Kerry Dillingham, owner & teacher
she/her

I have been working with children since I was fresh out of college. I answered an ad for a classroom assistant at a local elementary school. It only took a few hours of watching the seasoned teachers to realize that I finally knew what I wanted to be when I “grew up”. Teaching, for me, is a reciprocal relationship. I am here to provide guidance and support to the children and they, without fail, give it back tenfold. In our discoveries together I hope to inspire them to ask why and how. I am determined to help them find the answers to all the questions they may have or to be awestruck by the beautiful mysteries of the world. 

My 15+ years experience working with children, alongside many amazing educators, has given me a varied set of strengths and a drive to find new ways to be a better teacher still. With every new student and family, I learn new lessons that strengthen our community. I hope to learn from you and your children as we go on this amazing adventure together!

Oliver Binzen, teacher
he/him

My name is Oli and I’ve been interested in how we learn since I first began all those years ago. Starting at my childhood Montessori school and continuing through college, I’ve been lucky enough to have many dedicated, supportive, and creative teachers who made it their mission to always learn something new about teaching from every student. So, it feels natural and exciting for me now to be continuing their legacies at Magpie. I studied visual art, English, and French while getting my bachelor’s and then after graduating spent several years learning all that I could about regenerative organic farming as a farm apprentice in Connecticut. I am passionate about plants, ecosystems, art in all forms, and using creativity as a tool for spurring impassioned, personalized learning.

Saylem Pitkin, teacher
she/her

My teaching history comes from my love of dance and movement. I have practiced and taught dance to a wide age range, and I have found something collaborative, wonderful and new at every stage of life which in turn has only inspired me more to continue my journey within childcare. My hope and goals as a teacher here at Magpie are to continue sharing in our similarities as well as our differences, to keep an open mind and learn something from every student and to practice radical compassion within our wonderful little community. 

A little about me outside of school is that I am a PNW native with an indigenous Mexican background. Growing up keeping culture and creativity alive was so important to me and my family. As I’ve gotten older, the importance has only gotten stronger, for me sharing stories, music, language and tradition has always been such a joy and honor.

Taylor Bailey, teacher
she/her

In 2012, while working as a paleontologist, I taught at a paleontology-focused summer camp and fell in love with teaching. I transitioned out of science over the next few years, working more and more in education. It changed my career path forever, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m one of those people that love all subjects: Yes to math! Yes to history! Yes to art and PE! I’ve had a varied teaching experience for the past 12 years, mostly working in museum education, preschools, and after-school programs. I’ve also nannied for multiple families, and been very close with my 7 nieces and nephews! I’m currently working on my certification to be an Elementary teacher at PSU. Their programs focus on a critical lens in education and challenge the traditional teaching pedagogies of our pasts; Magpie’s explorative, curious framework for learning and supportive community align strongly with how I teach and like to foster learning.  My background in science mixed with my love of art means I value creative thinking and wonder. Questions and exploration are encouraged! 

Outside of school, I have too many hobbies to list. While you’ll mainly hear me talk about skateboarding, drawing and bikepacking, I also love to ferment, knit, create, write, boulder, bike, hike, listen to music, read, critique films, and dream. I work as an artist, and at different times I’ve worked in almost every medium (from painting to eco-dying to print making to sewing). I grew up in a more nomadic family, and spent years of my life living outside of the US. I also come from a highly multicultural and multi-racial family; I had a strong Jewish, Mexican, Spanish, German, Japanese and Pagan influence on me as a child (and adult). Feel free to ask me about that! Because of these experiences, I also love language learning, linguistics, and learning about other cultures and religions. I studied religion in college, especially East Asian and ancient religions. I can use both ASL and Spanish conversationally, and have enough basic Japanese to get around Tokyo, but I'm always studying and trying to improve. Fun fact: I lived in Tokyo in middle school! My favorite part of working with children is how we can, together, get excited about learning new things, be silly, and experience each day to the fullest. Ultimately, I want to encourage kids to have a growth mindset, to not be afraid of mistakes, to try new things, and to gain confidence in themselves.

Ellery Page, teacher
she/her

My name is Ellery Page, and I recently moved from Tucson, Arizona! I received my degree in Fine Arts, specializing in printmaking and poetry. I have many interests, and in my free time, I’m usually making art of some form, organizing closets, gardening, biking, or thrifting.

I love working with children and being a part of their learning journey. I believe in encouraging autonomy and centering emotional and social learning. I’m excited to bring my experience working with kids and my passion for education, books, art, and food to Magpie Preschool.

My experience in youth education includes working as a teacher's assistant and teaching at a Montessori preschool, several regular babysitting jobs, and over nine years of experience working with children of all ages at the library. I love facilitating kids with their own projects and play, as well as creating craft projects for them, reading during storytime circle, throwing occasional dance parties, and of course, helping nappers get good rest. At the library, I enjoyed reading for storytimes, helping kids and parents find books that inspired them or were required for school, facilitating the makerspace for teens, and organizing the annual high school art show, as well as every closet I could find along the way.

Zazzy Zoe, music teacher

Zazzy Zoe has been making music with youngsters of various ages for over twenty years, and for the last decade has made a career in facilitating music in preschools and the community, and performing for young children and their families. While creating music, rhythms, and movements with objects like shaker eggs, dancing scarves, frame drums, gathering drums, rhythm sticks, percussive instruments and of course voices and bodies, kids get to have FUN during Zoe's classes while forming/growing foundational musical principles and a love of music. Her music often corresponds with the changing of the seasons, the natural world, time of year, (non-secular) festivities/celebrations, and weather, making the music relevant to what's going on in our surrounding environment. Zoe has an impressive collection of stuffies, which often make appearances during her music classes. She loves to write songs, modify the songs of others, and write music and add lyrics to little snippets she finds online. You can find out more about Zoe at https://www.zazzyzoe.com/.