Zac Oldenburg
Director
Zac comes from a family of educators and has spent the past 10 years working in special education and early childhood education. His teaching philosophy is “make good people,” which he practices by creating a safe and developmentally-appropriate space for children to explore, make mistakes, socialize, and have opportunities to learn and grow.
Corinna Nicolson
Teacher
Corinna Nicolson enjoys nurturing the growth and development of young children by meeting kids where they are and helping them address the next challenge. She fosters children’s critical thinking and problem solving as well as enabling them to express themselves. She loves to sing, dance, and get silly in the classroom. Corinna has a deep background in the performing arts including dance, theater, music, and music pedagogy. She has a B.A. from San Francisco State University and has studied child development at Saddleback College.
Cassidie Clayton
Teacher
Cassidie Clayton first became involved in education as a parent-teacher at NVNS 7 years ago. She enjoyed her experience at the cooperative enough to make a career change and had soon earned her Early Childhood Education certificate from CCSF. Her 9-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son have since moved onto public schools in San Francisco, but Cassidie feels right at home leading nature-based projects and exploring Glen Canyon with children of NVNS.
An Interview with NVNSʻs new Director, Zac Oldenberg
July 2025. Edited for clarity.
NVNS: What drew you to education?
Zac Oldenburg: I come from a family of educators, and my teaching philosophy has always been “make good people.” I thought I was going to do that by being a high school social studies teacher/baseball coach when I went off to college. I connected with younger students though (as well as students with developmental differences) so when I ended up back in education (after a brief detour into marketing) I focused on those communities of learners. I was a paraeducator, working with neuro-divergent students with mild to severe disabilities, while my wife got her PhD at UC Davis. Then I found my educational happy place working in early childhood education, which is where I have spent the past 10 years as an educator.
NVNS: What are your guiding principles/philosophies?
Zac Oldenburg: As I mentioned above, “making good people” has been my guiding principleand that starts by making sure we treat children as people, not helpless beings.Our role as educators with this age group is to let children explore their socialand developmental growth in a safe environment that allows for mistakes to bemade and lots of opportunities to try and to grow.Everyone is on a different developmental path, and educators need to respectthat and adapt the learning spaces to meet children wherever they are and withwhatever they need. That is why I have been really drawn to the play based/Reggio-inspired approach to learning; it gives children lots of space and time togrow while the teacher can adapt the environment to meet the students needs.The early childhood years should also be focused on social/emotional growth,as childrenʻs brains are ready and able to become social beings between 3-5years old. They need to be developing these building-block skills (sharing,collaboration, emotional regulation) so they have the foundation to navigate themore educational demands of Kindergarten.
NVNS: What excites you about joining the NVNS community?
Zac Oldenburg: I am really excited to explore early childhood in a co-op model. While there will be a learning curve, I can already tell from the members I have met that there is a real shared goal and purpose among this community. I’m also really excited that the model gets the children out of the classroom and into the greater community to play. I look forward to expanding that reach.
NVNS: What do you like to do in your free time?
Zac Oldenburg: I see a lot of movies; you will find me at the Drafthouse in the Mission most weekends. I also love spending time with my wife, having nice dinners or going on day trips to oysters/wine country. I play softball once a week, and enjoy exploring this amazing city we live in. I like to visit the ocean to feel small and relax — the benefits are scientifically proven!