Teacher Cara

A little bit about me

I have been teaching and caring for children since I started babysitting in middle school. I taught high school and middle school math and English in Paris, France. I ran the Child Branch at an intentional community. I was a nanny in Alaska. I have a degree from Stanford University. And I am raising five children. 

When I moved to Portland 12 years ago, I worked at Growing Seeds and trained in the Emilio Reggio approach which is an educational philosophy described as student-centered and based on self-directed, experiential learning. In 2009, I opened Rivendell Preschool in North Portland, an in-home registered center right on Peninsula Park. Last year we moved to Oregon City, and now Rivendell is back in business.

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Rivendell is my passion and creative outlet. I also enjoy biking, swimming, cooking, reading and travel.

My husband Joel is a licensed clinical Social Worker who specializes in young children's mental health. He has been an early childhood specialist and preschool consultant with the Clackamas ESD for 21 years. Joel is a certified Positive Discipline trainer and a master trainer for the Oregon registry which provides professional development training for early learning educators. In other words, he's invaluable to me.