Glenda Ding is our Mandarin instructor. A native of Lanzhou, in northwest China, Ms. Ding was a college professor for 10 years and taught foreign languages at a global education organization in Beijing for eight years. She holds a BA in literature and a master’s in economics.

Cristina Filicky, a native of Argentina, has taught Spanish at Urban Prairie since the school opened in 2009. While teaching Spanish at Four Winds Waldorf School for four and a half years, she received Waldorf language teacher training. Previous to Four Winds, she taught Spanish in public schools. She holds a BA in Spanish from the University of Louiville, KY.

Faculty chair and lead teacher Angela Kiefer received her Waldorf training at the Great Lakes Teacher Training program, Milwaukee, WI. Prior to joining Urban Prairie, Ms. Kiefer taught the kindergarten summer program at Singing Winds Waldorf School in Riverside, IL. She is a former improv comedienne and an accomplished horsewoman. Ms. Kiefer holds a B.A. in French and theatre from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and has completed coursework for her M.A. in education, Mount Mary College.

Shabath Leidy is our handwork teacher. Currently enrolled in Arcturus teacher training center, Ms. Leidy is formerly an assistant at City Garden Early Childhood Center.

Martha Mathis, School Manager, comes to Chicago from Minnesota where she taught K-12 special education for several years. She is now a student of both Arcturus and the Association for Healing Education. She has a BS in Vocational Rehabilitation and Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and completed post-grad work through the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Martha is passionate about education and meeting the needs of all students, and is thankful to be a part of the Urban Prairie community.

Class teacher Mathew Riendeau trained at Arcturus Waldorf teacher training program in Chicago. Before coming to Urban Prairie, Mat taught at Water’s Edge Waldorf School in Wauconda, IL. Prior to realizing his calling as a Waldorf teacher, he completed two tours of service with the United States Peace Corps. He taught English for two years in Sichuan Province, China, and spent two years working at a rural health clinic in Burkina Faso in West Africa. He holds a B.A. in Chinese from Middlebury College.

Class teacher Mary Spalding is a graduate of the Arcturus Waldorf teacher training program in Chicago. She has also completed the Association For A Healing Eduation’s (AHE) Educational Support Program. She taught lyre and painting at the Chicago Waldorf School, where she has been a longtime parent and also served for ten years on their Board of Trustees in a myriad of capacities. Prior to her involvement with Waldorf education, she spent many years working in an administrative capacity for Northview Biosciences, an independent contract testing laboratory. She received an M.F.A. in Radio, Film and Television from Northwestern University and a B.F.A. in Visual Art from the University of California, Irvine.

Kim Vachon teaches music, including violin and chorus. She holds a BA in psychology and music from Lawrence University.

Peter Vine has taught eurythmy at Urban Prairie since Fall 2009. Mr. Vine comes from the U.K., where he was a class teacher for many years before he oversaw a Waldorf program for special-needs children. He is trained and certified in eurythmy, pedagogical eurhythmy, and therapeutic eurythmy. Mr. Vine also participates in the school’s therapeutic educational support program. He holds a BA in economics and law from Keele University, England.

Rob Welcher teaches movement, including non-competitive games, simple tumbling, and basic folk dancing. Currently enrolled at Arcturus teacher training center, he holds a BA in mathematics from SUNY and an MS in kinesiology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Joy Williams is our handwork assistant. She is a student at Arcturus teacher training center.