meet the team

MaryEllen Kiffe

Interim Director/Teacher, grades 3, 4 and 5

This is MaryEllen’s 4th year at Cannon Beach Academy. She is the Interim Director for the 2023/24 School Year, and will continue to teach Grades 3-5. The After School Running Club is one of her favorite CBA activities. MaryEllen has taught grades 4/5/6 since 2013. She substitute taught for 6 years prior in Longview, WA. MaryEllen graduated from George Fox with a degree in Elementary Education. She lives in Cannon Beach with her dogs Max and Lucy.

ANANDA OSTERHAUS

Art Teacher

Amy Rider

teacher: Kindergarten, first, and Second grade

Amy has been teaching since 1998 (High School, Special Education, Math, History, Chemistry, and Yearbook).  She, her husband, and her furry family moved to the coast from Washington, D.C. in 2012 and found their forever home here.  Amy is a proud University of Washington Husky, where she obtained her B. A. in English with a Writing Emphasis.  After working in naturopathic medicine and the software industry, Amy found her inspiration and calling to become a teacher while working as a foreman in the fishing industry in the Bering Sea.  Heeding that calling, she moved from Seattle to the D.C. area where she earned her Master's Degree in Education at George Mason University.  She joined the Cannon Beach Academy team in 2022 and absolutely loves teaching in such a unique and wonderful school community.

Maria Barker

teacher: ELD, Sped, Small Group Instruction

Maria graduated from Pacific University with a Master’s Degree in Special Education. She has taught elementary, middle, and high school for 11 years and has been an Educational Assistant for four years. Maria moved to the coast in 2021, where she resides in Cannon Beach with her husband and daughter.

Christy renville

Teacher: PE, STEM, Small group instruction

This is Christy’s first year at Cannon Beach Academy.  She has worked in the education field since 2006, starting out as a bus driver, then educational assistant, and then preschool aide and teacher.  She is currently working towards her BA in Elementary Education from George Fox University and will be graduating this spring.  Christy lives in Astoria with her husband Dan, big dog Chloe, and two cats--Fat Cat and the Mistress of Evil.

bethany sandness

music teacher

Bethany Sandness has a Bachelor’s in Music Education from Portland State.  She is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer as well as published children’s author and illustrator. This is her first year teaching at Cannon Beach Academy! She has 11 years of teaching experience and loves bringing the fun wherever she goes. She moved to the coast in 2019 and married her husband in 2022. Bethany also runs a private music teaching studio from her home in Warrenton.