Frances P. Garcia, Office Manager
Ms. Garcia retired from A.T. & T. as a
Resource Manager. She supervised a group of 30 employees, including
the clerical staff, in an In-Language office that served Spanish
speaking customers from the U. S., Mexico and Central America.
She
was the secretary at Polaris at Ebert when it first opened until the
end of the 2007/2008 school year. She is excited to be with Dr. Howard
in her new venture of opening this Arts school. Her vision is to serve
staff, parents, and students with dignity and respect.
Teaching Staff:
Kindergarten
Brigid Moriarty
Brigid
is thrilled to be joining KCAA as a Kindergarten Reggio Emilia
teacher. Asking questions, working on long-term investigations and
expressing ideas and understandings using various materials are so
important in becoming an engaged and inspired learner! Brigid is
excited to support KCAA students in this and to continue to carry out
these processes in her own life. She has degrees in Biology and
Biochemistry from CU-Boulder and after working in the scientific and
environmental fields for a few years decided that science is great, but
she is a teacher. So she returned to school for a Master's in
Educational Psychology and her teaching certificate. She loves to
explore the outdoors; hiking, camping, skiing, traveling, all the while
observing all the beauty and complexity of nature and life. She is
also an aspiring potter, gardener and chef.
Caroline Robbins
Caroline
is jumping for joy to be joining KCAA as a Reggio Emilia kindergarten
teacher. She cultivated her understanding of the Reggio approach to
educating young children through two valuable years at Boulder Journey
School. During her time at Boulder Journey, Caroline earned an M.A. in
Educational Psychology; participated in study tours and conferences;
visited the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy; and researched the
educational work of David and Frances Hawkins. Caroline also holds a
Primary Montessori diploma from the Montessori Institute Northwest, a
professional Colorado teaching license for both Early Childhood and
Elementary, and a B.F.A. in Art History and Film from New York
University. She loves creative writing, playing and listening to
music, and traveling: she has ridden a donkey in Greece and a bicycle
rickshaw in Delhi.
First Grade
Lea Brach
Lea
is thrilled to be joining the amazing Kunsmiller community! Lea has
ten years experience working with children at the early elementary
level and feels fortunate to have been influenced by a variety of
extraordinary school programs. After attending the University of
Colorado as an English and Sociology major, Lea obtained her teaching
certification through Stanley British Primary School's Teacher
Preparation Program while working at The Logan School for Creative
Learning. For three years she taught a multi-age class in Golden where
she created her own social studies based curriculum and helped to
define the educational atmosphere of a growing private school. Lea is
proud to come from a family of crafters, creators, and artists and
spends much of her time sewing, knitting, and painting. She also
enjoys reading, yoga, and experimenting with her cooking skills. Lea
feels most inspired when collaborating to create exciting and
meaningful learning opportunities for children and cannot wait to share
her love of the arts and education with her students!
Zoe Hall
Zoe
Hall is delighted to be joining KCAA's staff as a first grade teacher.
Zoe holds an Endorsement in Early Childhood Education, and has enjoyed
teaching at primary levels K and 1 for 15 years. She moved to Colorado
from her hometown of St. Cloud, Minnesota to attend the University of
Denver. After marriage and several moves around the world to wonderful
places, she and her husband returned to Denver to raise their two
children, Megan and Patrick. Zoe enjoys sewing, painting, gardening
and spending time with friends and family.
Second Grade
Benita Cervantes
Creating
a nurturing, exciting, creative learning environment has been a passion
of Benita's throughout her teaching career. Getting children excited
about what they learn leads them to a life of learning, and this is her
goal for every child that enters her room. She began teaching in the
suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, working as a special education para while
earning her Master's in Education from National-Louis University.
From there, she began her work with 2nd graders and, for the last eight
years, has loved every minute of it. Second graders have a profound
sense of curiosity, fairness, and whimsy that is so special. Benita
currently lives in Denver with her husband, J.R. and her three year-old
daughter, Charlotte. She loves visiting the mountains for skiing and
hiking but her favorite pastime is curling up with a good book and a
great cup of coffee.
Christine Weisberg
Christine
was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota and attended college at the
University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. Shortly after graduating, she
began teaching in a private elementary school in St. Paul. She and her
husband later moved to Connecticut and then Madison, Wisconsin, and in
each location, she taught in great schools! While teaching in Madison,
Wisconsin, she earned a Master's degree in Reading and Language Arts.
Last summer, her family moved to Denver to be closer to family. She has
enjoyed teaching in the Denver Public Schools and is excited to be on
the first staff of KCAA. Hopefully, when her son is older, he will be
attending school there too! Christine is looking forward to teaching
her wonderful 2nd graders and learning more from them!
Third Grade
Daniela Uslan
Daniela
is so excited to be working with the third graders at Kunsmiller! She
student taught at Polaris at Ebert, and then worked as a second and
third grade literacy teacher at Fairmont Dual Immersion Academy. Her
passions include the arts, travel, and yoga.
Elaine Folkesson
KCAA
is Elaine's teaching dream-come-true! Elaine was trained in classical
ballet and Horton modern dance at the Conservatory of Music in
Cincinnati until she fell in love with the musical theater. She
received a Theater scholarship from Rollins College in Winter Park,
Florida. Elaine performed on Cruise Ships, at Walt Disney World and in
many convention shows nationally. While she raised her three children,
she taught dance and P.E. in South Florida where she designed her own
early elementary movement program. When her family moved to Evergreen,
CO, Elaine took over the Evergreen Dance Center and found a new passion
in teaching. She recently earned her Masters Degree in Elementary
Education from the University of Phoenix with a focus in arts
integration and differentiated learning. Elaine now looks forward to
sharing all that she has experienced to help her students find their
strengths and passions! Elaine's other interests include time with her
husband and children, biking, hiking, skiing, and decorating.
Fourth Grade
Patricia Kettle
Pattie
has been a professional actor, singing telegram delivery person, and
ran a professional improvised comedy group called; STRABISMUS. She has
been a middle school and high school Language Arts teacher for over ten
years. For two years, she was the Drama Specialist at Bryant-Webster
K-8 Dual Language school. She is a beginning bass guitar player, has
twin sons who are very active and inquisitive, and a cat called
Wallace. She is very much looking forward to working with 4th graders
and using the Arts to teach cross-curricularly.
Emily Post
Emily
has a bachelor's degree in English and Journalism and a minor in
writing from the University of Northern Colorado. After working as a
page designer for several years (and winning a couple of awards for her
designs), she decided she wanted to follow her true passion and go back
to school and earn her teaching certificate from Metropolitan State
College of Denver. She has taught 4th grade in DPS for the last two
years. Mrs. Post lives with her husband and three cats.
Fifth Grade
Gracen Porreca
Gracen
was born and raised in upstate New York where he was extremely active
in community theater and local television from the age of four. He then
came to Colorado and earned a BA in History at Metropolitan State
College of Denver. Gracen began teaching Special Education in 2001 and
received a Masters Degree in Special Education from the University of
Colorado at Denver. For the past four years Gracen has been teaching
5th grade and is overjoyed to be continuing teaching 5th grade at KCAA.
When he is not teaching Gracen enjoys snowboarding, live music, and
training for the next marathon!
Lisa Weber
Am
I ever excited to begin teaching at KCAA! I graduated from
Metropolitan State College with a BA in Behavioral Science and earned
my MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado at
Denver. Though I have taught many grades in Denver Public Schools and
Littleton Public Schools, I especially enjoy working with 5th grade
students. I believe in life long learning not only for my students but
also for myself. My high expectations and enthusiasm create a positive
environment for all styles of learners. In my spare time I enjoy
traveling, snowboarding, and spending time with my family.
Sixth Grade
Cynthia Allison - Language Arts
Cynthia
is a Highly Qualified teacher in Language Arts and Reading with 28
years of teaching experience including 10 years as a Reading Recovery
teacher. She is a graduate from the University of Colorado, Boulder,
and The State University of New York at Buffalo and Albany. As a lover
of books, she has also studied papermaking and bookbinding to make
several art books of her own. In addition to teaching, Cynthia has
worked on an archeological dig in Jerusalem, as a 'go-fer' at Artpark
in Lewiston, New York, and as a docent at the National Museum of
Dance. She is also an avid knitter.
Clay Jessen - Math
Clay
is a 2002 graduate of South Dakota State University. He spent five
years working as an electrical engineer for the Hewlett-Packard Company
designing digital cameras. In the fall of 2008, he made a big career
change and became a middle school math teacher at Kunsmiller Middle
School. Clay is interested in photography, film, reading, improv
comedy, music, basketball, and hiking. Clay is thrilled to be working
as a teacher and to have the chance to share his love of learning with
students at the Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy.
Molly O'Malley - Science
Science
and Art together, oh my! Kunsmiller will be such a great place to
learn about these things that I love. I grew up here in Colorado, back
when Highlands Ranch still had real cows on it. After college at CSU,
I spent several fun years working for the National Park Service. It was
a exciting way to see the west and live in beautiful places. I landed
in San Francisco and even spent a few years working on Alcatraz for the
Park Service. I starting teaching in San Francisco and also worked at
the Exploratorium Museum. After 18 years in California, I returned to
be near family here in Colorado and obtain my Masters Degree at CU,
Boulder. I have worked here in DPS for 10 years. I love to travel,
read, and garden. My son Miles and I live with a 110 pound dog named
Jolly and 7 guinea pigs.
Bethany Cornish - Social Studies
Bethany
is thrilled to be working with Dr. Howard and the KCAA team. She
recently completed her BA in History at Wheaton College. As a Denver
native, Bethany is honored to be a part of the 2009 Teach For America
Corps in her home town. She has had a life-long love of music and is
excited to have the chance to integrate the arts into her social
studies classroom. In her free time she enjoys coaching softball,
playing ultimate frisbee, playing guitar and piano as well as singing.
Mark Graham - Creative Literacy
Mark
is originally from Texas, having lived in Houston, Dallas, and Austin
(where he attended the University of Texas), and in Los Angeles and
Nashville, where he pursued interests in film and music. He has taught
for seven years with a specific interest in the encouragement of
literacy through the use of rhythm, music, popular culture and digital
multimedia.
Seventh Grade
Theresa Storto - Language Arts / Social Studies
Theresa is a graduate from the University of Northern Colorado and has been teaching in Denver Public Schools for 16 years. For the first three years she taught Special Education at Merrill Middle School and the last thirteen years has been teaching 7th grade social studies at Kunsmiller Middle School. She is thrilled to be a part of the Creative Arts Academy and is looking forward to working with each and every one of you.Theresa grew up in Arizona. At age 23, tired of the heat, she decided to spend a summer in Colorado; it has been her home ever since. In addition to spending time with her spouse, Mark, and their dogs, or time with friends, she loves reading, cooking, camping, hiking, and traveling.
Jesse Preston - Science
Jesse Preston graduated with honors from Mesa State College in 2004 with a BA in Fine and Performing Arts, and was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at wide receiver for the Mavericks football team. He then worked as a professional Graphic Artist for 5 years, before returning to school to complete his teacher licensure through Metro State College, where he became qualified to teach Art. Physical Education and Science. He feels extremely blessed and excited to be a part of the unique educational experience that KCAA will offer!! He feels that teaching allows him to constantly further his own education and knowledge base in fine and graphic arts, coaching, science and career education - and looks forward to becoming a lifelong learner along with his students. He is a native of Colorado and enjoys football, skiing, cards, reading, drawing, video games and basically anything else that involves art and/or the outdoors!
Eighth Grade
Terri Freund - Language Arts
Terri began her
career in DPS at Zuni Alternative High School in 1985. After spending
two years there, she transferred to Horace Mann Middle School and
found her passion - middle school students. She taught at Horace Mann
for 10 years both in regular and highly gifted classrooms. She became
involved in Shakespeare while there and has been involved in the
Festival every year since its second year. After leaving Horace Mann,
Terri taught at Baker/Place (sharing a position) and Slavens
K-8. These last three years she has been a TOSA in the Gifted and
Talented Department overseeing gifted programs and coordinating the
Advanced Kindergarten. She is in the process of completing a EdD in
Gifted Education. She is tremendously excited to get back into the
classroom, students, and teaching. Outside of school she spends her
time with her dogs, garden, family, hiking every chance she gets and
taking pictures whenever she can.
Eric Mendoza - Math
Eric
is from Medellin, Colombia and moved to Denver in 2003 with his wife
Amparo and their two children, Felipe (12) and daughter Fernanda (8).
His wife is a stay at home mom going to school to learn English and the
children are already in mainstream classes. He is personally very happy
in Denver due to the tranquility this city offers. Eric attended the 'Universidad Eafit de Medellin' and graduated in Business
Administration. After graduating he was hired for three years to work
for Chemical Bank in New York as a Loan Officer. When he went back to
Colombia, he started an investment firm and sold it when they decided
to move to the States. He is a second year middle school math teacher
working on his teacher license and pursuing a Masters in Education. He
was just awarded the Mile High Teacher 2008-2009 for Kunsmiller Middle
School. Eric likes to go hiking with his family in summer and since
they are new in the states they do a lot of road traveling - as far as
Florida, visiting the various cities Dallas, New Orleans, and of course
Orlando ( Disney ). They have also visited Las Vegas, Salt Lake City,
Los Angeles and San Diego. They admire the roads and beauty of this
country.
Paul has been a teacher in Denver Public Schools for 19 years at schools such as North High School, the Career Education Center and, for the last 8 years, at Balarat. He has always tried to provide students with learning experiences that are interesting and engaging both within and outside of the walls of the classroom. Paul lives in Denver with his wonderful wife and two incredible sons.
Daniel Kehm - Social Studies
Daniel, a veteran labor and political organizer, brings a unique perspective to his work at KCAA. An avid student of the Americas, Daniel has traveled as a backpacker and worked as a volunteer teacher throughout much of Latin America. Other travels have taken him to every state in the Union (excluding North Dakota and Hawaii) and Western Europe. Regarding the Arts, Daniel is particularly passionate about challenging his students to analyze the social, political, and economic narratives woven into canonical images, as well as develop an appreciation for 'outsider art.' Beyond the classroom, Daniel's interests range from Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and boxing to literature (especially American Fiction) and cinema. He has been blessed with a lovely family that includes his wife, two small dogs, and a soon-to-be daughter. Daniel has a deep admiration and respect for the West Denver community, and is looking forward to working with KCAA's very bright and talented eighth graders.
Talya Dornbush - Exploratory Arts
Talya is feeling a little like she won the lottery! She is thrilled to be teaching at KCAA next year! Her professional teaching experience is diverse and includes teaching southwestern archaeology and Pueblo history, directing a university exchange program in China, coaching skiing and snowboarding as well as teaching middle school art for 5 years in Colorado public schools. She is also a photographer and sculptor with an interest in texture and abstraction. A Colorado native, she studied arts and humanities at CU Boulder and recently completed a masters degree in Arts in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. While in graduate school she investigated experiential education and authentic learning through the arts. She will be teaching 8th grade Creative Literacy. In this class students can expect to explore the many languages of the arts: film, dance, music, poetry, sculpture, etc. She hopes to create an atmosphere in her classes where students uncover new questions as readily as they find solutions. Her love of teaching and the arts is deep and she is looking forward to sharing that love with the students and staff at KCAA!
Arts Teachers
Mark Haase - Dance
Mark earned his MFA in Dance from CU, Boulder. His technical foci were ballet, modern and African dance forms. He began dancing at Naropa Institute, primarily training in improvisation and contact-improvisation forms, with a minor in Traditional Eastern Arts (Tai Chi, Raja Yoga and Calligraphy). He studied on full scholarship with national and world re-known dance artists at University of Utah and Harvard. He has danced professionally with dance companies based Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, in addition to a number of companies in the Denver-metro area. He has taught and performed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Costa Rica and Alaska, as well as across the USA. His love is teaching dance. Mark has experience teaching many styles and forms of dance for over 20 years. Mark's inclusive style of teaching engages students to collaborate. Together, students and teacher create and sustain a supportive, nurturing environment where creativity thrives. The discipline of dance fosters body awareness, physical fitness and mental acuity. Students are challenged on many levels to become the best thinking-artist-athlete they can be.
Cori Herbst-Loehr - Media Arts
Cori is thrilled to working with Dr. Howard again! As the Digital Media Arts teacher Cori will bring a variety of experience and talents with her. Working as a Graphic Designer after college, Cori found her calling in the classroom 10 years ago. Having been the Instructional Tech for Polaris at Ebert the past five years she has had the privilege of working with and learning from many of the leading Technology educators in Colorado and the Nation. She has been involved in designing a curriculum in technology that is weighted in the 21st century skills that will be invaluable to our children. Cori graduated with dual degrees in Design and Sculpture from Rocky Mtn. College of Art and Design, and is currently seeking her Masters Degree in Education. Cori will be helping create an innovative program geared towards art in technology, children will acquire the skills to draw, design, publish and document using a computer. The arts based tech curriculum will offer exposure to video cinema arts, digital photography, web-design, and print design. All of these skills will be founded in the core curriculums of literacy, math and science being taught in the classroom. Cori is still an adventurous artist at heart and spends as much free time as possible with her son and husband, traveling, drawing and reading.
Sara Burton - Music
Sarah began to develop her love of music early in school through music classes taught in the Orff-Schulwerk method, a method she is now certified in and employs in her classroom to not only teach children about music, but help build a lifelong love and appreciation of music. In her six years of teaching, She has started an Orff-Schulwerk program in a School for the Fine Arts, taught choir, band, Suzuki violin, group guitar classes, and instructed students in musical theater, dance, and private instruction. As a musician, Sarah has been performing in ensembles throughout the Mid-west on the horn and trumpet for over 18 years. A passionate learner, Sarah has made a point to be proficient at any instruments she can get her hands on, her current endeavor being the bagpipes. When not playing or teaching music, she enjoys spending her time with her husband in the wondrous mountains of Colorado. Sarah is extremely excited to be joining the Kunsmiller community; to learn, grow and explore with the students, parents, and staff of this amazing school.
Lauren Dennis Kehm - Theatre
Lauren Dennis, a Colorado native, is excited to be blending her passion for teaching and acting at KCAA. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and acting professionally in New York, she had the opportunity to live in Guatemala. While working with a theatre group in Guatemala, Lauren decided to pursue teaching and acting when she returned to Colorado. Lauren is excited to share her professional theatre experience with Kunsmiller students. She welcomes the arrival of her new baby and a year full of risk-taking, empowerment, and artistic collaboration.
Andrew Jalving - Visual Arts
Andrew is a professional artist, an avid reader, and a lifelong learner. He has explored many avenues of artistic expression, from music and theater to installation sculpture, and has worked with almost every kind of artistic medium, from drawing to bronze. Andrew holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art from the University of Colorado at Denver, with a Major in sculpture and a Minor in theater. Not until recently did he decide to heed the advice of so many people telling him he was a natural teacher and had a lot to offer children, and pursue his licensure in this field. This will be his first position as a public school teacher, and he is honored and excited to work with this team, in this Academy. Andrew hopes to contribute his knowledge in every field possible, and hopes to enrich the lives of as many students as possible.
Jesse Preston - Visual Arts
Jesse Preston graduated with honors from Mesa State College in 2004 with a BA in Fine and Performing Arts, and was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at wide receiver for the Mavericks football team. He then worked as a professional Graphic Artist for 5 years, before returning to school to complete his teacher licensure through Metro State College, where he became qualified to teach Art. Physical Education and Science. He feels extremely blessed and excited to be a part of the unique educational experience that KCAA will offer!! He feels that teaching allows him to constantly further his own education and knowledge base in fine and graphic arts, coaching, science and career education - and looks forward to becoming a lifelong learner along with his students. He is a native of Colorado and enjoys football, skiing, cards, reading, drawing, video games and basically anything else that involves art and/or the outdoors!
Specialists
Jeff Zinke - Physical Education
Jeff
attended the University of Colorado and graduated with a degree in
Physical Education. He taught in several DPS schools, with Kunsmiller
being his home away from home since 1983. His interests are his
wonderful wife and family of 26 years. Jeff loves to travel, listen to
jazz, play all sports...especially tennis, golf, water skiing,
basketball and soccer. He is truly excited about the direction of
Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy and is looking forward to working with
many new faces, especially the new students who will make the school so
special!
Hillary Pohlmann - Librarian
Hillary
started teaching in a 3rd grade classroom where she taught with arts
focus. She taught three years before starting her School Library
program. She started in the library at Pike Elementary in Colorado
Springs. Three years later she moved to Denver and set up the library
at Place Bridge Academy. She is very excited about starting the library
at Kunsmiller and getting back to arts focused teaching foundation she
started with. Hillary was born in Casper, Wyoming where she
grew up with animals and mountains. She later moved to Colorado Springs
to attend Colorado College for her Bachelors in Humanities and Masters
in Elementary Education. She met her husband at Colorado College and
lived in Colorado Springs for several years after graduating, until
last year when they moved to Denver. They also started a family with
the birth of their son Jackson. She loves hiking with her seven pound
Shih Tzu and reading. She also enjoys refurnishing furniture, creating
mosaics and reading and writing poetry. Hillary has a certified
therapy dog, Carmen, who will come to school frequently for children to
read to her.
Resource Teachers
Robbie Elliott - Special Education
Robbie
is so very excited to be working with such a dynamic group of
individuals and hopes she can share her skills and enthusiasm for
Special Education, as well as her deep and passionate love for Theatre
and the Arts. When not working as a teacher, she spends her time at
local theatres as a stage manager, assistant director and, sometimes,
an actor. Her greatest passion is William Shakespeare and she wants to
continue to work on making him accessible to all children. She even
recently found a company publishing Shakespeare comic books! Robbie
hopes to continue to pass on a love and respect for Arts to all her
students.
Carlene Grigg - Special Education
Martha Crouse - Special Education
Martha
is joining the Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy team as a Learning
Specialist and Drama fanatic. She completed her undergraduate degree at
the University of South Dakota in Theatre Performance which led her
south to Kansas State University and a Graduate degree in Drama
Therapy. For the last two years, Martha has been a member of Teach for
America and working as a Learning Specialist at Rachel B. Noel Middle
School, also in DPS. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, playing
with her cat, and volunteering with Arts from Ashes.
Yolanda Bezio - ESL
This
is Yolanda's 30th year teaching in DPS. For most of her years she has
been teaching secondary ESL. If she had to pick a career again, she
would still choose teaching! She is married with two daughters, one
who will be following in her footsteps in a year, and the other,
interested in business. Her family loves to travel and has been to
Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Yolanda's hobbies are reading,
international cooking, photo scrapbooking, and photography. She is
thrilled to see Kunsmiller transition into the School of the Arts, and
is happy to be able to be a part of it. This is her favorite quote by
Buddha: To live a single day and hear a good teaching is better than
to live a hundred years without such teachings.
Linda Katchen - Intervention Teacher
Dr.
Linda Katchen has been an educator for many years. She loves kids, she
loves reading, and she loves the arts. How lucky she feels to be at
KCAA where she will be able to bring so many of the things that she
loves together! She has been an English teacher, a reading specialist
and a counselor. She hopes to bring her experience and her enthusiasm
to her school and her students. She is a Colorado native and has lived
here most of her life. She has two sons in college, three dogs and a
cat.
Jody Mora - Intervention Teacher
Jody
is a Denver native as well as a graduate of the Denver Public Schools.
She earned her B.A. from the University of Northern Colorado and her
M.A. from the University of Colorado. She is a huge fan of the Arts.
She is a connoisseur of live theatre, dance and cinema. After her
family and dogs, Georgia and Gus, her biggest passion is the printed
word. She is part of a book-club that indulges in lively discussion
each month. In addition to reading for pleasure, she swims, walks and
enjoys day hikes, weather permitting. Jody is thrilled to be a part of
KCAA for the upcoming school year.
Martha Slater - Intervention Teacher
Martha
Slater holds a BFA and an MFA in Acting, and performed in regional
theatres around the U.S for many years. She took a break from acting to
care for her three children; working in her daughters' classrooms lead
to a teaching internship through the Stanley British Primary School in
Denver. Martha is currently pursuing an MA in Educational Psychology,
and she is thrilled to be working as a Reading intervention teacher at
KCAA. When time allows, she loves to write, quilt, and paint.