Teacher Laurie leads our Rainbow Class for 4- to 5-year-olds. Laurie is a certified elementary education teacher who has taught in Portland, Beaverton, and South Africa. She completed coursework to become a Positive Discipline Parenting Educator. She embraces her role as a life-long learner and expands her early childhood expertise with classes from Portland State University and Parent Child Preschools Organization.

Laurie’s appreciation for the value of cooperative preschools began with her experiences at her children’s preschool.

Laurie has great respect for the way the cooperative model fosters community and collaboration. The play-based learning philosophy allows children to develop at their own pace and have a deeper understanding of the world. Laurie is committed to building a creative, interactive, inquisitive environment for learning and play.

Laurie lives in NE Portland with her husband and children. Her play includes gardening, crafts, hiking, biking and traveling.

Teacher Emma leads our Star Class for 3- to 4-year-olds. Emma grew up in the U.K. and studied elementary education at Canterbury Christ Church University. She taught in primary schools in England, working with kids aged 4-11, and has been teaching preschool in the U.S. since 2013.

Emma is passionate about working with children of all ages and feels privileged to have the opportunity to guide children in their first experiences of education. She highly values the cooperative model and especially enjoys working alongside families as part of a close community.

For Emma, creativity and fun are at the heart of learning. She

practices a child-centered curriculum where children and their ideas are valued and where all are invited to learn and grow through play. She sees early childhood education as a crucial time to develop social and emotional skills, grounded in opportunities to explore and question, be active, laugh, and grow as a classroom community of learners.

Emma lives in NE Portland with her husband, son and daughter. She loves traveling, exploring the beauty of the Northwest, and also enjoys gardening, canning and the great Portland food scene!