love and loss; through change and innovation. Village has seen me through these same motions. Like many students, teachers, and even parents; I grew up here.

A lot has changed at Village over the last 16 years. We have new students, new teachers, new leadership, new classrooms, and new traditions. Despite all of this change, the heart is still the same. I did not know that I would be in one place for so long, but the magic of Village is what has kept me here. I still get the same feeling every time I walk through the front gates.

Founded by a group of parents in 1977, Village had several locations before settling on Swarthmore Avenue.

Village School was founded in 1977, in Santa Monica, by a group of parents who were committed to building a strong neighborhood school for their children. The school has had several homes in Pacific Palisades over the years before settling in its current location. We celebrate the visionaries, the families and community leaders, and the generations of dedicated educators, all of whom established the foundation and the “scaffolding” to support all that we have accomplished to this date. The future continues to be very bright for Village School.

The Swarthmore campus was constructed in 1994. It included TK–6th grade classrooms, a library with over 10,000 books, a technology center, and a science lab.

Nora Malone becomes Head of School.

Dave Thomsen was one of the original founders of Village. He took out an ad in the Palisadian Post calling for an alternative to public education. He is shown here 17 months later, standing in front of a Village School that was “bursting at the seams.”

When the school opened, the Swarthmore site had space for four classrooms. There were 100 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students.