Faculty & Staff
Russell Yates
Head of School / Teacher for Adventurers’ Class (4th-6th Grades)
Fly fishing in Idaho
During Russell’s 15 years in education prior to coming to Swan School, he has had the pleasure of teaching children in grades 2 through 6. The majority of that time has been in multiage settings. His classroom has been featured in an independent documentary titled “Honoring Diversity, the Multiage Classroom” as well as in two magazine articles, the March/April 2005 issue of Mothering Magazine in an article titled “Ode to the One Room Schoolhouse” and the online edition of Edutopia Magazine in an article titled “Wisdom of the (Multi) Ages: Students Learn by Teaching.” Russell’s Multiage-Education.Com website has been considered the online hub for multiage educators worldwide since 1996. Russell has also instructed teacher education courses for Western Washington University and City University. In addition he has conducted numerous in-service classes and workshops for various school districts on a variety of subjects.
When not at school, Russ will be sailing in Port Townsend Bay, kayaking in Northwest lakes and Puget Sound, or standing in a stream delighting in his recently rediscovered love of fly fishing. “I have been enjoying the outdoors practically since I was born and my parents took me camping for the first time.” Russ and his wife Linda also travel when time allows. They were married in Denmark, have driven to Alaska, journeyed through Canada’s Northwest Territories, and have recently returned from an extended exploration of central Idaho.
Russell has earned a B.A., majoring in Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Education; a B.A.Ed. with endorsements in Elementary Education, History, and Social Studies; and a M.S. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology.
Email: russ@swanschool.net
Karen Akins
Teacher for Navigators’ Class (Grades 2 & 3)
Volunteering in Mexico
Karen Akins has been at Swan School since 1999 – first as the Spanish teacher and then as the first/second grade teacher. She has lived for extended periods of time both in Brazil and Spain. She enjoyed building a house for a Mexican family last summer with a group of people that included two of her daughters.
Prior to having a family, Karen lived in San Francisco for 12 years where she worked in Raphael House, an emergency shelter for families. She interacted daily with residents and their children and ran an evening program for the children using storytelling as a basis for drama and art activities. For the last three years of her stay, she taught first and second grade in a private school housed in the shelter. Karen holds a B.A. from the University of Rochester and a Master’s in Teaching from City University.
Karen makes it a priority to provide a warm and stimulating atmosphere in which children fully participate in constructing their own learning. Classroom community is fostered through discussions and plenty of small group and whole class collaborative hands-on learning.
Karen lived in San Francisco for 12 years where she worked in Raphael House, an emergency shelter for families. She enjoyed working with residents and their children and ran an evening program for the children in which she used storytelling as a basis for art activities and movement. For the last three years of her stay, she taught first and second grade in a private school housed in the shelter.
Email: karen@swanschool.net
Marcy Stewart
Teacher for Explorers’ Class (Kindergarten & 1st grades)
Tending her bees
A teacher at Swan since 2002, Marcy Stewart has worked with children since 1975, initially as the first children’s librarian at Ketchikan Public Library in Alaska, and including 14 years teaching 3, 4 and 5 year-olds at Port Townsend Head Start. She is certified in the state of Washington with endorsements as a classroom teacher and school librarian. Marcy has a BA in English, a Master of Library Science degree and a Child Development Associate degree, and she supports her commitment to providing the best education for her students through ongoing professional training.
Marcy came to Port Townsend from Southeast Alaska, where she lived in a float house, fished commercially with her husband and made a strong and lasting relationship with the natural world and its cycles. While working in the Ketchikan Public Library, Marcy produced a daily children’s radio program enjoyed by children and adults alike. In Port Townsend, Marcy has taught Fiber Arts, violin and violin lessons to adults and children, is a member of the Port Townsend Community Orchestra and the Lincoln Beach Quartet, has worked for Centrum as a Future Problem Solving evaluator, and served on the Boiler Room board. She has recently become a member of the Chimacum Grange Beekeepers, with 2 hives of honeybees at home along with a flock of chickens and the usual cats and dog. Marcy is also an avid amateur mycophagist!
Marcy’s experiences and professional training help her provide rich child-centered classroom experiences that foster a strong community learning environment and engage students in the exciting and empowering process of learning.
Email: marcy@swanschool.net
Loida Robles Santana
Teacher for Discoverers’ Class (Preschool)
Spanish Teacher
Loida received her bachelors of science from the State University of New York in Bilingual/Bicultural Elementary and Early Childhood Education. She taught for the Agency of Child Development of the City of New York for eight years. During those years she was head teacher for preschool and kindergarten children where she developed a bilingual curriculum. She then went on to teach in the New York City public school for the next five years. While there, she taught English as a second language to newly arrived students from South and Central America. She is also experienced teaching third, fourth and sixth grade.
Loida moved to Montana in the early 90′s where she opened her own preschool and provided additional services to the community by introducing John Bradshaw’s “Homecoming” series and giving a 10-week workshop on “Alternative Methods of Parenting”. Loida also took a journey across the U.S. on horseback (from New York City, to Fort Laramie, WY) with her husband and four horses. They studied and followed the “Oregon Trail”. The adventure lasted three years. She has been at Swan School since September 2003.
Email: loida@swanschool.net
Michelle Peters
Aide for Explorers’ Class (Kindergarten & 1st grade)
PE Teacher
Planting trees
Since 2007 Michelle has worked as an aide with the preschool class. In 2011-2012, she moves up to assist Marcy with the Explorers. She finds working with the younger children to be nothing less than a joyful experience! Michelle is from California, where she earned a liberal arts degree at UC Santa Barbara and a masters degree in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP). As part of her training, she worked as a counselor in several different settings, including a hospital psychiatric ward, a community counseling center and a group home for emotionally disturbed teenage boys. For the four years prior to moving to Washington, she ran an in-home childcare center for children ages seven and younger.
Email: eps_michelle@swanschool.net
Enrichment Program Staff
- Choir: Dahti Blanchard, eps_dahti@swanschool.net
- Beginning Violin: Kristin Smith, eps_kristin@swanschool.net
- Violin Ensemble and Keyboarding: Gary Fredrick, eps_gary@swanschool.net
- PE: Michelle Peters, eps_michelle@swanschool.net
- Spanish: Loida Robles, Santana loida@swanschool.net
