Preschool Works

Live Stream Chicken Coop Cam

See more of the Montessori children’s adventures in our Outdoor Environment here.

We are here to support you.

Call us at 480-222-0811 or email your student’s teacher directly.

Click to Return to Home-Based Instruction Page

My “Why” Story

Jimmy Ray
Math Teacher/Head Golf Coach
I was born in California, but grew up in Apache Junction, Arizona. I attended school there from kindergarten through graduation. I received my Associates degree while attending both Mesa Community College and Phoenix College. I transferred to Arizona State University to complete my Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. During this time I was employed through the Maricopa Community College District teaching math programs to minority students as well as the athletic department at Arizona State.
My first teaching job was back in Apache Junction in 1996 where I taught junior high and high school math for 15 years along with coaching football, girls basketball and track and field. In 2011, I transferred over to Williams Field High School continuing to teach math and coach football and track.
I am starting my 28th year this school year as a teacher and coach. I am looking forward to a great experience.

Katelyn Cabrera
Music Teacher
I chose teaching as a career because It allows me to share my musical knowledge with all of my students. I have taught music ever since I was in High School and loved all the team building and ensemble work music creates. Teaching allows me to show music through different cultures and influences. We as an ensemble get to pick our repertoire to help motivate and make practicing more fun.

Crystal Claytor
ESS Teacher (Power)
As a small child I have always wanted to be a part of life and what makes it happen, empower, enlighten and encourage. As I grew older I realized I wanted to be apart of lives that would appreciate what you do for them no matter how big or small. I found that I could do that in Education and even more so with the special population. Joy in watching others reach achievement they never though they could.

Monica Dippre
3rd Grade Gifted Teacher
I grew up in the PNW where I got my teaching degree and my Master’s in Education. I taught for 10 years until left teaching to own/operate restaurants with my husband. During that time, we began fostering and adopting children, and when we welcomed our third child into our home, we left the restaurant business and I stayed home to raise our kids. We now have 5 adopted children and I have spent much of my time volunteering in areas that allow me to be with my own children and work with other kids as well I have been a substitute teacher. I have planned and executed preschool classes and preschool religious education programs. I have volunteered as a library aide at school and be involved in may other child-centered activities. I am intrigued and impressed by the commitment to the individuality of the child a STCS. I am looking forward to growing here, as an educator and as a parent, and am excited to lead my students to discover their personal successes.

Jutem McCollum
Electives Teacher
From the first moment we stepped onto San Tan’s campus and had our tour for my children, we decided to jump in and become a part of the school. I absolutely love the support and family feel with not only the staff but the students as well.
I am not native to Arizona, but between California for half my life and Arizona for half my life aside from a short stint in Germany – I consider Arizona home. I have a Major in Communication, Minor in Business, and Minor in Spanish from Arizona State University. I have owned and operated several businesses, throughout my life and still continue to run them. This is my second-year teaching at San Tan since I was a long-term guest teacher last year. I am happy to be sharing some of my expertise to the students who dare to stretch outside their comfort limits.

Michelle Tischer
Academic Achievement Coordinator
While I was born a Nebraskan Corn Husker, I was raised in the beautiful Sonoran Desert in Scottsdale and Tempe. I matriculated through the Arizona State public school system, which includes the Kyrene School District and Corona Del Sol High School. I continued to the University of Phoenix for my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and continued to Arizona State University for my Masters in Gifted Education. I have been teaching for 21 years now, 21 years as a professor at Rio Salado College, eight years with gifted self-contained classes, and 7 years here at San Tan with our amazingly creative gifted students.

Kristofer Sippel Jr.
District Athletic and Facilities Director
It’s awesome to work at a place where there is a family atmosphere, it makes it easier to show up to work every day with a smile on your face! I was born and raised here in Arizona; I grew up in Gilbert until I took an academic/athletic scholarship to play football at Webber International University in Florida. I have been around San Tan Charter School my whole life and have always worked to make the campus better. I started in Facilities and have worked my way up to the Athletic Director position. Giving back to the kids make life/work easier, at the end of the day I want to see kids graduate and go to the next level whether that be academically or athletically.

Marty Stevens
School Nurse
I have been a part of the San Tan family from the beginning when it was just a dream. It has been amazing to see it grow from the rooms in a church to the two campuses of today. I love being around all the kiddos and helping them through their days with a band-aid, ice pack, and sometimes with only an extra hug.

Kyli Crooms
Science Teacher/Head Boys Basketball Coach
I chose to be a teacher because it came natural to me. I have been an athlete my entire life playing basketball from grade school all the way through college. Growing up I got to see how important it was to have great coaches on and off the court if you wanted to continue to move to the next level. As I transitioned from high school to the college ranks I was pushed the hardest off the court by my teachers. I did not realize the impact they had on me until I graduated from college and realized half of the scholarship money I obtained was academic. From that point on I realized that I wanted to teach the next generation of students rather it was on the court or in the classroom.
2018-19 was my first year being a head teacher at San Tan Charter School. I’ve learned a lot from my colleagues over the past two years at them elementary and I am looking forward to teaching the 2020/21 school year at the high school Power campus.

Sarah Edam
Montessori Teacher (Primary)
Ever since I was a child in elementary school, I have always wanted to be an elementary school teacher because I admired my mother, grandmother, and my teachers for their passion in the teaching process. I enjoyed helping them clean up the classroom, passing paper for my classmate, and helping my classmates to finish their work. When I graduated from high school I decided to study in the Teachers Training Institute.
When we moved to the USA, I worked as a student teaching in Los Medanos college childcare. I worked with kids ages between three to six years old. I had the opportunity to work and teach in different school settings based on a variety of cultures. I created a project and hands-on activities for the children. I felt so happy when I saw the excitement and joy in the children’s eyes when I presented my activities. The children and myself learned a lot in three months. At that moment, I promised myself that I will continue to learn and follow my role model, my mother whom I will always be thankful for giving me and my siblings all the love and care that we are able to give to other people, and everything around us.

Merrick Hermann
Math Teacher
Both of my parents were teachers. My dad taught English and my mom taught art. People always marvel that such a creative pair of people managed to produce a mathematician. They would be less surprised if they knew that mathematics is an art: the art of explanation. All the best mathematicians I know are intensely creative, artsy people. One of my favorite things about teaching is that I get to show kids—especially creative ones—that they really are math people, despite what they’ve been saying for years.

Megan Hubbard
Montessori Adolescent Teacher
As a child, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. When I started teaching preschool at the age of 20, I knew that working with kids was my calling. After ten years of teaching in outdoor classroom schools, I decided to go back to school and pursue higher degrees in order to further my career and be able to incorporate my love of nature with the growing need for technology in the classroom. I fell into the world of Montessori when I realized that I wanted a more holistic approach to education for my own children- I am so excited to be able to follow my passion and continue to grow and learn alongside my students every day.

Lisa Cordova
ESS Teacher (Recker)
I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. I would set up my living room as a
classroom and play for school for hours and hours. My mother was wonderful enough to let me leave
my classroom set up for days. I adore children and could not think of a better way of working with
children than to teach. To be a teacher means to touch lives. As a teacher, you have the ability to
educate and mold children into capable and intelligent members of society. As a teacher, I am able to
provide students with the essential building blocks they need to begin their lives. To me, there is no
more rewarding career than that.
I have always loved children. I also strongly care about those who less fortunate than I am and those
who struggle with daily hardships. Because of this, it seems only logically that I would want to teach
students with disabilities. In today’s society, those who are mentally or physically different are frowned
upon and deemed inferior. However, students with disabilities are not something to be ashamed of or
taken lightly. Students with disabilities should not have to face this hardship alone. Disabilities can
easily be overcome with the proper love, care and instruction that only a special education teacher
can provide. By becoming a special education teacher, I will have the humbling opportunity to teach
these students to the best of my ability. I will give them the support, patience and care they deserve.
By encouraging these students and believing in them, I will give them the chance to believe in
themselves. I will encourage them the face their disabilities and hardships they will face and tackle
them head on.
My mother was a special education teacher for many years. She is a great influence and a large
reason why I also want to teach students with disabilities. My mother would come home from a long
day at school, sit on her bed, make lesson plans, create worksheets and even design new techniques
for her students. This is an expectation for any teacher, but the amount of work, dedication and love
she put into her career was extremely inspiring for me to witness. Her loving, caring and sincere
personality captured the hearts and minds of her students. My mom fell in love with each of her
students and figured out a way to teach each one in their own way. Not only did she love her job, but
her students loved her. To this day, she is still in contact with several of her students and their
families.
The most rewarding career in the world is to be an educator. But to be a special education teacher is
even more rewarding. Every student has a right to an education and has a right to thrive in their
educational career. Every student has the potential to make their dreams come true. No disability
should ever prohibit a student from the very best education possible. I would like to be a special
education teacher because I want to make a difference. I want every student to feel that they are
worth they are with it and that somebody will always believe in them be his or her number one fan!

Chloe Ruggieri
Front Desk Assistant (Recker Campus)
Working at San Tan Charter School has really opened my eyes on how to be a good parent. Following the Love & Logic way has changed how I spend time with my kids, and it has made us all so much closer. I would not have had the confidence to follow this parenting way if I did not get a job here at San Tan.
I was born in California but then moved to Georgia very young, and I lived there most of my life. Growing up, I always felt a calling back to the west coast and as soon as I had the chance, I took it when I moved to Arizona. I have never worked in a school before, but my mom is a STEM teacher in Georgia and I was raised to always have a high respect for teachers and administrative staff. I was a mobile dog groomer, grooming Dr. & Mrs. Sippels little dog, Gus, when I met them. My grooming journey came to an end, but Mrs. Sippel believed I could do more and be more and she thought I would be a good fit at her school. Not only was she correct, she really changed my family’s life with this amazing opportunity. San Tan is not just a school, it’s a community, and I am so honored to be apart of it.

Danielle Talley
5th Grade ELA & SS Teacher
This is my first-year teaching at STCS and I am so excited to work at a school and in an environment where I feel supported. I love the family dynamic that San Tan has here and appreciate all they do for their staff and students.
I am originally from California but have lived in Arizona since 2010. I attended Arizona State University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I have previously taught 2nd and 3rd grade, so this will be my first-year teaching 5th grade ELA and Social Studies and I am so excited. I am highly qualified in ELA and have a huge passion for Social Studies.

Christine Gray
Registrar
I love being a part of the STCS family and thank you for sharing your children with me when they walk through the front doors!

Talia Polk
English Teacher
This is my first year at San Tan Charter School, but I can already tell that this is a community that values education and learning. I am grateful to be a part of this staff and have the opportunity to work with our student body, parents, and administrators.
Since my senior year of high school I knew I wanted to be an educator. Many of my most prominent role models were my teachers and professors and I want to be that for the upcoming young minds at San Tan Charter School. I taught math for one semester at Heritage Academy in Mesa and English for 7th grade for one semester at that same school. I also taught dance for a school year at Heritage Academy Gateway. This is my first year teaching 8th and 9th grade English.

Natassia DeWyke
Montessori Teacher (1st-3rd)
As a child, my choice of play would lead one to believe that I was destined to be a teacher. However, my artist heart led me to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography. While I have no regrets about this choice, another itch in my heart guided me to pursue Montessori education and it is as if it was always meant to be!
After making the decision to shift my life/career path, the stars seemed to align and confirm that Montessori is my true calling. The stars continued to align when I met Dr. and Mrs. Sippel who so tenderly welcomed me to San Tan, first as an assistant in the new Montessori Elementary classroom, then as a lead for the past 9 years, less a year for maternity leave. Even while on maternity leave, I continued to be part of this wonderful community I hold so dear.
I have found my “Cosmic Task” in being a Montessori educator and hold great hope for the future lead by children who grow in this methodology.

Last

Preschool Works

Live Stream Chicken Coop Cam

We are here to support you.

Math Teacher/Head Golf Coach

Music Teacher

ESS Teacher (Power)

3rd Grade Gifted Teacher

Electives Teacher

Academic Achievement Coordinator

District Athletic and Facilities Director

School Nurse

Science Teacher/Head Boys Basketball Coach

Montessori Teacher (Primary)

Math Teacher

Montessori Adolescent Teacher

ESS Teacher (Recker)

Front Desk Assistant (Recker Campus)

5th Grade ELA & SS Teacher

Registrar

English Teacher

Montessori Teacher (1st-3rd)

SCHEDULE A TOUR OR CONTACT US

Recker Campus (Pre K – 6th)

3959 E Elliot Road, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Phone: 480-222-0811

Fax: 480-471-5990

Email: Email Us

Power Campus (7th – 12th)

3232 S Power Road, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Phone: 480-222-0811

Fax: 480-809-6467

Email: Email Us

SCHEDULE A TOUR OR CONTACT US

Recker Campus (Pre K – 6th)

3959 E Elliot Road, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Phone: 480-222-0811

Fax: 480-471-5990

Email: Email Us

Power Campus (7th – 12th)

3232 S Power Road, Gilbert, AZ 85234

Phone: 480-222-0811

Fax: 480-809-6467

Email: Email Us

SCHEDULE A TOUR
OR CONTACT US

SCHEDULE A TOUR
OR CONTACT US