At Pear Tree Elementary, our masters-qualified teachers possess a passion for educating with a natural ability to mentor, challenge, and inspire students to excel. Each Pear Tree teacher embodies the values, beliefs, and philosophy we promote in our progressive school.
M.Ed., B.Ed, B.A.
Alexis Birner is the Co-Founder, Principal and Teacher at Pear Tree Elementary.
A seasoned educator with a decade of experience in both public and private elementary schools, Alexis combines exceptional credentials with a deep understanding of the learning process to deliver a meaningful education experience to her students. She is dedicated to helping each child cultivate their individuality, and achieve not only academic, but lifelong success.
Alexis is a passionate advocate for progressive methods of education and meaningful integration of technology in the classroom. She uses theme and project-based learning – two of the most advanced methods of education – which puts knowledge into context so that children are both challenged and excited to learn.
In her previous role, Alexis taught for 6 years at Crofton House School, as well as in public schools Richmond and Vancouver.
A highly respected expert in her field, Alexis is a published researcher on the topic of ‘critical literacy theory’. Her article on Deconstructing gender representations in an elementary school classroom was published in the Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education in 2016. Her work has also appeared in the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics.
In addition to her published research, Alexis is also a recognized speaker, most recently speaking at the Vancouver EdTech Team Summit featuring Google for Education.
Alexis holds a Masters of Education, Bachelor of Education, and Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia.
In her free time, Alexis enjoys cooking and exploring fitness and physical activity options within the city. She delights in sharing these passions with her students to enhance their education at Pear Tree Elementary.
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M.Ed., B.A.
Paul Romani is the co-founder and director of Pear Tree Elementary. In this role, Paul delivers an innovative, technology-enriched, and research-backed approach to education, helping both students and teachers achieve meaningful success.
A proponent of 21st century learning, Paul believes strongly in equipping students with real-world skills and abilities that will help them develop the confidence to excel both in and out of the classroom.
In his role as director, Paul also spearheads Pear Tree’s YouTube channel, a highly sought after resource on the topic of 21st century education. His videos have some of the top views on this topic and are used by American, British, and other international universities in their teaching training programs.
Paul began his career in education in 2001 after achieving great success as a computer engineer, receiving multiple accolades from such respected publications as PC Magazine. His background in education is exceptionally diverse, spanning a range of institutions, students, and countries, which provides him with a unique perspective on education and the learning process.
Over the past 15 years, Paul has gained extensive experience in English as a Second Language (ESL), career and vocational training, and education management. Most notably, he directed six summer residential language schools at the ISIS Royal Holloway Summer School in the United Kingdom. In this role, Paul oversaw more than 1,000 students and 70 staff, making it one of the UK’s largest and most successful summer schools.
Paul has a Masters of Education degree in Educational Technology and Learning Design from Simon Fraser University. He is a Level 1 Google Educator and Microsoft Certified Educator. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia.
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M.Ed., B.Ed., B.A.
Louisa joined the staff at Pear Tree Elementary after she finished her M.Ed in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development from the University of Toronto. Passionate, dedicated, and resourceful, Louisa brings forth a strong commitment to developing the academic, social, and emotional skills of all students. She believes that inquiry and play-based learning can foster a child’s natural curiosity and love for learning. As a holistic educator, her educational philosophy is built on community, collaboration, innovation, and motivation. Louisa has proved herself to be a versatile and innovative leader with the talent for developing differentiated lessons using modern technologies in the classroom such as Google Classroom, iPads, and FreshGrade.
Prior to Louisa’s role at Pear Tree Elementary, she taught for 3 years at a private school in Richmond Hill, Ontario. While teaching K-4, Louisa also organized and taught after school co-curricular programs, including Visual Arts K-1, Cooperative Games K-2, Build-It K-2, and outdoor play. Additionally, she created and implemented the school’s first K-1 summer literacy program.
As a lifelong learner, Louisa strives to develop her profession through taking part in teacher education programs. She has obtained her Level 1 Google Educator and Apple Teacher Certification. She believes that teachers should ideally be lifelong learners themselves in order to inspire students to adopt this invaluable trait.
At the heart of Louisa’s educational philosophy is her devout commitment to both ongoing research and teaching, as well as developing a strong sense of community among her students and colleagues. In order to accomplish this, she utilizes differentiated learning plans to promote students’ desire to learn. Having a solid foundation in leadership, inquiry-based learning, and inclusive teaching, Louisa enables students to achieve their goals and become contributing members to their communities.
Louisa’s love for art can also be seen inside and outside of the classroom. She has obtained her level 9 piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music and enjoys playing classical and contemporary music for herself and her students.
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M.Ed., B.Ed, B.B.A.
Andrea holds a Masters of Education (M.Ed), specializing in Social Emotional Learning (SEL), from the University of British Columbia. Leveraging her strong academic background, Andrea delivers a whole-child approach to education, helping students become not only proficient learners, but exceptional people. Andrea believes that developing well-rounded students through academics, athletics, the arts, and an awareness of their local and global community, supports children in reaching their full potential.
An expert in Social Emotional Learning, Andrea brings proficiency in teaching soft skills, such as executive function, social, emotional, and interpersonal attributes, giving her students the 21st century knowledge and tools they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Prior to joining Pear Tree Elementary, Andrea worked at Crofton House teaching grades K-2. She also previously worked at West Point Grey Academy where she taught Grade 1.
A lifelong learner, Andrea embodies the Pear Tree Elementary philosophy with her ongoing pursuit of academic, socio-emotional, and physical development. She believes that Pear Tree Elementary’s progressive approach delivers best-in-class education to its students, nourishing their curiosity, compassion, creativity and critical thinking skills.
Andrea is a role model for her students both in and out of the classroom. A fitness enthusiast who demonstrates perseverance and tenacity, she has completed six full marathons and eight half marathons. She has also worked in fundraising and community partnerships with Canuck Place, which provides palliative and respite care services for sick children in BC Canada.
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B.Ed., B.Sc.
Nick comes from Melbourne, Australia and has a varied education background in physical education, primary and secondary education. He has also been working on his Masters of Science degree in Podiatry!
For the past 7 years, Nick has taught in elementary school settings in both classroom teacher and physical education teacher roles. Nick also held a Head of Science role at one his previous schools.
In all of his roles, Nick is committed to Pear Tree’s whole-child approach, a believes in physical education being an intellectual activity, as well as a physical one.
With a background in project-based learning, Nick will also be acting as a teacher assistant for Communities 1, 2 and 3.
Musician / Band Member
JR Kline from Mink Studios provide Pear Tree’s students with the most amazing music lessons!
JR works with our Grade 2-7 students on learning the guitar, composing songs, singing, and concert preparation.
In line with Pear Tree’s educational philosophy, all of JR’s classes will be focused on the themes and topics that we’re currently working on, which will provide natural and meaningful inspiration for music. JR’s songwriting, music producing and live performance experience are all great tools for this amazing process.
At the same time, JR also trains our staff to better integrate music into our regular theme and project-based classes.
JR is a very busy and in-demand teacher, working in various parts of Metro Vancouver from the North Shore to Richmond with students from K-12. He also works for “Deep Cove Music” as their head instructor and has been running Group Guitar/Voice classes for the Squamish Nation and The North Shore Neighborhood House for 16 years.
Additionally, JR has been running his own Artist Development School in North Vancouver for over 25 years. He manages 15 teachers and have produced 20 years of Artist festivals, showcases and student concerts at Capilano University.
M.A., B.A.
Anna is a highly-quality and experienced French teacher with one Master’s Degree in French and another Master’s Degree in Teaching French as a Foreign Language. This latter Masters Degree and her BA in Linguistics were both acquired at the University of Toulouse.
In addition to being a fully-qualified and license school teacher in New Zealand, Anna is also an official examiner and marker for the DELF and DALF Exams.
For the 2018/19 school year, Anna is Pear Tree Elementary’s French teacher.
B.A., B.Ed., Diploma in Culinary Arts
Marcela is both an experienced chef and a qualified school teacher from Brazil.
Prior to joining Pear Tree, Marcela worked as a cook at a local elementary school, as well as various restaurants, resorts and catering organisations.
Marcela has a Diploma in Culinary Arts from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver, and FoodSafe Level 1 & 2 qualifications.
Sharing our passion for healthy food for children, Marcela is helping to evolve Pear Tree’s school menu to ensure that it continues to be the healthiest school lunch menu in Vancouver!
Marcela’s background in education also makes it even easier to educate students about food ingredients, preparation and nutrition.
B.Sc.
Elaine is the Executive Personal Assistant for Alexis and Paul. Her degree from UBC in Life Sciences led to her developing administrative, research and sales experience in a number of health and nutrition businesses before joining Pear Tree.
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B.A., Grad. Dipl. Broadcast Journalism
Jordan brings 30 plus years of dance education, music and performance experience and qualifications as founder of BrightStars Performing Arts.
She has been teaching internationally for the past 14 years and has taught over 700 tiny tots and hundreds of children.
Jordan has undertaken study in the teaching of early childhood education and development and has spent her lifetime training in accredited dance syllabi (Royal Academy of Dance, Al Gilbert, American Jazz Dance Affiliation International).
Professionally, Jordan has appeared in numerous productions including the Nutcracker and worked in broadcasting for Bill Good, Raif Mair, Global and the Beat 94.5. She has choreographed for industry giants including Gillete, RM Williams, the Tap Dogs, Ford Modelling Agency, Powerhouse Museum and countless International Women’s Day and Children’s Week Festivals.
She has discovered her ultimate love in teaching children and knows a parent’s joy in seeing their child discover and learn new life skills, experience self awareness and ultimately having a wonderful time participating in a caring, inspiring and nurturing environment!
