SCFS Staff

Meet the Staff

Anita Ott, Principal

Hi, I’m Anita Ott…mom, grandma, educator, lover of kayaking, dance, and travel. My two sons are Jeremy and Jesse, ages 28 and 27. They are my greatest joys. My grandson Miles just turned one on Sept. 24. He brings an amazing love to my life. Penny (married to Jeremy) and Veronica (Jesse’s girlfriend) have become my wonderful daughters by loving my sons. They are my family!

Oregon State, University of Oregon, and Lewis & Clark are the colleges where I studied to become an educator. I am currently the Principal of South Columbia Family School. I was a principal in Hillsboro, a classroom teacher, staff developer, talented and gifted specialist, reading specialist, and student supervisor in Beaverton.

Retirement came at the age of 51 after 30 years in the field of education. I traveled, I golfed, I had lunch out, I kayaked, I volunteered, but I missed working with educators and children. So when the opportunity came to apply for the half-time principal position at SCFS, I couldn’t resist. I’m so happy to have this role. It is the perfect balance for my life. I love it so much I call it my “hobby job.” My friends tease me and say I flunked retirement.

When I’m not working, Mondays are with grandson Miles. I can also be seen on a river kayaking, taking ballroom dance lessons, and/or traveling (some short weekend trips, others a little farther). Currently, a camel in

Egypt

is calling me to come over for a ride and the Nile is asking me to cruise.

In the meantime, I am bursting with excitement that we are building our school facility. I’ve learned so much from this process. As the leader of our school, I am also a learner. It’s a good reminder that when someone is learning something new…be patient! Good things take time.

Vickie Weaver, Secretary

Graduating from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration May 1980, I came back to Portland and worked in an attorney’s office. My mom had moved out to Warren and took me to a little church in Scappoose, where I met my husband Tom in November. Two months later we got married. Twenty-six years and four boys later we are still here.

I was a stay-at-home mom for 20 years. Our eldest, Josh, had severe brain damage due to having spinal meningitis when he was two weeks old. He died when he was eleven. I consider that my great learning experience of life. Skyler is at OSU pursuing his PhD in electrical engineering. Jared is a senior at OSU getting his exercise/sports science and education degree. Doug is a freshman at Columbia College in Missouri studying Psychology to be a counselor/youth pastor.

I was a substitute teacher for six years and am currently the office manager for South Columbia Family School.

We attend Columbia River Four Square and are very involved in the high school and community theatre programs. Currently I am a Mom’s-in-Touch leader for a college group, assist with chapel at Lewis and Clark, am on the board of the Columbia Pregnancy Center, attend belly dance lessons, and take tap dance lessons with my husband. Instead of “empty nest”, I realize we are starting a “30 year honeymoon!”

Paula Irvin, Grade 1 and 2 Teacher

Paula Irvin Following a career in the legal field, I have been in the educational field for over 10 years now. In 2004, I joined the staff of South Columbia Family School as a Community Day Teacher and Educational Coordinator. Having grown up in the Scappoose area and attending Scappoose schools, I feel like this position brought me back home to where my love for education all began.

Prior to coming to South Columbia Family School, I taught third grade at Damascus Christian School for seven years. During my time at Damascus, I enjoyed the small classroom atmosphere where parental involvement was encouraged. After this, it felt very comfortable to transition to a home-school program. Again, parents are very involved, the classes are small, and I get more individual time with each student.

I currently live in West Linn with my husband, Jim, and a mini Schnauzer named Kitty. The three of us love to go for walks in the park and on long country drives. Traveling has always been a passion of mine, and I have been blessed to see parts of Europe, Alaska, Florida and the East Coast States, and Canada. During one spring break, I was happy to attend an educational tour of Spain and France. I was pleased to learn that Notre Dame was an actual cathedral and not just the name of a football team. Another highlight of this trip was getting to see a large number of original paintings by impressionist artists including Monet and Renoir.

I spent a summer in Norway on a short-term mission trip. During that time, the group I was with helped build a conference center and visited local churches throughout the area. On another mission trip, I traveled to Portugal as a cheerleader with Multnomah Bible College. Our team/group played basketball and held basketball clinics for local residents.

Some of my favorite things to do are playing board games with my family, knitting, scrapbooking, craft projects, and I’m teaching myself how to play the piano. I like to spend my spare time with my family and my dog, who is really like a child to me.

Teaching has been a joy in my life, and I find working with students to be very rewarding. I love to see the excitement when students learn a new concept and are proud to tell others about it. Thank you for allowing me to teach your children. I consider it a privilege.

Susan Sulivan, Grade 3, 4 and 5 Teacher

Susan Sullivan This is my third year at SCFS, but I’ve been an educator for about 35 years. Six years ago I retired from the Hillsboro SD after ten years of teaching and 20 years in school administration. I spent two years teaching teachers in South Africa with the Peace Corps and couldn’t wait to get back to working with kids, so here I am! I can’t think of a more perfect way to satisfy my passion for teaching and learning than to spend one day a week with 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders at our special school. The rest of my week I coordinate the field experience and student teaching portion of the Masters in Education Program at the Oregon campus of the University of Phoenix. I also teach classes and supervise student teachers. You can see that I get to teach a wide range of students. It is the best of both worlds! Everything I do with my “younger” students informs how I support my University students. The “younger” ones teach me and I pass on what I learn to my “older” students.

Some of you know how much I love animals and that I brought a dog back from South Africa. Her name is Sesi Cnani, which means “little sister” in Zulu, but I just call her Sesi. I thought that you might enjoy meeting her, so I have included her in my photo.

Julie Swanson, Grade 6, 7, and 8 Teacher

Julie Swanson I have been working in the field of education for thirteen years, but my experience started at 4 years old. I started my career as a teacher by lining up my stuffed animals and handing very detailed instructions. I have always loved teaching and working with kids.

I started my career in a middle school near Seattle. I quickly came to love the unique personalities of middle school students. From there, I moved to Salem Oregon where I worked in a private middle school and later high school focusing on Language Arts and Social Studies. My experience there allowed me to bring creativity in the classroom through project based education.

Three years ago I was offered an adventure. I took some time off from the classroom to work as a consultant. I worked with teachers through the United States, assisting them in their professional goals in the classroom. I greatly enjoyed the travel and meeting teachers from all over.

My professional life change drastically last summer with the arrival of my son. On June 17, we welcomed Owen into our family. If you want to see pictures just ask!!!!!

This is my first year at South Columbia Family School. I enjoy working with the talented staff and amazing families.