Program Director

Chelsea Bryson

I am Chelsea Bryson, Program Director of Old Firehouse School Fifth Avenue in downtown San Rafael. I have been teaching since 2014 when I started at Old Firehouse School Lafayette as a float teacher. The following year, I became a primary caregiver at our Walnut Creek campus where I spent the next 7 years, following 3 groups of children through to kindergarten. 

I am a Bay Area native. I grew up in Martinez and knew of Old Firehouse School from a young age. My mom is a preschool teacher and worked for Old Firehouse School for several years in the late 90’s and my sister is an OFS graduate. I always planned on working with young children as a social worker, though soon changed my mind after working at Old Firehouse School for a few short months. I quickly fell in love with Old Firehouse School’s attachment model and Reggio inspired philosophy and knew I wanted to be part of the Old Firehouse School family.

As a graduate of Menlo College with a B.A. in Psychology, I spent my undergraduate years focusing on attachment in children and even wrote my thesis on the ways in which attachment styles in childhood affect children’s emotional development later in life. I studied the works of John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, Abraham Maslow and Erik Erikson and took a special interest in Daniel Goleman’s work on emotional intelligence. I believe strongly in the importance of children’s early childhood relationships and understand the benefits of Old Firehouse School’s continuity of care model and feel privileged to have been part of this process for so many young children.

In my years with Old Firehouse School, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been introduced to Theraplay, a play therapy model that focuses on strengthening attachment relationships between infants and caregivers. At Old Firehouse School, we’ve adapted this model to be used in a group setting in the classroom to strengthen attachment relationships here at school –we call it Careplay. Each year I help introduce this model to our incoming teachers so that all OFS students have the opportunity to be cared for in a similar way by their educators.

In my years as a teacher, I have helped children explore many different project topics including The Tunnel Project, The Pen Pal Project, and The Gardening Project. I enjoy sharing this work with other professionals and student teachers by presenting at conferences and local colleges and universities in the surrounding communities. 

I recently moved to San Francisco and am enjoying exploring a new city. I like going for hikes, listening to live music and visiting with my family and friends in my personal time. I am proud to be continuing my professional growth at Old Firehouse School Fifth Avenue and look forward to helping our newest campus thrive!