Afterschool Enrichment Staff
Beatriz Calderon-Rivera, Afterschool Director
Beatriz was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. She has taught Spanish at Park Day School, Walden School, Berkwood Hedge School, and Country Day School in Arlington, Texas. Beatriz was co-founder of Camp Aventura, a Spanish immersion summer camp located at Berkwood Hedge. She currently teaches middle school Spanish at Park Day School. In 2006, Beatriz returned to Berkwood Hedge as Director of the Afterschool Program.
Walker Brents III, Homework Club Teacher, Lunchtime Storyteller and Supervisor
Walker was born in Texas. He graduated from Drury College, in Springfield, Missouri, with B.A. degrees in English and Philosophy. He has worked at Berkwood Hedge since 1993, telling stories to students during lunch and recess, as well as directing Homework Club in Afterschool. Adhering to Aristotle's dictum that "The lover of myths, compact of wonders, is by the same token a lover of wisdom," Walker sees the ancient art of the story as the heart of the timeless art of education. He relates the myths of India, China, Japan and the Levant at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum, and his retellings and writings on folklore have appeared nationally in middle school textbooks. Walker regularly lectures on literary, historical and mythical topics at the Bird and Beckett Bookstore in San Francisco. His book of poetry, Mirage Farm, was published by Beatitude Press, in 2006.
Osmary Hernandez, Afterschool Teacher
Osmary was born and raised in Havana, Cuba and moved to Berkeley in 2006. She spent her first year working at Golden Gate Regional Center caring for children with developmental disabilities. She came to Berkwood Hedge in 2006, bringing her interest in arts and crafts to the Afterschool Program. She is currently taking classes at Alameda College, working towards a B.A. in Health Administration.
Sela Steiger, Kindergarten SPIRIT and Grade 1 WOOD Assistant Teacher, Aftershool Teacher
Sela was born and raised in Berkeley and is excited to be returning home after four years at Oberlin College. She has always enjoyed working with children, spending many summers as a counselor at Berkeley's JCC summer camp and tutoring during the school year at Oberlin's Prospect Elementary School in Ohio. Sela has spent the last two summers at College Preparatory School in Oakland teaching in the Partners program for academically motivated OUSD middle school students. Pursuing her passion in progressive learning and teaching, Sela will be working in the SPIRIT and WOOD classrooms, as well as helping out with the Afterschool and Lunchtime programs.