Peggy Benkeser
Music
Peggy received her B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of Illinois and Georgia State University.  While her three children attended Cliff Valley School (1988 – 2001) she worked as a professional musician, teaching artist for the Georgia Council for the Arts, and as a roster artist (a.k.a. Drummer Mom) for Young Audiences of Atlanta.  Peggy began teaching at Cliff Valley in 2004.

Joanna Breazeale
Physical Education
Joanna received her B.A. in History and Secondary Education from Furman University and her M.Ed. in Physical Education from Georgia State University.  She taught middle learning Physical Education and Social Studies at the Galloway School for 10 years.  Joanna began working at Cliff Valley in January 2005.  

Estela Flores
Spanish
Estela, who has a teaching degree in Elementary Education, has been teaching since 1979. Her experiences include directing a community effort to build a preschool for under-privileged children, and serving on the Board of the Metropolitan Guadalajara School System in Mexico. Estela has been teaching Spanish to children and adults in the U.S. since 1997, and is the Educational Director of Kidspeak.  Estela joined the Cliff Valley staff in 1999.

Kathy Peters
Visual Arts
Kathy received her B.A. in Art from Marymount College and has taught art at The Children's School and The High Meadows School. She also teaches art programs for children at The High Museum and has done four art residencies at Cliff Valley.  She became a permanent member of the faculty in 2006.

Caryle Seim
Outdoor Classroom Coordinator
Caryle joined the staff at Cliff Valley in 1994 as a preschool teacher and parent of a two-year-old daughter.  Inspired by children’s interest in nature she began to develop curriculum for use by young children in an outdoor classroom.  In 2002 the Cliff Valley Outdoor Classroom was recognized by the National Wildlife Federation for excellence in environmental education and habitat restoration.  In 2004 Caryle became the Outdoor Classroom Coordinator.  Caryle has a B.A. in Social Work from Michigan State University where she graduated with High Honors.

Lauren Dezen
Media Specialist Children's Programming
Lauren received her B.A. in Elementary Education from Hunter College.  She taught at the Galloway School from 1986 – 1990 and The Children’s School from 1990 – 1993.  She volunteered at the Paideia School Library from 2003 – 2005 and joined the Cliff Valley staff in 2005.

Kim Platnick
Media Specialist Collections
Kim received her B.A. in Biology at Agnes Scott College.  She is certified to teach middle and high school science and gifted education.  Kim taught Biology and Chemistry from 1990 – 1999.  She also worked part time in a public library from 1984 – 1991.  While her child was in preschool, she served on the Cliff Valley Library Committee from 2001 – 2003, and became a member of the staff in 2005.