Rianna Bensing

Background

About Rianna Bensing

I currently possess a CA Administrative Services Credential and a Mild/Moderate Special Education teaching credential. I started my career by spending five years at Seneca Center Non-Public Schools. I supervised all nine teachers at the San Leandro site and invested my heart and soul into students who needed the most support and care in the Bay Area. Unconditional Care was our focus and we meant every word. From 2006-2014 I spent 8 years as a Resource Specialist at Wagner Ranch Elementary in Orinda exploring the world of elementary public education and connecting with students and families at the very beginning of their journeys. From 2014 to 2020, I invested in my own career development by becoming a Program Specialist for the Contra Costa SELPA and then the Martinez Unified School District. Throughout those years, I developed and implemented many site-specific, multi-site, and multi-district staff development training for teaching and support staff. Since 2020 I have been the director of Big Minds Unschool Pinole K-8, a school for Twice Exceptional (2e) students. I have helped to guide us into exponential growth during my time there thus far. Since 2020 we have been able to open an online school and a second in-person campus in the midst of a pandemic. We aim to help them be the most independent versions of their most authentic selves. Big Minds Unschool was created to provide an appropriate education for 2e children. BMU is an attachment-based, community-focused school designed to provide 2e students with the opportunity to connect with their passions through self-directed learning. We believe in the radical acceptance of our students and focus on their strengths, not their deficits. I stepped into the Executive Director role in the summer of 2022.