College of Teachers

The College of Teachers consists of faculty and staff members who have a deep inner commitment to the impulse of Waldorf Education and typically have served at our school for a minimum of 1 year. The College of Teachers is responsible and provides leadership for all pedagogical aspects of the school. Current members of the College of Teachers are Sarah Beasley, Silke Markowski and Beth Krieger-Fritsch

Sarah Beasley earned her degrees in History and Geology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she also nurtured her love for the outdoors and traveled extensively while studying abroad in Europe. After graduating, Sarah had adventures collecting stories from Native American elders in Oklahoma, writing grants for a lake association in the northernmost part of Maine, and leading teenage boys on backpacking and climbing trips. Sarah discovered Waldorf education while working on a migrant farm crew, raking wild blueberries, and fell in love with the holistic approach to education. After completing her teacher training at the Arcturus program in Chicago, Sarah spent time in Ireland as a gardener and baker at a Camphill community. From there she was called to Taos by her wonderful class!

Beth Krieger-Fritsch moved from the Midwest to Taos in 2007. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse with a double major in English and Spanish, and then moved to Minneapolis, MN where she taught as a Certified Montessori Teacher in a preschool and kindergarten room. When she moved to Taos she began teaching at Twirl for Kidspace and Music classes, mentoring Taos youth in creative writing, and running Little Hands Playschool — an at-home daycare with Montessori and Waldorf influences. She has also taught as a swim instructor and an ESL teacher. She is inspired by the Waldorf approach to education and is very excited to teach Games and Movement at TWS where she will share her love of the outdoors and exercise while incorporating physical, emotional and social awareness into each class. Beth speaks Spanish, is an avid runner, biker, skier, and hiker, and also loves to garden, write, and read. She lives near school with her husband, Tom, and two children Oliver and Mae.

 Silke Markowski was born in 1965 in a small village in Germany. After finishing her educator’s training, she traveled to the U.S., where through her work with children she discovered Waldorf education. She brings over twenty years of teaching experience to the Gnomes Kindergarten where she has shares her love of music and puppetry. Silke has been a happy Gnome teacher for fifteen years and feels blessed with the magic, beauty and love the children bring into her life and a community that makes her feel at home.  Silke is also the Director of the Early Childhood Program.