Ms. Susan Andrews: A Life-Long Teacher of Our Time

At the end of August, 2020, during a virtual gathering of faculty and staff for our annual in-service prior to the beginning of classes, I experienced “Cedarwood without Ms. Susan” for the first time in my 21 years of life at the school.

Although I was still surrounded by supportive colleagues, I felt an inner vulnerability similar to that of a child in its natural maturing process, when it leaves the warm, familiar “nest” of its parents.

In the autumn of 1999, soon after I began teaching Japanese language to four first graders and nine second graders at Cedarwood during its “toddler” stage, I was invited to a faculty meeting in the little cottage next door to the school (we were renting a church building), where I met Ms. Susan.

She was sitting in a small circle with three other teachers in a cozy, home-like environment. Even though I was neither able to understand nor speak English fluently, in addition to having a limited knowledge of Waldorf education at the time, she authentically welcomed me with her warm, grounded, and love-filled presence, instantly relieving my anxiety and sense of insecurity.

I experientially realized that her particular warmth was generated not only from her kind and well-rounded personality but also, and more importantly, from her profound knowledge and embodied wisdom.

I felt instantly understood, included, and fully embraced irrespective of my language barrier and cultural difference.

From that time on, she guided and supported me, encouraging my professional development with warmth, trust, and forgiveness. Although she taught me countless lessons over many years, her teaching was never authoritative nor intimidating. Rather, she listened, understood, saw my becoming, then gave me a space in which to make mistakes. She took time to help me reflectively process with unwavering confidence and support. In these ways she contributed to my development as a teacher as well as a school leader.

Ms. Susan’s deep love for children and Waldorf education, as well as her care for humanity permeate her whole being. This is evident not only in her teaching of preschoolers and young parents, but also in her leadership.

In addition to our full-time teaching work, she and I worked many years together in various leadership roles at Cedarwood, at a time when the leadership role was undertaken on an entirely volunteer basis. Although we participated in countless hours of decision-making meetings after school, she always worked with positive enthusiasm and a sense of commitment. She set her self-interest aside and sought the well-being of the children, the school organization, and its community. Her fundamental orientation has always been to offer, nurture, and give, rather than to seek personal gain. This kind of selflessness is similar to what parents express towards their children.

As a founder of Cedarwood Waldorf School, her focus has been the growth and development of the school and the serving of the community.

The school is now 23 years old, with strong teachers, staff, and community. It has grown and matured in a way that we can now offer, nurture, and give back to the outer world. Ms. Susan’s compassionate teaching and selfless service are resonating throughout the school as a fundamental way of being.

Although she has graciously agreed to remain connected with us and offer her support from the periphery, Ms. Susan is stepping away from direct, active teaching at Cedarwood. This is a symbolic moment in Cedarwood history which can be seen as the school entering into its phase of adulthood. It is now our task and responsibility to maintain this gesture of selfless service and deep understanding of human development, and carry it into the future growth of the school.

Thank you, Ms. Susan. You are a master teacher and honorable human being. You taught us and supported each one of us to freely become who we are. Without you, we, Cedarwood Waldorf School, would not have become who we are today.

With deepest appreciation and respect,
Chiaki Uchiyama, Pedagogical Director

I always describe our first years at Cedarwood as feeling like a warm hug, largely because of Ms. Susan’s loving care, and the community she built within our classes. I feel so fortunate that both our daughters began their school years in her embrace, watching rainbow fairies dancing on the walls, delighting in her puppet shows, kneading bread and devouring honey butter, and marveling at how they were growing so big. We will carry on saying “slippidy-dooda!” when we fall, have a forever stash of ice gems in the freezer, shake shake shake our cinnamon, and sing about Dusty Gnome when we clean. Oh, how grateful we are for you Ms. Susan. We love you so! ~ Margaret Wolf

Ms. Susan always greeted Flora and I both with warmth and delight. She created a loving space in Parent-Child class and Cedar Rose that empowered and validated children and parents. She managed to always seem grounded, reassuring the children and the adults in her presence that everything was just as it needed to be, while offering direction with gentleness and humor when things went awry. Thank you, Ms. Susan, for your kindness to our family, and for your dedication to your work; we will miss seeing you! ~ Jeff Benerofe

Ms. Susan has such a legacy in the community and in our home as well. Auggie still remembers her proudly as his first teacher. She was for me, as well, in ways I didn’t fully realize until later. After going through two rounds of parent-child with Ms. Susan, those seeds were planted. The idea of planting seeds has helped me through these years of parenting and allowing the kids to grow in their individual ways, relaxing a bit, doing the work, and trusting they will blossom. We have such cozy memories of those years and have carried forth the fire fairies and birthday song around our table. Auggie and Fin still remember (and still ask for) the famous bread. A welcoming surprise during the pandemic was how natural it was to fall back on the rhythms of parent-child class once we had nowhere to go. This time with helping hands we did the family work together, just as Ms. Susan had taught me. Love from us all! ~ Kelly, Josh, Auggie (7), and Fin (almost 5!)

I have known Ms. Susan for many, many wonderful years. Needless to say, Ms. Susan is LEGENDARY!!! I knew of her far before we officially met in person. She truly has a heart of gold! She must, in fact, to be able to give so much love for so many years to so many of us! I feel completely blessed to have been a colleague alongside Ms. Susan at Cedarwood. As many have said, “she is the heart of our school.” Through her creativity, dedication, humor, steadfastness, many children were graced by her and her Ms. Susan ways. She is the first teacher of my own daughter and those sweet days Ms. Susan held me as a parent and a colleague, giving me more support and love than I ever expected from my child’s teacher. She reminded me to go with the flow, to have humor, and to always make time for hugs and snuggles. As an early childhood section, us teachers often met in Susan’s room, quite organically, after our school day with the children. That room was our nest for teachers, our safe place where we could talk, laugh, and be together. I am glad that Ms. Susan is taking time for other things in her life. She has more energy than anyone I have ever met and I look forward to hearing about her next adventure! Much love Ms. Susan!! ~ Cecelia McClellan

Ms. Susan as a founder of Cedarwood also ties very closely with the history of our building and the immigrant community that once surrounded it.

Our historic building was built in 1910 by the National Council of Jewish Women. They built it for Eastern European Jewish immigrants who were flocking to Portland at the time and settling in the Lair Hill neighborhood. The building served as a community center delivering essential support services like clinics for children, kindergarten classes, cooking & sewing classes, and basketball. The synagogue Havurah Shalom traces its roots to the Hebrew School that occupied the top floor of our building.

Ms. Susan’s grandmother was one of these immigrants. She came to Neighborhood Houses for the services offered and brought her daughter, Ms. Susan’s mother. Above is a photograph of Ms. Susan’s mother (on the far left) and her grandmother (wearing the witch hat); Ms. Susan’s sister is one of the children at the table. Ms. Susan herself is in her mama’s tummy in this picture.

What an extraordinary turn of fate that arose when Cedarwood had the opportunity to purchase this building in 2000 and was able to do so. Thank you, Ms. Susan, for your history, your ties, and your extraordinary commitment to Waldorf and this community. May we carry this legacy of commitment to community forward.

~Jayne Cronlund, Cedarwood Parent

Ms. Susan, GOODBYE!!! We will miss seeing you daily on our Waldorf journey. The imprint you have left us with over the past six years brings joy to our face. Kainalu and Alika have so many fond memories of you. A few: the yellow birthday candle lit so bright to have had a special day, your story basket that always wanted to be touched, the soup you made on grandparents day (which Alika still talks about), and bread day. You inspired our family and brought so much love every day. I am so grateful to have had the experience to be a part of it. The kids and I will never forget you! Sending you so much love and health to you and your family as you embark on this new journey. ~ Karyn Arizumi

Our daughter is now in the grades, but we’ve been a Cedarwood family since we started the parent-child program with Ms. Susan. I actually wasn’t able to attend Parent-Child with our daughter. Instead, I would bring her into the classroom, our nanny would arrive, and I would slip out of the room. Off to work I went, but I wished that I could stay. I wanted to stay for the songs, for the puppets, and for the connection with other Cedarwood parents and grandparents. And I wanted to sift seashells and gems out of that big sandbox.

As a parent, I may have missed out on staying for the two hours of the parent-child program, but instead I had the opportunity to spend quality time with other Cedarwood parents and with Ms. Susan during her parent evenings. I treasure those times. I remember arriving at Cedarwood in the evening, greeting other parents as we slid our shoes under those wooden benches in the hallway. I remember Ms. Susan’s warm smile and kind, yet booming voice as we trickled into the classroom. As we chose from her extensive collection of tea and crowded into tiny chairs around the room, cinnamon often still hung in the air. In the softly lit room, we would finger knit and mold wax as we drank our tea and soaked up parenting pearls from Ms. Susan.

So even though I wasn’t able to attend the parent-child program, Ms. Susan’s parent evenings gave me the knowing that my daughter was in a wonderful community and had a sage and distinguished teacher as she began the slow transition from our home and into a school environment. I thank you Ms. Susan for these gifts. ~ Dr. Jennifer Ryan