Tollgate Elementary School of Expeditionary Learning

Sandra Hollified
Teaching Partner

Sandra Holliefield is a Teaching Partner, Instructional Coach at Tollgate Elementary. She has been an elementary classroom teacher at several grade levels and an instructional coach within two other school districts. Sandra graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. In addition, she received her master’s degree in Education specializing in Reading and Leadership from Regis University. Sandra is originally from Arizona and moved to Colorado with her husband and two daughters in 2007. Her family enjoys traveling to different places and exploring the many beautiful places in Colorado. In addition to traveling, she enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, golfing, and most recently, playing pickleball. She is excited to be a part of the Tollgate community and CREW! She looks forward to supporting both students and teachers with finding their passions and achieving more than they think is possible!

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 Tollagte Elementary. She is excited to serve more students and teachers this year by stepping into an Instructional Coaching role. She loves teaching at Tollgate 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.

In her free time, Nichol loves to be outside, going hiking, camping, paddle boarding and snowboarding with her husband Scottie. She also loves to travel around the world with volunteer groups over the summers. She has been to 8 different countries and 5 continents!

Nichol is honored to work at Tollgate and in the Aurora community. She looks forward to working with you and your child!

CREW WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/aurorak12.org/k1crew/home

Email: [email protected]

Check out what Ms. Sawyer's Crew did!

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 15 years. Holly is new to APS and is looking forward to serving students at Tollgate Elementary in support of 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]

Jennifer Briesemeister
K-5 Interventionist

Jen has called Colorado home for over 20 years. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a Master’s of arts in Special Education. She recently completed her Colorado Department of Education READ ACT training. She has taught for almost twenty years in areas of reading, writing, math and more while serving a diverse student population. This is her second year serving in the role of Interventionist. She is new to APS and looks forward to serving students at Tollgate Elementary to reach their highest potential in all areas of their lives. In her off time, Jen enjoys running or walking her dog on the trail, hiking, crossfit, yoga, reading, spending time with friends/family, and checking out new tea/coffee shops.

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 17 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 17 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

I graduated from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO with my bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a CLDE Endorsement. In Durango, my love for the outdoors flourished as I became an avid snowboarder, rafter, hiker and lover of fresh mountain air. I have been teaching for 10 years in different capacities and this is my fourth year as a CLDE teacher. I have two beautiful children and a supportive husband who are my world! I am SO excited to learn and teach along side my colleagues, students and parents here at Tollgate!

Email: [email protected]

TBD
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Cindy Matthews
Interventionist & Gifted and Talented Coordinator

Cindy was born in Nebraska but has lived her adult life in Colorado. She has taught at Tollgate as a classroom teacher for many years but is now working with small groups of kids helping them with math and reading. She is also Tollgate's Gifted and Talented resource teacher. She loves being outdoors walking, hiking, biking and exploring and that is why Expedition Learning is a perfect fit for her. It is the best of both learning and adventure. Seeing students make progress and be happy makes Tollgate the best spot ever to teach!

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]

Lori Carlstrom
Head Custodian

Bio coming soon!

Email: [email protected]