Administrative Team  
>> Please note, all faculty resumes are available to staff in the administration office.

Debra Slagle, Charter Representative & Superintendent  
Debra Slagle is superintendent of Westwind Community Schools (WCS) and CEO of Westwind Children’s Services, a nonprofit, 501(c)3 corporation. She is one of the founders of Westwind Prep Academy, which opened in 1998, as well as Westwind Middle School Academy, which opened in 2000. Westwind Middle School is one of the few public schools in the country to offer separate classes for boys and girls. In addition to Westwind Prep and Westwind Middle, WCS includes Park View Middle School and Montessori at Anthem. In addition, to her daily responsibilities for WCS, Mrs. Slagle has been responsible for the acquisition of over one million dollars in competitive grants and donations for the organizations.

Mrs. Slagle received her undergraduate degree from the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. She holds Masters Degrees from Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. Mrs. Slagle is a member of the Leadership for Educational Entrepreneurs (LEE) Academy of Fellows through Arizona State University, an esteemed program partially funded by the US Department of Education, with members from all across the United States. She is a past president and current board member of the Arizona Charter Schools Association, as well as having served as an External Team Chair for North Central Association for Accreditation (AIA). She is a certified school administrator, certified secondary education teacher and guidance counselor and a licensed professional counselor. Mrs. Slagle has been the guest speaker at several national and regional conferences on education and school choice, including the National Charter Schools Conference and the Regional Conference for Alternative Schools.

Mrs. Slagle has almost 30 years of experience working with adolescents and their families, fifteen of which have been in education. Mrs. Slagle and her husband, Chuck, have two grown children.

Rhonda Rides, Director 
Rhonda Rides graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A.E. (specializing in social studies). She taught history at Westwind Preparatory Academy and was their mentor teacher for eight years prior to becoming the director at Montessori at Anthem . Rhonda has been a resident of Anthem since early 2001.  She enjoys spending time with her husband and three children and is an avid Coca-Cola collector.

Frank Yanez, Business Manager 
Mr. Yanez is a tenured business manager with targeted expertise in the management of business dealings, purchasing, finance and procurement for free, independent public schools. He has over 15 schools he assists on a regular basis in the areas of financial advice and oversight, accounting issues, cash management, budget development, financial projections, and school management issues.  Mr. Yanez has served in various roles in the public school sector in Arizona over the past twenty years and he specializes in helping schools stay healthy and continue to grow. Mr. Yanez holds various AASBO Certifications in purchasing, materials management, property management, technology and school finance.   
 
Maria Pryce, Administrative Assistant 
Ms. Pryce joined the staff of Montessori at Anthem in October 2005 as an Assistant in the office.  Ms. Pryce has a B.A. in History/French and an M.S. in Library and Information Science.  Prior to joining Montessori at Anthem, Ms. Pryce managed a research library for a computer science institute in Palo Alto, California.  Her family moved to Carefree in the summer of 2004, and their son, Danny, enrolled at Montessori at Anthem that fall.  Ms. Pryce was a parent volunteer in 2004.

School Faculty

Susanne Ball, Lower Elementary Educator & Montessori Education Consultant 
Susanne Ball is a primary educator at Montessori at Anthem, as well as the school’s Montessori Consultant. Ms. Ball is a Canadian native who moved to Arizona in 2001 to live her passion and purpose of making a difference in children's lives globally through guiding, caring and educating the “whole” child.  
 
In 1990, Ms. Ball began her intense training in the Montessori Foundations Course from birth to six through St. Nicholas' Training Centre for the Montessori Method of Education. After graduating in 1991, she went on to obtain her Early Childhood Education Certification and has been educating children at the Primary level for the last fourteen years.  Ms. Ball completed her lower elementary training in 2007. As an educator, Ms. Ball aspires to live Dr. Maria Montessori's vision that “Education must no longer be merely the imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path seeking the release of human potentialities.”

Deborah Fox, K/1 Educator 
Ms. Fox moved to Arizona 12 years ago to enjoy the desert lifestyle.  Her love of working with children led her to a career in education.  She has worked at a local Montessori school for the past eight years.  In 2006, she joined Montessori at Anthem.  Ms. Fox has a B.S. degree in Home Economics and has her AMI Montessori Certification.  She enjoys cooking, sewing, gardening, hiking, and horseback riding with her daughter.  She has two parakeets, one of which was rescued.

Lisa Vargas, K/1 Educator 
Ms. Vargas is an Educator in the K/1 learning environment after spending time as an assistant.  Ms. Vargas brings many years of experience in education and coaching to Montessori at Anthem. She has worked in a variety of learning environments, specifically with Montessori in the Dominican Republic. Ms. Vargas recently completed her training in the Montessori Foundations and Early Childhood/Primary.  Ms. Vargas is bilingual and enjoys teaching the children Spanish.

Emily Fay, Upper Elementary Educator 
Miss Fay is an Upper Elementary Educator at Montessori at Anthem. Miss Fay holds a B.A. and  is a certified elementary teacher.  Miss Fay enjoys instructing to the varying needs of each student.  Miss Fay has been able to travel to 11 countries.  Miss Fay enjoys spending time with friends and family as well as doing volunteer work.  She has a plethora of hobbies, including rollerblading, hiking, camping, painting, reading, kayaking, mountain biking, foreign languages, tennis and soccer.

Irina Kelsall, Upper Elementary Educator  
Ms. Kelsall is an Upper Elementary Educator at Montessori at Anthem. Ms. Kelsall holds Master Degrees from Kiev State University and the University of Phoenix . She is a certified elementary teacher. Ms. Kelsall is also a trained concert pianist. She was born in Kiev, Ukraine, moved to the United States in 1998 and became a U.S. citizen in 2004. Ms. Kelsall has been a Montessori educator since 1998. She has a daughter who is a student at ASU. Both Ms. Kelsall and her daughter are fluent in four languages.  Ms. Kelsall strongly believes in respecting the uniqueness of every student. She uses the student-parent-educator team process to help students achieve their highest potential.

Jennifer Samelson, Middle School Educator
Jennifer Samelson is lead teacher for the middle school program. She happily returns to teaching after working 20 years in the high tech industry as a business analyst and marketing consultant. Mrs. Samelson also was a member of the Colorado bar and practiced family law in Boulder, Colorado. She taught high school and community college in Illinois, and was certified to teach grades 7-12 through a Master's program at Northwestern University. She holds a BA in Humanities from Shimer College, an MA in Teaching from Northwestern University, and a JD from University of Denver. She joins her three children -- Ethan, Claire and Lincoln -- who are students at Montessori at Anthem. 

Shannon Coombs, Physical Education Educator
Ms. Coombs graduated with a B.S. in Kinesiology/Physical Education from Cal. State Univ. Northridge in 2003.  She did credentialing work at CSU Chico from 2004-2005.  Ms. Coombs was a high school PE instructor from 2005-2007 in Quincy, CA, her hometown.  She has also coached volleyball and basketball.  

Stephanie Desfassiaux, Spanish Educator
Ms. Desfassiaux joined our staff this year. She has spent many years living, studying and/or working in different parts of Germany, Iran, Switzerland, Italy, and Mexico. She has been the director of a Spanish immersion program that focused on teaching, organizing and supervising private, semi-private and group Spanish lessons, school exchange programs between U.S. and Mexico as well as intensive programs and camps in Mexico. 
 
Anindita Bhattacherjee, Assistant Educator
Ms. Bhattacherjee joined our staff this year as an assistant. She has a B.A. and M.A. in History. She has worked in the past in the banking industry. Ms. Bhattacherjee enjoys the rewards and challenges of working with children.  

Cynthia Rowland, Assistant Educator  
Ms. Rowland has been an Assistant Educator in the K/1 learning environment at Montessori at Anthem since 2004.  She started as a parent volunteer in 2001, at AMCS in Glendale.  In 2003, she became a staff member.  Ms. Rowland has worked with children in early education facilities since 1996. She loves children and loves to teach and experience learning with the children.   

Deena Horton, Assistant EducatorMs. Horton has a Bachelors Degree from Southern Oregon University. She has completed Montessori Assistant training. Ms. Horton started as a parent volunteer at Montessori at Anthem in 2006.  In 2007, she became a staff member. Her son has attended Montessori at Anthem for two years and is in the first grade this year. Ms. Horton loves children and enjoys the experience of learning the Montessori Method and sharing it with the children.

Careers

We are accepting applications for the upcoming school year. Montessori Certified Teachers, please apply. To care for and teach children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Small classes. Professional attitudes, leadership qualities and commitment to the Montessori/Early years philosophy desirable. Must be enthusiastic and willing to work as part of a team. Full or part time hours. To apply for a position, please email your resume to rrides@azmontessori.org