Kimberton Waldorf Governance Structure
Kimberton Waldorf School is an independent not-for-profit school with a collaborative governance structure that includes a Dean of School, Governing Team, Core Teams, and a Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the long-term sustainability of the school. This includes approving the mission and vision for the school and overseeing long-term strategic goals that are consistent with these statements.
The Governing Team
The Governing Team carries the management and visionary leadership of the whole school and is responsible for overseeing, coordinating, and finalizing decisions in all matters concerning day-to-day administrative and pedagogical life.
The Core Team
The Core Teams help to carry the management and visionary leadership of the faculty, proactively guiding work in each section to creatively meet the needs of all students in a healthy Waldorf learning environment.
The Board of Trustees
In addition to long-term sustainability, approving the mission and vision, and overseeing the long-term strategic goals—the Board also oversees the Dean of School.
The Board is responsible for seeing that the school has a governance and management structure in place and that the school is meeting its financial and legal responsibilities. Strategic planning is an important part of the Board’s role, but the Board is not involved in the day-to-day management of the school. The Board may create standing or ad-hoc committees to deal with finances, board development, strategic planning, and other topics.
The Board normally meets monthly to deliberate on such topics as budget, strategic planning, and healthy community life. Please let the Board Chair know if you would like to join a meeting, and it will be reflected on the agenda for that meeting. If there is a specific request that you would like the Board to consider, you may email the Board Chair. Please note that some requests may be redirected to the school administration if they fall outside the purview of the Board.
The Board consists of six to fifteen volunteer Trustees. The Dean of School is an ex-officio member. Service on the Board is by invitation only. The Board of Trustees of Kimberton Waldorf School strives to uphold the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) “Principles of Good Practice” for Board of Trustees operations.
Please contact Andreas Schad, Board Chair, with any questions: andyschad@gmail.com
Current Board Members
Andreas Schad (Chair)
Pat Brett (Secretary)
Christopher DeMont (Treasurer)
Warren Sullivan
Natalie Famous
Liane Raciti
Ashley Randolph
Timothy Clemm
Michael Frederick
The Governing Team
The Governing Team carries the management and visionary leadership of the whole school and is responsible for overseeing, coordinating, and finalizing decisions in all matters concerning day-to-day administrative and pedagogical life. The Governing Team is expected to take a proactive approach on all matters concerning the short-, mid-, and long-term development of the school. The work of the Governing Team is informed by the pedagogical work of the faculty and its collaboration with the Core teams.
The Governing Team is comprised of four members: the Dean of School, and the leaders of the three sections of the school: High School (grade 9-12), Lower School (Grade 1-8), and Early Childhood (Rosebud and Kindergarten).
Dr. Brad Kershner
Dean of School
Brad began his career as an early childhood educator in San Francisco and Berkeley, CA, and went on to work as a school leader in both public and independent schools in Boston, MA and Durham, NC. He is a KWS parent and is the author of the book Understanding Educational Complexity: Integrating Practices and Perspectives for 21st Century Leadership.
Ona Wetherall
Early Childhood
Ona Wetherall has been a Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher since 2009 and has been at Kimberton since 2014. She has her full Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher training, LifeWays training, and full Anthroposophic Psychology training, as well as having engaged in, and sometimes led, a number of short Waldorf training and studies, and continually strives to expand her understanding of Waldorf pedagogy.
Annaleena Hoffman
Lower School
Annaleena Hoffmann has been a parent since 2006. She joined the faculty in 2016. She teaches handwork to grades 1-5, and 9. She feels passionate about creating a warm and welcoming environment for all children, to enjoy the creative work, and to flourish together on our beautiful campus. Her daughter Lisa Sofie graduated from KWS in 2018, and Laara will be graduating in June 2022.
Deb Merroth-Ahola
High School
Deb Merroth-Ahola has a long association with Kimberton. She is an alumni parent, and was a member of the Board of Trustees for many years, and served Board chair. She is Kimberton’s academic support coordinator and has been the High School Core Team Leader and a Governing Team member since 2013.
The Core Team
The Core Teams help to carry the management and visionary leadership of the faculty, proactively guiding work in each section to creatively meet the needs of all students in a healthy Waldorf learning environment. The Core Teams coordinate and finalize decisions concerning the day-to-day pedagogical life of each section. One Governing Team member serves as the team leader for the High School Core Team, and one serves as the team leader for the Lower School Core Team. The Core Teams receive delegated tasks from the Governing Team, and they generally keep the Governing Team informed of their activities and decisions.
Upper School Core Team
Deb Merroth-Ahola (core team leader), Elisabeth Burgess, & Hezi Haut
Elisabeth Burgess has been teaching German at Kimberton since 2006. She is also Kimberton’s international student coordinator.
Hezi Haut has been teaching Physics and Mathematics at Kimberton since 2005. Deb Merroth-Ahola is the Upper School Core Team Leader.
Lower School Core Team
Karen Hite, Anna Hoffmann (core team leader), & Susan Schwaneflugel
Anna teaches handwork, has been part of the faculty since 2016, and is a KWS parent.
Karen is an experienced class teacher and mentor.
Susan teaches German and Games.
