Joseph Chilton Pearce
"Cultivating Creative Minds"

Joseph Chilton Pearce is the author of many books, including national bestseller "Magical Child", "Evolution's End", "Crack in the Cosmic Egg" and most recently "The Biology of Transcendence". For over thirty years Joe has written and lectured internationally on human development and the changing needs of children.

He was a faculty member on child development at the Jung Institute in Switzerland. He spoke on the new paradigm of human development at the seventh annual Transpersonal Psychology conference in India. Oxford University invited Joe to present the impact current obstetrical practices are having on the development of child intelligence. The Canadian Government sponsored a workshop with Native Americans on the prevention of violence and substance abuse. Sony Corporation sponsored a seventeen day lecture series on the future of education in Japan. He addressed Hawaii's crime prevention commission on the current causes of crime and violence. The State of Louisiana sponsored an address on the crisis facing the American family. Three different departments at Harvard University, the University of California and Stanford University have each sponsored educational conferences featuring his work. The Governor of California invited Joe to address two special legislative planning sessions on the challenges facing children and families. Last year at Columbia University he addressed a special conference on education in the 21st century. Recently completed is Joe's newest work, "The Biology of Transcendence", which explores the biological foundation for what we think of as "spiritual" development. He also co-authored "Magical Parent - Magical Child, the Optimum Learning Relationship" with Michael Mendizza. http://www.ttfuture.org/services/joseph_pearce/interview.htm

We are honored to have Joe as our keynote speaker.

Patti Connolly, Educator
"Nurturing Creative Minds in the Classroom"

Patti Connolly will share how the curriculum and methods created by Rudolf Steiner and embodied in Waldorf education meet the growing child's brain development, integrating the physical, emotional and cognitive abilities of each stage of development.

Patti graduated from California State University, San Francisco with a Liberal Studies B.A. and a Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential. She graduated from the Waldorf Teacher Education Program at Rudolf Steiner College, Fair Oaks, CA and has been a class teacher (grades 1-8), kindergarten teacher, specialty teacher, special education teacher, and faculty administrator for over 18 years. Patti also teaches at the Public School Institute at RSC for two weeks each summer, sharing Waldorf education with public school teachers.

Caprice Young, President/Chief Executive Officer
California Charter Schools Association

Caprice Young is the CEO of the California Charter Schools Association, California's charter school membership and support association, which works to increase student achievement by supporting and expanding California's quality charter public school movement.

Caprice has a strong track record in education reform, having served from 1999-2003 as a member and president of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, which represents the second largest school district in the United States. Her professional experience spans higher education, business and government, including: director of corporate and foundation relations for the Anderson School at UCLA; strategy consulting group manager of IBM's West Coast e-Business Innovations Design Center; and assistant deputy mayor for the City of Los Angeles. She also serves on numerous boards, including the Governor's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, among others. She earned her bachelor's degree from Yale University and an MPA from USC. capricey@charterassociation.org

a.  Joseph Chilton Pearce, Author and Speaker
"Questions and Answers"

If you left Joseph Chilton Pearce's keynote address with unanswered questions, then this intimate hour with Joseph is for you.

b.  Tim Connolly, Educator
"Creative Math"

Tim Connolly will lead a discussion on teaching mathematics at the elementary and junior high school levels. He will focus on how to bring levity to the classroom, how particular rhythms work at certain ages with the curriculum, why math is important to the growing and maturing mind and how success in computations can actually be fun! He will show you that there are no tricks or shortcuts to this, and that teaching with joy and a little zaniness can go a long way.

Tim has been involved in Waldorf education for the past two decades serving as a board member, parent, class teacher and administrator. His most recent experiences have been in the administrative aspects of schools serving as the School Administrator for the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork and Journey School. Prior to that he worked as the Dean of the High School at the Sacramento Waldorf School and as an Administrative Services Officer at the Rudolf Steiner College. He is most motivated for this curriculum by his love for childhood. In preparation for his work in Waldorf education, Tim worked at corporate levels in the field of risk management. He and his wife Patti have parented two Waldorf high school graduates, Emmi and Zach.

c.  Michele Bennett
"Teaching the Grades"

Are you curious about what it takes to teach the same group of students from first through eighth grades? Then join Michele Bennett for this "conversation" about her personal experience of completing an eight-year cycle at Journey School. This discussion will include students who are currently in her eighth grade class.

Michele earned her certificate from the Waldorf Institute of Orange County. She also holds a B.F.A. and a California teaching credential, and is currently attending Rudolf Steiner College to complete her remedial training and Touro University to earn a Masters in Education. She has been a teacher at Journey School for over seven years and looks forward to completing her first 1-8 cycle with an incredible group of students.

d.  Leila Harding
"Hands-On Science"

Explore the artistic side of science with Journey School's science teacher, Leila Harding. During this hour you will experience the world of science and view work samples from some of Leila's students.

Leila received her B.S. in Biological Sciences in Brazil. She was mentored by Professor J. Lutzenberger, Alternate Nobel Prize winner in Ecology in 1998. While teaching high school genetics in Brazil, Leila developed curriculum for K-8th grade science. She promoted environmental awareness in Brazilian schools including recycling, and the importance of environmental education for children. She believes children learn science best through observation, thinking, artistic experiences and intellectual examination.

e.  Holly Johnson, Handwork Teacher
"Practical Arts"

Spend a "hands-on" hour with Holly Johnson learning about the significance of using your hands and its effect on the development of cognitive thinking in children. In this fun-filled hour, Holly will teach you how to knit and you will go home with your own knitting needles and handmade project.

Holly spent 12 years at Highland Hall Waldorf School and graduated with a love for learning intact. After recovering from her surprise that not everyone loved learning as much as she did, Holly enrolled in the teachers training program at Emerson College in England and has been teaching children ever since-27 years and still going strong.

f.  Richard Martin, 6th Grade Teacher
"Music: Steps from Unison to Part-Singing"

The simple joy of joining our voices in song can--and should--form the core of an elementary level music curriculum. We need little but our own love of music to share and develop this experience with our students. If you enjoy singing, the sixth graders of Journey School-and their teacher, Richard Martin-invite you to join in as they demonstrate a series of musical steps in the transition from unison singing to part-singing.

Richard is a certified Waldorf teacher who also holds a California Teaching Credential. A teacher for over 10 years, Richard taught grades three through eight at a private Waldorf school before coming to Journey School three years ago. He currently teaches sixth grade, where his favorite subject is music.

g.  Chris Prelitz, Green Builder
"Greening Schools"

Join Chris Prelitz to discover innovative ways to bring "green" ideas into the classroom and home.

In this inspiring presentation you'll learn:

• how to empower children to be more aware of their impact on the environment
• 10 simple ways to reduce your ecological footprint
• how to inspire children to take an active role caring for the Earth

Chris draws on over twenty years experience as a Green Building expert and sustainability consultant to help individuals and corporations reduce their ecological footprint by "going green." His expertise is in creating healthy "passive sustainable" structures powered by solar, wind and renewable energy. Chris is a frequent speaker at building industry conventions and green events nationwide. www.prelitz.com

h.  Jodi Levine, Earthroots Field School
"Nature Education"

Jodi Levine will share stories and a slide show about earth-connecting activities you can create with the children in your life. Earthroots Field School's educational programs focus on themes of sustainable living, including Wilderness Awareness, Ecological Gardening, Natural Building, Tidepooling, Natural Crafts and Whole Food Cooking. Discover how to engage children with as many senses as possible: touch, taste, movement, scent, hearing, vision and imagination. Learn how to empower children to explore the natural and discover their interconnection to all.

Jodi, founder of Earthroots Field School, has been living and teaching experientially based environmental education for the past 8 years, locally and abroad. She models sustainable living skills in a fun way and encourages students to seek the best choices in their own lives to create a healthy future for us all. Her car runs on recycled vegetable oil from local restaurants and her home reuses greywater in the garden. Earthroots Field School grew out of a community need for environmentally conscious, enriching, outdoor, hands-on classes for children in southern Orange County. www.earthrootsfieldschool.org

i.  Patti Connolly, Teacher and Mentor
"Painting"

Unleash your inner artist during this hour with Patti Connolly! Patti will guide you through a "wet on wet" watercolor painting demonstration/lesson and explain how and why it is integrated into the typical Waldorf curriculum. During the afternoon break-out session, Patti will be offering a "Question & Answer" follow-up to her talk.

See Patti's bio above.

j.  Calla Rose Ostrander, Global Warming Project Coordinator, City of Aspen
"Creative Problem Solving"

As the 21st century begins we find ourselves faced with unique large-scale challenges. In order to rise to, and effectively address these challenges we will need people who are creative and compassionate problem solvers, entrepreneurs, and whole systems thinkers. Who are these people and where will we find them? We must teach our children how to be them; how to be creative, to understand a whole system, and what it means to be compassionate.

In this compelling hour, Calla Rose Ostrander will share how her educational background, rich in the arts, prepared her to work in an environment that depends upon balanced, compassionate and integrated solutions to problems. Calla will talk about her view that creativity is neither a talent nor an intangible gift given only to a few. She believes that Art is the discipline that teaches the creative process.

Calla Rose was born in Tuscon, AZ and lived in Mexico and Australia before her parents moved to Boulder, CO to send her to the Shining Mountain Waldorf School from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Upon graduation she entered the University of Puget Sound where she majored in International Political Economy, was an active member of student government, and received a full music scholarship for classical cello. After graduation Calla worked in the non-profit sector at Seattle-based Earth Economics and Snowmass-based Rocky Mountain Institute before entering the public sector with the City of Aspen's Global Warming Department (the Canary Initiative).

Holly Derheim
Waldorf School of Orange County High School

Holly Derheim, Director of Development of the Institute for Social Renewal, has spent the last 10 years as the development director, administrator and board member of the Waldorf School of Orange County. Holly has taught national level workshops in the Waldorf movement, and consulted at many schools. She served as the Regional Coordinator of the Southern California branch of the Development and Administrators Network of the Association of Waldorf Schools, and is currently working on a national level project that centers on educational reform and transformation of the way we fund education in this country.

Ron Alatorre, Ed.D., Principal
Orange County High School of the Arts

Dr. Ron Alatorre joined the Orange County High School of the Arts in 2006 and currently serves as principal. He has more than 25 years of experience in education and has served as a dynamic leader in educational institutions throughout California, including two high-performing high schools.

Alatorre has served as principal at South High School and Madrona Middle School in the Torrance Unified School District. Under his leadership, South High School earned a six-year Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation, named a California Distinguished School and was ranked among Newsweek's top 500 high schools.

Alatorre holds a doctoral degree in education from the University of Southern California; a master's degree in educational administration from California State University, Fullerton; a professional administrative credential from California State University, San Jose; and a bachelor's degree in music from University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Alatorre has continued his professional development through additional studies at Stanford and Harvard.

MOVEMENT BREAK
John "Mr. J" Whitfield, Movement and Games Instructor

Following lunch, John "Mr. J" Whitfield, will lead everyone is a short movement exercise in preparation for the afternoon sessions.

"Mr. J" is Journey School's Movement and Games Instructor. He has taught within a mix of Steiner/Waldorf curriculum modalities since 1992, including private, spacial dynamic, charter, and foundation training consulting and teaching. A Level One graduate of Spacial Dynamics, Mr. J is also on the Board of Directors of the American Youth Circus Organization. His favorite Life Accomplishments are riding his bicycle trans-America (coast to coast), juggling on a unicycle, ski-juggling and walking across a tight rope.