Our team tends the children in every way, shape, and form. Toy curation? Done. Nutritious meals? Coming up. Need help navigating an “emotionally messy day”? On it. With gentle observation, patient coaching, loving guidance, and silly play, this top notch team ushers children – and the parents and guardians, too! – through these formative years. We are super proud to offer our team generous benefits including health care. Our approach is that the children are our priority, the parents/guardians are our customers, and the teachers are the superglue that hold everyone together. So when we support the teachers, everything else works out for the best.
A few more details.
Kai (they/them) has been the Director of Mud Pies Preschool since 2020. They have been with the program since it began. They moved to Portland from California in 2018, where they found their calling in preschool. They are passionate about play-based learning, and respecting & connecting with each child as an individual. When they are not raising the next generation, they enjoy reading cozy mysteries, hanging out with their cats Halloween & Loki, and finding new recipes to try.
When they joined the Mud Pies team in November 2021, Cha Cha (they/them) jumped right in, supporting students’ social and emotional growth and helping them meet their play urges safely. Whether at school or not, Cha Cha is probably singing or learning languages. Outside of work they enjoy biking, playing tabletop games with their loved ones, watching the ducks at Laurelhurst Park, and performing with the Portland Lesbian Choir.
Dana (she/her) folded into the Mud Pies Preschool scene smoothly in August 2019 and is an integral part of the team. She is always trying to capture the moments of play for families and visitors to get a glimpse into the children’s world.
Kat (she/her) is a teacher at Mud Pies Preschool. She joined us in May 2023 with more than a decade of experience. She enjoys creating personal connections with high needs children, and working to help promote their ability to self regulate through the use of social emotional learning and coping mechanisms. In her spare time she likes crafting and Lego.
Donny (they/them) started working in early childhood education when they were only 17 years old. Over 15 years later they’re still passionate about learning and growing alongside children, recognizing that there is always something new to learn at any age. Donny’s teaching philosophy revolves around the idea that any activity can be a learning moment for a child, and that a teacher’s primary purpose is to help the child recognize and reinforce the lessons they are learning. When not teaching, Donny works as a documentary film producer and relaxes by playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends.
Favorite Beverages 😉
Kai: black cold brew; seasonal coffees
Dana: herbal tea (lemon); decaf mocha
Cha Cha: herbal tea (cinnamon); chai with oat milk
Kat: hot chocolate
Donny:
Did you know? Our team can collectively communicate in more than 5 languages!
American Sign Language (ASL), French, Hmong, Malagasy, and Spanish, and of course, English
The Support Crew
Meredith Sorensen (she/they) and Gene Wixson (he/him) are the owners and support crew for the preschool. Meredith does mostly bookkeeping and general maintenance for the school, with occasional teacher responsibilities. Gene’s current professional pursuits include excavation, building homes, consulting, and power pole installation throughout the Portland metro area via Two Mountain Company. When something is broken or needs to be built, Gene usually has the right tool and skill to get the job done. Running a preschool was never part of their life plan but it’s been a rewarding adventure. Meredith and Gene live nearby with their two young children (one MPP alum, one current). They are grateful to help support the powerful possibilities of play-based education within this community.
All staff are vaccinated against Covid-19, and enrolled/certified in:
Oregon’s Childcare Central Background Registry (CBR)
Pediatric CPR/First Aid
Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect (RRCAN)
Food Handler’s Card
Child Health & Safety Course
Prevention is Better than Treatment
Foundations For Learning
Safe Sleep
I will continue to work for the day when this is common knowledge, when we all know that play is the core of how children learn, that we can trust them to learn what they need to learn, that they must have freedom in order to become their best selves, the mentally and emotionally healthy selves we all need to be if humanity is to survive and thrive.
