Sarah Reinhart

Sarah Reinhart brings more than 15 years of teaching experience, a deep understanding of child development, and a warm, thoughtful approach to her role as a Kindergarten teacher at Virginia Chance School.

 

Sarah holds Kentucky Teacher Certification, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Bellarmine University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Miami University. Over the course of her career, she has taught students from elementary through high school in both public and independent school settings. Most recently, she taught at the Waldorf School of Louisville, where she also studied Waldorf teacher training through Antioch University. That experience deepened her understanding of experiential learning, storytelling, the arts, nature-based education, and teaching the whole child.

 

Throughout her career, Sarah has taught language arts, literature, history, social studies, and interdisciplinary main lesson blocks while integrating art, movement, nature, and hands-on projects into her teaching. In addition to classroom teaching, she has served on hiring, policy, and diversity committees and has mentored students through both academics and extracurricular activities. Outside of school, Sarah received a Kentucky Foundation for Women grant for a documentary photography project exploring women’s paths to motherhood. This experience strengthened her appreciation for storytelling, observation, and listening carefully to others’ experiences.

 

Teaching has always felt like the place where Sarah’s interests naturally come together: literature, history, creativity, relationships, and helping children discover who they are as learners and people. What has kept her in education for more than 15 years is the privilege of watching children grow, especially in the moments when something clicks, and a child realizes they are capable of more than they imagined.

 

As both an educator and the mother of six children, Sarah has developed a deep appreciation for the many ways children learn. She believes every child deserves to feel known, valued, and supported. In her classroom, relationships come first. Sarah works to create an environment where children feel safe enough to take risks, make mistakes, ask questions, and develop confidence in themselves.

 

Her classroom approach is rooted in warmth, clear routines, high expectations, creativity, humor, and care. She wants children to feel both known and joyfully challenged. Sarah designs learning experiences that invite collaboration, discussion, problem-solving, imagination, and reflection. More than anything, she hopes students leave her classroom believing: I am capable. My ideas matter. Learning is exciting.

 

Sarah’s teaching philosophy aligns closely with Chance’s progressive, whole-child approach. She believes children learn best when they are active participants in meaningful work- asking questions, investigating ideas, collaborating with classmates, and connecting new learning to their own experiences. Through hands-on projects, discussion, reflection, and discovery, students build understanding that lasts well beyond a single lesson.

 

Inquiry-based learning is especially important to Sarah because it helps children become curious, flexible, and confident thinkers. She has seen students become more willing to take intellectual risks when they understand that learning begins with curiosity, not simply with having the right answer. Through inquiry, children learn to explain their thinking, listen to others, revise their ideas, use evidence, and ask deeper questions. Those habits support growth across every academic subject and help children see themselves as capable learners.

 

Sarah also values outdoor learning as a powerful extension of the classroom. In her experience, nature invites careful observation, creativity, patience, and wonder. She has seen children become scientists, artists, writers, and problem-solvers while observing insects, sketching plants, measuring natural objects, writing descriptive poetry, or noticing seasonal changes. Outdoor learning also gives children meaningful opportunities to collaborate, take healthy risks, build resilience, and understand that learning is not confined to desks or textbooks.

 

Virginia Chance School stood out to Sarah because of its commitment to honoring childhood while challenging children to become thoughtful, capable learners. She was drawn to Chance’s emphasis on inquiry, outdoor learning, collaboration, creativity, academic growth, and strong relationships among teachers, students, and families. These values closely reflect the kind of teaching she has practiced throughout her career and the kind of school community where she believes children and teachers thrive.

 

Outside of school, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family and their two dogs. As the mother of six children, ages 19, 18, 17, 14, 12, and 9, she has a life full of sporting events, performances, and family adventures. She also loves reading, photography, traveling, thrifting for vintage treasures, and spending time outdoors. Sarah enjoys bringing creativity and storytelling into both her personal life and her teaching, and she hopes her students experience that same sense of curiosity and joy every day.