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Enrolling Kindergarten - 8th Grade
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Our Faculty And Staff!

• School co-founders, Ron and Paula Drossman are highly credentialed educators with a combined thirty years experience in working with children. Their areas of expertise include classroom teaching, program and curriculum development, and school administration. Ron Drossman is an adjunct professor at Northern Arizona University teaching Special Education classes for the SELECT Program. He is certified as a classroom teacher, special education teacher and school psychologist. Paula Drossman spent many years teaching in the early childhood education field. She is certified as a classroom teacher and principal. The Drossmans have been involved over the last ten years in several programs encouraging educational reform in Arizona. Their experiences in the charter school movement and in traditional public education have provided them with a wealth of information and skills making The PEAK School a unique avenue for parent choice. Their focus is to know every child and every family in order to make all members of The PEAK School community welcome participants in the educational process.



• PEAK School parent, Mari Soliday, directs The PEAK School Before/After Care program. She holds a degree in Parks and Recreation Management from Northern Arizona University. Miss Mari's warmth and enthusiasm ensure that students at The PEAK School have organized, creative enrichment activities before and after school, including homework help, tutoring and computer time. Additionally, Miss Mari teaches Physical Education classes at the school.



• The cheerful smile in the front office belongs to The PEAK's office manager, Mary Foley. Mrs. Foley really enjoys working with students and their families. She coordinates and organizes special events throughout the school year in addition to her normal office duties. She earned her Masters Degree in Business Administration from NAU. Mrs. Foley, her son Jeremy and her assorted foster children love to camp out in Arizona and Utah.



• Tobey Harris came from California to attend NAU with a lifetime dream of becoming a teacher. She taught in a small Arizona school district for two years prior to joining the PEAK School, which she is thrilled to be a part of. In addition to having the time of her life teaching, she loves to run, hike, be outdoors and spend time with her husband, 2 babies, and their labs.



• Tracy Braatz been a resident of Flagstaff for over 20 years. She graduated from high school here, and went to Northern Arizona University. In the fall of 1993 she graduated from NAU with a dual degree in elementary and special education. Her love of teaching was temporarily put on hold by her desire to be a stay at home mom. It wasn.t long before she put both her love of teaching and parenting together. She began to home school her son, Andrew, and daughter, Morgan and became a daycare/preschool provider. After several years of home schooling, Tracy and her husband, Kurt, began looking into the option of sending their children to a charter school. Following months of research they decided the best choice for the education for their children was The PEAK School. Over two years and many voluntary hours, with the school, later Tracy knew there was no other place she.d rather teach, and accepted a teaching position. When she.s not teaching, she can be found with her family, enjoying camping, fishing, and hiking in Flagstaff.s beautiful surroundings. She also enjoys working with kids in a variety of extra curricular activities including soccer, scouts, youth groups and Sunday school.



• Alana Jobe is enjoying her first year in the PEAK School community. She is a graduate of NAU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, emphasis in Mathematics. She is also currently pursuing a master.s degree in elementary education. Alana has lived in Flagstaff for over 10 years. She and her husband Will enjoy a variety of activities with their three children; Weston, Taylor, and Justin. Nothing beats a good picnic or camping trip with the four wheelers, dirt bikes, and their super cool dog, Zoie. Alana has always had a compassion for children and a heart for education. She looks forward to a year full of unforgettable experiences.



• Berrie Cox is a certified teacher and a native Arizonan with a B.A. in Spanish from the U of A. She has lived in Africa, Mexico, Spain, and what used to be Yugoslavia. She has traveled and backpacked extensively. She has two daughters, aged 8 and 18, with whom she enjoys exploring northern Arizona. Ms. Berrie loves to paint, play guitar, and garden. She hopes to inspire her students by introducing them to the rich and varied aspects of the Spanish language and culture.



• Eric Pettit is from Iowa and graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in Elementary Education and English Literature. As a new member of The Peak School he hopes to build positive relationships with his students and be a part of and help develop a positive and productive learning community. When he is not at school he loves to play the guitar, spent time in the forest and travel.



• Ms. Susan Burdick has made Flagstaff, Arizona her home the past five years. Although originally from Athens, Georgia the intrigue and beauty of the west has won her heart! Susan graduated with a Bachelor.s degree in Elementary Education from Brigham Young University in 1989 and completed her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University in 2000. Over the past 17 years she has worked on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah and Arizona. During these years she has served in various capacities such as classroom teacher, head teacher, grant writer, program specialist, and principal. She looks forward to putting her skills to work as the Assistant Director at The Peak School. In her free time she enjoys doing crossword puzzles, reading, listening to music, hiking with her dog, working on family history, and being together with friends and family.



• Jo'el Crook is from Indiana where she attended Ball State. She taught in Phoenix last and recently moved to Flagstaff. Jo'el is extremely excited about her first year at The PEAK School where she will be teaching the 7th and 8th grade class. Jo'el's passion is teaching. She also loves to enjoy the outdoors, spending time with her family and friends, exercising and shopping!



• Lindsey Kiraly grew up in central Pennsylvania and attended Penn State University . She relocated to Flagstaff in the summer of 2002 and transferred to Northern Arizona University . Lindsey received her degree in 2005 in Elementary Education with minors in Studio Art and Graphic Design. After almost two years of searching for teaching jobs in Flagstaff , Lindsey is very excited to join the PEAK School community. Lindsey's philosophy of education incorporates a hands-on and interactive approach where students learn by doing and are given the support necessary to make sense of their own learning. When Lindsey is not working, she loves to spend time outdoors with her dogs, Altoona and Beetle Bailey and her boyfriend, Nicholas.



• Ms. Collins has been teaching for the past 9 years after graduating from NAU in 1997 with a degree in Elementary Education. Her teaching emphasis is in Science and Art. She moved to Flagstaff from Lake Havasu City in June of this year and is very excited about joining The Peak School team. She has previously taught the 2nd and 4th grades for 4 years and has spent the remaining 5 years instructing Jr. High and High School Life and Physical Sciences. Susan was also an AIMS tutor in English this past year. In 2002, she was awarded the 'Silver Apple' Award from Channel Three in Phoenix . One of her Jr. High Science students nominated her and she was delighted. It is an award she will always cherish. Also, Ms. Collins was given the 'Innovative Teaching' Award at the Mohave County Educators Conference in 2003. Her hobbies include: Hiking, scuba diving and just spending time with her 3 children and their families.



• Mr. Joel Rieck has been playing music all of his life. At 4 years old he began playing the violin, eventually performing in school orchestras. In his teens he picked up the guitar working his way toward countless performances in Arizona with different bands and as a soloist In 2002 he was the first place winner of the Outstanding Music Performers Competition for Maricopa County in the category of solo guitar. Mr Joel holds both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Music Performance from Northern Arizona University . He has been with the PEAK School since 2005 and enjoys teaching young students the art of music and performance.



• Leonor Schlachter Gonzalez, Ms.Leo, returns to the school after a two year break in order to have her two beautiful children, Andres 2 and Tomas 8 months. Ms Leo is coming back as our P.E. and Spanish teacher for the upper campus. She is a native Spanish speaker from Colombia , South America and has been living in Flagstaff for the past decade. She graduated from Parks and Recreation Management with emphasis on outdoor education and loves mountaineering and any other outdoor activity.



• Tammy Eubanks was practically born and raised right here in Flagstaff , Arizona . She moved here from a little town called Conch when she was in the 5th grade. She received both her Master's and Bachelor's degree from NAU. Tammy is happy to be back here for her 2nd year at The PEAK School. During her first year she made her way through three different classrooms, the first two were long-term substitute teaching positions at the lower campus. Tammy ended the year working primarily with the sixth and seventh graders. This year Tammy will have her own classroom and teach a combined 6/7. Tammy and her husband Shawn, along with their son Logan enjoy hiking and camping around Flagstaff . Tammy loves to get lost in a good book, ride quads, and watch football, especially the Dallas Cowboys. Tammy is really excited to be working in our new building and is looking forward to a spectacular year.