An Official Core Knowledge© School and Model Visitation Site
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 fifty years experience in working with children. Their areas of expertise include classroom teaching, program and curriculum development, and school administration. Ron Drossman, M.A., N.C.S.P. is the Program Specialist. He is an adjunct professor at Northern Arizona University and is certified as a classroom teacher, Special Education teacher, Recreational Therapist and School Psychologist. Paula Drossman, M.Ed., The PEAK School Superintendent 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.
  
  
• Susan Burdick is the PEAK School’s Director. She has made Flagstaff, Arizona her home the past 10 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. For 17 years she worked on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Utah and Arizona. During these years she served in various capacities such as classroom teacher, head teacher, grant writer, program specialist, and principal. She enjoys putting her skills to work as the 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.
  
  
• The cheerful smile in the front office belongs to The PEAK's office manager, Mary Foley. Ms. Foley really enjoys working with students and their families. She coordinates and organizes many 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 and her children love to camp out in Arizona and Utah.
  
  
• Tracy Braatz has been a resident of Flagstaff for over 25 years. 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 to her children Andrew and Morgan. Tracy and her husband Kurt, found The PEAK School when they began the search for a quality education for their children. After such a wonderful education experience for her own children, Tracy knew there was no other place she'd like to teach, and accepted a teaching position at The PEAK School in the fall of 2005. Currently Tracy teaches kindergarten and helps facilitate special education services. When she's not teaching, she can be found with her family, enjoying camping, fishing, and hiking in Flagstaff's beautiful surroundings.
  
  
• Tammy Eubanks is our combined 6th and 7th grade teacher here at The PEAK School. This is her 6th year with us and she looks forward to many more years in the future! Tammy was born in Utah then moved to a little town called Concho, Arizona for a few years before her dad was sent to Alabama for military training. After a year there, her family relocated to Flagstaff when Tammy was 10 years old. She attended Killip and Christensen Elementary School, East Flagstaff Junior High and Coconino High School. Tammy went on to get a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from NAU. She is married and has a ten year old son in 5th grade. She enjoys fishing and camping with her family, shares a love of books with Ms. Burdick and is busy on the weekends taking her son to his sporting events and running his friends around.
  
  
• Elii Chapman comes to The Peak School with a very diverse background working in the community- primarily with and for youth. Her experience ranges from serving as a Family Builders Case Manager to developing projects for the children’s museum, and volunteering in the Audubon Education Committee. Her undergraduate education brought her profound consciousness in art and sociology. She recently completed a graduate degree at NAU that resulted in state certification to teach general education K-8 and endorsement for teaching art K-12. Elii is thrilled with the opportunity to teach 7th and 8th grade at The Peak School. Elii enjoys spending her time reading, producing art, writing, traveling, as well as being a mother and an aunt.
  
  
• 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.
  
  
• Aubry Leonard is excited to continue her second year of teaching here at The PEAK School with the third graders. She graduated from Northern Arizona University in December of 2009 where she studied elementary and special education. Aubry loves children of all shapes and sizes and looks forward to each individual personality that will grow and learn in her third grade class. She grew up in Southern Arizona, Marana to be specific, but has made Flagstaff her home for the past five years. She loves to be outdoors, and participate in anything active. Some of her favorite things to do are run, bike, hike, go camping, walk her dogs Kodiak and Kanyon, and spend time with family and friends.
  
  
• Jessie Del Quadro is very excited to begin her first year teaching! She is thrilled to be working at PEAK school especially because it means teaching her favorite grade, Kindergarten! Jessie graduated from NAU with a degree in Elementary Education and a certificate in Early Childhood. She originates from Las Vegas, NV and is glad to live in Flagstaff for its seasons and rich community. When she is not at school she enjoys East Coast Swing Dancing and singing. She is ready to see every child in her class succeed!
  
  
• Katie Toci is looking forward to teaching first grade at The PEAK School this year! She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education and recently earned a Reading Specialist Endorsement from NAU. She loves traveling and spent five months teaching on a U.S. Military Base in Heidelberg, Germany. While in Germany, she was fortunate enough to travel to over 23 different cities across Europe, and loved every minute of it! When she is not in the classroom, she is working on her Master's of Elementary Education, scrapbooking, reading, making cards, playing disc golf, or rock climbing.
  
  
• Melissa Rahn is a first year teacher and is thrilled about teaching the second grade students at PEAK School. She looks forward to sharing fun experiences with the students and being a part of this vibrant community. Three years ago, she moved to Flagstaff from Phoenix, Arizona to pursue her journey into the world of education and recently graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor in Elementary and Special Education. She has been extremely happy living in the beautiful weather of Flagstaff spending her free time exploring, hiking, running and biking. She especially enjoys the white winter with her family. As much as she enjoys playing in the outdoors, she is most happy spending time with children in the classroom. Melissa's passion for learning is contagious. She is eager to share her passion of learning with children and nurture their unique character and abilities.
  
  
• Sabrina Bullins is new to The Peak School, but you may have seen her around substitute teaching last year. She is now our fourth grade teacher and is looking forward to the new school year. She loves arts, crafts, music, scrap booking, and knitting. She really enjoys being creative and hopes to bring that into her classroom with different art projects, social studies projects and more. She studied Elementary Education at Northern Arizona University with an emphasis in the arts. She focused especially on theater. Finding creative outlets is something she does in both theater and being a part of a middle ages reenactment of the group. She plans to use her interests as well as the ones of her students to make this a unique and fun school year.
  
  
• Lori Brooks is very excited to teach fifth grade at The PEAK School this year. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor of science in elementary education and a minor in music. She had the amazing opportunity to teach in Heidelberg, Germany at a Department of Defense Dependents School for a semester. During that time, she traveled to many different countries. She also studied abroad at the University of Newcastle in Australia. In her free time, Lori enjoys playing piano, singing, reading, and hiking.
  
  
• Dani Jacks is the NEW Extended School Program coordinator, Physical Education teacher and works in the office with Mary as well. Miss Dani started with us in January of 2011 as the 4th through 8th grade P.E. teacher and will now be teaching P.E. to all grades here at The PEAK School. Miss Dani has been working with children for over 4 years previously working as a before and after care program coordinator and is very excited to continue that line of work for the Peak School! She attended NAU but is now continuing her degree process online through Grand Canyon University obtaining a bachelors degree in elementary and special education.