Fourth Grade

Mary Holt

Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, as well as a Lifetime California Teaching Credential from the University of San Francisco, California. Additionally, Mary has completed the Waldorf Teacher Training Program and certification from the Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California. She was honored by, and worked as a mentor teacher for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA).

Mary is a beloved teacher and colleague who is a familiar face at the Charter School. True to the Waldorf-methods approach, she taught the same group of children from first to eighth grade, graduating the first class of students to complete the full eight year cycle at NCS in 2005.

In her words:

My passion for teaching includes being able to introduce developmentally appropriate material to my students. The genius of this curriculum lies in the right lessons at the right time for the child’s physical, emotional, and intellectual development. When children are given the lessons they need at a particular age, real learning happens. They don’t need to be persuaded, cajoled, or forced to learn it, they WANT to learn it because it’s what they are yearning for, inwardly.

Teaching the same group of children for several years is an extremely intensive experience for any teacher, but by far the most rewarding learning adventure I have ever had.

Novato Charter School affords me the freedom as a teacher to take the best of many different educational methods, and blend them into a unique form of instruction, instead of following one method or one doctrine of teaching.

I’m very proud to be a member of the NCS faculty. We have a group of intelligent, dedicated, honorable teachers who have the children as their top priority in all decisions.