About

Administration

​Darcy Campbell, ExecutiveDirector
[email protected]
Darcy has been directing at Cow Hollow School since 2002. Darcy has over 30 years of experience working with teachers, families and children in the Bay Area. She has more than 25 years of Site Administration experience and has taught and learned from children three months to twelve years old. She teaches early childhood and elementary education courses at San Francisco State University and conducts early childhood training and consultations with families, schools, and educational organizations throughout the Bay Area. She is a strong advocate for children and specializes in reflective, responsive, collaborative teaching and parenting practices. Darcy is the founder of The COLLABORATORY, a parent and teacher workshop series and the co-founder of REAL PARENTING, a workshop and coaching practice for parents. Darcy holds a graduate degree in early childhood development.

Trevor Valentino, Chief Operating Officer
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Trevor started teaching at Cow Hollow School since 2007 and moved into an administrative role in 2017. Trevor received his B.A. in African American Studies and English at the University of California, Berkeley. He later received an M.A. in early child education from San Francisco State University where he wrote about his collaborative experience with teachers in Kenya.  He comes from a strong constructivist perspective which endorses an emergent curriculum, child-centered approach to education. He is interested in inclusive early childhood programs and the effects such programs have on children’s social consciousness development. Trevor is also the Summer Program Coordinator which he has helped run for the last several years.

Leslie Norris, Office Administrator and Director of Admissions
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Leslie joined the Cow Hollow School community in 2004 as a parent. Since then, two of her children have graduated from Cow Hollow School with one interning during the CHS Summer Program. Leslie has served on the Parent Association and Cow Hollow School Board as Director of Community Enrichment and Visibility. Leslie began working as the school office administrator and admissions director in 2009. She received her Masters in Early Childhood Education and California Teaching credential from Mills College.

Melissa Rivers,  Curriculum Coordinator ([email protected])

Melissa has been teaching at Cow Hollow School since 2008. She has been an early childhood educator for over 17 years. Melissa has worked with children ranging in ages from 6 months to 6 years old as well as with intern teachers and alongside parents in the classroom. She received her BA in Child Development from Sacramento State University and her MA in Education with a focus on Early Childhood Education from San Francisco State University. Melissa has experience conducting workshops for educators and parents with organizations including CAEYC and The Innovative Teacher Project. Melissa is a dedicated advocate for forming strong partnerships with parents and families of young children. In 2022, she moved out of the classroom and became the Curriculum Coordinator for the school. She works closely with all the teachers and supports them in developing and implementing high quality inquiry based curriculum that integrates our school values and guiding principles.

Teachers

Christina Chin ([email protected])

Christina joined Cow Hollow School in 2021. Christina was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated from San Francisco State University with Bachelors in Child and Adolescent Development. Last year, after many years of teaching and wanting to earn her Masters, she decided to go back to school.  She is currently in her second year in the online MA Early Childhood Education Program at the University of Colorado, Denver.  As an early childhood educator, Christina sees the importance of supporting the children in developing their social-emotional skills and confidence to know they are capable and competent. She really enjoys listening to the children and asking them questions to provoke their thoughts to see where their ideas lead to support them in loving to learn.  She enjoyed her first school year at CHS and looks forward to another exciting year. 

Lucy Cline ([email protected])

Sam Estrada ([email protected])

Sam joined Cow Hollow in October 2020. She graduated from San Francisco State University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s in Child and Adolescent Development. In the midst of her studies two recurring questions would pop up: “Why do I want to work with children? What draws me to this field?” It was these key questions that required her to reflect on her time in the field, studies, and deep within. Sam’s answers rarely varied. They were always embedded with love and understanding– the two driving forces that push her to work with youth . Sam is interested in children’s self-development, self-awareness, and self-identity.  In every situation, lesson, or moment that she finds herself engaged with children, she strives to support them through love and understanding, the two pillars that guide her work with youth. Sam is currently pursuing a degree in Psychology and next year hopes to obtain a MA in School Counseling. She has worked with children of all ages through employment and various volunteer programs, such as the San Francisco Education Fund’s mentor program and Mission Graduates.

Cassie Fennel ([email protected]) 

Cassie joined Cow Hollow School in 2022. She began working with children when she was a teenager and her passion for working with the early childhood age group has only grown! Cassie has always been interested in how the mind of a young child works and how to enhance their curiosity of the world. Cassie’s education has focused on early childhood education with an emphasis on social and behavioral psychology. She graduated from CSU Long Beach with a BA in Human Development and a minor in Child and Family Studies. While in college she worked at a Reggio Emilia inspired school where she was able to practice her naturalistic and learner-centered teaching style. Cassie has also worked as a Registered Behavioral Technician supporting children with behavioral challenges to reach their goals. In the ABA field she taught children to use effective coping skills and mindfulness to benefit their everyday life. She believes the best teaching approach comes from love, understanding, and patience.

Cindy Grynkiewicz ([email protected])

Cindy began teaching at Cow Hollow School in May 2021 and moved from Dallas to the Bay Area in Spring 2021. Cindy is an auntie to three little ones in Dallas. She earned her B.S. in Elementary Education with a concentration in Middle School Mathematics from the University of Delaware. Cindy has worked with children from ages 1-13 for eight years. Cindy looks forward to continuing to deepen her relationships within the CHS community. Cindy is particularly excited to build children’s confidence through love, guidance, and play!

Emily Kish ([email protected])

Emily joined Cow Hollow School in 2022. She earned a BA in Early Childhood Studies with a concentration in Education from Sonoma State University. Emily’s career in the field of early education brought her from Sonoma to the city of San Francisco. Her intention is to work alongside the children, connect to their relationship with natural materials while integrating concepts of mindfulness in  teaching. Emily  looks forward to making connections with the children, their interests, and families.

Jamie Kelty, Teaching Artist ([email protected])

Jamie has been with Cow Hollow School since 2012 and has enjoyed the privilege of sharing art experiences with children since 1992. She works also as an assemblage/collage painter with a variety of mediums which translates well into exploring a multitude of materials with children. She received her B.F.A. in painting and her K-12 art teaching certificate from Fort Hays State University in Kansas. Jamie taught art in schools in Kansas, Missouri, and New York City. She worked at the The Children’s Museum of the Arts in New York teaching in public programs and in schools, creating programming, and managing the Fine Arts Studio teaching artists. Jamie regularly presents studio workshops for parents and educators through The COLLABORATORY at Cow Hollow School and The Innovative Teacher Project in San Francisco.

Natalie Kleefeld ([email protected])

Natalie joined Cow Hollow in 2021. ​She began her work in the field of early childhood education in 2004. Since then, she has taught in a range of Reggio-inspired infant, toddler, preschool, and kindergarten classrooms in independent, public, cooperative, and university laboratory settings in California and Massachusetts. She earned an M.A in Child Development from Tufts University as well as a Post-Master’s Certificate in Early Childhood Research, Policy and Practice from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Her work in the field has largely focused on progressive early childhood pedagogy and the influence of the schools of Reggio Emilia in the United States. From 2012-2016, she worked as a research assistant to Lella Gandini, U.S. Liaison for the Reggio Emilia Approach. She is passionate about working toward quality early childhood education and takes a special interest in documentation, inquiry-based learning, and supporting an environment that invites rich collaboration with children, families, and colleagues. She is a bookworm and enjoys photography, the visual arts, and spending time in the garden with her daughter, Aada, and partner, Kyle. Natalie’s daughter also attends Cow Hollow School!

Sienna Nobleza ([email protected])

Sienna began teaching at Cow Hollow School in October 2020. She earned her BA in Child and Adolescent Development and her MA in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education, both from San Francisco State University. She has been an early childhood educator for the past 6 years working with children from four months to five years old.  Sienna is eager to create strong relationships with children and their families, form connections with colleagues, and is motivated to grow in her passion for this field.  She is an advocate for social-emotional development, honors the curiosity of young children, and strives to promote inclusivity wherever and whenever she can.  Sienna enjoys witnessing children making their own discoveries and is grateful to be a guide to them in their ever changing environment.

Raquel Petty ([email protected])

Raquel began teaching at Cow Hollow School in July 2021. She received her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education and B.S. in Psychology from the University of Utah. She has worked in the educational setting with various age groups for 8 years. Raquel is an advocate for inclusive early childhood programs as they provide students of all abilities the opportunity to learn together, build friendships, improve social-emotional skills, and acceptance of others. She is passionate about understanding how early experiences, beginning at birth, will shape cognitive, social-emotional, language, and motor development and what we as educators and caregivers can do to promote healthy development in young children.

Simone began working at Cow Hollow School in 2021. Simone is honored to be a member of the Cow Hollow community. She comes from a family of educators and spent her childhood “playing school.” This childhood obsession quickly turned into a lifelong passion when she came to the Bay Area to study Political Science at San Francisco State University. There she worked on various research projects in conjunction with the Early Childhood Education Department and Head Start Program that motivated Simone to become an educator and advocate for young children. She strives to create a warm and inspiring environment where all children are empowered to create their own learning, form lasting friendships, and have an impact on their world. Simone has continued her education at City College of San Francisco and enjoys attending various professional development workshops and conferences where she learns about topics ranging from arts and activism to supporting children’s play. She now has a Site Supervisor Permit from the California Department of Teacher Credentialing and plans to receive her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Educational Leadership at Mills College.