Untitled - KIPP San Antonio Public Schools

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Alex Karamol
ELA Instructor and Grade Team Leader
5th Grade
Alex Karamol was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but grew up mostly in
Columbus, Ohio. Alex started teaching with the Inner-City Teaching Corps,
an alternative certification program in Chicago, after graduating from
college. Alex taught 8th grade ELA for two years before moving to San
Antonio and teaching 6th grade reading at Camino for two years. This year
Alex will be teaching 5th grade reading and is 5th Grade Team Leader. Alex
was an English major at Notre Dame and earned her M.S.Ed at
Northwestern University. For fun, Alex likes to do craft projects, read, and
play with her dogs, Daisy and Ranger!
Genica Handy
Paraprofessional and Running Club Instructor
6th Grade
Originally from New Orleans, LA, Genica Handy is KIPP Camino’s Creole QUEEN! Genica spent
her glory days studying Family & Consumer Sciences at Northwestern State University in
Louisiana, home of the steaming hot Demons! Once Genica decided to really get her life
together, she strapped up her boots, pressed her uniform, threw
her dogtags over her head, and joined the Army National Guard.
From 2009-2010, Genica scorched in the hot deserts of Iraq in
order to defend and protect this great country. Currently, Genica
has bought her unique flavor and style to San Antonio, TX. As a
strikingly amazing, ridiculously awesome Soldier, Genica is a
Human Resources First Lieutenant with the 71st Expeditionary
Military Intelligence Brigade. When Genica is in her zone, she’s
probably busy being on KIPP Camino’s 6th grade Team as the
paraprofessional. During her ‘Plain Jane’ time, Genica is busy
pursuing a Master’s degree in School Counseling at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Genica enjoys singing, dancing, and spending time with her fabulously dressed, absurdly
GORGEOUS, incredibly CUTE, ridiculously SMART, DIVA-in-the-making daughter, Devyn Nicole!
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Denise Santiago Luna
CMC Instructor
5th and 6th
Denise Santiago graduated from Baylor University and
received her graduate degree from UTSA! Go
Roadrunners! Denise loves spending time with her
family, planning or going on a couponing trip, traveling,
and exercising. Since the age of 18, Denise has not lived
in San Antonio longer than two years
consecutively…until now. This is year #3! Denise had a
brain tumor from birth to age 26. With that said, Denise
states that she has horrible short term memory and is
dyslexic, but loves numbers and has a pretty decent long
term memory! A fun fact about Denise is that she cannot remember the last time she paid full
price for any item! That includes airfares, personal care, dining out and more!
Grace Marengo Sanchez
ELA Instructor and Grade Team Leader
6th Grade
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Grace Marengo Sanchez was born right here in the Alamo City! After graduating from Grinnell
College in Grinnell, Iowa, Grace returned to San Antonio's
southeast side where she grew up and worked at Martinez
Street Women's Center, a small non-profit that works with
under-served women and girls. It was there, as the afterschool program coordinator, that Grace found her passion
for working with middle schoolers. Grace then taught 6th,
7th, and 8th grade religion for two years at Holy Cross of San
Antonio, located on the city's west side. Grace completed
her Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) at Trinity University in
2014, and is now in her third year teaching 6th grade at KIPP
Camino and will now also be serving as Grade Team
Leader. For “fun” Grace loves snuggling with her puppy
while watching TV, hanging out with her husband on their
porch, and spending time with friends and family!
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Lisha Loveberry
ELA Instructor
5th Grade
Lisha moved to San Antonio five years ago from Michigan and will
always use her hand to show people where she’s from in Michigan.
Lisha graduated from Grand Valley State University in Grand
Rapids, MI with a BA in English/LA and minor in EL Ed. When Lisha
is not at school, Lisha loves to hang out with her sausage nugget,
Vienna, practice her photography skills, go to/watch movies, hang
poolside, read, watch & attend sporting events (especially
Michigan football), and enjoy the outdoors by doing some hiking.
Michelle Gallegos
Science Instructor and CSI Instructor
7th Grade
Michelle Gallegos graduated from Baylor University with a
Bachelors of Science in Chemistry with a Minor in Forensic
Science. Although she went to school with the intent to
become a Toxicologist in a crime lab, she was always getting
part time jobs as a tutor/afterschool worker for the local
school district. So she followed her heart to education. She
was originally hired at KIPP Camino Academy in December
2015 as a paraprofessional and will be teaching 7th Grade
Science this school year. In her spare time she loves to read (A
LOT), garden, work out, give blood and platelets, be involved
in church, and spend time with family and friends.
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Lucero Saldaña
Paraprofessional and Mexican American Studies (MAS) Instructor
5th Grade
Lucero Saldaña is a graduate from the University of Texas
at San Antonio. She graduated with a major in Mexican
American Studies, concentration in Family, Communities,
and Children, and minors in English as a Second Language
and Bicultural Studies. She will also be starting graduate
school this fall at UTSA. This is Saldaña's third year at KIPP
and second year being the 5th grade paraprofessional.
Saldaña is involved in organizations that support of ethnic
studies within our school systems in the state. In her spare
time, Saldaña enjoys photography, attending concerts, and
hanging out with family and friends.
James Santillan
Physical Education Instructor and Yoga Instructor
5th – 8th Grade
James Santillan joined KIPP Camino as a paraprofessional in the
fall of 2015. In 2014 James worked as the Fitness Teacher at
Leadership Prep Ocean Hill in Brooklyn, NY. He also worked as
a personal trainer at Crunch Fitness and Gold’s Gym. He has
experience coaching youth baseball and enjoys staying active in
his spare time by working out and riding his bicycle. James
graduated from Texas A&M International University with a
Bachelor’s of Science in Fitness and Sports. While in school, he
worked for several building and engineering companies in
various technical roles.
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Bruce Henry
Science Instructor
8th Grade
Bruce graduated from Brown University in 2004 with a
BA in Latin American Studies and a BA in Sociology. Bruce
is currently enrolled at UTSA’s MEd Educational
Leadership and Policy Studies program. Bruce is always
smiling! Bruce loves spending time with his family. Bruce
is obsessed with Ancient Aliens and conspiracy theory
documentaries and thinks animals are awesome! Bruce
has 2 dogs, 4 frogs, 2 beta fish, and a turtle. Needless to
say, Bruce is a vegetarian.
Julie Troutz
Science Instructor
5th Grade
Julie Troutz is a graduate of the University of Texas at San
Antonio where she received her Bachelors of Science Degree in
Kinesiology. In Julie’s spare time, she likes to fish, travel, and do
woodworking projects. This past academic school year, Julie
was teaching at Aspire this past and looks forward to starting
the new year at Camino! She cannot wait to meet all the
students and families!
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Ciera Tyler
Math Interventionist
5th – 8th Grade
Ciera loves teaching grade school because she cares deeply about each
of her students. She believes students can grow and develop by
examining the issues covered in class. Ciera’s main goal is to prepare
students to be productive citizens in this ever so changing society. Ciera
believes that her cooperation and support will be greatly appreciated.
Ciera has a Bachelors of Art in Elementary Education with a middle
school endorsement in math from the University of Illinois at Chicago
(2010) and Algebra endorsement credit (2013). Recently, Ciera
obtained a Masters of Art in Teaching and Learning with Technology
from Ashford University located in San Diego, California (2014). This upcoming school year Ciera will be working as the Math Interventionist.
This will allow her to work personally and closely with students and
staff to determine the best course of action for meeting the
mathematical needs of students individually. In her spare time Ciera
enjoys physical fitness. This includes but is certainly not limited to: long
walks, bike rides, volleyball, swimming, Zumba classes etc. Ciera also
enjoys spending time with her son attending sporting events and
museums.
Carolina Rubio
Art Teacher and Honors Art Instructor
5th – 8th Grade
Carolina is a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Masters of Art in Art
Education (MAAE); and of Texas Tech University where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts
(BFA) in Visual Studies. Carolina will be teaching Art this
upcoming school year. During her spare time, Carolina
enjoys traveling, gardening, painting, reading and
meditation. Carolina was born in Lubbock, TX to Mexican
immigrant parents from Jalisco and Coahuila. Since 2001,
Carolina has worked in the field of visual arts education,
teaching at museums, and grassroots arts organizations of
San Antonio, TX, for Chicago Public Schools and at The
Pennsylvania State University. For the past six years
Carolina has assisted author Sandra Cisneros with
installing a Day of the Dead ofrenda/altar for her mother
at various museums around the U.S. Carolina is very
grateful for the opportunity to engage KIPP Camino
students with quality Art education that honors their experiences and our community, while
introducing them to contemporary artists, art, and ideas that bind us globally.
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Roxana Ramirez
History Instructor and Grade Team Leader
7th Grade
Roxana Ramirez was born in Córdoba, Argentina. Roxanna loves soccer, volleyball, and also
enjoys watching football games. After 18 years of lacking
money, food and clothing she took the road that made sense
for her; she went to work and learned a skills profession.
However, she was incomplete and unhappy. In Argentina there
is a saying “the doctor’s son will become a doctor, while the
bricklayer’s son will be a bricklayer.” It took her almost 10 years
to understand that she was a link on that pre-stablished chain.
Roxanna decided to go back to school, become a teacher to
help students believe in themselves. She wanted to be a living
example that we can succeed no matter where we came from,
or how we grew up. In 2006, she moved to Texas and went to
San Antonio College and then transferred to Texas A&M- San
Antonio. In December of 2014, Roxanna graduated with a
Bachelor’s of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with Teacher
Certification 4-8. This year, Roxanna will be teaching 7th grade
NFS and feels that she is finally living her dream! She is changing not only her life, but the lives
of many others. She can see herself in each of her students and she can show them that WE ALL
CAN DREAM BIG. If I did it, then YOU CAN DO BETTER!!
Amanda Ebubedike
ELA Instructor and Hip-Hop Instructor
6th Grade
Amanda was born to a Nigerian father and an African American
mother in Atlanta, GA where she resided for most of her life. When
Amanda graduated from high school, she moved to Savannah, GA
where she attended Savannah State University and studied
behavior analysis and Visual and Performing Arts. Amanda is a hipHop/jazz dancer that has choreographed pageants, music videos
and dance teams. Most recently, Amanda completed City Year
Jacksonville from 2014-2015 and has been interested in education
ever since! A fun side note about Amanda is that she absolutely
loves whales!
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Kari Hart
ELA Instructor
8th Grade
Kari graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in
Secondary Ed English. In Kari’s free time, Kari likes to read
mysteries and historical fiction, cook new recipes, and spend
time with her son, Henry. Kari is excited to start teaching at
KIPP Camino Academy and looking forward to a new
adventure!
Jake Goforth
Reading Interventionist
5th – 8th Grade
Jake Goforth has been working with KIPP for the past 5 years at the
Aspire campus and is excited to start year number 6 at Camino.
Reading has always been Jake’s favorite subject, both while he was in
school and as a teacher, so he feels great to be getting back to work
with our KIPPster’s as the interventionist for the ’16-’17 school year.
In his free time, Jake likes to play everything from Xbox to card
games, hang out with his wife Jessica and their two dogs Mr. Kitty
and Ninja Turtle, and any activity that gets him out into nature like
camping, hunting, or hiking out to a secluded spot to set up his
hammock between some trees and chill. Jake loves to joke around
and be silly…he also doesn’t believe in posing for pictures (see photo
to the right).
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Farrah Walji
Paraprofessional and Student Government Advisor
8th Grade
Farrah graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio
with a B.A in Philosophy. Farrah is also a graduate of the
Institute of Ismaili Studies and received a graduate Certificate
in Islamic Studies & Humanities. Farrah is expected to
graduate from the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in
Inclusive and Special Education. Farrah will be the Student
Government advisor and 8th grade paraprofessional. Farrah
enjoys experimenting with different dance styles, learning
new languages, traveling, and watching animated movies.
Julia Parmakian
Math Instructor and Zumba Instructor
7th Grade
Julia Parmakian was born in Santa Monica, California but grew up in
Gorham, Maine. Julia’s interest in teaching stems from her family
(both her parents are retired teachers) and a class she took in college
where she was able to tutor students in Tanzania. Last year she
served with City Year here in San Antonio at Sam Houston High
School. Julia went to public school in her hometown through high
school and then attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts
majoring in Sociology and minoring in Women’s Studies and
Journalism. In her free time, Julia likes to play tennis, run, watch
Netflix and explore HEB.
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Juan Juarez
School Leader
5th – 8th Grade
Juan Juarez is currently the School Leader at KIPP Camino Academy. Juan is a Teach For America
alumnus and was a regional finalist in the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award. Juan
taught 5th grade reading, was the ESL coordinator, the Director of Student Programs, and for
the last two years was an Assistant School Leader and a KIPP Miles
Family Fellow at KIPP Camino Academy. For the last two years,
Juan implemented a real-time coaching program and coached the
reading and math departments. In addition, Juan has focused on
maintaining a relationship-driven school by implementing
restorative practices and in doing so, Juan and the lower school
team decreased referrals by 60% and suspensions by 44%. This
upcoming year, as School Leader, Juan hopes to establish a vision
where KIPP Camino Academy is a relationship driven community of
successful, caring, and lifelong learners who are creating a path
toward a unique feature of choice that honors their personal
identities and strengths. Juan graduated from Southwestern
University with a bachelor's degree in political science and
international studies and from Trinity University with a Master’s in
Education (School Leadership). Juan loves to listen to pop music,
watch Law and Order, and spend time with his four dogs.
Curtis Bailey
Math Instructor and Choir Instructor
6th Grade
Curtis Bailey was born number 3 of 6 children on October 19,
1987 in Dallas, Texas. He spent majority of his life playing
football, which landed him a full athletic scholarship. Curtis
graduated high school from Dallas Carter High School, where he
was number 33 in his class of 360. He soon went on to college at
The University of Oklahoma, where he played football at the
collegiate level. He majored in Sociology and Psychology. In
2008 his football career ended due to a career ending injury. It
was then when Curtis saw that there was a need in education,
and decided to join in on the movement. He soon knew that it
was his calling to be a teacher, which is what prompted his
decision to join Teach for America. Curtis graduated on May 14,
2010 from The University of Oklahoma. He was a first generation college student, and the very
first in his entire family to graduate from a four year university. Curtis is now on his sixth year in
education, is still going strong, and will be in his third year at Camino teaching 6th grade math.
He plans to be a school counselor one day, where he will serve the youth of his community.
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Rudy Galvez
Assistant School Leader, Upper School
7th – 8th Grade
Rudy Galvez has been in education for 19 years and is currently the Assistant School Leader of
7th and 8th grade at KIPP Camino in San Antonio, Texas. Rudy
received his B.S. in History with a Teacher Certification in 1996 and
his Masters in Educational Administration in 2011 from the
University of Texas in San Antonio. He was a founding teacher of
KIPP San Antonio in 2003 and served as the Assistant School Leader
from 2005 – 2006. He spent his career teaching history in 5th, 7th
and 8th grades. The last nine years as a teacher he created and
taught history curriculum in Spanish for a Spanish Immersion
Program. Rudy will be serving his 3rd year as the Assistant School
Leader at KIPP Camino for the 7th and 8th grades. Rudy finds
balance in his life by committing his off-time to all types of
bicycling. He and his wife own eleven bikes and log over two-thousand miles a year.
Teresa Garcia
Counselor and Peace Keepers in Training Advisor
5th – 8th Grade
Ms. Teresa Perez Garcia has been at KIPP Camino Academy as
a counselor for four years now. She is a native from San
Antonio and grew up in this same neighborhood as our
KIPPsters. Mrs. Garcia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in bilingual
education from Trinity University and a Master’s Degree in
Guidance and Counseling from Texas A&M at Kingsville. Ms.
Garcia started her career in elementary education but has
since taught every level from Early Childhood to adult learners.
She also took a break from education and worked in the
Criminal Justice system and did case management and
facilitated alcohol education and substance abuse support
groups. For the last 14 years, Mrs. Garcia has been a school
counselor in high school, elementary, and now middle school
youth.
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Liberty Heise
Assistant School Leader, Lower School
5th – 6th Grade
Liberty Heise was born in Chewelah, Washington which is a remote
town in Eastern Washington State. She began teaching at The Girls'
School of Austin in August 2009 when she realized that education is a
great gift; learning and helping others find their passions. Liberty has
taught 5th grade math, 5th grade science, 6th grade humanities,
knitting, sewing and creative writing. She began her college journey
at Seattle Central Community College, transferred to The Evergreen
State College where she received her Bachelors of Science in
mathematics and forest ecology. Liberty has spent the last two years
teaching 6th grade science and was the Grade Team Leader for the 6th
grade team during the 2015-2016 school year. Liberty received her
Masters of Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia. Liberty loves
to run, travel to Mexico with her husband, bird-watch, grow vegetables and watch her bees
make lots of honey.
Cindy Kiburz
Special Education Team Leader
7th – 8th Grade
Cindy Kiburz was born in St. Louis. Cindy has been involved in
education ever since she graduated from Wellesley College.
At that time, she pursued her interest in working with autistic
children by working as a teacher for several years prior to
taking on administrative responsibilities. Before attending
KIPP, Cindy worked in a private special needs high school
working with students experiencing learning,
social/emotional, and behavioral challenges. Her role has
included admissions, IEP development, Team Meeting
facilitation, and transition planning. Cindy is very excited to
be returning to the KIPP Camino Academy family where she
looks forward to working collaboratively with teachers and
staff to ensure that all of our students reach their potential.
Cindy enjoys spending time with friends, watching movies, and exercising whenever she can.
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Theresa Knight
Campus Operations Director – Commerce Campus
K – 8th Grade
Theresa Knight was born and raised in San Antonio. She started
her career in the education industry as an elementary school
teacher. After six years of teaching, she moved into educational
leadership at Sylvan Learning and then youth program
management at the Salvation Army. She was excited to return to
the school setting as the Campus Operations Director for the KIPP
Commerce campus in April 2014. Theresa's favorite activities
include cheering for her children at their sporting events,
traveling to new places with her family, and scrapbooking.
Diego Lopez
History Instructor and Mexican American Studies (MAS) Instructor
8th Grade
Diego Lopez Olivas (aka Mr. Lopez) was born in the small town of
Calexico, California, border city to Mexicali, Baja California and will
be the 8th Grade History Teacher at Camino. Since he can
remember, Diego was “brainwashed” into loving education by his
aunt Elva, who has been in education ever since roughly 1996.
Growing up, Mr. Lopez appreciated the value of an education
beyond a means to an income; education has, and always will be, a
means of empowerment and critical thinking. As such, when it
came time for Mr. Lopez to definitively say what he wanted to
practice for the rest of his life during the trying times of college, he
chose to pursue education and the pursuit of educational equality
(following in the footsteps of his aunt). Mr. Lopez has acted as a
writing consultant and tutor at the University of Notre Dame
Writing Center—his alma mater and most recently was the 7th
grade writing teacher at KIPP Camion Academy. When Mr. Lopez
isn’t working, he enjoys running, going to the gym, geeking out
over Game of Thrones, and visiting museums.
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Emily Mahoney
Algebra Instructor and Yearbook Advisor
8th Grade
Emily Mahoney was born and raised in Chicago and went to college at
Dominican University in Chicago. (Go Cubs Go!) While she was there
Emily majored in mathematics and education, was a mathematics TA
and played four years of college softball as a pitcher. Playing softball
made Emily want to coach, so logically she thought she would be a
teacher. Emily was questioning whether she wanted to teach, but then
she did City Year (a tutor and mentor program) in San Antonio.
Working with kids in small groups ignited her love for teaching math.
Two years ago she tutored 7th/8th grade math, taught 9th/10th grade
geometry at YES Prep Academy and this past year was the Algebra
instructor at KIPP Camino Academy. Emily is thrilled to come back to
KIPP Camino Academy and help students develop a passion for
mathematics! She loves staying active outside, playing basketball,
softball and volleyball, and trying anything new around town.
Marcella Ovalle
Librarian and Book Club Instructor
5th – 8th Grade
Marcella Ovalle is KIPP Camino’s Librarian. After completing her
Bachelors in Literature and Cinema Studies at University of Oregon,
Ms. Ovalle returned to her beloved hometown, San Antonio, to teach.
She is a 2011 Fulbright Fellow and was a member of Curtis Acosta’s
Culturally Responsive Teaching Fellowship. Her passion for storytelling,
reading, and laughter is evident in her classroom and in the Library.
Marcella is very excited to be the librarian for KIPP Camino Academy
and Un Mundo Dual Language Academy this upcoming year. In her
downtime, Ms. Ovalle enjoys gardening, baking, and working on short
films.
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Perla Salazar
Family Community Coordinator and Ambassador Advisor
5th – 8th Grade
Perla Salazar is the Family and Community Coordinator at KIPP
Camino Academy. This is the 5th year that Perla will be part of
the KIPP San Antonio team and family. She is originally from
Houston and is a first generation college graduate. She
graduated from Our Lady of the Lake University in 2012 with a
BA in Criminal Justice and Sociology. She is also an alumnus of
the first KIPP Academy in Houston, Texas. Perla has always
been close to her teachers that made an impact in her life. As a
result, she decided to come back and give back to the
community that helped her grow. Outside of work, Perla
enjoys binge watching TV shows on Netflix, traveling,
sleeping, dancing, being silly and shopping at IKEA!
Patricia Spiller
Registrar
5th – 8th Grade
Patricia Spiller has been working for KIPP San Antonio since the year
2012. She was born and raised on the near Westside of San Antonio
and attended schools within the San Antonio School District. Patricia
attended Sidney Lanier High School and graduated in 1976. Since her
early years, Patricia lived with a wonderful but big family whose
parents worked very hard to make a living; and nothing came easy.
However, Patricia overcame her challenges and went on to work as
an Office Manager for a local architectural firm for more than 17
years. While employed at this agency Patricia attended several
technical courses that served to drive her interest in working with
data related systems. That is why Patricia chose to work as a
Registrar at KIPP San Antonio. She is currently working with the
Camino Academy Campus and is looking forward to the beginning the
new school year. Patricia understands the value of education and
works hard every day to instill that principle onto students of KIPP
often as she can.
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Teresa Vazquez
ESL Teacher/Coordinator and Spanish Instructor
5th – 8th Grade
Maria Teresa Vázquez, Mrs. V. for short, was born in San Pedro
de las Colonias, Coahuila, a small town in Mexico with a fantastic
name! The seed of becoming a teacher started when she
attended a middle school in Chicago. Mrs. Crocker showed Mrs.
Vazquez the love, respect and encouragement that she wasn’t
getting even from some of her own family members. Mrs.
Vazquez attended the University of Texas Pan-American where
she received her Bachelors of Interdisciplinary studies in 2001
with a minor in Elementary ED Bilingual Bicultural and Masters in
Counseling in 2008. She worked for Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD
for 9 years as the Bilingual Teacher in 3rd grade teaching all
subjects to her recent immigrants. Here at KIPP Camino, she is
the ESL Lead Teacher working with all grade levels and focusing
on our 5th – 8th ELL language learners. One of the things that she
enjoys doing for fun is relax and watch movies – something she
doesn’t do a lot during the year.
Cory Beaver
ELA Instructor
8th Grade
Cory Beaver was born in Norfolk, Virginia but grew up in Akron, Ohio. After graduating high
school, he attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia where he studied English and
linguistics; his major was TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Quite a
mouthful. Mr. Beaver has loved teaching since he was a
high school student, whether it was in a church group or on
the wrestling mat. He loves connecting with students and
enjoys seeing them progress in their learning. More
specifically, Mr. Beaver just loves grammar and linguistics,
as well as picking apart novels to extract life lessons that
authors try to teach their audiences. One fun fact about Mr.
Beaver is that while teaching in Japan, he would sing
karaoke three to four times a month, and his favorite song
to sing by far is “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.
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Matthew McSpadden
Math Instructor
5th Grade
Matthew McSpadden is from Alma, Arkansas and went to the University of Arkansas. Go Hogs!
Matthew majored in journalism and had a job lined up for when he
graduated. Matthew heard about Teach for America in the fall
semester of 2011. He decided to take the position and my mission
in life changed quickly thereafter. Matthew saw the light for kids
come on when they learned something new. As well as the
inequities that take place amongst our schools in San Antonio.
Matthew’s parents always taught him to help not hurt. Matthew
feels like the best way he can help is to teach. Matthew believes
with everything in him that KIPP Camino kids deserve the best
education possible. “Let's go get em” 5th grade math. Two fun facts
about Matthew is that he loves his wife and two kids and loves to workout in his free time.
Tiffany Mueller
Assistant School Leader of Operations
5th – 8th Grade
Tiffany is a Northern Kid from O-H-I-O, but really considers her
home to be the BIG state of Texas. Tiffany received her B.A., Art
and Science; Midwestern State University and M.Ed. in EducationCurriculum, Instruction and Assessment from Jones International
University. Before, during and after college Tiffany worked in upper
management for the Retail Business Industry. Tiffany has 10+ years
experience in the retail and customer service field. In taking this
customer service and human relations skills set, she moved over to
the education sector. Within education, Tiffany served as a K-12
teacher, a track and field coach and a college level Instructor/
Advisor. While Tiffany’s career has been with both business and
education, Tiffany feels so very connected in serving others
whether it is for their self-improvement or to a be their advocate
for lifelong learners. Tiffany played soccer in college, but was
recruited to do both soccer and track. Tiffany still plays soccer on as many leagues (even men’s
leagues when there are no coed or women’s) as possible. Tiffany loves entering into 5k races
(looking into getting into longer races) especially when they are for a good cause. Truthfully,
Tiffany likes to entertain the idea of trying ANY sport (even if she is not the very best)!!
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Sabina Flagmeier
Science Instructor
6th Grade
Sabina Flagmeier graduated from Texas Lutheran University with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Sabina spent several
years after graduation working in neuroscience imaging research. In
Sabina’s spare time, Sabina loves to spend time with her family and
make time for her hobbies like photography. This upcoming year,
Sabina will be teaching 6th grade science and she is very excited
about embarking on this new journey.
Michelle Lewis
ELA Instructor
7th Grade
Michelle Lewis graduated from Georgetown University with a
BS in International Politics and from Stanford University with
an M.A.Ed. from Stanford University. Michelle will be teaching
7th grade English Language Arts (ELA). Michelle loves to sign
and dance as well as eat –a lot! Michelle has to run because
she loves to eat a lot. Michelle has a daughter (who will be a
junior in high school this upcoming school year), a dog, and a
cat.
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Grace Lindig
Paraprofessional and School Store Advisor
7th Grade
Grace Lindig is originally from Houston, Texas. She majored in
English with a teaching degree in grades 7-12 from the University
of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. She teaches because she
loves to guide students into bettering themselves and their
education. She also enjoys the fun, creative parts of teaching, such
as designing lessons. As for fun facts, Grace’s favorite food is
cheese… In fact, there are probably 5 different kinds of cheese in
her fridge right now. Grace owns a lab named Paloma, who
unexpectedly came into Grace’s life 2 weeks prior to moving to San
Antonio. Paloma has already feasted upon a majority of Grace’s
belongings, furniture, and carpet.
Bel Muñoz
ELA Instructor
ELA Content Specialist
8th Grade
Bel came to KIPP in 2004, after living and teaching in New York
City. After three years of teaching at KIPP, Bel moved to Denver,
Colorado to live and teach there. In 2012, Bel returned to this
great city of San Antonio, where she was born and raised. Aside
from loving and raising her awesome niece and nephew, Nayeli
and Esteban, Bel LOVES to sing. She is a singer who would love to
sing in a Mariachi Band, and maybe become back-up Folklorico
dancer, too. Part of Bel’s time at KIPP San Antonio is as helping
other teachers of English with the teaching of ELA. Bel graduated
from Southwest Texas State University, majoring in English and
Spanish and from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, with a
Master’s in the Teaching of English.
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Priscilla Cirlos
Receptionist
5th – 8th Grade
Priscilla Cirlos is the Camino Receptionist. Priscilla was born
in Corpus Christi TX. Her family moved to San Antonio TX
when she was five years. Priscilla was raised on the
Westside of San Antonio, attended the neighborhood
Schools Brewer Elementary and Rhodes Middle School and
is a Graduate of Sidney Lanier High School Class of
82’. During and after raising her four children, Priscilla
attended San Antonio College and received her Child
Development Associate Certification in 94’. Priscilla has also
attended San Antonio College of Medical and Dental in 03’
and is certified as a Registered Medical Assistant. Priscilla
has 12 years in Child Development in a Pre-School setting
through Parent Child Inc. Priscilla loves to spend time with her family and listens to rock music
daily.
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