Staff
Director
Mark Child, Ph.D. Mark inadvertently began his career in education by taking a temporary job as a
teacher’s assistant nearly 20 years ago. He has been researching and developing
innovative ways of teaching and learning ever since. Midway through his
doctoral studies, Mark took a sabbatical and taught full-time in an innovative
3rd - 5th multiage program created by a team of
courageous teachers. He returned to his doctoral studies the following year and
completed his Ph.D. in instructional design, development, and evaluation in
1995, and subsequently accepted a job as a professor at Sacred Heart University
in Fairfield, Connecticut. After teaching at the college, Mark felt a strong
desire to develop, first-hand, the kinds of school environments he was
encouraging his college students to find and create. In 1996, he moved his
family to Northern Michigan to help start a new charter school in Traverse City
(Woodland School, formerly known as Traverse Bay Community School).
After 11 years at Woodland School, the last 9 years as its director, Mark was
given the opportunity by the Venture Board of Directors to return home to Utah
and serve as the director of Venture Academy. He is thrilled to be working with
a great staff and is confident that Venture will provide a wonderful
educational experience for the families in the area.
Office Staff
Michele Long was born in Portland, Oregon.
She has lived in Asia, and six different states, although she still
thinks of Oregon as home. Professionally, Michele spent almost five years
working at America Online, first in Virginia, later moving to Ogden to help
open the call center here. At AOL, Michele enjoyed the challenge of
coaching and managing over 250 employees during the company’s fastest growing
period in history. In the late 1990’s, Michele left what had by then
become a fortune 500 company, to work in small business, participating in the
start-up and development of a multi-million dollar international company.
This company develops and produces new products, with production typically
taking place in China. These patented products have been sold in various
big box retailers, such as Walmart, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Costco, and more.
Michele’s Bachelor’s degree is in Business Finance, from Brigham Young University.
Michele has four children, ages 9-16, who are the joy of her life. Her
oldest son once observed, “I come from a laughing family!” As of August 5th,
2009, Michele has been happily married to her forever companion for 20
years. Michele has been a proponent for Charter schools for over 6 years,
and is thrilled to be working at Venture Academy.
Christel Grange-Hicks After a life filled with climbing the
corporate ladder in a fast paced and dog-eat-dog world, Christel took the
opportunity to learn the important lessons in life through the eyes and senses
of a child. Christel attended Weber State
University where she received her Associates degree and then dabbled in various
possible Majors until life took her down another path, parenthood - the
greatest and most challenging job ever. Christel is the proud Mom of a smart, full of life, and creative
daughter; and 2 energetic boarder collies (who have volunteered 100’s of hours
working with children of various needs). When Christel isn’t busy training
for the next half or full marathon she enjoys snowboarding (powder days are
best), mountain biking, reading, and photography. Christel feels lucky to be able to work for
Venture Academy, where students are encouraged to discover the answers,
actively engage in the outdoors, serve their community, create art from various
mediums, and work with the best teachers, staff and parents in the state.
Teaching Staff
Notice to Parents: If you are interested in more information about the professional qualifications of your child's teacher(s), please request this information from the office and we will be glad to provide it.
Kindergarten
Michelle Greenwell was born and raised in Ogden. She recently graduated from Weber State University with a B.S. in early childhood and elementary education. Michelle comes from a large family and has always loved children. Some of her hobbies include reading, camping, cooking, playing with her puppy named Tia, and spending time with her family and friends. Michelle loves to learn and hopes to go back to school to get her masters in the near future. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
1st and 2nd Grade
Tandi Churchill grew up in sunny southern California in the city of Ontario and moved to Ogden, UT in 2007. Tandi received her AA degree from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA and her B.A. from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. Her favorite subject to teach is Language Arts which was her favorite subject in elementary school where she loved to write stories and enter them into the Young Author's Competition each year. As a teacher, she likes to encourage creative writing in the classroom and enjoys seeing children's creativity come to life on paper. She believes Venture's expeditionary learning process will ignite engaging questions in the minds of the students, which will lead to interesting and exciting discoveries about the community and the world around us! (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Heather Georgi lived briefly as a kid in Utah, but primarily grew up in a
small town in North Texas called Flower Mound. She currently lives with her
husband and two children in Huntsville, UT. Heather recently graduated from
Weber State University with a bachelor's degree in elementary education.
Heather’s accomplishment of finishing school is one that she shares and
celebrates with her family. Her goal in life is to be a lifelong learner and
she will be incorporating that philosophy into her teaching. Heather is excited
to explore the diverse thoughts and ideas that the students at Venture will
bring to her classroom. Teaching at a school that has the spirit of exploration
and adventure is a dream come true for Heather!
Rosalie Hart grew up in Layton, Utah. She was the little bilingual redhead whose mother dressed her up in the latest European apparel! Yup, Rosalie is part Italian and even went on to study Italian at Brigham Young University, where she graduated in 2007. Rosalie loved school and fascinating lectures, and hopes she’ll turn into a quirky old teacher one day! She loves all things exploratory. She loves book clubs and libraries (and has a particular weakness for the non-fiction), she loves new projects (and does mini make-overs on rooms all over her house), she enjoys diverse cultures (and sometimes stops in at the foreign food stores just to be around the language and the unrecognizable foods!) and she loves exploring the outdoors (especially with her new pup, Don Ciccio De Odescalchi).
Mrs. Hart’s favorite part of
teaching at Venture is seeing her students’ natural enthusiasm for finding
things out. She loves seeing the accountability and expertise that these
seemingly small students are capable of and she enjoys exploring new
expeditions right along side them!
Rebecca Johnson was born and
raised in Utah. She spent most of her life living in a small town east of Park
City. There were seven kids in her family so she has been around
children a lot. She recently graduated from Utah State with a degree in
Elementary Education. Rebecca LOVES teaching and spending her days with
students that are so excited and ready to learn. She also loves reading,
playing the flute, and teaching Sobie (her Amazon Parrot) how to say new words
and phrases.
3rd to 5th Grade
Trina Thomson grew up in Cache Valley and graduated from Utah State
University with a degree in Elementary Education. Trina has lived in Brigham
City, Utah for the past 7 years. Her husband is also a teacher and they are the
parents of 4 boys. Trina is passionate about learning, teaching, and sharing
the gifts that she has been given. Her favorite part of teaching is when
she gets to see her students learn something well and then be able to
incorporate what they have learned into their lives. She knows that her
students will be the leaders of the future and feels it a privilege to be a
part of their life journey. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Lynette Reeder - "In all ways...grow, dream, shine, create, love
and soar."
You will find Lynette Reeder restoring her vintage home in Brigham City when
she is not creating and planning school curriculum. Her two daughters and four
grandchildren can count on Art at G'ma's along with tea parties and adventurous
play. She believes in Hot wheels, garden fairies, reading books, and pool days.
She graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary
Education and a minor in Language Arts. She has taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd
grades, creating and implementing EL style learning expeditions for the past 14
years. Thank heavens for Venture Academy for bringing EL to her world.
Connecting all subjects is Ms. Reeder's favorite way to teach because that is
how we learn, by making real-life connections. Art, Literature, Math and
Science are high on her "love" list and she is counting down the days
to teach and interact with children in a 3-5 learning pod. She believes in
putting the child first and together we can be the change we want to see in the
world. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Heidi Dale grew up in a little town near the Hudson River in New York
with one brother, one sister, and a golden retriever. Heidi received her
teaching degree from Wheaton College in Illinois. She then moved to
Colorado, where she learned to snowboard and rock climb. Heidi currently lives
in Salt Lake City and will be riding the Front Runner to school every day. She
is excited to share her favorite subjects, science and math, with the students
at Venture Academy. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Howard Brinkerhoff received a degree in Elementary Education from
Brigham Young University. His favorite subjects to teach are natural and
biological sciences as well as math, and physical education. "I am
thrilled about going ‘deep’ into our exciting expeditions and helping to open
new worlds of knowledge to our students." Howard and Lori, his wife of 33
years, live in Farr West, Utah. They are the parents four adult children,
two young men and two young women. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Jenny Rabe was
raised in Thomaston Georgia, a great place to grow up! With three
brothers, there were always good times around the house like dancing, choir,
scrapbooking, 4-H, International Club, and cheerleading.
Jenny attended college at Brigham Young University where she pursued her
life-long dream of becoming a teacher. She took the opportunity to take a
ballroom dance class and loved it so much, she decided to get a minor in
Ballroom dance. After three years of college, she served a mission for
her church in the great city of Las Vegas, where she learned to love the people
and will always cherish the memories.
She finished her bachelor’s degree and graduated April, 2008. She was
planning to teach in Las Vegas where she did her student teaching, but all
answers pointed to Ogden, Utah. Though she had no family connections in
the Ogden area, she felt that Venture Academy was where she should be!
She loves the hands-on learning and feels that Venture puts
the love of learning back into schooling. She is excited to be a part of
it. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
6th to 8th Grades
Marie
Griffith grew up
living in many places in the West including Seattle, Washington and Pocatello,
Idaho. She attended college at the University of Utah in Salt Lake where she
received a bachelor's and a master's degree in violin performance. Marie
spent several years performing as a violinist and teaching music when living in
California, Pennsylvania, and Georgia for her husband's job. Eventually, she
realized that she missed math and science so she went back to school at Berry
College in Rome, Georgia where she earned a second master's degree in education
with specialties in math and science for middle school. Marie is excited to
teach at a rigorous but creative school like Venture where the teachers and
students will enjoy learning together! In addition to music, she loves to read,
pull weeds and plant flowers! Marie and her husband recently settled in Ogden.
She has a son, Beau who is a senior in college at the University of Virginia in
Charlottesville. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Andrea Fleishon grew up in Southern Califomia. She graduated with a BS
in Biology from the University of California at Irvine where she was fortunate
to work as a clinical researcher studying the use of lasers for the treatment
of devastating birth marks. Andrea believes that hands-on experiences can make
learning more relevant to students. She plans to explore the natural
world with Venture’s middle school students in some challenging expeditions.
Andrea is completing her masters of secondary education this summer from Utah
State University. Andrea and her husband have a six-year old daughter
named Connie who will attend Venture Academy. Andrea also owns two goats, two
llamas, chickens, a turkey, three cats, a frog and a pot-bellied pig named
Wilhelmina. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Jeremy Heeringa grew up in Sparta, Michigan, a small town outside of
Grand Rapids on the west side of the state. Jeremy earned a B.A in
English from Grand Valley State University. Jeremy is newly (June 21, 2008)
married to his beautiful wife, Mary, who will be student teaching in the fall
of 2008. They do not have any children, but they do have wonderful if not
slightly deranged dog named Kate. Kate was named after a character in one of
Jeremy's favorite books, Holes by Louis Sachar. Jeremy and his wife also have a
cat named Sam after a favorite character from East of Eden by John Steinbeck.
Jeremy loves teaching English and other classes at Venture Academy. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Jonathan Heeringa grew up in a small town in the great state
of Michigan. Since he was not too keen
on having a 22 hour one-way commute to Venture he is now living in Salt Lake
City. Jonathan graduated from Grand
Valley State University (Go Lakers!). He majored in Group Social Studies and minored in Psychology. Jonathan says he loves to read, participate
in outdoor activities, and is a self-admitted sports junkie. Jonathan faithfully roots for most Michigan
teams (Michigan State vehemently excluded). Social Studies is Jonathan’s favorite subject and it also happens to be
what he teaches at Venture! He is excited to show that social studies is more than dates and names, and social studies class is more than lectures
and bookwork!
Rod Rippon teaches math in the 6th through 8th grade pod. He grew up in
South Ogden and has lived in North Ogden for the last 23 years. He graduated
with B.A. and M.Ed degrees from Weber State University. Recently retired from
Weber School District, he looks forward to new challenges at Venture Academy.
Rod is married and has five children. Math and Instrumental Music are his
favorite classes to teach. Over the years in education he has coached or
advised many extracurricular activities such as band, chess, Math Counts, state
math contest, and National Academic League. As hobbies, he enjoys exercise,
gardening, German, hiking, travel, playing the trumpet and participating in
many musical activities. he has traveled to various foreign countries including
Taiwan, Germany, France, Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Canada, and Mexico.
Rod is intrigued by the learning philosophies at Venture Academy and is anxious
to be a successful contributor. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Brittany Maloy grew up in Sandy, Utah but has relocated to Clinton after
getting married in August 2007. Her house is most rowdy the half of the summer
when her three step-kids come down from Washington. Luckily, home is never
completely quiet, because she has one son who lives with her
year-round. Brittany attended Ricks College, Brigham Young University and
the University of Utah. Her favorite subject is English which is why she is
thrilled to be teaching Language Arts to the 6th - 8th grades at Venture
Academy. (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Sharon Hicken. After finishing an AS at Snow College, and a BS at Utah State University in Physical Science Composite Teaching, Sharon married the love of her life, Daniel Hicken , and the two of them moved to Idaho Falls, ID so that Sharon could teach 9th grade Chemistry. Her husband, Daniel, keeps her "worrier" working because he is a helicopter pilot. Sharon discovered that Idaho didn’t compare to the beauty of hometown Brigham City, so when the chance to come back to Utah and teach 9th grade to the wonderful students at Venture, she never looked back! A love for all things science and schooling brought Sharon Hicken to Venture Academy, and she truly feels she is living the life of her dreams! (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Adventure/PE
Joanna Walker is from Larchmont, NY, close to the Manhattan metropolis. She fell in love with the outdoors at an early age when she first tried skiing at 3 years old in Colorado. And when her big brother went to college in Colorado, she just had to follow his footsteps. Joanna got a BA in English, Anthropology and Leadership from the University of Denver and was actively involved in their outdoor program. She’s an experienced and well-rounded traveler from studying abroad in France, Russia, and Australia, to working in London, to backpacking through Europe and Central America. She moved to Utah four years ago to play in the mountains as she received her Master’s degree in experiential education at the U. She has worked as an adaptive ski instructor, an outdoor educator, a raft guide, and ran an adaptive golf program, and continues to facilitate ropes courses. She’ll take any opportunity to get out to hike, ski, bike, climb, or just be outside. This is her first year of teaching PE and she’s really excited for all the adventures she and her students get to embark upon together. She lives in Salt Lake City, is an avid NY Giants and Mets fan, and is psyched to take advantage of mass transportation! (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Band & Primary Music
Cindy Child was born in Utah and lived in Cache Valley until she was 16. Her family then moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where she finished her last two years of high school. Mrs. Child received a bachelor's degree in music education from BYU and a master's degree in clarinet performance from Arizona State University. Following graduation she taught clarinet on the faculty of BYU from 1990 -1995. During that time she performed as a freelance clarinetist with the Utah Symphony, Ballet West, Orpheus Winds, the Utah Chamber Artists and the Canyon Winds Woodwind Quintet. Mrs. Child lived in Traverse City, Michigan for the last 11 years where she taught band at Woodland School from 2001 -2007 and chamber music at the Interlochen Arts Camp from 2002 -2004. While living in Traverse City, Mrs. Child performed with the Northwood Trio, Traverse Symphony Orchestra and the Encore Winds. Mrs. Child is a member of the Orchestra at Temple Square and frequently performs with the group at TV broadcasts of Music and the Spoken Word. Dr. and Mrs. Child are the parents of four children ages 20, 17, 13 and 10. Mrs. Child is delighted to "venture" with the band and music students at our school into the wonderful world of music! She especially loves the enthusiasm students show when starting a new instrument! (NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher.)
Special Education
Jennette
Madsen was reared in a Military family that moved every four
years. This created the opportunity to see new places as well as meet many
interesting people. After graduating
from WSU with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication she moved to
Washington State. There she ran her own
desktop publishing business along with a small monthly newspaper for the city
of Hazel Dell. Loving the great North
West but missing her family, she then moved back to Utah.
After returning to Utah, she met and married a real gentleman who already had two of his own children, thus creating a blended family. Jennette stayed home with her young children until the youngest was in kindergarten. After that time, she turned to volunteering at their schools. She was hired on as a paraprofessional and from there, decided she wanted to teach because she really enjoyed helping the students succeed to their fullest potential.
