MEET OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS
We love what we do!
Acting as a "listening ear" to the needs and questions of classroom teachers, parents, and therapists who are involved with providing care for the child of today has been part of what we do for over thirty years now. Our main work is with children in regular classrooms who, faced with the challenges of their destiny and the world environment, often require some help for a time. Our intent is to help caregivers provide right practices in education, therapy and medicine through a deeper understanding of child development and hindrances to that development.
The Association For a Healing Education provides the following services:
Workshops and lecture presentations
Educational Support Teacher Development programs
Bi-annual newsletter
Care Group Manual
Activity books for teachers and parents
Workshops for parents
School or individual consulting services
We also serve as a bridge to the Camphill movement for Curative Education.
Our expert group of CORE WORKSHOP PRESENTERS consists of professionals whose education and years of service provide comprehensive programs that you can use in any classroom
Mary Jo Oresti, M.A.
Mary Jo is a founding member of AHE and a Waldorf Educator for over 35 years. She is involved in a variety of venues to strengthen teachers' observations and incorporate practical applications in the classroom. There are many little known gems in Waldorf that bring coherence and health to children's development, which Mary Jo shares in the workshops. Workshops also include discerning various learning styles and developing methods to improve conditions in the today's classroom.
Connie Helms, M.Ed.
Connie Helms, M.Ed. has been a co-director of AHE's Educational Support Program for many years. A graduate of AHE's cycle 3, she travels in North America as an Educational Support consultant and whole class screener, and also works online as a consultant and workshop presenter. Prior to running a private Extra Lesson practice in Vermont serving children, adolescents and adults, she was the Extra Lesson/Learning Support teacher at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, VT. She has a Waldorf teacher certification from Antioch University New England and taught as a special educator in public schools in New Hampshire and Vermont. Connie has served on AHE's Board of Directors since 2005.
Elyce Perico M.Ed.
Elyce has been the Educational Support Coordinator since 2009 at the Hartsbrook School in Hadley, MA where she was a class teacher from 1994-2008. As an active participant in the Care Group work, Elyce felt a profound need to deepen her understanding of human development given to us by Rudolf Steiner, and further cultivated by others working with these foundational principles. She received her Therapeutic Educator certification through the Gradalis training in 2007, and a Master of Arts in Education degree with an emphasis in Waldorf Remedial Education in 2009. Elyce is also certified as an Orton-Gillingham reading instructor and as a HANDLE (Holistic Approach to Neurodevelopment and Learning Efficiency) Screener.
Renni Greenberg, M.Ed.
Renni received her Transdisciplinary Therapeutic Educator certification through the Gradalis training in 2006, and a Master of Arts in Education degree, with an emphasis in Waldorf Remedial Education, in 2009. Renni is certified by the Orton Gillingham Academy to provide literacy instruction, and has trained with Marilyn Zecher in Multi-Sensory Math (an Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching math). She draws from multiple modalities in her work with students, including Extra Lesson, HANDLE, and Bal-A-Vis-X.
Betty Jane Enno, M.Ed.
Betty Jane has been a Waldorf Class Teacher and Kindergarten Teacher since 1984. She received her Certification from the AHE Student Support program in 2009. She is a Licensed Pediatric Therapist now training in Einreibung (Rhythmical Massage) and has worked as a Qigong and Yoga Instructor. She is a WECAN Representative for the TMCSR Region. She travels as a mentor, consultant, and site visitor for AHE, WECAN, and early childhood and remedial programs both nationally and internationally. She enjoys incorporating integrative movement activities in her work to support parents and young children with their learning challenges. Her latest creative endeavor was consulting for the Stepping Stones Children's Museum in Connecticut in creating a Sensory/Movement room for young children. Betty Jane has been honored to work on the Board of Directors of the Association for a Healing Education since 2009.
Jeff Tunkey
Jeff Tunkey teaches both Extra Lesson and Physical Education at Aurora Waldorf School, near Buffalo, NY. The school’s unique movement program incorporates traditional games, life sports and team sports, weekly tumbling/gymnastics, and whole-class developmental movement based on the Extra Lesson. Jeff is a graduate of the Spacial Dynamics inservice training To learn more about his work you can visit his website at www.movementforchildhood.com