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Nurturing Leaders for Tomorrow's World
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| Karen Terhaar, Director |
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Karen Terhaar holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Second Languages and Cultures Education from the University of Minnesota. She completed an administrative license at Hamline University in the spring of 2009. Ms. Terhaar has experience teaching at the pre-k and elementary levels, as well as in administration; all in immersion settings. She has developed numerous academic programs for immersion students, including reading and language assessments, math enrichment, a reading readiness program, and a scope and sequence for the Spanish language. She has worked on district-wide Social Studies and Health design teams many times during the course of her career.
Ms. Terhaar is passionate about immersion education and has participated in a number of professional conferences and classes at the University of Minnesota including the MCTLC-CARLA joint conference Research and Practice in Immersion Education, the summer institute Dimensions of International Conflict through the University of Minnesota Center for International studies as well as at the U of M summer immersion institutes through CARLA. She is very enthusiastic about immersion education and shares her enthusiasm often with colleagues through staff development and collaboration, conducting professional training in the area of teaching writing, as well as by supervising and advising student teachers and mentoring new immersion teachers.
Ms. Terhaar is bilingual, and brings that language experience to ISLA. She has lived and studied in Spain and Mexico, traveled through Central America, many parts of Europe and Northern Africa. Her experience in immersion education spans twenty years with experience in both Mexico, where she taught English immersion, and Minnesota, with Spanish immersion.
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| Ximena Rayo, Assistant Director |
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| Ximena Rayo was born and raised in Santiago, Chile where she attended an English Immersion school as a student. Her school was one of the first IB schools in Chile and she was an IB, Diploma Certificate student (language A - Spanish, language B-English). Her BA was in Physical Education from the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación. She came to the United States to teach PE in Spanish.
While in Minnesota Ximena taught for over nine years in a Spanish Immersion setting in Saint Paul Public Schools. She gained her Master Degree, Computer Applications’ License and Administrative License at Hamline University. She has been teaching in the graduate school of Education since 1989.
Ximena brings her Spanish Immersion, IB and Technology skills and experience to ISLA. She is very excited of the opportunity to work in a school where there is so much passion about education, and where there is so much talent and dedication.
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| Karen Speich, IB Coordinator |
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| Karen Speich was raised in the Twin Cities and after graduating from Augsburg College with a B.A. in Communications she travelled extensively through Latin America. Her love of Latin cultures brought her to Spain where she taught English in an immersion setting. Her passion for the language drove her to continue her studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and after 4 years of living in Spain she received a Master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College in Vermont/Madrid. Upon her return home she worked for a company funded by the Mexican government to promote Mexican tourism in the United States. She has worked for many years as a Spanish Medical Interpreter and she also has taught all levels of Spanish using accelerated immersion methodology. She taught 7th and 8th grade Social Studies through the immersion program in St. Louis Park where her two children currently attend.
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| Paola Patino-Johnson, Kindergarten |
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Paola Patiño-Johnson was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. She has always felt fascinated by languages as well as sharing and understanding diverse cultures. She dreams of traveling around the world someday! Motivated by her passion for languages and learning about different cultures, she went to school at Universidad de La Salle in her hometown and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Education (Foreign Language Instruction). She has lived in the United States for about a year and a half since she and her husband decided to start out their new life together in his country where they first met three years ago.
She has also had a wonderful experience working in a Head Start Classroom, substitute teaching in an immersion school with the St. Cloud School District and now is delighted to be working as a Kindergarten Spanish Immersion Teacher with the wonderful kids at ISLA!
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| Diana Amezquita, Kindergarten |
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| Bio coming soon.
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| Vanessa Bera, Grade 1 |
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Vanessa was born in the Dominican Republic where her parents spoke both Spanish and English to her and her older brother. When she was 3 years old, she moved to Minnesota, where her mother was born and raised. Spanish language slowly became a foreign language to her. In school, Vanessa always loved language classes and made a goal to learn Spanish once again. This dream led her through her school years and through her time at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she majored in Elementary Education and minored in Spanish. After spending a semester in Granada, Spain, she graduated from UMD in the Fall of 2007.
Vanessa spent a year working in St. Paul Public Schools.
Vanessa’s passion for teaching drives her to help all of her students achieve their goals. She knows that her high standards for learning can and will be met by her first graders.
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| Dayra de la Cruz, Grade 1 |
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| Dayra de la Cruz is from Calí, Colombia with teaching experience from the preschool level through middle school. She has worked a number of years teaching English to elementary children, and is excited to have switched gears to Spanish immersion. Dayra’s training involves extensive work in the areas of foreign language education and bilingual education. She has a natural love of children and her references tell us “Your parents will love her.” Recently she has taught private classes to primary age children and worked as a nanny in Minneapolis.
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| Emily Helgerson, Grade 2 |
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Emily Helgerson came to ISLA with personal experience in both Spanish immersion and International Baccalaureate. She earned an IB diploma at Cooper High School, which is no small task, and spent thirteen years as a Spanish immersion student in the Robbinsdale district. This direct experience as a student will give her keen insight into the experience of every child in her classroom. Emily received her degree in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota, Morris. While there, she continued using her Spanish skills when teaching in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her enthusiasm for teaching is unparalleled.
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| Pam Shrestha, Grade 2 |
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Pam Shrestha is a native of Santiago, Chile. She first came to Iowa as a Foreign Exchange student. She was able to attend college in the United States and fell in love with our culture.
After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Luther College, she began teaching at St Joseph’s preschool working with 4 and 5 year old students. Later in 2000 she began teaching Spanish in a flex program grades K-8th at St Hubert’s School. Pam also had the great opportunity to teach English as second language in Iquique, Chile in the summer of 2007, grades K-7th at the Don Bosco School.
Pam is also currently striving for her Master’s degree at Hamline University.
She is very excited to be part of the ISLA family. She loves teaching Kindergarten and has been part of our school community since her son started kindergarten in 2008. She truly believes in our immersion setting and has been very happy with her son’s education at ISLA.
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| Cori Adams, Grade 3 |
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| Cori was raised in the Twin Cities, during which time she began studying Spanish in school. She was first able to put her Spanish to use when traveling to Mexico with her family, where she learned to appreciate other languages and cultures. After two more visits to Mexico over the following years, she decided to explore the world further. While completing her B.A. in Social Studies and Education at Hamline University, she took coursework in Nicaragua and England, and spent a semester in Pamplona, Spain, where she became immersed in the language and culture of northern Spain.
Additionally, Cori has been fortunate enough to travel to Italy, Germany, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, Morocco, and China, allowing her to glimpse into lifestyles and languages that greatly differ from her own, which have provided her a more global perspective. She brings this broader perspective into her classroom, teaching students about the great diversity of people, languages, and landscapes within our world.
Cori has had the opportunity to work with children of various ages, through her education coursework, after-school programs, as a preschool teacher and most recently, working in a wilderness camp for teens in Ely, Minnesota. Cori also served as a substitute teacher in the St. Paul Public Schools – an experience which provided invaluable lessons in becoming a teacher. Cori instills a sense of excitement, exploration, and collaboration in her classroom and students.
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| Kelsie Knudson, Grade 3 |
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Kelsie was raised in Bismarck, North Dakota where she lived until she finished High School. She then took Spanish classes at the University of Minnesota while she was completing her B.S. in Foundations of Education. She had the opportunity to spend a summer in Brazil where she immersed herself in the world of Portuguese. This experience helped her realize how important learning about different cultures was to her; it was also then where her love of traveling began. She continued her studies and obtained her M.Ed. in Elementary Education, also at the University of MN.
Kelsie started her teaching career at a charter school in St. Paul where she taught both 5th and 6th grade. It was then that Kelsie took a job at an international school in Costa Rica. She spent two years there teaching math at the middle school level and taking in as much of the Tico culture that she could. After leaving Costa Rica, she then stopped in Guatemala to further develop her studies of the Spanish language. She enjoys challenging herself as well as her students each and everyday and works to help her students grow both intellectually and socially.
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| Briana Boeser, Grade 4 |
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| Briana began her adventures in Spanish while studying abroad in Cuanervaca, Mexico. Her love of the language and culture lead her to Merida, Venezuela where she conducted an ethnographic research project for her thesis at the University of Minnesota. Continuing with her education, she completed her Master’s of Education specializing in learning instruction. Briana has taught Spanish and organized after school Spanish Clubs for elementary schools.
In addition to Spanish, she is also fluent in German. She learned German through total immersion while living and teaching overseas. She taught English in a multiage classroom setting to 4th, 5th and 6th graders for three years.
In her classroom, she incorporates learning centers, individualized lesson plans and whole group instruction to meet the level of every student’s needs. Briana also has experience with developing new schools. She started a language program for children called “Discovery Learning” and was in charge of writing the curriculum and creating portfolios for the students.
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| Amanda Lea, Grade 5 |
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Amanda grew up in the Twin Cities area and first traveled abroad during high school to Costa Rica by herself. Though her parents were simultaneously proud and anxious, it proved a rewarding experience and began a passion for learning language. She volunteered at the local orphanage in Palmares. This experience introduced her to learning while totally immersed in another culture, a challenge and a gift.
Through her studies at the College of Saint Benedict, she was able to join a semester-long study abroad program to Viña del Mar, Chile. During this time she volunteered at a French immersion school and an English immersion school, while attending classes with the other program participants. This experience working with elementary students immersed in a second language taught her strategies she is able to implement in the classroom today.
Amanda knew that one semester would not make her a fluent Spanish speaker and she was determined to continue her studies abroad. She returned the next semester to attend classes at Adolfo Ibáñes in Santiago, Chile. She brought back with her a greater understanding of history, literature and just as important, a sense of community and a global perspective.
After completing her Bachelor's degree at the College of Saint Benedict, Amanda enthusiastically teaches the wonderful students at ISLA. She enjoys working along side ISLA's dedicated staff.
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| Sarah Devers, Grade 6 |
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Bio coming soon.
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| Jorge Gonzalez, Music & Art |
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| Jorge is from Medellín, Colombia. He started studying guitar at age 11. He studied guitar performance at the Universidad de Antioquia in Medellín before changing his major to Music Education. He has attended numerous master classes at different universities in Medellín, and has also participated in a range of Colombian music festivals as a performer.
Throughout his university career, he has also worked as a music teacher in a number of educational settings. Jorge has taught general, instrumental, and vocal music to students in private music schools, public elementary and high schools, and in university continuing education courses. In April 2007 he completed the last of his course requirements for a music education degree. He recently moved to Minnesota with his wife, a Wisconsin native whom he met while she was working in Colombia as a teacher.
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| Juan Carlos, Physical Education |
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| Juan Carlos was born in Bogota, Colombia. Growing up, Juan Carlos' interest included animals and sports - soccer in particular. He later spent 5 years playing on the semi-professional soccer team "Fair Play" in Bogota. Juan Carlos later turned his love of sports into a career. He studied at the Universidad Libre de Colombia, where he received his licensure in physical education and sports. In the years following his graduation, Juan Carlos worked in private schools and athletic organizations. In the winter of 2007 Juan Carlos began the process of becoming an Amity Aide. Amity is a program which brings adults from around the world to the United States to work in schools to provide a native speaker language experience to the students. Juan Carlos is very excited to be in Minnesota and to be working at ISLA. He is enjoying being an ambassador of the Colombian culture and the Spanish language.
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| Dana Helstrom, Special Education |
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| Bio coming soon.
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| Sonia Beccaria, Educational Asst. |
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| Bio coming soon.
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| Sarah Dow, Educational Asst. |
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Bio coming soon.
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| Jen Jouppi, Bookkeeper |
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| Bio coming soon.
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| Emily Smith, Administrative Assistant |
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| Emily spent her childhood in a small farming community north of St. Cloud, along with her seven brothers and sisters. As the oldest daughter in her family, Emily spent much of her youth caring for and nurturing her younger siblings. After graduating from high school, Emily attended St. Cloud Technical College studying in the General Secretarial Program. Emily has spent over 15 years working as a secretary and reporting specialist in a variety of settings.
Emily has a diverse background with children, she has not only raised three of her own children, cared for children at her church nursery, but also ran an in-home child care program for 8 years. While running her in-home child care program Emily earned esteemed licensure of the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).
Emily was bitten by the travel bug as an adult, and has loved traveling and learning about the diverse cultures around the world ever since. Emily’s first trip was a trip to Mexico, followed by a cruise she won to Spain, Italy and France. Emily later traveled to Canada, Belize, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
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| Scott Wetterland. Lunch Manager |
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| Bio available soon.
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