Our Staff
At Fowler Elementary school, you’ll find teachers dedicated to meeting the individual learning needs of their students. Together with a team of office and support staff members, we create a positive environment that nurtures creativity and inspires learning.
Administration
Robert Altavilla
Principal
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Biography
About Robert Altavilla
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Jennifer Quirk
Assistant Principal
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Biography
About Jennifer Quirk
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Seleste Alvarez
Secretary
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Biography
About Seleste Alvarez
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Perla Hernandez
Clerk
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Biography
About Perla Hernandez
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Head Start
Brianna Gaspar
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Biography
About Brianna Gaspar
Education
Working towards a Bachelor's Degree.
Experience
I have been teaching for the Fowler Head Start program for five years.
Why I Teach
I enjoy watching the children learn through play and to see that "little light bulb pop up" when they make the connection to what they are learning. Being able to work with the children and their families has been gratifying and fulfilling.
Maria Cathy Hernandez
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Biography
About Maria Cathy Hernandez
Education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Five years
Why I Teach
Sandra Mata
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Biography
About Sandra Mata
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
Kindergarten
Martha Astorga-Villegas
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Biography
About Martha Astorga-Villegas
Education
BS Early Childhood Education with a Structured English Immersion Endorsement - Grand Canyon University
Experience
I am in my fifth year teaching kindergarten at Fowler Elementary School.
Why I Teach
I often tell children their only job is to be happy. I also tell them happiness follows when they make good choices, and good choices happen when they have knowledge. I became a teacher to help children acquire knowledge. Academic and social emotional-knowledge that will help them make choices leads to their happiness.
Betty Roush
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Biography
About Betty Roush
Education
BA - Cedarville University, MA Education - California State University
Experience
I have taught kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grade throughout my career. I have experience teaching in Ohio, California, and Arizona. Currently, I am teaching kindergarten at Fowler Elementary.
Why I Teach
I became a teacher to make a difference in the life of children. I want the children to be successful in life, and a good education is important. My influence is to show them that they have potential and can achieve to the best of their ability. As a teacher, I care about their academics, emotions, and self-confidence. My goal is to provide them with a well-rounded education.
Karen Zaucha
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Biography
About Karen Zaucha
Education
BA Elementary Education - Northeastern Illinois University
Experience
Founder/owner of a private preschool/kindergarten in Illinois for 24 years
Why I Teach
First Grade
Magali Ledesma
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Biography
About Magali Ledesma
Education
BA Elementary Education - Grand Canyon University
Experience
Why I Teach
Rosemary Reyes
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Biography
About Rosemary Reyes
Education
BA Elementary Education, MA Early Childhood Education
Experience
20 years of teaching experience
Why I Teach
I teach to make a difference in children's lives. I want children to become successful and confident in their future. I want to be the person that students see as supportive and believes in them. I love seeing the growth and transformation of a student. I teach because I love helping children aspire towards their dreams and goals.
Dawn Williams
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Biography
About Dawn Williams
Education
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Experience
I have taught for a total of three years. My first year in the Avondale school district and two years in the Fowler school district.
Why I Teach
I teach because I believe that children are the future and I am here to help lead and guide children to become the best version of themselves. I teach because we live in a world that is constantly bringing other people down, and I want to give hope to my students that they can do anything they set their mind to do.
Second Grade
Lorena Figueroa
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Biography
About Lorena Figueroa
Education
BA in Early Childhood Education and MA in Bilingual/Multicultural Education - Northern Arizona University
Experience
14 years
Why I Teach
Alejandrina Mora
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Biography
About Alejandrina Mora
Education
BA Elementary Education with a Bilingual Endorsement - San Diego State University
Experience
This is my 21st year teaching at Fowler. I have taught second, third, and fourth grade.
Why I Teach
The reason I teach is because I love to witness a child's "aha" moment. It gives me pleasure when a student grasps a concept for the first time. There is no better reward than helping a student finally reach clarity and helping them grow. I love to teach to reach children and see their progress develop over time to prepare them to be successful.
Maribel Sheehan
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Biography
About Maribel Sheehan
Education
BA Elementary Education with an ESL Endorsement - Arizona State University MA Curriculum & Instruction with a Reading Endorsement - Grand Canyon University
Experience
13 years of teaching at Fowler Elementary School.
Why I Teach
I teach because I love to see children experience success. I struggled as a student to learn how to read and write. Knowledge is power, and when I learned how to read and write, a whole new world opened up for me. That is what I want for all my students!
Sophia Stedl
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Biography
About Sophia Stedl
Education
University of Wisconsin La Crosse
Experience
This is my second year teaching second grade at Fowler. I have also had experience teaching kindergarten, first grade, and fourth grade.
Why I Teach
I teach because I want every child to become the best version of him or herself. Children deserve a nurturing, caring environment with high expectations in order to achieve this. I teach to create this environment for my students. I teach because I have had great teachers that helped me achieve my dreams, and I would like to do the same for others.
Third Grade
Lorena Avelino
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Biography
About Lorena Avelino
Education
MA on Early Childhood Education
Experience
10 years teaching third grade
Why I Teach
I teach because when I was little I had amazing teachers and I got inspired knowing those great teachers year after year. I would like to inspire my students to not giving up and persuade their dreams. I always wanted to be a teacher and I can't imagine myself doing something different.
Vanessa Gutierrez
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Biography
About Vanessa Gutierrez
Education
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
Five years
Why I Teach
I became a teacher to teach students and help students learn skills to progress in school. Every year is a new adventure with different students. No year is ever the same. I believe every student is capable of success if they try and work hard. My goal is to instill in my students the love of learning.
Maria Vance
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Biography
About Maria Vance
Education
Experience
Why I Teach
I love teaching because every student is unique and every day is new. I get excited when I see students learn a new skill in a subject they were having trouble with. I also love the excitement they have when someone is listening to their ideas and points of views. I get a good feeling about teaching our future leaders.
Fourth Grade
Carol Dawson
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Biography
About Carol Dawson
Education
MBA, currently working on a full-time teaching credential
Experience
I have been teaching elementary school for the past four years.
Why I Teach
I love teaching because as an educator I have an opportunity to impact the lives of our future. It is a very rewarding and fulfilling assignment for me personally. The experience of watching a child grow and mature from one phase in life to another makes me proud to say I played apart in their growth process. Every child deserve a chance to learn and grow, and I am honored to be able to serve in this capacity.
William Stern
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Biography
About William Stern
Education
BA Early Childhood/Elementary Education and Psychology - New Jersey City University.
Experience
Why I Teach
I teach because I have a passion for learning and passing on what I learn to today's youth. It makes me feel great to know that I have made a difference in the life of a child. It is also satisfying and rewarding to see how much my students have grown from the time they walk through my door in August until that last day in May. I feel as though this is one of the most meaningful professions there is because we are the ones who are teaching today's children to become tomorrow's world leaders.
Leticia Villa
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Biography
About Leticia Villa
Education
MA Elementary Education
Experience
21 years
Why I Teach
I teach because I love to see students learn. Seeing lights turn on in their heads when they learn a new concept is extremely gratifying. I enjoy the feeling I get when I'm helping tomorrow's generation get ahead. Being around students gives me the opportunity to interact with many different personalities, and I get joy out of bonding with students and making a difference in their lives.
Fifth Grade
Janet Deppe
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Biography
About Janet Deppe
Education
BA Elementary Education - Arizona State University, MA Elementary Education with a Reading Endorsement - Northern Arizona University.
Experience
I have 14 years experience. 12 years were at middle school campuses. Two years were at the elementary campuses.
Why I Teach
I teach because I care about the students. I am ecstatic when a student finally has an ah-ha moment and understands a concept. I feel that I have been successful when this happens. I believe in the Kids at Hope Pledge when they say "Every Child Can Be Successful with No Exceptions."
Leondina Garrett
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Biography
About Leondina Garrett
Education
Master's Degree - University of Phoenix
Experience
I have been in education for several years now. I owned my own tutoring company for several years. I then became a substitute teacher and taught in various grades, kindergarten through eighth grade. I have even taught a few students in the high school grades. Since then, I have become a certified teacher and have taught eighth, sixth and fifth grades. I have taught fifth grade for the past several years.
Why I Teach
I teach because it is my dream job. I grew up wanting to be a teacher like the ones I had in school. I love teaching children, and my favorite part of teaching is when a student final understands something and they have what I call the "light bulb" moment. You can see their faces light up from the joy of knowing they understand what they were taught. This is why I teach; I love watching the joy they experience from learning.
Michael Kubasko
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Biography
About Michael Kubasko
Education
Bachelor's Degree - University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Experience
Taught fourth grade for eight years, and now this is my fourth year as a fifth grade teacher.
Why I Teach
I believe I have a responsibility to instill and enforce life skills throughout the day to ensure my students are academically ready for the future and to contribute to our society. This will make them successful and have a brilliant future.
Special Area Teachers
Maria Flater
Physical Education
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Biography
About Maria Flater
Education
Ottawa University
Experience
16 years teaching all grade levels from preschool to second grade
Why I Teach
I enjoy teaching kids. I enjoy helping them learn the basic skills they will need to use in their life. It is rewarding to see their progress every year. It is a joy to be with them in their journey through childhood. I look forward to teaching for many years to come.
Londa Gilmore
Interventionist
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Biography
About Londa Gilmore
Education
BA Child and Adolescent Development - San Jose State University, MA Education Specialist in Reading and Language Arts - San Jose State University
Experience
I have been teaching for over 40 years. I spent the first 26 years teaching preschool and have been an elementary teacher for the past 17 years.
Why I Teach
Crystal Kirschenheiter
Art
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Biography
About Crystal Kirschenheiter
Education
Experience
Six years teaching elementary art at Fowler Elementary
Why I Teach
Bambi Wilson
Music
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Biography
About Bambi Wilson
Education
Master's of Education
Experience
29 years
Why I Teach
I teach because I believe education is the great equalizer! Students of all socioeconomic levels can explore their talents and accomplish their goals through the power of a strong education.Teaching at the elementary level, I can encourage and inspire students as they build the necessary foundation to acquire the education and/or training they need to fulfill their dreams and achieve their future goals.
Teresa Zimmerman
Math Intervention Teacher
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Biography
About Teresa Zimmerman
Education
Bachelor +30
Experience
21 years
Why I Teach
I teach because teaching opens up doors to all kinds of new worlds for young minds. It is so exciting to teach students something new and then stand back and let them experience the understanding of it all. I love to add to a quote from Dr. Seuss, "Oh the Places you will go...if you will let me teach you things to know."
Special Education
Gisel Acevedo
Resource
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Biography
About Gisel Acevedo
Education
Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Studies
Experience
Three years
Why I Teach
I decided to become a special education teacher because one of my brother has a diagnosis of severe intellectual disabilities. He inspired me to help other kids that need additional support to learn. I want to help students be independent, work hard and achieve their goals.