LAURENCE SCHOOL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Director of Athletics
Bernard Redmond - known to all at Laurence as "Coachie" - has been the Director of Athletics since 2007. Coach Redmond is a school leader on and off the field. Under his direction, our Physical Education Program helps students in Kindergarten through 6th grade build not only athletic skills, but also develop important character traits, such as teamwork, respect, and resilience, as well as an appreciation for physical fitness and health.
As the leader of our Interscholastic Sports Program for 4th through 6th grade students, Coach Redmond oversees our football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and baseball programs, as well as coaches several football and soccer teams. During his tenure, this Sports Program has seen incredible growth - both in participation (almost 100% of our upper division students) and championship wins in the San Fernando Valley Private School League. Additionally, Coach Redmond created our annual Game Under the Lights event, where our 6th grade students compete against Valley Beth Shalom's 6th graders each year for the Golden and Titanium Buckets. This favorite event, which has become a 15-year tradition, brings together the entire Laurence community each November.
Coach Redmond is also integral to Laurence's admissions team, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, and summer camp programs. He truly embodies the heart and spirit of Laurence. With a nickname for every student, teacher, staff member, and most of our parents, Coachie makes every member of our community feel seen and known, greets everyone with a smile, and always has time for anyone who needs him.
In his free time, Coach Redmond enjoys spending time with his two children, Dylan (Class of 2016) and Jake (Class of 2013).
Job Titles:
- Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Curriculum
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer & Director of Grades 3 - 6
- Chief Operating Officer and Director of Grades 3
Gary Stern, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Grades 3 - 6, has more than 25 years of experience in education. He was the Head of School at High Point Academy in Pasadena for six years and Laurence School's Associate Head and Principal for 17 years. Prior to holding administrative roles, Mr. Stern was also an elementary school classroom teacher.
Mr. Stern returned to Laurence in 2021. As Chief Operating Officer, he oversees much of the day-to-day, non-academic operations of our campus and auxiliary programs such as facilities operations, summer camp, and after-school programs. With a collaborative spirit and deep gratitude, Mr. Stern is honored to serve as Laurence's Director of 3rd-6th Grade. In this capacity, he embraces the opportunity to work together with Laurence's exceptional teachers, devoted administration, and dedicated families to advance Laurence's mission to develop the unique abilities and potential of each student.
Mr. Stern was a co-creator of the Global Garden Parent DEI Committee and Laurence's Global Faire and Sister School program. As a longstanding administrator, Mr. Stern holds a unique perspective on Laurence's mission, curriculum, and operations. He is thrilled to be back at Laurence, a close-knit community which he cherishes.
Mr. Stern holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology, a Doctor of Law from Vanderbilt University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.
He is also the parent of two Laurence graduates (Class of 2014), and has this to say about their Laurence experience: "Laurence provided our children with the perfect beginning and core foundation essential to optimizing their character, discovering their passions, and contributing immensely to their future fulfillment and success in middle school, high school, and college."
In his free time, Mr. Stern is an avid sports fan with a particular love of football, baseball, and basketball, a history buff and aficionado, and enjoys spending time with his wife Michelle and two children.
Job Titles:
- Head of School
- Head of School / Head of School, Laurie Wolke, and Founder, Marvin Jacobson
Laurie Wolke is passionate about education and helping children understand that they can make a difference in this world. For more than 30 years, Mrs. Wolke has been living her passion, transforming Laurence's innovative academic and enrichment curriculum to ensure that students not only build a solid academic foundation for life, but also develop a sense of optimism and the life skills they need to be successful and resilient.
Building upon Laurence's long tradition of educating the "Total Child" by focusing on individual learning needs, interests, and social and emotional development, Mrs. Wolke has grown the school's curriculum, focusing on preparing children for success in the 21st century. Mrs. Wolke has started multiple learning programs at Laurence to achieve this goal, including: edible garden; 5th Grade farmers' market; STEAM program; expanded performing arts and music programs; service learning; and the highly acclaimed Kids' Court, one of the only elementary school mock trial programs in the country.
Mrs. Wolke has expanded Laurence's curriculum during her time at Laurence, and as associate Head of School and Head of School, she has transformed our campus, growing it from one acre into a five-acre, state-of-the-art learning oasis. Over the last 20 years, Laurence has added a performing arts center/gymnasium, library, technology center, upper division classrooms, updated science facilities, two outdoor athletic fields, an outdoor sport court, and dedicated music and drama/dance rooms.
Job Titles:
- Director of Technology
- in 2017 As the Director of Technology
Liz Beck joined Laurence School in 2017 as the Director of Technology. She has more than 10 years of experience working with teachers, students, and parents to develop and support academic technology programs, including computer science, STEAM, and digital citizenship.
Originally from Canada, Liz holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor Fine Art from Concordia University in Montreal, and a master's degree in Art Therapy from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Liz is a self-taught web and graphic designer, who developed her educational technology and STEAM experience while working for independent schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is also a graduate of the ATLIS (Association for Technology Leaders in Independent Schools) Leadership Institute.
During her free time, Liz enjoys spending time with her husband, who is also a technologist, their twin boys who are entering middle school, and her animals - a collie, two cats, and a gecko. She loves gardening, taking the RV out on road trips, and keeping up with technology trends.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder, Lynn Jacobson
Co-Founder, Lynn Jacobson, spent almost 60 years at Laurence School, where she worked as a teacher beside her husband and school Founder, Marvin Jacobson, before taking on administrative responsibilities, including overseeing the faculty and curriculum, until her retirement at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.
Mrs. Jacobson attended UCLA, where she was part of the undergraduate and graduate programs in education and later earned her teaching credential and degrees. She also holds a reading specialist certificate and has taken a multitude of classes in special education.
Throughout the years, Lynn has enriched the School's curriculum by creating innovative units of study, including: Global Education, which she developed back in the early 1990's to broaden students' perspectives of our interconnected world, multicultural education, and energy and water. Mrs. J. was also committed to making learning meaningful, relevant, and rewarding to all children- a legacy that will live on at Laurence long past her tenure.
Job Titles:
- Founding Director, Marvin Jacobson
Founding Director, Marvin Jacobson, has been in the field of education for more than 65 years, almost all of which were passionately spent right here at Laurence-the school in which he founded and molded into the amazing place it is today: a campus which sprawls five acres, where 300 Kindergarten through Sixth Grade students love to learn every day. Mr. Jacobson always knew he wanted to work with children, and he went to New York University to obtain his Bachelor's degree in psychology before attending UCLA's graduate program in elementary education.
In 1952, a then young Marvin was approached by a group of parents whose children had attended his summer camp-one of his post-graduate undertakings. These parents saw such growth in their children over the short summer months that they urged him to start a school of his own, where their children could benefit from his "Total Child" philosophy which places emphasis on the performing arts, experiential learning, and global education, year round.
As it so happened, "Mr. J" (as the children affectionately call him) did just that-he opened a two room school house for 12 five-to-ten year-old students on his parents' 3/4 acre property in Valley Glen, California. Two years later, he met his wife, Co-Founder, Lynn Jacobson, and the rest is history. The school flourished, changed, and reinvented itself for the next 61 years to stay on the forefront of education and to become the major success it is today-a place where students are provided a personalized, well-rounded education, that ensures their academic, social, emotional, and physical development. A place in which the students build character, explore the arts, science, technology, language, the world; a place in which they jump, play, read and, most importantly, grow.
Chief Financial Officer, Shawn Shahmiri, has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of Accounting and Finance. He is honored to have been a member of the Laurence School family for over 13 years. With a bachelor's degree in Accounting and a few graduate degrees and certificates in Accounting, Statistics, and Business Administration - each from a different country - the multilingual Mr. Shahmiri has been a driving force in the financial growth of Laurence and a key player in major acquisitions and the expansion of the school. Mr. Shahmiri moved from a corporate career to working for non-profit organizations more than 20 years ago for more personal fulfillment and satisfaction, and he considers working at Laurence the ultimate level of satisfaction in his career.
Outside the office, Shawn enjoys spending time with his long-time wife, Sara, a Special Education teacher with LAUSD for students with moderate-severe disabilities, and their two children, Pedram and Sanam, who completed her Ph.D. dissertation in Illinois. Mr. Shahmiri is a world-traveler and has a passion for languages; he is currently working hard at learning a new language.