2007-2008 School Year
Bob Schlichting has a B.S. in Special Education K-12 and Secondary Psychology with a minor in Sociology/Anthropology. For four-plus years he worked at Aerie Academy as headmaster, counselor, and instructor. Prior to that, Bob worked in Lewiston, Idaho, at Northwest Children's Home as a Special Education instructor dealing with socially and emotionally disturbed children. He began teaching at Wellsprings Friends School in the fall of 2001.
Chanci Herer graduated with a BA in English/Writing from Southern Oregon University. Before coming to Wellsprings, she volunteered at Ashland High School as an ASPIRE mentor, a writing tutor, and an English as a Second Language (ESL) assistant. She has published one short story and is an avid port. She is also a singer/songwriter who can work her way around a guitar. Chanci came to Wellsprings in September 2005
Dennis Hoerner serves as School Head. He holds a Ph.D. in English, specializing in Literature and Psychology. He has over 25 years experience teaching in higher education, including thirteen years at a Japanese public university. He served as Humanities Division Chair at Lindsay Wilson College, a liberal arts church-related college in Columbia, Kentucky. He worked for a year at Lane Community College in student advising. Dennis has been with Wellsprings since July, 2000.
Hanya Etter studied music at the UO and after marrying a German, lived in Germany for 15 years, raising a son and daughter. She returned to Eugene and now plays viola in the Eugene Symphony and the Eugene Opera Orchestra. Hanya has a private studio where she teaches viola and violin. She is a member of the Eugene Friends Meeting, and began teaching German at Wellsprings in the fall of 2002.
James Napoli grew up in southern New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. He graduated from Ithaca College in 2005, then worked at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as an audio archivist for a year before coming to Wellsprings. James has also lived and studied in Ireland, South Africa, and the Namgyal Buddhist Monastery.
Miya Shimada, a native of Japan, lived for seven years in India and moved to the U.S. in 1989. She has taught widely from elementary school children to college students. She has a M.A. in Oriental Philosophy from Waseda University in Japan and both a M.A. in Buddhist Studies and a M.S. in Information Science from the University of Michigan. Miya has been at Wellsprings since the spring of 2004. Besides teaching several classes, she serves as our school Librarian.
Paul Schroder has a B.A. in History and Political Science, a M.A. in Secondary Social Studies, and a J.D. While practicing law, he worked as a prosecutor as well as a workers' compensation attorney. He has an Oregon teaching license, and has taught World Geography and History. He also taught test preparation courses for Kaplan. He began teaching at Wellsprings in the fall of 2001.
Sam Smith teaches advanced mathematics and assists in other math classes. He has a B.A. in history, a M.S. in mathematics, and a M.Div. He taught mathematics at George School, a Quaker school near Philadelphia, for thirty years. Supposedly "retired," he has been volunteering his mornings to Wellsprings since September 2001.
Sonja Mae is a senior at Prescott College in Arizona and studies Sustainable Community Development in a community-based mentoring program. She has an Associates Degree from Lane Community college. As a native to Texas's high desert panhandle, she has a diverse background stemming from her mother's Korean culture. She has experience in USFS research, community building and has taught outdoor education through the Riverhouse as a river guide, rock
climbing instructor, drum circle facilitator and bicycle safety instructor for 2 years.
Yancey DeYoung works full time as our Office Manager, and typically teaches one class per semester, in personal finance, history or yearbook. She has a B.S. in Sociology and Women's Studies, along with studies in American Sign Language. She worked at another alternative school for several years, and has been at Wellsprings since the fall of 2002.
