Our Staff
Our educators and support team are passionate about what we do. We want every Wildcat to succeed and welcome your involvement to make that happen. Please feel free to reach out to our staff if you wish to discuss any questions or concerns.
Administration
Andrew Tippins
Principal
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Biography
About Andrew Tippins
Education
BS Elementary Education Minnesota State University-Mankato; MA Educational Leadership and Policy Studies University of Texas-Arlington.
Experience
Thirteen years in Education, six in administration, and seven years as a sixth and seventh-grade math teacher.
Why I Teach
The positive relationships that are built, helping students understand concepts and being a caring adult that students know will be there each day.
Kerrie Davis
Assistant Principal
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Biography
About Kerrie Davis
Education
MA in Education Administration with certificates in Principalship, English as a Second Language, and Psychology from ASU and NAU.
Experience
Twenty-six years in education, with 17 of those years teaching all subjects to intermediate grades and the others teacher mentoring, academic coaching, and being a school administrator.
Why I Teach
I work with students and educators to make sure every child has the skills and knowledge to have choices in life that will bring them joy and success.
Amelia Sanchez
Student Advisor
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Biography
About Amelia Sanchez
Education
BS Elementary Education, Grand Canyon University
Experience
Ten years in Education. I taught sixth grade ELA for four years and have worked with middle school students for nine years.
Why I Teach
This is what I love to do. This is my passion. I enjoy building and establishing positive relationships with our students and guiding them to achieve their goals.
Sixth Grade
Patrick Acopio
Math
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Biography
About Patrick Acopio
Education
Bachelor in Elementary Education Major in Mathematics, Eastern Samar State University, Philippines
Experience
Twenty years in Education. I taught computer education for basic education for eight years and elementary school for 12 years.
Why I Teach
Teaching, for me, is a vocation, and this is my passion. This is my way to touch many people's lives.
Crystal Cerda
Science
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Biography
About Crystal Cerda
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Teaching is such a rewarding experience. I truly enjoy getting to know the children and helping them thrive. Teaching allows me to positively influence a child's way of thinking and make a difference in their lives. I enjoy hearing all their ideas and watching their minds work. I take pride in knowing I am helping to change the future. As a teacher, I hope to inspire my students to dream big, work hard, and never give up.
Denise Gill
Science
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Biography
About Denise Gill
Education
BS Elementary Education Northern Arizona University MA International Diverse Education with an ELD Endorsement
Experience
I have taught second through sixth grade for the last 36 years.
Why I Teach
It is important to me to be a positive role model for young people. I love teaching and my students. I want them to be lifelong learners and for them to be the best person they can be. Your education is something no one can take away from you. I want them to follow their dream and be happy.
Megan Nasser
Math
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Biography
About Megan Nasser
Education
Experience
Four years in education. I have spent the last four years teaching sixth-grade math at Western Valley Middle School.
Why I Teach
I teach because I love teaching children how school can be applied to real life. I love helping children realize their full potential. I believe education is one of the most important things, and knowledge is something that no one can ever take away from you. Some students just need an adult in their lives to listen to them and help them advocate to get their needs met.
Diane Roth
ELA
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Biography
About Diane Roth
Education
BA Business Education Wartburg College; MA.ed Curriculum and Technology; SEI endorsed; English Certified
Experience
I have taught for 22 years. Two of those years were in Administration, five years were in Special Education.
Why I Teach
I am here to teach English and guide students through their middle years, which can be tough. They all need extra adults in their lives, and I try to give students confidence in what they know going forward. I love the interaction with the students and try to help give them the academic support and emotional support that they may need.
Yvette Villaverde
ELA Teacher
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Biography
About Yvette Villaverde
Education
Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership; Minor in Youth & Community Development
Master of Education- December 2022
Experience
Why I Teach
Seventh Grade
Justin Carmickle
7th ELA
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Biography
About Justin Carmickle
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Rosi Jimenez
Science
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Biography
About Rosi Jimenez
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach science because I love how science is connected to every aspect of our lives, including mathematics, and I want to help all my students at this age better understand how easy and fun science can be. I want to inspire as many students as possible to pursue a college degree and believe that education is power.
Deanna Leighton
Social Studies
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Biography
About Deanna Leighton
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
It is a privilege to teach history to help students understand how society and the world came to be and how they can positively contribute to it.
Gilberto-Gabay Ordonez
English Language Development (ELD)
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Biography
About Gilberto-Gabay Ordonez
Education
Bachelor in Foreign Languages, Colegio Froebel, Mexico. Certified in Structured English Immersion.
Experience
Six years teaching. Every level, but elementary.
Why I Teach
Teaching is a great opportunity for you to bond with great people, probably our leaders of tomorrow. It becomes a privilege as well to become an important part of someone else's life. The road is easier with education.
Holly Petschaur
Math
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Biography
About Holly Petschaur
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I love sharing ideas and helping people! I also love kids, so this career is perfect. Everyone has potential, and getting kids to realize and achieve theirs is amazing!
Bonnie Totzke
ELA
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Biography
About Bonnie Totzke
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach because education is a lifelong process, and I want to instill that 'love for learning' into my students' hearts & minds. Being proficient in reading and writing is crucial in whatever careers the students may pursue. Having the students come to that realization, plus seeing them succeed & build their self-esteem/self-worth, makes the teaching profession, in my opinion, the most important & satisfying profession in our society. That's why I teach!
Matthew Wellner
Math
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Biography
About Matthew Wellner
Education
B.A. in Elementary Education, Arizona State University, Mary Lou Fulton Teacher's College. Summa Cum Laude.
Experience
Second year teaching and second year here at Western Valley. Middle School Math.
Why I Teach
I teach because I believe that each generation should be greater than the last. Everyone's future will someday be in the hands of the students we have today. We should aspire to make sure those hands are molded well.
Eighth Grade
Jacqueline Gardner
Social Studies
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Biography
About Jacqueline Gardner
Education
B.S. Child, Youth, and Family Studies with a minor in Sociology, University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE); M.A. in Elementary Education, College of Saint Mary (Omaha, NE)
Experience
I have been in education for 12 years. For two years, I was a paraeducator. The last ten years, I have been a classroom teacher. I've taught third, fourth, seventh, and eighth grades.
Why I Teach
I teach to help build educational skills to help students achieve their future dreams. I love helping students find their talents, become better students, and citizens once they leave me at the end of the school year. I also love building positive relationships with families and helping their children blossom into positive young adults.
Annette Little
Science
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Biography
About Annette Little
Education
BA Education, Highly Qualified in math and science
Experience
Why I Teach
I have always wanted to be a teacher. I started school in first grade. The minute I walked in the classroom, I decided I would grow up to be a teacher. Mrs. Hanson, my first-grade teacher, was an excellent teacher and kept my dream alive. I worked throughout my school career to reach that goal. It's simple, I love to teach.
Dieago Minnis
ELA
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Biography
About Dieago Minnis
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Marla Travis
Math
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Biography
About Marla Travis
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach because I truly believe I am helping to shape the future of my students. There is nothing like the feeling I get when I see students understand a concept that I am teaching. When that light bulb comes on, and a student "gets" what I am teaching, it is so gratifying.
Educational Resource Teachers
Sharon Metz
ED Self-Contained
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Biography
About Sharon Metz
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach because children need help learning from a professional that has had the education and experience to do so adequately. Our students today will be the building blocks for tomorrow, and we need to pass down our knowledge of the current academics used in schools to make them the best they can be. Your students will someday thank you for all the work you have done to make their school experience successful.
Jody Nasser
8th Resource
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Biography
About Jody Nasser
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach because I want to see children be successful. I want to be part of their education and social-emotional growth. Children are our future. They need guidance along the path to becoming successful independent adults.
Exploratory
Julie Borunda
Mentor
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Biography
About Julie Borunda
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be a teacher. When I was a kid, I would play school in my playroom with my friends. We'd take turns being a student and a teacher. Teaching and helping others are part of my life's mission. I love seeing that light bulb moment when a concept comes alive for students! Through learning, we can learn about ourselves and the world around us. I teach to help students find their voice. I teach to inspire students to become the best version of themselves. I teach to empower others to make this world a better place.
Alberto Camacho
Physical Education
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Biography
About Alberto Camacho
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
As a teacher, I love to see students grow and become responsible adults that will teach and enlighten the next generation. As soon as I started to notice the small impact I generated, I fell in love with the process and struggle that it takes for a teacher to connect with his/her students. I always want to be that teacher that the students can go back and think who was that teacher that made an impact on my life?
Jenita Landrum
Art
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Biography
About Jenita Landrum
Education
Bachelors of Arts - Studio - ASU Bachelors of Fine Arts - Drawing Masters of Fine Arts - Painting The Ohio State University
Experience
Twenty-seven years of teaching middle, high school, community college, and university, teaching painting, drawing, ceramic, design, color art history, Introduction to Art
Why I Teach
I love teaching art to any age. I hope that students get turned on by the art experience. I hope that they become art buyers, artists, or just art lovers.
Rick Rose
Intro to Computers
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Biography
About Rick Rose
Education
BA Sociology - Columbia Christian College, MA Education, Social Sciences - University of Portland
Experience
Why I Teach
Teaching is a profession that brings out creativity and determination to improve my skills as well as those of the students in my classes. I teach because I enjoy working with middle school students. I appreciate working in the teaching environment and the focus on mastery of specific skills. Teaching requires a positive attitude daily, and you must be on your A-game at all times. Those of us who teach are here for the students; however, being paid helps pay the bills!
Frank Sharbono
Technology
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Biography
About Frank Sharbono
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
In my twenties, I started thinking about the how and why of everything, and eventually, I realized that, for the most part, the only reason I didn't know something was simply because I hadn't been taught. Why can that person disassemble and reassemble an engine, and I can't? They were taught, and I wasn't. Sometime later, reflecting, I started to see what I could have done, what I could have been. I then promised myself that my students would get the chances I missed.
Stephen Torrez
Music/Band
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Biography
About Stephen Torrez
Education
Western New Mexico University
Experience
17 years
Why I Teach
"This is why I teach music not because I expect you to major in music, not because I expect you to play or sing all your life, not so you can relax, not so you can have fun, but so you will be human, so you will recognize beauty, so you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world, so you will have something to cling to, so you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good. In short, more life." ~ author unknown
Fredrick Vance
Physical Education
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Biography
About Fredrick Vance
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
To help students grow physically and mentally. Furthermore; provide the most rewarding experience for each student to develop a healthy lifestyle for life.
Support Staff
Jonasita Baxter
Instructional Assistant
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Biography
About Jonasita Baxter
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Irma Camargo
Instructional Assistant
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Biography
About Irma Camargo
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Timothy Canneady
Librarian
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Biography
About Timothy Canneady
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Esmeralda Diaz
Instructional Assistant
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Biography
About Esmeralda Diaz
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Edith Eubank
Counselor
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Biography
About Edith Eubank
Education
BA in Spec. Edu-MaDonna University, Livonia, MI MA in Early Childhood / MA in Counseling Spring Arbor Univ, MI
Experience
Thirty-five years in education which includes early childhood, teaching art, admin, and counseling
Why I Teach
I enjoy seeing students discover things about themselves that they did not know they were capable of doing. I like being the coach who helps students cross that finish line of their educational journey.
Kelly Garcia
Cafeteria Manager
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Biography
About Kelly Garcia
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
William Gonzales
Math Interventionist
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Biography
About William Gonzales
Education
BA Elementary Education
Experience
Five years
Why I Teach
I teach for two reasons. First is for the satisfaction that I help society improve to reach a better future. I believe that our future is the kids, and that we should give everything to make them succeed and become better than us. Secondly is that I enjoy the thrill of challenging students to go above and beyond their capabilities. It is awesome to have students come back and tell me what they have accomplished in life.
Cindy Hunt
Reading Interventionist
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Biography
About Cindy Hunt
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach because I love it, and I believe in all people. We have a responsibility to teach our children what they need to know to be the most successful in later life. I want them to have plenty of choices for what they do for their work or career when they are older and the ability to keep on learning for their entire lives.
Melanie Jones
Nurse
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Biography
About Melanie Jones
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Vincent Moreno
Counselor
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Biography
About Vincent Moreno
Education
B.S. Organizational Studies - ASU Master Administration - NAU Master Education School Counselor - NAU
Experience
This is my second year as a school counselor. This is my second career. I retired from the City of Phoenix Water Service Department after 22 years. Left as a Water Asset Manager.
Why I Teach
I like to let my action speaks louder than words. If you want to see change, you have to be part of that change. I want students to be successful in their life after they have finished their school years. I have seen too many employees fail because they were missing something that they did not learn during their educational years. I like to teach students how to overcome obstacles that are part of life. Every student has the potential to be successful. I enjoy supporting and guiding my students.
Jasmine Rojas
Nurse
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Biography
About Jasmine Rojas
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Sally Ruiz
Attendance Clerk
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Biography
About Sally Ruiz
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Martha Siquerios
Instructional Assistant
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Biography
About Martha Siquerios
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Brenda Torres
Secretary
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Biography
About Brenda Torres
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Yulma Wallace
Instructional Assistant
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Biography