Tollgate Elementary School of Expeditionary Learning

Sandra Hollified
Teaching Partner / Instructional Coach

Sandra Holliefield joined the Tollgate crew 2023. She has over 20 years of experience in education. She has been a teacher and teaching partner/instructional coach during this time. She is originally from Arizona and attended Arizona State University for her bachelor’s degree in Education. She also has a Master’s Degree in Reading and her principal license from Regis University. She believes that schools should be a joyful place for learning where students are encouraged to be curious and active learners. Sandra enjoys traveling with her family and being outdoors enjoying the beautiful Colorado scenery.

Email: [email protected]

Nichol Sawyer
Instructional Coach

Nichol was born and raised in Colorado, loving all the beauty this state has to offer, especially the mountains! She graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and received her Masters degree, in Curriculum and Instruction, from the University of Phoenix. She has taught Kindergarten, 1st grade, and a Kindergarten/First Grade combo (K/1) all at Tollgate! She loves serving more students and new teachers as a Teaching Partner (Instructional Coach). She also loves being part of the Tollgate Crew because of how the staff and students embody what it means to be citizens of their community. WE ARE CREW! She is so inspired by students each and every day. It is her 16th year as an educator at Tollgate!

In her free time, Nichol loves to be outside, going hiking, camping, paddle boarding and snowboarding with her husband Scottie. She also loves traveling and has been to 9 countries over 5 continents! Nichol became a mom in August 2023 and loves seeing her sweet baby girl, Evelyn learn and grow!

Nichol is honored to work at Tollgate and in the Aurora community!

Email: [email protected]

Holly Russell
K-5 Interventionist

Holly has lived the majority of her life in Colorado and grew up just east of Denver. She graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor of Liberal Arts with an emphasis in English and Reading. She recently earned her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. She has taught Kindergarten through 4th grade as a classroom teacher and has served students in the role of Reading Interventionist for 17 years. This is Holly's third year at Tollgate Elementary and enjoys supporting all Tollgate students to obtain their academic, social, and emotional goals. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, camping, going on vacations, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Email: [email protected]

Kelly Holtz
K-5 Interventionist

Bio coming soon!

Email: [email protected]

Olivia Reintsma
Counselor

Olivia is delighted to join Tollgate as a school counselor! She was born & raised in Northern Colorado, but has also lived in Washington state and most recently in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Puget Sound and earned her M.A. in Counseling from Adams State University. Olivia has worked as a counselor at GOAL High School, but she has always been drawn to working with elementary students, and she is so excited to do so in her new role! In her free time, Olivia enjoys dancing, listening to live music, crafting, visiting national parks (she hopes to visit all 63 in her lifetime), and spending time with her friends and family.

Email: [email protected]

Courtney O'Grady
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Courtney is from Tampa, Florida and has been in Colorado for 18 years. She graduated from Florida State University and completed her Masters degrees at University of South Florida and Regis University. She has been in APS for 18 years and has taught 1st through 4th grade. She is excited to be part of the Tollgate Crew and help support students and teachers as a CLDE Teacher Leader. Courtney enjoys spending time with her family. She has 2 children who keep her busy. She enjoys running, going to the mountains, skiing and watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Email: [email protected]

Sara Munstock
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Sara Munstock is excited to begin her second year at Tollgate Elementary as a CLDE TL. She graduated from Fort Lewis College in 2009, where she fell in love with snowboarding, hiking, rafting, and the fresh mountain air of Colorado. Sara brings a wide range of teaching experience, having worked as a Pre-K, Kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 5th grade teacher. She later transitioned into the role of a CLDE teacher, where she spent five years supporting multilingual learners. During this time, she developed a strong passion for language instruction and became deeply interested in how English can be taught through the lens of students’ home languages and cultural backgrounds. Motivated by her experiences, Sara earned her Master’s degree in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education in 2025. She is committed to leveraging students’ linguistic and cultural assets to make learning meaningful and accessible for all. Outside of her professional life, Sara cherishes time with her family. She is the proud mom of a third-grade daughter and a kindergartener son, who are the joys of her life. Her husband and children are her greatest supporters, and she treasures each day with them.

Email: [email protected]

Dawn Medina
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Dawn has lived in Colorado her whole life and always wanted to be a teacher. She started playing ‘school’ when she was about seven years old and never stopped! She has been teaching for 36 years. After teaching at a private school for 20 years, she taught Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade and became a CLDE Teacher Leader at Montview Elementary. She is very excited to be joining the Tollgate Crew this year as a CLDE Teacher Leader and Coach. She loves to curl up in bed and read a good book as well as play with her three dogs. She has three children of her own and is a Grandma (GooGoo) to 5 grandchildren ages 14-2. Dawn is looking forward to working with the teachers and students at Tollgate! She believes each child has their own unique gifts and talents and looks forward each day to supporting teachers to bring out the best in each student.

Email: [email protected]

Dolores Gonzalez
District Nurse

Bio coming soon!

Email: [email protected]

Caitlin Saar
Aurora Mental Health Provider

Caitlin was born and raised in Colorado until she was about 6 years old when she moved to Virginia with her mom. She grew up in Northern Virginia attending Prince William County Public Schools and graduated from Christopher Newport University (CNU) with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in communications in 2013. While at CNU she was deeply involved with her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha and interned with the counseling department her senior year. After graduating from Christopher Newport University, Caitlin worked at Antietam Elementary as a teacher's assistant in one of their lower elementary special education classrooms for the 2013-2014 school year. As much as she liked Virginia, Caitlin was drawn to Colorado and moved back in 2014. She worked as a Group Living Counselor at Excelsior Youth Center and later a Paraprofessional at Metro Children's Center. In May 2019, Caitlin graduated from Metropolitan State University with a Masters in Social Work. In her free time, Caitlin loves spending time with her boyfriend and their two dogs. She enjoys traveling, hiking, tubing, paddle boarding, and just being outdoors.

Email: [email protected]

Sarah McKenzie
Kitchen Manager

Bio coming soon!

Email: [email protected]

Maria Salas - Kitchen Crew

Luz Esquivel - Kitchen Crew

Lori Carlstrom
Head Custodian

Bio coming soon!

Email: [email protected]

Gloria Medina - Night Custodian

Honorio Mercado - Night Custodian