La Jolla Private Elementary School Faculty

Wendy Cotton holds a B.A. degree in education with an emphasis in early childhood development and fine arts, and a multiple subjects teaching credential. She also holds an A.A. degree in music, and is an accomplished cellist having performed in many southern California symphony orchestras over the past two decades. Her previous experience includes teaching K-3 in the Oceanside School District for fifteen years.  She has most recently worked as a reading intervention specialist for the Carlsbad Unified School District. She is also the owner/director of Curtain Call Kidz, a creative dramatics performing arts program for children. 

Her responsibilities as lead teacher at IES include curriculum development, student assessments, and parent education. She also teaches Orff Schulwerk music and drama classes in the afternoons. Wendy appreciates the uniqueness, creativity, and beauty in every child. She loves to inspire children to push beyond their boundaries and reach for their greatest dreams.  Wendy is excited to be part of the IES teaching team and is very dedicated to supporting the school’s vision and growth.

After getting her credential in elementary education, Kari spent two years substitute teaching with various grade levels and worked summer sessions as a primary teacher. She worked as a Montessori Pre-K teacher for two years before coming to Rainbow Kids Integral School, and starting the early elementary program there, in 2005. She has been a dedicated part of the Integral schools and community ever since then!

Shelley Glaze is the Upper Elementary teacher (grades 3rd, 4th, and 5^th). Shelley received her B.A. from University of Portland, where she majored in Philosophy with a special emphasis on the philosophy of education. Her minor was Elementary Education. Upon graduating, Shelley began teaching first and second grade at a private school. A few years later, she got her M.A.T. in Elementary Education from Lewis and Clark College. 

Shelley has taught grades ranging from kindergarten to fifth grade. She has tutored homeless children, was the assistant director of an after school program, and worked as a children’s librarian. Shelley’s purpose as a teacher is to create life-long learners in her students. She believes the role of the teacher is to be a facilitator, a guide, to assist students in their learning. In her classroom, teaching must be student-centered to emphasize the student’s active role within his/her learning. 

Shelley considers herself a life-long learner. She is an avid reader, beachcomber, and a pet lover. Shelley truly believes in the philosophy of IES and is proud to be part of this refreshing and innovative educational community.

The 2010/2011 school year marks Leslie's first year as a teacher at Integral Elementary School (IES)! She teaches second and third grade and is also our music and drama instructor. Graduating from Baruch College, in New York City, Leslie received a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Creative Writing, with a minor in Educational Psychology. She holds a CLAD- and NCLB-compliant Multiple Subject California Teaching Credential with supplementary subject matter authorization in English, which she obtained through an accelerated program at SDSU. For the past year, Leslie had been teaching within San Diego Unified School District as a pre-kindergarten teacher. She has experience teaching children from the pre-kindergarten level through twelfth grade. Leslie also has extensive training and experience in the performing arts and has performed in over 50 productions.

Leslie utilizes varied instructional methods in which she acts as a facilitator, not knowledge-giver. Through the provision of creative and differentiated activities that cater to multiple intelligences and varied learning styles, she encourages meaningful learning that pushes higher-level thinking and allows every student to develop all aspects of his or her being. Above all, she is committed to ensuring that children develop a love of learning and seek to discover their unique, meaningful paths. Leslie believes strongly in the school's vision and is excited to be a dedicated member of the IES community!

Lauren Duke is our Yoga and Awareness Through the Body (ATB) teacher. Originally from Northern California, Lauren began her lifelong love with yoga long before she began practicing the physical elements of yoga in high school. As a child, she began a ballet, tap and jazz class in which the teacher explored differerent movements, including yoga and Tai Chi. She didnt realize until years later, when her studies in the foundations of yoga began, that the movement she played with as a young child was helping with contributing to her focus and awareness through her body as an adult.

Lauren started studying the philosophies of yoga in 2002 in Orange County, and then moved back up to Northern California to continue her studies in San Francisco. She attended journalism school at San Francisco State, then moved to Costa Rica where she attended the Nosara Yoga Institute and studied interdisciplinary yoga and yoga for kids while living in community there.

Her inspriration from the Institute compelled her to move back to Northern California and open her own studio, called Seed 2 Tree Yoga. Lauren founded a kids yoga program called "The Sprouts." It's no surprise that her love for children and passion for inspiration through yoga compelled her to share the things that she learned with the next generation. She says that getting the experience to work with such amazing children is just part of the perks of her yoga practice. Her mission is to teach the children that everything they learn on the mat they can also take into their everyday lives, so they can learn how to relate and connect more with themselves and their surrounding environment. "Yoga is not only a posture, it's a way of life."

Because of her commitment to the school, in 2008 Lon was invited to become a member of the Board of Directors as a parent liaison. Her current roll at the school is designing of marketing ads and fliers; managing the new school blog, daily calendar, and monthly newsletters; and helping with student supervision in the office and during lunch and recess. She is thrilled to be a part of this dynamic organization and make a contribution to the education of the future.