Meet Our Faculty and staff

2025 Faculty and Staff Group Photo at WILDE School Blue Mountains
  1. About
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  2. Faculty and Staff

Leadership Team

Wilde School Blue Mountains' exceptional leadership team is committed to transforming education through a mix of traditional and innovative strategies. We believe in every child's potential and guide them to become lifelong learners and future leaders.

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

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Introduction to staff member.

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Introduction to staff member.

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

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Introduction to staff member.

Ali Bush Director of Teaching and Learning / Teacher

Ali

Director of Teaching and Learning / Teacher

Ali inspires her students to be engaged, critical thinkers and creative problem solvers through her interactive teaching approach, deeply rooted in respect for the environment and a passion for healthy active living.

Jeff Barrett Founder & Executive Director

Jeff

Founder & Executive Director

Jeff is the visionary founder of WILDE School Blue Mountains, with a rich background in outdoor education and ecotourism, dedicated to fostering a new generation of passionate, educated changemakers through meaningful educational experiences.

Brayden Plummer Director of Education

Brayden

Director of Education

After getting over kicking himself for not starting something like WILDE School 20 years ago, Brayden is honoured to be a leading member of the WILDE team.

Leah Peyton Program Director

Leah

Program Director / Camp Director

Leah is a creative and passionate person focused on outdoor learning and weaving the WILDE way into every part of children’s lives—both inside and beyond WILDE.

Teachers & Educators

We have the Best Faculty Around!

We are immensely proud of our entire team at Wilde School Blue Mountains. Carefully curated and specifically chosen, our staff deliver meaningful lessons and bring community to life. Get to know them for yourself!

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

Firstname

Position Title

Introduction to staff member.

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

Firstname

Position Title

Introduction to staff member.

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

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Position Title

Introduction to staff member.

Pam Green Educator

Pam

Grade 1 & 2 Teacher

Passionate about sustainability, creativity, and adventure, Pam brings learning to life through exploration, foraging, and connecting with the land. She also shares her love of horses, weaving stories and lessons from her lifelong journey.

Curtis Shepard Educator & Summer Adventurer

Curtis

Grade 5 & 6 Teacher

Curtis’s own lifelong learning goals and experiences thus far have embedded in him a sense of wonder that he seeks to share with his students.

Diane Niec Kindergarten Teacher

Diane

Kindergarten Teacher

Diane is a multifaceted educator who combines her diverse skills to offer a uniquely immersive and creative learning experience.

CD Shrack Teacher

CD

Grade 4 & 5 Teacher

CD is a teacher and lifelong learner who inspires students through exploration, hands-on experiences, and opportunities to become well rounded, capable humans.

Sophie Keil Teacher

Sophie

Grade 7 & 8 Teacher

"I strive to empower students as critical thinkers and independent learners, encouraging them to follow their interests while supporting their unique academic needs."

Shelagh McKee Occasional and French Teacher

Shelagh

Grade 2 & 3 Teacher

Shelagh is an educator with experience teaching students all over the globe.

Specialty Instructors & Support Staff

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

Firstname

Position Title

Introduction to staff member.

Brayden-Plummer-Blue-Mountains-Wild-School-Faculty

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Position Title

Introduction to staff member.

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Introduction to staff member.

Olivia Damsma Music & French Teacher

Olivia

Music/French Teacher

Olivia is our Music and French teacher, who values nature's classroom through nurturing creativity, curiosity, and connection through outdoor learning.

Leah Ramalho Leadership & WILDE Friday

Leah

Leadership & WILDE Friday Director & Occasional Teacher

Leah is a dedicated outdoor educator with a strong background in environmental education and a deep commitment to connecting children with nature.

Garrin Carter Naturalist and Bushcraft Instructor

Garrin

Naturalist and Bushcraft Instructor

Garrin is a passionate nature connection facilitator that uses bushcraft and survival skills to help others relate to their natural surroundings .

Maria Hodgkinson Kindergarten EA

Maria

Kindergarten EA

"Hi, I’m Maria! I strive to help kids discover confidence and curiosity through outdoor learning. I love being part of an environment that supports growth, and I aim to build strong, supportive connections with students and staff."

Dave Bus Driver

Dave

The Wilde Bus Driver

Dave is the beloved driver of The Wilde Bus, known for his unwavering reliability, friendly demeanour, and the profound trust he has earned from both the parents and children of our school community.

WILDE School Circle Transparent
it takes a Special type of person

WILDE School Blue Mountains Faculty & Instructors

Our team is a group of passionate educators that want to make a lasting impact in the lives of our future leaders and in our community. To see our educators in the field is truly like watching a master craftsman at work.

The ability to teach a class of students while also accounting for weather, risk and other moving and fluid factors in the backcountry is profound.

It is truly a unique individual that is not only capable of this but thrives on it!

Interested in Joining the Team at Wilde School?

Empower the leaders of tomorrow and make a lasting difference in the world of education.

Children learn best when they like their teacher and they think their teacher likes them.
-
Dr. Gordon Neufeld,
Author, "Hold On to Your Kids"

FAQs

Curious about Wilde School and our programs? Contact us anytime and we'll be happy to walk you through our programs, our approach, and answer any questions you might have.

We value parent involvement and believe in fostering a strong partnership between home and school. Parents can volunteer in classrooms, participate in school events and committees, and engage in regular communication with teachers and administrators to support their child's educational journey at Wilde School.

At Wilde School, we prioritize inclusivity and personalized learning. Our educators are skilled in differentiating instruction to meet each student's unique needs, offering additional support, accommodations, or enrichment as required to ensure every student thrives. The small class sizes at Wilde School further enhance this tailored approach, allowing for individualized attention and fostering a supportive learning environment where every student can succeed.

We maintain small class sizes to ensure personalized attention and meaningful connections between students and teachers, fostering a supportive and collaborative learning environment. Typical class sizes are usually around 12 and not exceeding 14.

Yes, Wilde School offers a diverse range of extracurricular activities and programs tailored to the interests of our students. Our offerings have included clubs such as pottery, theatre, gardening, mountain biking, and canoeing. Given the size of our school, our sports teams primarily focus on individual sports like cross-country running and Nordic skiing, providing students with opportunities to develop skills, build teamwork, and pursue their passions outside of the classroom.

At Wilde School, our focus extends beyond academics to equip our students with essential life skills such as grit, perseverance, and adaptability. A significant component of our middle school program is cultivating the ability to become autodidacts, or self-directed learners. Our graduates are well-prepared to navigate any challenges life may present. Our holistic approach to education fosters resilience, curiosity, and a love for learning, empowering students to thrive in diverse educational settings and make a positive impact in their future endeavours.

We regularly assess and monitor student progress through ongoing formative and summative assessments, teacher observations, and student portfolios. We provide comprehensive report cards twice a year to communicate student achievement and growth in alignment with the Ontario curriculum. In addition, we create a Strategic Student Plan with our students and parents that sets out their goals and objectives for the year. We revisit this plan halfway through the year and re-evaluate its trajectory.

Yes, Wilde School adheres to the Ontario curriculum, but we enrich this framework with our distinctive approach which we call ‘the living curriculum’ and includes experiential learning, outdoor exploration, and character development. Our curriculum is not only about meeting the standard educational requirements but also about inspiring a deeper love for learning and fostering essential life skills. What's particularly fascinating is that our students consistently surpass the baseline expectations for their grade level. This achievement is a testament to the effectiveness of our holistic educational model, which nurtures curiosity, resilience, and a passion for continuous growth in each student.

Our curriculum at Wilde School emphasizes hands-on, experiential learning, outdoor exploration, and the development of essential life skills alongside academic subjects. We focus on fostering a growth mindset, building healthy relationships, and instilling leadership qualities in our students to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Wilde School offers programs from Kindergarten through Grade 8, providing a seamless educational journey from early childhood to early adolescence.  We will be announcing a unique High School program in the coming months.

Wilde School is committed to providing a holistic and experiential learning environment that fosters curiosity, resilience, and a love for learning. Our educational approach integrates academic rigor with outdoor exploration, emotional intelligence, and community engagement to nurture well-rounded individuals prepared for lifelong success.

WILDE School starts at 8:45am and ends at 3:30pm (unless your child is in a club, these programs typically end at 4:30pm). We highly encourage parents to drop their children off right at 8:45am.

The first block of the day (25 min) is for free play (or water cooler time as Jeff calls it), we also offer study hall during this block. This is vital for students' morning routine to transition.

There is a lot of research surrounding the importance of transition times in students' daily routines in which they can free play, socialize and ground. It allows for students to ‘let a little air out of the tires’, which is very important for most students' concentration levels.

We encourage parents to communicate with your child's teacher first, coming to the team of directors if you need further support. At WILDE School we teach our students to be proactive problem solvers and not let any problems grow because they were left unattended.