Grades Teachers

First Grade - Eighth Grade

First Grade Teacher

Ben Mew

Ben grew up in rural Massachusetts where he was lucky enough to go to a small school that was a short walk away from home. He loved his elementary school experience and continues to feel a close bond with his old classmates.
In middle school, he was lucky enough to partake in a sister-city exchange program with students and families from Kanegasaki, Japan. After hosting students in his home in Massachusetts, he got to travel to Japan and spend a few nights with the student’s family there. Ben enjoyed doing school musicals, choir, soccer, basketball, and Ultimate frisbee all through high school. His Ultimate team even won the national championships in 2004!
After high school, he lived in student cooperatives and studied Biology and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College from 2005-2009. He tested out of taking mathematics in college, so he decided to travel in Ecuador for a semester his junior year, which was a formative experience for him. It opened his eyes to the diversity of the world and what poverty and privilege can look like.
After graduating from Oberlin College, Ben worked at a Waldorf farm-education program in Ghent, NY; a micro-dairy in Nevada City, CA; farmed full-time for two seasons at Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm in Santa Rosa, CA; and taught math, science, and P.E. for six years at Summerfield’s upper grades and high school.
Ben loves to sing, dance, and play with his wife, Chelsea, and daughter, Linnea. He also still plays Ultimate and likes to go hiking, camping, and kayaking. He is very happy to be settled in Eugene!

First Grade Assistant/Grades Pedagogical Support

Jen Bosch-Fahl

Jen was born in Vancouver, WA and spent her childhood on a beautiful country property nearby. She attended small Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school and took many dance classes along the way.
Jen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Willamette University in 1995 and traveled throughout Europe and the United States. Her interest in teaching led her to look into alternative approaches to education; she discovered something she had never heard of…Waldorf education.
Stepping into a Waldorf classroom for the first time, she immediately felt a connection with the beauty of the environment and the richness of the curriculum; the more she learned about Waldorf education, the more she knew that she had found her path.
Jen moved to Eugene and completed the teacher training program in 2000 just before her daughter, Avery, was born. She worked as the first grade assistant in 2002 and her son, Zane, came along the following year. She spent many years focused on raising her children and being an active EWS parent volunteer as both of her children took their joyful journeys through Waldorf education.
Since her children graduated from EWS, Jen has worked at the school in many capacities, assisting in first grade, handwork classes, kindergarten, and aftercare.
She loves spending her free time with her family and enjoys snowboarding, hiking, dancing, and yoga.

Second Grade Teacher

Mario Chavarin

Third Grade Teacher

Suzanna Didier

Suzanna feels most at home in the outdoors; the spirit of nature renews her. She enjoys biking fast, walking slow, cross-country skiing and traveling. While she has taught at the elementary and college levels, and co-founded a non-profit that provides after school enrichment programs to youth, Ms. Didier finds herself most inspired by the Waldorf approach of carefully tending to each child's unique spark. She values a caring classroom community and bringing lessons that meet children's natural joy for learning.
Ms. Didier came to Waldorf Education through her daughter, who is a Waldorf alum. The lively and artful teaching, calm and caring atmosphere, high ideals, and rigorous education she encountered enkindled her desire to become a Waldorf teacher. She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and German, an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, and has nearly completed Waldorf teacher certification through the Great Lakes Waldorf Institute.

Fourth Grade Teacher

Jelena Jaehnig

Jelena enjoyed being a Waldorf student in elementary school, and was drawn early to the idea of becoming a Waldorf teacher herself. She completed a bachelor's and master's degree in history from the University of Colorado at Denver. In 1993 she moved to Eugene to teach in the Eugene Waldorf High School, and to attend classes at the Waldorf Teacher Education Eugene. When the high school closed, Jelena moved into grade school teaching. She has guided three classes through the eight year journey of the grades and is now working with another class. Jelena assisted at a Waldorf School in Guanajuato, Mexico for a year. She has taught seminars in Waldorf Teacher Education Centers in the US, Canada and Mexico. Jelena helped raise her stepchildren, both of whom are now young adults.

Fifth Grade Teacher

Ian Stearns

Ian was born in Camarillo, California, where he spent the early part of his childhood with his parents, an older sister, and a lovely Old English sheepdog named Sweet Rosie McDuff. When he was in second grade he moved to a town on the Merrimac River in semi-rural Missouri. He lived there, enjoying the forests in summer and the hills in winter until his family moved back to California. After high school Ian went to college at UCSB where he majored in political science.
After college Ian hopped around a bit before landing in Eugene, where he has worn many hats: culinary student, care provider, baker, cook, husband, and papa. He completed the Teacher Education Program in Eugene in 2003, and spent a year tutoring at the school before starting as a grades teacher. He loves teaching and studying anthroposophy, as well as painting models, reading, and playing games with his children in his spare time. He lives with his wife Cameron, their two sons William and Paul, their 100-pound lab, Angus.

Sixth Grade Teacher

Sarah Sams

Growing up in rural North Carolina, Sarah discovered a love of nature while exploring the wide expanse of dense woods between her home and the city park. She and her younger brother built dams, climbed trees, and embodied nature throughout every season. Her passion for the great outdoors has magnified during her twenty-plus years in the spacious green of the Pacific Northwest.
Prior to leading the Class of 2027 at Eugene Waldorf School, Sarah led the Class of 2026 at Olympia Waldorf School from first through third grade. She also substituted at EWS, taught after-school STEAM programs and library workshops, and served in several capacities at summer camps for kids with social-emotional communication difficulties and disorders, such as Autism. Sarah received a grades certificate from Waldorf Teacher Education, Eugene in 2018 and a bachelor’s degree from Pacific University in media and film production in 2005.
The ethos of Waldorf education strongly matches Sarah’s personal beliefs: education should be an immersive experience, adults should be worthy of imitation, and developing kindness, adaptability, and strong social skills are as important as academic learning. Sarah believes that a teacher’s greatest accomplishment is helping children develop a true sense of agency.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys making art, foraging, singing, hiking, and camping.

Seventh

Grade Teacher

Marina Taylor

Marina was born and raised in southern Oregon. When it came time for her to begin first grade, her parents joined a pioneering Waldorf movement. Ashland High School came next, and the University of Oregon followed. She graduated with a double major in Art History and Political Science in 1996, and graduated from the Waldorf Teacher Education, Eugene in 2005.
Marina worked in the school administration and taught handwork and art classes for seven years before joining the school as a full-time class teacher in 2012.
She enjoys camping and hiking , playing soccer, gardening, and playing games with friends. Working in Waldorf education gives Marina a chance to be an active learner, to stay playful, and to help students find their place in the world.