Laira Covert - Eurythmy

A native German and a Waldorf school graduate, Laira Covert studied literature and linguistics/foreign languages at the University in Konstanz. Inspired by her own experiences as a student and her deep gratitude for her teachers, Laira pursued studies in Eurythmy in Dornach for 4 years and received her diploma from the "Akademie Fur Eurythmische Kunst" (Academy for the Art of Eurythmy). She became certified as a K-12 Eurythmy teacher following a one-year pedagogical study program in Hamburg. Laira's work experience has included teaching Russian at the high school and college levels, and assisting in a kindergarten program in Madrid, Spain . She taught Eurythmy in Hamburg and at a Waldorf School in Milwaukee before becoming the Eurythmy teacher at WSA in 1995. Laira has studied folk music and dance from different countries and enjoys singing and performing with others. She is interested in the diversity and richness inherent in different cultures and their spiritual traditions. All of these experiences inspire her teaching. Laira is married to a former WSA teacher.

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Michelle Cumming - Learning Specialist

Michelle Cumming was born in Beaver Run, Pennsylvania and attended Waldorf schools in both Toronto and Denver.  She received her BFA in design for theatre from Florida International School, graduating cum laude, and attended Masters classes at Penn State University. Michelle worked professionally in both film and theatre for several years before being called to the teaching profession.  She received her Masters in Educational Support at Sunbridge, and taught as a class teacher for five years.  Michelle has worked with several Waldorf schools, providing student assessment and establishing student support guidelines and programs.  In addition, she has participated in clinical observations at Miami's Children's Hospital and The Children's Therapy Place, as well as given several workshops on child development. Michelle is greatly interested in art, theatre, and the cultural diversity of travel.

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Randy Evans - Middle School Math Specialist

Randy Evans was born in Connecticut and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Duke University with a BA in Philosophy and later received a J.D. from the University of Denver, College of Law. After law school, Randy worked in mediation for a few years. He soon discovered computer science which became his career for the next 13 years. Randy found Waldorf education when searching for a school for his eldest daughter in 1998 in Richmond, Virginia. He became increasingly involved with the school serving in various capacities, including chairman of the Board of Trustees for three years. Randy enrolled in the Center for Anthroposophy's High School Teacher Education Program in the summer of 2004. He is pursuing a Waldorf teaching certificate in Mathematics. Randy's two daughters, Miranda and Tash,are in the seventh and third grades, respectively. His wife, Jenny Dilworth, is the class teacher for the fifth grade. When not working on math problems, Randy can often be found playing chess and other board games.

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Judy Forster - Handwork

Judy grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania . She earned her Bachelor's and Masters Degrees in English, with a concentration in Early American Literature and Fine Art Photography, from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Judy was an Adjunct Faculty Member in the English Departments of local colleges for several years. As a parent of a child at the Susquehanna Waldorf School in Marietta, Pennsylvania, Judy's skills were recognized and she was invited to become the Handwork teacher there. Thereafter, she earned her teaching certificate from Sunbridge College in New York . Through her training, Judy ".found new meaning and added depth to what I was teaching the children." Judy spent several years home schooling her son before moving to Atlanta and becoming the Handwork Teacher at WSA in 2000. Judy's husband was the German teacher at WSA for five years and is now teaching at a DeKalb County public school. Their son graduated from WSA and is currently a student at Academe of the Oaks, the local Waldorf high school.

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Francisco Moreno - Games

Francisco was born in Colombia, South America and moved to the United States as a child. He grew up in New York City and gained admittance to the High School of Art and Design there. He continued his studies at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio and the Atlanta College of Art. Along with his wife, Francisco was one of the founding parents at WSA. In 1996, Francisco became the first woodworking teacher at WSA, later joining the faculty full-time in 2000 when he also became the Games Teacher. Francisco teaches Games to all grade school students and Woodworking to students in Grades 5 to 8. Francisco is in a five-year Spacial Dynamics program at Sunbridge College, and will complete his training in the summer of 2006. Francisco has two adult sons, both of whom participated in WSA's beginning playgroups and kindergarten programs; one resides in California and the other in Atlanta . His youngest son was a member of WSA's first graduating class in 2000 and is currently a student at Georgia State University. Francisco has been involved with the Boy Scouts for more than ten years and has shared his love of nature and survival skills with countless boys.

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Ruth Roberts - German

Ruth Roberts was born and raised in Northern Germany. After arriving in America in 1986, Ruth taught herself English and was employed in the field of cosmetology. She and her husband have also owned a landscaping business in Cobb County for the last ten years. Ruth has two children whom she home schooled using the Waldorf curriculum. During that time, she became aware of WSA and her daughter began attending a Eurythmy class. This is Ruth's first year teaching at WSA, though she was a frequent substitute for the former German teacher. She has taught children for many years in various church and community programs. Ruth has taken a foreign language course at Sunbridge College and studied with foreign language mentors in the Waldorf movement. Ruth enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, crafts, music and vacationing in exotic places.

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Tim Smith - Practical Arts

Tim Smith was born in Kentucky (in the Daniel Boone National Forest) and raised in rural Illinois and Iowa. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, he went on to attend Goshen College in Indiana as a religion major. Tim earned his Waldorf teacher training certificate at the Rudolf Steiner Centre, Toronto . Tim has lived in Venezuela, Germany, and Switzerland, and spent three years working as a caregiver in a Camphill community for disabled adults in eastern Pennsylvania. After serving for a year as an apprentice teacher at WSA, Tim was a class teacher for four years. Tim started the basketball program at WSA and has been coaching the middle school students for the last five years. Tim has a love of music, and plays the guitar and sings. He also enjoys carpentry, basketball and ultimate Frisbee.

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Claudia Sykes - Spanish
Claudia Sykes was born and raised in El Salvador, Central America. She earned a B.A. in Early and Elementary Education, and a B.A. in Special Education from the University of El Salvador. After teaching first grade for three years, she was granted a Fulbright Scholarship to come to the U.S where she earned a Counseling and Guidance degree from the University of Louisville. After graduating, she taught Spanish at Jefferson County Public School in Louisville for six years and then became and elementary teacher at the International School in El Salvador. Claudia is pursuing her M.S. in International Public Health at Morehouse School of Medicine and is planning to start classes toward her Waldorf teacher certificate. Claudia is interested in cultures around the world --the people, traditions, music, dance, food, art and spiritual teachings.

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Eleanor Winship - Music

As a child growing up in New York, Eleanor Winship was a student at the Garden City Waldorf School. While in high school there, she attended the pre-college division of Julliard School of Music and then earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory. An accomplished musician, Eleanor has been involved in Waldorf education for more than twenty-five years, and joined the WSA faculty twelve years ago. She is well known within the Waldorf movement, and has taught at the Toronto Waldorf School, Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California, the Great Barrington School, Antioch Waldorf Teacher Training Program, the Rudolf Steiner Institute and Sunbridge College . She is frequently asked to conduct workshops and share her expertise at Waldorf conferences and training programs. Eleanor has been married for more than twenty years and has two children. Her son attended WSA, completed his studies at Athens Academy, and is currently a sophomore at the University of Georgia . Her daughter graduated from WSA, and is a senior at Athens Academy . Eleanor curently serves as the WSA Faculty Chair.

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