Who we are
We are small, vibrant and growing. Our school is growing from 11 to up to 20 students grades 5-8. We are based in the historic Mt Hood Town Hall, a 100 year old beautifully restored school house and community hub.
We have a dynamic, brilliant, and experienced classroom teacher, an energetic, skilled, and inspiring Adventure Monday teacher, guest teachers from the community, and two administrators.
Wildwood strives to help our students prepare for the rest of their lives. We’re passionate not just about academics, but about the development of complete, well-rounded people. We value emotional and social intelligence just as highly as math and literacy skills.
Meet the team
Laura Bergner
Lead Teacher
Laura grew up in North Carolina, spending a good part of her childhood catching salamanders in the Appalachian Mountains. She spent her early adulthood managing farms and developing sustainable living skills in Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico, as well as working for several years as an early childhood educator.
In 2014 she left the southwest to study at Southern Oregon University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Field Biology in 2017 and continuing on with both a Master of the Arts in Teaching and a Master of Science in Environmental Education in 2019. She has lived all over Oregon for the past several years, and has had the opportunity to develop educational curriculum for farm education programs, design programming for summer science camps, lead outdoor school programs for K-12 classes, and teach 5th grade in Mosier, Oregon.
She loves bringing her passion for nature and science into the Wildwood classroom and to be part of a school that is so driven to give children access to the outdoors. When she is not learning or teaching, she prefers to spend time hiking, birdwatching, and exploring the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.
Lisa Kosglow
Adventure teacher
Lisa is a prolific adventurer, explorer, educator, writer, and avid outdoors person. Lisa specializes in fostering a sense of wonder in children with a focus on nature based connection. For 20+ years she has instructed children and adults both across the US and internationally in both snowboarding and outdoor programming. Lisa is passionate about land stewardship, outdoor adventure, and creating deep and lasting connections between people and the land. She is also trained as a NOLS Wilderness First Responder to help manage risks while kids play in the woods.
Lisa is also the Director of Let’s Get Out Adventures, LLC a Columbia Gorge based outdoor education program. An entrepreneur at heart, she is the co-author of Kidding Around the Gorge-The Hood River Area’s Ultimate Guide to Family Fun, and co-author of Let the Kid Guide: Putting Nature Back Into Our Lives. She’s also a two-time Olympian! When she isn’t out on her bike, snowboarding or surfing you can find her exploring the Columbia Gorge with her family.
Jessalyn fey
Admin & school nurse
Jessalyn serves as the school administrator. A nurse with over 8 years experience serving communities across the Gorge, Jessalyn wants to be friends with every animal and will probably be the cause of at least one dance party.
ROSS DONALDSON
Head of school
Ross and Jess became owners of Wildwood in 2024. Ross is a working software engineer and software development educator with a penchant for cooking and a life-long love of learning. Ross tries to help the school along without getting in the way, and can typically be found cooking, eating, or getting things from tall shelves.