Kristina Skladaitis, Grade 2

Kristina Skladaitis was born in Philadelphia and spent most of her childhood in Bucks County. She is a first generation American and is very proud of her Latvian and Lithuanian heritage. Her family is very important to her and because of this spends a great deal of time with her parents, sister, grandmother and friends. Ms. Skladaitis grew up surrounded by teachers; her mother and aunt currently teach in elementary schools and her father spent a few years teaching at La Salle High School. She began baby sitting at the age of eight and has always had a strong connection with children.

In college, however, Ms. Skladaitis chose to branch out and studied criminal justice. In 1998 she received a Bachelor of Science degree from Shippensburg University. A few years later she truly realized her passion for teaching and earned an Elementary Education Certification through the graduate studies program at West Chester University. She has been involved in teaching for over six years, in both elementary and middle schools. This will mark Ms. Skladaitis's fifth year at Green Woods and her eighth year of teaching. She has developed many interests over the years including; tennis, knitting, reading, cooking, gardening, music (the arts) and traveling. Some of her favorite places are St. John, USVI and Shenandoah National Park.

One of my favorite things about teaching at Green Woods is the opportunity to work with an amazing group of students and teachers while surrounded by 300 acres of forest.  It’s not very often that you get to teach about the environment both inside and outside the classroom.  While the students are learning new things everyday, I feel that I am as well.  I have become a much better teacher due in large part to the incredible team of teachers that I get to work with every day.  Green Woods is such a unique school and I feel lucky to be part of this family. 

Jean Wallace, Academic Director

As the Academic Director and CEO, Jean is responsible for guiding the design and implementation of our award-winning curriculum and for supporting the direction of all areas of school life. Jean works in collaboration with our staff, Board, community and educational partners to build on our successful past toward an even greater future.

Charter schools are public schools.  As such Jean is accountable to the Department of Education for ensuring that our students are receiving a standards-based learning experience from qualified teachers within the guidelines and mandates of Federal, State, and Charter School Law. In addition to the many responsibilities associated with curriculum and instruction, Jean supports Green Woods through successful grant writing, ongoing website communication, mentoring our Jr. School Leadership Team mediation team, and by networking with key partners from within and outside the Green Woods community.

As a member of the Governor's Council for Environmental Education, Jean works with many of the State's environmental experts and agencies. "By working collaboratively with the Department of Education and the outstanding environmental agencies throughout our state, Green Woods is able to gain both valuable resources along with well-deserved local, state and national recognition for the exceptional work being done by our teachers and students," Jean said.
In addition to the daily interactions with Green Woods dedicated staff and parents, Jean enjoys those rare and special times when she gets to trail along on hikes with our budding naturalists. "Hiking with even our youngest students and seeing how they interact with the natural world always presents a wonderful learning opportunity for me. While many young children enjoy walking in the woods, Green Woods students are skilled observers, able to take in the big picture of the field ecosystem while at the same time patiently exploring the leaf litter in search of the smallest signs of life."
Jean currently holds four Pennsylvania education certifications: Principal K-12, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, K-12 Environmental Education, and Elementary Education. She earned her post-graduate certifications and her MAEd in Environmental Education from Arcadia University, a BA in Elementary Education from Beaver College, and an Associate Degree in Health Science from Gwynedd Mercy College.

Each day is a new day of exploration and discovery as we challenge each other to provide the best possible learning environment for our students.

In less than four years time our amazing teaching staff has taken teaching and learning to a whole new level. Working in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, our teachers, themselves, developed our K-8 award-winning EIC Curriculum which engages our students in integrated learning experiences that span all disciplines. Utilizing our 350-acre learning laboratory as an outdoor classroom, our partnership with the Schuylkill Center continues to grow and thrive as the Center’s expert educators spend many hours working with our classroom teachers to enhance the teaching of environment and ecology concepts.

Green Woods is the only public/charter school in the entire country to be housed directly within a nature center. Years ago I earned my graduate degree by utilizing this same setting as a laboratory for learning. It is so rewarding to now spend time observing our students as they explore and discover new things while hiking in the same woods where I learned so much about the natural world.