Faculty & Board

Karen has many years of experience with children of all ages in varied settings: Kindergarten, preschool, group child care, family child care, school age aftercare and institutions for developmentally delayed and emotionally disturbed/mentally ill children and adolescents.

Her undergraduate degree is in Child and Family Studies from UNH; her Masters is in Elementary and Early Childhood Education with a Waldorf Certificate from Antioch New England Graduate School.

Karen is proud to be a founding board member, administrator and teacher of Tidewater School. She has held many positions at Tidewater: Administrator, Kindergarten Teacher, Nursery Teacher, LightHouse Parent Child Teacher and now for 2009-10, First Grade. She was the first Board Chair of the Seacoast Waldorf Association and authored the 501 C3 documents, Incorporation (NH and ME) documents and the first Board By-Laws. She is computer proficient and especially enjoys admissions work for Tidewater. She and her family have lived in the seacoast area since 1980. She is the mother of a college Junior and her husband is a musician and owns a business in Portsmouth. Karen enjoys singing and is interested in human evolution and human development, handwork, nature, travel, spirituality and complimentary healing modalities. She specializes in child development.

Dennis graduated from Anderson University in Indiana, with a degree in History, and minored in Art and Design. He attended Antioch New England Graduate School (Keene, NH) and graduated with a degree in Integrated Learning and Waldorf Education. Dennis is also a certified public school teacher, with four years teaching experience.

Dennis has worked in a variety of public and private teaching institutions. His most recent experiences include working as an environmental educator in the White Mountains, NH, and working with children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders. This is Dennis' fourth year at Tidewater.

Dennis lives in Portsmouth, NH, and his interests include kayaking, painting, and traveling.

Martha has been with Tidewater School since 2002. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and a Master of Education in Early Childhood Special Needs from the University of New Hampshire. She is currently enrolled in her 4th year of training from the Spacial Dynamics Institute, Inc. in Mechanicville, NY.

Martha’s career includes work with children and adults of all ages in a variety of educational and athletic settings.

Martha lives in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire with her husband Jeff and two young daughters.

Trained in the “classical” tradition, by apprenticeship to a master Kindergarten teacher on the Big Island of Hawaii, Ms. Beth brings many years of experience with children in a Waldorf setting. After her apprenticeship in Hawaii, she solely owned and operated a Waldorf-inspired nursery program (three to five years of age) from her home in Maine for eight years. This program, Juniper Tree, was a feeder school for the local Waldorf School in Blue Hill Maine. In 2004–2005 she was a co-teacher in the Kindergarten at the Terra Rosa Charter School in Sedona Arizona. She also taught Handwork to the upper classes there as well.

An avid student of the anthroposophical and pedagogical principles of Rudolf Steiner, she considers her work in the Kindergarten to be her life’s calling and destiny. She enjoys knitting and toy and doll making. For over thirty years she has had a deep love of natural healing methods, in particular herbal remedies, flower essences and energetic modalities such as Reiki and gemstone therapy.

Ms. Beth is the mother of five grown children, three of whom were Waldorf students, now artists, writers and musicians. She considers her family to be a very free-spirited bunch, and she loves to see them finding their wings. The 2009 school year is her fourth at Tidewater.

Jessica Moore graduated from New England College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and minors in Fine and Graphic Arts and Costume Design. After working for more than ten years in Corporate Advertising, Jess decided to return to school to get a Master Herbalist Diploma in Herbal Medicinal Studies from the Australasian College of Healthcare Sciences. After graduating, she started Moore Naturally, LLC, formulating proprietary medicinal herbal remedies. Since coming to Tidewater as a parent in 2006, she has served on several committees including the Parents Association, Marketing (committee member 06, Chair 07) and May Faire (2008 Chair). In 2007, she was hired as Assistant in the Periwinkle Classroom. In 2008 she was Assistant in the Sea Star Classroom and Handworks teacher for the grades. With much mentoring and study, WECAN and ISIAWECE workshops and courses, Foundation Studies Training from the Center for Anthroposophy, and Introduction to Waldorf Early Childhood Education from Sunbridge College, Jess has developed a deep love, respect and strong commitment to Anthroposophy and the work with the kindergarten-aged child. She is an individual member of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association and a Student Member of the Anthroposophical Society.

Jess loves to sing as well as do many types of crafts including: knitting; felting; needle felting; traditional rug hooking and more. She enjoys spending time in the woods, at the lake and under the light of the moon, and working with herbs and crystals. She lives in Berwick with her husband Dana and her daughter Brenna, who is a 2nd Grader at Tidewater.

Lindsay Armstrong, the Sea Stars assistant, graduated from Southern Vermont College with a Bachelor of Science degree in English and Communications. Previously Lindsay has worked at farms and garden centers which allowed her to work with the land in many varied aspects. After the birth of her daughter, Lindsay returned to working with children as a co-teacher at the Phillips Exeter Academy where she studied multiple methods of early education. More recently, Lindsay was able to combine her two loves; working with nature and working with children when she opened a home school and offered child care.

The Tidewater School has enabled Lindsay to fulfill her quest to enrich children with the educational power of the natural world. She enjoys farming and gardening, cooking vegan and vegetarian dishes, as well as canning. She is an avid crafter and sews, knits and creates natural children's crafts. Lindsay also loves to read and sing.

Lindsay lives in Stratham, NH with her daughter Stella, who is a student at Tidewater, her dogs and her chickens.

Naomi Bugbee, the Periwinkle Assistant, studied Elementary Education at Keene State College and graduated from Franklin Pierce College. Since 1994, Naomi has worked as a Nanny providing wholesome childcare to families with children aged from birth to seven. Most recently Naomi has worked as a private Nanny to a former Tidewater family and got her first exposure to Waldorf Education through them.

Having been raised without electricity or running water, Naomi developed a strong appreciation for nature, the environment and its resources. These values have shaped her personal philosophies and she is excited that Tidewater teaches these same values to the children. Naomi lives in Rye, NH and enjoys hiking, mountain biking, swimming and yoga.

Lisa is new this year to both the Tidewater School and the state of Maine. For the past 25 years Lisa has lived in RI and worked with children in a variety of settings. While raising her own three children she ran a nature oriented in home childcare for six children between the ages of two and eight. As her children grew she taught in a local cooperative nursery school and also created a haven for a large family of seven adopted children. She implemented nature outings, library trips, and home school projects for this family.

For the past two years Lisa has been the lead toddler teacher at a Waldorf inspired childcare center in Middletown RI where she worked with ten children between the ages of eighteen months and three years old. Lisa has fallen in love with the Waldorf philosophy and looks forward to continuing her education and training. Her week long intensive with Helle Heckman last summer was a defining Waldorf experience.

Lisa loves the outdoors, and being by the ocean. She enjoys swimming, kayaking, Yoga and beach combing. She also loves the arts and is often found in the midst of broken pottery shards and pieces of stained glass, putting together mosaics of many kinds. She loves to knit and felt, (especially for her new granddaughter Finley!), and is happy to now be living with her husband and cats in Kittery where she will be closer to her extended family.

Daniela Kulik has over twenty years of experience teaching children at the preschool level both here in the United States and in Europe. She is a certified Montessori Lead Teacher and has an extensive background teaching children at the preschool level.

Daniela was born and grew up in Austria. She has always enjoyed working with children and while in high school decided to pursue a teaching career. Upon achieving her diploma with certificate for teaching preschool children from the Federal Institute for Kindergarten Education in Oberwart, Austria Daniela set out on her career. She worked in numerous teaching positions in Austria at both the preschool and elementary levels. For over ten years she worked as the directress of the Kindergarten Europahaus in Wiener Neustadt, Austria where she was responsible for 40 children ages 3-6 years old and a team of seven teachers and assistants.

While on a biking vacation in the Greek Islands, Daniela met her future husband—an American from New Hampshire. After getting married Daniela moved to the United States in 2004 where she began a new career. Most recently Daniela worked as Directress/Lead Teacher for a multi classroom Montessori school with 50 children in New Hampshire.

Daniela is delighted to be part of the Tidewater school as their new German teacher. This is a very special opportunity for her to share her language, culture and materials from her home country. On her spare time Daniela also provides private German classes for both children from Europe as well as the United States.

In addition to her teaching background Daniela loves practicing and studying Yoga. Fifteen years ago she finished her Sivanada Yoga teacher training in Austria and is currently enrolled in a 500-hour Classical Yoga teacher training. Daniela provides Yoga classes to both adults and children.

Daniela loves the outdoors and nature as well as singing, music and cooking healthy food.

Jenny Procter graduated from Boston University with major in Political Science and a minor in Elementary Education. She received her Teaching Certificate through the Shady Hill School Teacher Apprenticeship Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While her children were in school, Jenny returned to get her credentials as a Language and Learning Disabilities Specialist. She taught in both the public and private sectors. After almost twelve years of Special Education, Jenny decided to find another less stressful way to be with children and that is when she had the opportunity to become the Handwork Teacher at Tidewater. Jenny is also a Personal Coach and Reiki Master Teacher. She has a small, growing Healing Practice in Kittery Maine.

Jenny happily returns to Tidewater as Handwork Teacher for this coming year. She has been associated with Tidewater since 2004 as both Handwork and Remedial Teacher. Jenny enjoys all forms of creative work: knitting and crocheting, sewing and fabric arts, painting, pottery, creative writing and cooking. She also loves to be with children of any age and is overjoyed to have the opportunity to combine her two favorite pastimes in such a wonderful setting. She looks forward to meeting old friends and making new ones in the coming year.

Gayle has a long history of working with young children. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education with a specialty in Early Childhood Development from Plymouth State College and has taught in N.H. schools from 1986 through 2002. The past six years have been spent exploring Waldorf practices at home with her young daughter and providing home-based childcare. For 10 years, Gayle has also provided tutoring services and curriculum support and evaluations to NH Homeschoolers.

Gayle has a passionate interest in the fiber arts. She finds hours every day to knit, needle felt and wet felt. She creates fairy dolls, imaginative toys, felted bags and clothing. Gayle lives in New Durham, N.H. with her husband, Jim, and has three children; Chris, studying at the University of Alaska, Sam, a high school senior, and Charlotte, a free-spirited first grader.

Karen owned and operated a popular restaurant for years in Portsmouth prior to working at Tidewater. She has worked in our aftercare program, was Administrative Assistant for a number of years and recently was appointed Office Manager. She is one of the founding families; her son, Sam attended Tidewater from Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Karen is an avid reader, walker, house fixer-upper and loves to travel when she gets the chance.