Early Primary Teacher Regina Stuart received her B. A. in Political Science from Virginia Wesleyan College and studied Education in Lynchburg College’s Graduate Program. She has served as an educator for children and adults in Virginia and Wyoming for eight years and directed a licensed child care center in Staunton for four years. She and John, husband of 27 years, live in Shipman with six of their seven children; four of them have been students at NBS. She is active in community theater and community and church choirs.
   

Primary I and Art Teacher Sarah Gerome studied Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and Early Childhood Education at San Francisco State College. She taught art classes for students ages 4-15 at NBS for several years before she became the 5- and 6-year-olds’ classroom teacher. Sarah weaves her love of great stories with reading, writing, math, science, social studies, music, dance, and art projects every day. Her daughters have both attended NBS.
Primary I and Yoga Teacher Krista Crocker received her B.A. in Elementary Education from Rollins College and an M.A. in Elementary Guidance at the University of South Florida. Krista taught elementary school in Florida before becoming involved with a parent co-op preschool and then the Nelson County homeschooling community. One of her passions is her yoga practice. She is thrilled to combine her love of teaching children and yoga at North Branch. Krista has three children, all of whom attend NBS.
Primary II Teacher Natasha Jahrsdoerfer received a Bachelor of Science in Education with a minor in Drama from Queens College, followed by graduate work in Russian at George Washington University and in Education at the University of Virginia. After decades of teaching in the US and abroad, she still loves to share the passions of her life - bird watching, gardening, the out-of-doors, books and travel - with children. For twelve years Natasha has cherished and inspired children, ages 6-8, to do their best work, whether they are learning to read, write, spell, count, add, subtract, research science and social studies topics, or push in their chairs.
  Junior Class Teacher Robin Luecke participated in the SPARC program in which she taught creative writing to local elementary school students as she was pursuing her B.A. at St. Mary’s College at Maryland. In her senior year she studied Victorian literature and British history at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England. Robin then earned a Master’s degree at Salisbury State University on the eastern shore of Maryland, having received a graduate assistantship to teach freshman composition and literature. Before NBS she was active in local home schooling circles, creating learning communities that emphasized teaching the whole child in relationship to the community while also home schooling her own three children. Robin is currently on a new academic adventure, completing courses in reading research and education at UVA. In addition to her love of words and colors, she loves to windsurf, ski, camp, play music and sing, and swim in the pristine water holes of Nelson County.  
 
Junior Class Teacher Toni Raneri. Toni’s attention to the personal development of each child creates an environment for individuality to shine. She has a strong interest in conflict resolution skills and natural history that come into play in the everyday classroom. These talents, combined with her bachelor’s degree in Recreation lead students into active engagement in the learning process. During her fifteen years of working at North Branch as both a nursery and science teacher, she also worked summers in nature programs at Montessori, Wintergreen, and Camp Dogwood.
Recently Toni took a sabbatical in which she explored a variety of academic programs, including teaching children in Guatemala and South Korea, working in a summer remedial reading program, and teaching Educational Psychology on line for National University. During this period she was also earning her Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Mary Baldwin College, and observing many public school classes. Toni is very happy to be back home with the children of North Branch sharing all she has learned.
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