Sacramento Country Day School

Michael Unti joins us from Summit, New Jersey as our new High School STEM teacher and Associate Director of Technology. He has taught Computer Science, Robotics, and Ethics for 10 years. He holds a Master’s Degree from Boston College, as well as a Bachelor’s from Saint Bonaventure University and is working towards a Master’s in STEM Education at NC State University. He enjoys traveling and has studied abroad at Oxford University, England, as well as the Colegio de Espana in Salamanca, Spain.  He now enthusiastically joins Country Day and looks forward to working with the students, faculty, staff and parents of the community.

Richele Cooley is a Kindergarten teacher with at Country Day. Richele previously worked in the Merryhill schools where she taught Kindergarten for nine years and taught 1st grade for one year. Her greatest accomplishment was being nominated for Teacher of the Year in 2014.

Richele graduated from Sacramento State with a BA in Liberal Studies and has been in the field of education since 1997. Originally from the Bay Area, she and her husband, Jason, have two rambunctious boys, ages 9 and 3.

In her free time, she loves taking her boys swimming or to the beach. Richele believes every child deserves the opportunity to achieve his or her highest potential. Kindergarten is a time to spark and direct the curiosity and natural love of learning. Kindergarten has become her passion and she cannot wait to take this journey with you. 

B.S. in Animal Science, Cal Poly San Luis Opispo

Christina (Stainbrook) Emerson is an alumna of Country Day’s Class of 2006. She serves as a first grade teaching assistant and ASE counselor. She received her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and served as an Animal Services Officer in Clovis, CA for a rewarding seven years. During that time she rescued animals, worked with behavioral modification, animal medical needs, and matching pets with adopters, but found that she connected most with educating others in the community. She is currently working toward her Masters in Education, and teaching credential, which she is scheduled to complete in 2020.

Rachelle Doyle has served as the Director of Advancement for Sacramento Country Day School since 2018. She provides leadership for all fundraising, alumni, and board of trustees relations. With her team, she oversees planning for the school’s fundraising efforts, including annual fund, capital campaign, endowment, alumni giving, grants, special projects, and planned giving. Rachelle works on providing strategic direction for all aspects of Country Day’s Advancement. 

Before coming to Country Day in 2018, Rachelle served as a Director of Development for Sacramento Waldorf School. Prior to that, she worked for 10 years in marketing and advertising. 

Rachelle earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Media Communications from California State University, Sacramento and a Fundraising and Development Certificate from U.C. Davis. She is currently is pursuit of her Masters degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.

Rachelle is dedicated to making a positive impact: at Country Day, in her home, in Sacramento, and in the world. She loves philanthropy and building relationships and brings passion to her work. 

During her vacation time, she travels around the world on short term missions. During free time at home, she volunteers with several organizations focused on building and developing youth.

“To make a difference is not a matter of accident, a matter of casual occurrence of the tides. People choose to make a difference.” – Maya Angelou 

Ryan decided to become a teacher dedicated to engaging, hands-on, and discovery-based learning because as a middle school student he often felt bored and disengaged from school. He believes that students should have a voice in their education and that they should be allowed to discover and pursue the topics and inquiries that naturally interest them. Ryan has a B.A. in History from Bethany College and M.Ed. in Administration and Policy Study from the University of Pittsburgh.

Prior to joining Country Day, Ryan spent four years at Alta Vista School in San Francisco teaching 5th-8th grade history. Ryan also previously worked at a private boarding school in West Virginia where he taught 6th grade history, coached middle school soccer and basketball, and was the Associate Head of the Boarding Department. When he is not teaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, traveling, trying new food, and cheering for his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

B.S. in Psychology; Master’s in Elementary Education, Liberty University

LaTeeka Bradford is on our third grade team at Sacramento Country Day School. She is responsible for teaching, developing curriculum, utilizing instructional technology, and creating a safe, inclusive classroom environment.

LaTeeka holds a multiple subjects teaching credential in the state of California. She has over five years of experience teaching grades K-5, both within the classroom and after-school setting. She obtained a Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in Elementary Education and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology cum laude from Liberty University located in Lynchburg, Virginia. 

LaTeeka has recently relocated to Sacramento with her husband and two children. 

Aside from teaching she enjoys: spending time with family and friends, watching romantic comedies, vacationing to the beach, gardening, and attending sporting events. 

As a native Spanish speaker, Nancy says “sharing my love for my language and culture is my passion.” She was born and raised in Orange County, California, graduated from Cal State Fullerton as a Spanish major, and received her teaching credential from UC San Diego.  She also has taken pedagogy courses at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. This is her 11th year teaching Spanish, 10 years of which were at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano, teaching both middle and high school courses. She loves teaching language and sharing the riches of Spanish-speaking cultures in the classroom She believes that her enthusiastic, cultural approach to teaching Spanish enables students to acquire language skills in a manner that keeps them interested and motivated. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, traveling, and taking trips to Disneyland. She is excited to join the Country Day community. 

Dr. Pepa Novell teaches 7th grade Spanish in our World Languages department. Pepa earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Hispanic Studies from Brown University, her Master’s in publishing from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature and Language from Universitat de Barcelona. 

Pepa has worked internationally in teaching and research roles. After her graduation at Brown, she was Assistant Professor at Queen’s University (Canada) where she got tenured and worked as Associate Professor. As a scholar, she has published in peer-reviewed journals on Spanish contemporary culture, particularly narrative, film and music.

She has extensive international teaching experience at a university level in Spanish language, literature and culture. She has worked with and for a diverse and international student body, which has allowed her to experience a variety of cultures and viewpoints that has helped her gain considerable insight not only about other countries and customs, but about her own country and herself as well.

She has taken an active role in matters related to department language, literature and culture programs and curricular design. She supervised multi-section courses at both Brown and Queen’s, and has designed syllabi at all levels of Spanish language and cultures. She has taken on leadership roles in language instruction but she also strongly values collaboration and teamwork. She has learned to adapt quickly to new environments and the specific needs of a language program. 

During her years at Queen’s University, she was involved in institutional initiatives focusing on diversity, curriculum development, and governance. In her academic career, she played a very active role in promoting a new approach to the curriculum with the addition of a cultural tradition focus to a curriculum merely period-based. 

She has always been an active member of the community. She taught courses in Spanish for adults at the Brown Learning Community, and she joined and managed the Spanish Club at Queen’s. She founded a Book Club in a rural area near Barcelona to promote reading among adults. She considers languages and cultures to be key aspects of knowledge, and she thinks that engaging the community in learning different languages and cultures is the best way to contribute to create citizens for a global world. 

In 2018, she founded MAGMA Editorial, a boutique publishing company based in Madrid (although she makes clear she is from Barcelona). MAGMA publishes novels and short stories in Spanish, and Pepa manages it from Sacramento. 

Pepa describes herself as an advocate of cooperation and collegiality. She is a determined and motivated person who likes to face new challenges and new circumstances. Being in literature and culture has taught her to observe scenarios and situations critically. She likes to rethink, to reread from a new perspective, to constantly use the creative thinking that is inherent to the study of educational, intellectual and cultural issues.

She likes to spend time with her family, to travel and to swim, especially in the Mediterranean sea, and now at Tahoe. She and her husband have three children that attend Country Day.  
 

Adie Renteria is one of Country Day School’s three Learning Specialists. She works with Kelley Brown and Tara Adams to support students and teachers throughout the school but works especially closely with the 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. She is responsible for overseeing AimsWeb testing, writing learning profiles for students who need extra accommodations, meeting with teachers and parents to develop learning plans for students, and working with students one-on-one and in small groups. 

Before coming to Country Day School in 2019, she worked at Trevor Day School in New York City as the K-2 Learning Specialist where she helped the lower school faculty review and modify the literacy curriculum, monitored assessments, and worked with students in small groups and one-on-one as a Reading Recovery Teacher. She had a private tutoring practice for students of all ages and has previous experience as a First Grade Teacher. 

Adie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature from Princeton University with a certificate in Latin American Studies. The best part of her college experience was working with the award-winning poets, C.K. Williams and Paul Muldoon, in the Creative Writing Department and the Argentinean author, Ricardo Piglia, in the Spanish Department to translate the work of the Argentinenan poet, Alejandra Pizarnik, for her senior thesis. 

Adie had always dreamed of becoming a teacher so she joined the New York City Teaching Fellows as soon as she graduated from Princeton and spent two years teaching at an inner-city school in the South Bronx. She earned a Master of Science in Childhood Education from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York and a Master of Education with a specialization in Literacy from Bank Street College of Education in New York City. 

Adie’s current hobbies include indoor cycling, yoga, baking, reading, and biking along the American River with her family. 
 

Carol Phelps serves as a first grade assistant. She is a retired elementary educator with more than 25 years of experience. She has worked as a Cooperating Teacher with CSUC, mentoring new teachers for more than 10 years. Additionally, she was a trainer for several years in the new teacher induction program in Butte County. Carol worked both as a lead teacher and peer coach at Chico Country Day School, as well as an interim administrator.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) and a M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from CSU, Chico. She also holds a California Multiple Subjects Credential.

BA in Psychology and Politics/Government, University of Hartford; J.D. from Fordham University of Law

Carl Bornmann served as a substitute teacher and mock trial coach at Country Day in 2018-19. He is a former attorney and most recently worked as a Deputy Attorney General with the State of New Jersey. Carl is also a teacher with the Academic Talent Search at Sacramento State and a registered yoga teacher at Fusion Yoga.

He holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology and Politics/Government from the University of Hartford in Connecticut and a Juris Doctorate degree from Fordham University School of Law in New York City. Carl is excited to be part of the Lower School team.

Maria Berenice Hoyos is the 5th grade orchestra and  High School chamber music teacher at Country Day. She also works with the Napa Valley Language Academy teaching cello, with Oasis Music Inc providing cello, violin lessons  and live performances, and collaborates with local churches and organizations preparing different performances and musical events.

She plays the cello at Camellia Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Napa Valley. Her professional experience spans more than 30 years of both teaching and performing during which she established a reputation as an outstanding performer and successful teacher.

She is a member of several associations, including, but not limited to, the Federation of Professional Musicians, the Suzuki Association of the Americas, the California Music Teachers Associations and the American String Teachers Association. 

Maria earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in cello performance and she completed several courses of Suzuki teacher training at Stanford University in California, in Texas and Utah. She participated in Summer chamber and orchestra studies at San Francisco Conservatory and Nevada University in Las Vegas.

Maisae has 25 years’ experience as an administrator and teacher in U.S. and international Independent schools including Vision International School in Qatar, Ibn Khuldoon National School in Bahrain, American International School in Pakistan, St. Catherine of Siena School in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Caribbean School in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Maisae is an educator with a passion for early childhood and elementary education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and master’s degrees in Translation and Interpretation from the University of Aleppo and in Teaching from Marygrove College in Detroit.

Carly Bornmann is a Film, Writing, and Yoga Teacher. She received a BFA in Filmmaking with concentrations in Writing and Production Design from University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Carly also holds her 200hr Registered Yoga Teacher Certification and 32hr Yoga Education Certification. Carly has spent the last two years and teaching in Lynnwood, Washington at an International Baccalaureate School. She is excited to now be in Sacramento and join the Country Day team to begin working with the students on The Glass Knife. Carly also will assist one of our Kindergarten classes for 2020-21.

Carrie Meyers is the middle school French teacher and also is leading the Improv elective while helping out with Farm to Fork.

She attended the University of Maryland for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees. Carrie earned a Bachelor of Arts double major in French Language and Literature and Secondary Education, spending her junior year abroad in Nice, France. 

She started her career teaching high schoolers French at Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School in Washington, D.C. After one year with students, Carrie realized she wanted to learn more and embarked upon the journey to obtain her Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction while continuing at Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School for three years. She knew that teaching would be her lifelong career and found a position with St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia. Carrie started out teaching 8th graders and coaching middle schoolers, eventually adding the titles of Administrative Assistant to the Director of Teaching and Learning, upper school French teacher, library assistant, technology support, and sustainability coordinator. 

Carrie moved to Sacramento with her cat, Bugs Bunny, and her dog, Roo, who she affectionately calls her “furry family.” Her human family is in New Jersey, where she grew up, and her extended network of friends spans the mid-Atlantic region.

Carrie has enrolled in local improv classes and plans to audition for community theater, so you may see her on stage at some point soon! She has also become active within the Alliance Française to make connections with local French speakers. Carrie is thrilled to have this opportunity to teach middle schoolers how to be good people, and maybe learn a little French too.

Amanda Ashdown is a 4th grade teacher at Sacramento Country Day School. She has taught 4th grade most of her teaching career, taught 1st and 2nd grades, and has worked as a reading support teacher. 

Amanda received her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Baptist Bible College, and a teaching credential from the State of Missouri for grades 1-6. She has completed additional training from Schools Attuned to All Kinds of Minds, Responsive Classroom, and The Neuhaus Education Center.  

When not at school, Amanda loves to spend time running, reading, and watching tv (shhh!). Now as a working mom, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, who are currently attending Country Day.

Elena Rodriguez Bennett teaches Lower School music for K-4th grades. Her curriculum is an integration of the arts—from singing to dancing to instruments to the spoken word—based on peace and social justice studies. The goal is to not only raise better musicians, but better people through music.

She has taught various levels of classroom and musical education in Philadelphia, New Haven, the Navajo Nation, Taiwan, and California. She earned a B.A. in English and American Literature from Cornell University, an M. Divinity from Yale University, and an M.Ed. from California State University, Sacramento. 

Elena previously taught music at St. Michael’s Day School and adult education for the Elk Grove school district, which included teaching at the Sacramento Main Jail. She has directed the music program at Florin United Methodist Church since 1988, has taught private violin lessons for decades, and plays in community ensembles.  

All four of her children attended Country Day. Her main lifelong passions include hiking, photography, and traveling/working in other countries. She currently coordinates Country Day’s service learning partnership with a consortium of eight Rwandan schools, which takes her to Rwanda for a joyous month each summer.

Edward Bolman is a 6th grade teacher. He teaches 6th grade Math and History, and is a 6th grade advisor. Additionally, he also serves as the Middle School Dean of students, Middle School Student Council Advisor, and the Department Chair of the Middle School Math Department.

Edward has been teaching for more than twenty three years. Two of those years were spent in the People’s Republic of China teaching in the Chinese Public School system where he was also responsible for managing 20 expatriate teachers. He has been a teacher in the Country Day Middle School for more than 15 years.

He earned his A.A. at Sierra College, and his B.A. from San Francisco State University. Edward also has earned SSAT, CSET, CBEST and Praxis certifications from SFSU as part of their teacher training program.

Kelley Brown is a Learning Specialist at Country Day. She leads the Academic Support Team of Learning Specialists who focus on the academic support and enrichment of students PK-12^th grade. She works closely with teachers to benchmark the personal growth of all students and meets with students in small group or individual settings in order to provide early intervention and extension opportunities.

Kelley earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies as well as a California Multiple Subjects credential and Education Specialist (Mild to Moderate) credential from Loyola Marymount University. Through St. Mary’s College of California, she earned Montessori Elementary I and II credentials as well as a Masters of Arts in Education degree, with the focus of her thesis being the improvement of the executive functioning skills of 4th-6th grade students with ADHD.

She has taught elementary school grades across public and private settings in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area before returning to her hometown of Sacramento and joining the Country Day community.

Spending time with family and friends continues to be Kelley’s favorite pastime. She especially loves cuddles from her mini golden doodle, Jefferson, and watching the development of her baby girl. Crafting, reading, yoga, and meditating are her ultimate self-care indulgences.

Stephanie Castillo is a part of our pre-kindergarten team at Sacramento Country Day School.  Before joining the pre-K team at Country Day School, she worked as an early childhood specialist and interventionist to support children of all abilities into a fully inclusive preschool program within the Sacramento City Unified School District. As a part of her work in the classroom, she gave technical assistance to other early childhood programs in the state of California in developing their own inclusive programs and practices as a consultant with the Sacramento County Office of Education in their SEEDS program (Supporting Early Childhood Delivery Systems).  During her 12 years as a teacher there, she was the recipient of the SCUSD Above and Beyond Award as well as Supported Life Inclusion Award for her dedication, vision and belief in inclusive communities.  

She earned her Master of Education and Early Childhood Specialist Teaching Credential at California State University, Sacramento and her Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society with a Criminal Justice emphasis from University of California, Santa Barbara.  While in Santa Barbara she was the Co-President of the UCSB CAB (Community Affairs Board) where she helped to plan, support and promote volunteerism within the school and surrounding community. 

Stephanie grew up in Stockton, California but has lived in Sacramento for over 20 years and considers this her home.  When not creating magic with our youngest students, she can be found taking her daughter, who is a Country Day student, to her after school activity du jour, going on a ‘real quick run’ around the park, doting over her cat(s), or scrapbooking memories into the wee hours of the night. 

B.A., Mt. Holyoke College; M.S., Pace University; J.D., Widener University School of Law

Alexis Covey (‘02) has been teaching 2nd grade at Sacramento Country Day School since the fall of 2012. Before coming to Country Day as a teacher, she attended as a student in high school. Her many fond memories of the school and the incredible people here made her jump at the chance to be a part of this community again. 

After high school, Alexis earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Skidmore College in upstate New York. After graduation she stayed on the East coast for a while, working with small children on fine- and gross-motor skills as a pre-gymnastics teacher. After a few years it was time to return to California to earn a multi-subject teaching credential from Sacramento State University. Her first job after earning her credential was as a long-term substitute teacher in the Twin Rivers District. Her second job was at Country Day, and she hasn’t looked back since.

A couple of quotes that sum up Alexis’s philosophy toward life and teaching are:

• “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett
• “I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile, I keep dancing.” -Daniel Hillel

Outside of work Alexis enjoys working out, knitting, reading, and teaching self-defense to young children.

B.A., Menlo College; M.A. Hunter College

B.A., California State University, Sacramento

Sarah Gerber has been one of Country Day’s first grade teachers since 2017.  She is deeply committed to nurturing a learning community of kindness, inclusion, and respect, and fostering a lifelong love of learning in her students. 

Before coming to Country Day, Sarah was a full time mom to her daughter for a year. She is thrilled to have her daughter here at Country Day as a student now. Before that, Sarah taught second and fourth grades at St. Paul’s Episcoal School in Oakland, and Kindergarten, 2nd, and 3rd grades at the Brandeis School in San Francisco. Prior to teaching elementary school, Sarah met her husband when they were both teaching at Head Start preschools in Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Sarah earned a B.A. in Sociology, and another B.A. in English and World Literature from Pitzer College, one of the Claremont Colleges in Southern California. She minored in Spanish and had an amazing experience living with a host family in Sevilla, Spain, for a semester, while attending the Universidad de Sevilla’s Language and Society program. Sarah earned her elementary teaching credential through Cal State Monterey Bay. 

Sarah’s current favorite things to do are playing board games with family and friends, listening to and singing along with musicals and Beatles songs, and going on family hikes.

Cade “Mr. G” Grunst teaches 8th grade Earth Science in the Country Day middle school. Earth Science is a broad umbrella covering topics like astronomy, weather, continents, erosion, dinosaurs, the deep ocean, and of course the planet’s ongoing Climate Crisis. The goal of his class is to re-awaken the sense of wonder we experience as young children. He wants students to reexamine the world around them, to see with fresh eyes and understand the joys of clouds and mountains and the moon.

Cade teaches two electives: Robotics and Maker Lab. Maker Lab is an introduction to engineering, where students compete to build the fastest car, the longest bridge, the heaviest cargo ship, etc. Students seeking a more technical experience can engage with laser-cutting, 3D modeling and printing, or work with hobby electronics using the Arduino platform. Cade’s Robotics class is based on the powerful LEGO Mindstorms system. Students build and program mobile robots of their own design, constantly evaluating and innovating to complete a series of challenges. The Robotics elective is also a feeder for the middle school’s competitive after-school Robotics team, which Cade also coaches. Go Techno Cavs!

Cade attended the University of California, Davis, graduating with honors and a degree in Animal Biotechnology in 2009. Cade enjoyed the diverse offerings of a huge university, and during his four years took classes in rock climbing, archery, SCUBA certification, raptor management, Ultimate Frisbee, mushroom cultivation, screen printing, didgeridoo, and 3D animation. Cade also found time in there somewhere to pursue an independent undergraduate research fellowship, where he moved umpteen thousand fungal spores around petri dishes until he had determined that the palmitoyltransferase protein in brewer’s yeast is not involved in telomeric anchoring during meiosis. Probably.

After graduation Cade took a research position with the UCD Center for Neuroscience. While he found the implications of his work on neural connectivity fascinating, the actual day-to-day mechanics of being a lab monkey were ultimately not the best fit. Cade left after two years to pursue education. Cade’s first experiences with classroom teaching were through the Breakthrough Collaborative, and he will forever be grateful to Adolfo Mercado for giving him his start. Cade started substitute teaching in several schools in the Sacramento area, eventually landing a 1-year contract at Country Day that has turned into quite a bit more than expected.

In July, Cade enjoys exploration and wildlife photography. A recent trip took him to Alaska, where he spent three weeks backpacking among juvenile brown bears and a breaching humpback whale. Previous trips have led him to bighorn sheep in the canyons of Utah, mountain goats high above Montana, and pika tucked away among glacial deposits in the Canadian Rockies. Cade loves studying interactions between Earth’s physical and biological systems. Teaching Earth Science has led to a deeper understanding of how geology, meteorology, and ecology intertwine, and Cade brings each adventure back to the classroom. When speaking about convection currents in weather systems, he tells stories of cool night air descending in Canyonlands National Park. Glaciology comes with photographs of Yosemite and the Rockies. Mineralogy is addressed through undersea lava tubes off Kauai.

One of Cade’s biggest regrets is that he was unable to visit the northern region of the Great Barrier Reef before it was devastated by unseasonal cyclones and coral bleaching events. He hopes that through education, he can help enact the societal change necessary to protect our beautiful space pebble. Cade draws inspiration from Carl Sagan, quoting the imperative that ends his famous Pale Blue Dot speech: “…to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish [this] pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

Chris Kuipers is chair of the Country Day history department and serves as the Associate Director of College Counseling. He teaches 9th grade World History, AP United States History, and AP European History. In his college counseling role, he advises and supports students and their families through the college planning and application processes. He is also the proud father of a Country Day student.

Before coming to Country Day in 2010, Chris taught history and served as department head at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, an independent boarding and day school for girls in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

In addition to his teaching experience, Chris also worked for several years in the admission offices of Amherst College and Stanford University. At both institutions, Chris managed regional territories and served on the admissions selection committees, reading and evaluating over a thousand applications annually. Chris also previously worked as the Assistant Director of Alumni and Parent Programs at Amherst College.

Chris earned his Bachelor’s degree in history from Amherst College, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He wrote a senior honors thesis on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s understanding of the American Civil War under the guidance of professor David Blight, one of the world’s leading scholars on the Civil War and historical memory. Chris also earned a Master of Education with a focus on Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Chris was named the National History Day Teacher of the Year in Sacramento County in 2018. He has also been twice selected by his students as a “Lifer Honoree” at Country Day and was awarded the “Faculty Appreciation Prize” by his students at Stoneleigh-Burnham School.

When he’s not enjoying time with his family or honing his pedagogy, Chris loves to run, read, watch sports, and dominate the Country Day fantasy football league.

B.A., Wesleyan University; M.A. University of California, Berkeley

B.A., Georgetown University, M.A., Johns Hopkins University, J.D., University of Maryland School of Law 

Rommel comes to Country Day from the Park School in Baltimore, where he was the Director of Civic Engagement and Service Learning. Rommel received a bachelor of science in Finance from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in liberal arts from John Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor degree from University of Maryland. His success as both a Middle School Language Arts teacher and as an administrator of a PK-12 program makes him an ideal person for the Middle School position.

Rommel and his wife Jessica live in Sacramento with their three children, Leah, Charlie, and Max. 

Kristi Mathisen teaches third grade in our Lower School but has been a fixture in many different classrooms across all grade levels in her tenure at Country Day. Kristi also has served as an assistant director in the MS/HS theater department and as a faculty adviser to the HS LGBTQ and ChicanX/LatinX Clubs.

In her classroom, Kristi prides herself on creating an inclusive, equitable, and nurturing environment where each student is encouraged to stretch their learning and make mistakes. Intertwining her love of literature and history in the curriculum, Kristi has worked in all of her classrooms to create experiential learning activities that provide students the chance to fully immerse themselves into the worlds they study. From the annual “Gingerbread Baby Hunt” in Kindergarten to the Aviary Vet Clinic imaginative play center in 1st, to the Colonial Trades Play that she co-writes and directs with her students each year in 3rd grade, Kristi is always looking for any chance for her students to “live and breathe” the curriculum.

Kristi received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from the California State University of Northridge. She also holds a Masters of Education in Language and Literacy from California State University Sacramento and a certificate of Women in Business Leadership from Cornell College.

In her personal time, Kristi enjoys spending time with her large extended Mexican family, reading anything she can, and working on social justice initiatives. She is also an avid patron of the arts and currently serves on the board of Sacramento’s Capital Stage Theater Company. When not in Sacramento, you can probably find Kristi and her husband visiting their two daughters (Country Day grads) at college in Boston and Rhode Island- or watching a Broadway play!

B.A., Wesleyan University

Michelle Myers serves as Country Day’s Director of Physical Education for PK-12th grades. She is also a physical education teacher to Lower School and High School students, as well as oversees the Independent P.E. programs for 5th through 12th grades. 

Michelle started her schooling at the University of Hawaii, then transferred to California State University, Sacramento where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education/Athletic Training (subsumption in biology), and became a P.E. Movement Education Specialist.

Michelle was then accepted into the credentialing program at CSUS, to finish her teaching degree. After that, Michelle completed course work  for a Master’s in Education from Saint Marys’ college in Moraga.

While Michelle’s path had two directions- teaching and coaching, she also became a consultant for many CAIS schools on how to develop a “Developmentally Appropriate Physical Education Program”.

While in college, Michelle also found a fondness for volleyball under the tutelage of the infamous Debby Colberg and Weidi Zhang. She then went on to coach girl’s volleyball at Country Day, American River College, and Consumes College. 

Trying to encourage the boys, Michelle started the first boys’ volleyball team at Country Day, formed a Junior Olympic Boy’s club, worked as a summer coach at Stanford Boy’s Camps, coached at Rio Americano, and finally became the Men’s Volleyball coach for both JV, and eventually Varsity, at California State University, Sacramento. 

Michelle received the Francie Tidey award in 2015 from former Country Day alumni in honor of her dedication to excellence in teaching. “It was the most humbling experience and honor, I’ve ever had!” she says.

Michelle’s hobbies include playing polo and enjoying her horses, her running club SACFIT , owned by Alum Ken Press, cooking for friends, and most importantly staying connected to former students via Facebook- that’s about 1,000 students!

Kurt Pearsall serves as Country Day’s Middle School Bands teacher and 5th Grade Band Brass Instructor.  He directs the Middle School Concert Band, Middle School Jazz Band, Middle School Garage Band and the 5th grade trumpet, trombone, and baritone students.  The bands participate in daytime, evening and weekend performances throughout the school year both on campus and in the community or festivals. He also teaches private lessons and performs with the Faculty Jazz Band. 

Before coming to Country Day in 2017, he concluded a 33-year-plus teaching career in public schools, spending the bulk of the years in the Washington Unified School District where he taught marching band, jazz band, concert band, high school chorus, madrigal choir and countless other project groups for all grade levels K-12.  His students can be found performing in a wide variety of musical settings all over the world from a symphony orchestra in Spain to the streets of New Orleans. His former students include current distinguished music professors and music educators in public schools.  

During a short break in his teaching career, he became a full time musician, and even though he returned to full time teaching, never stopped working with the highest quality musical companies including Walt Disney, Barnum and Bailey Circus, The Music Circus and Broadway theater productions, The Sacramento and Central Florida Symphonies, and countless big bands including the Glen Miller Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He has a strong performance background and has performed with Cab Calloway, Natalie Cole, Englebert Humperdink, Frank Sinatra Jr., Wayne Newton, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, The Temptations and many more.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and his Master of Music from California State University, Sacramento.  His college career included induction into the Phi Kappa Lambda, an American honor society for undergraduate, graduate and professors of music. He also is credentialed to teach social sciences and has an intense interest in history. 

Over the years he has participated in the California Music Educators Association’s activities and served as the conductor for the Sacramento Capitol Pops Concert Band, and in leadership roles with the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society, Washington Unified School District and the University of Nevada, Reno’s summer music camp at Lake Tahoe.  He was instrumental in the establishment of the Teagarden Jazz camp where he taught and was camp director under the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society.  He also helped to establish the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Foundation.

When he is not performing and teaching Kurt’s hobbies include rebuilding and collecting 1960-1970 era Japanese motorcycles and antique trucks. He also enjoys watching television, doing research on the internet, wilderness survival and outdoor sports and activities, coin collecting, photography, and gardening.

Maura Ryan Perotti (‘02) is a First Grade teacher and the Responsive Classroom Lead for the Lower School. After earning her “Lifer” status with 14 years as a student at Country Day, Maura went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a focus on Developmental Psychology from Santa Clara University. Maura continued at Santa Clara for her Master’s degree in Education. She holds two separate teaching credentials, a Multiple-Subject Teaching Credential and a Single Subject Credential in English. Maura is also certified in the teaching of Gifted and Talented Education (GATE).

After leaving school, Maura taught in the heart of the Silicon Valley for 10 years at another independent school. There Maura led the Character Education Committee and sat on the Student Study team for eight years.

In the classroom, Maura’s greatest love is bringing high-level concepts to a primary level and the teaching of early literacy. Teaching children to read in a community of committed, thoughtful learners is her greatest joy in the classroom. Her experience in teaching reading helps her to foster in her students an excellent foundation in decoding, word knowledge, and reading comprehension. She is passionate about her work with the Student Success Team, the Lower School Literacy Committee and IDEA.

Outside of 1st grade at Country Day, Maura is the Lower School Lead for Responsive Classroom, a program that has been adopted throughout the Lower School. Responsive Classroom is a student-centered, social and emotional learning approach to teaching and designed to create safe, joyful, and engaging classrooms.

In her life outside of school, Maura is highly involved in the world of artistic gymnastics. After competing as a gymnast herself for 11 years, Maura began her career as a member of the National Association of Women’s Gymnastics Judges. She has served as a judge since 2002, judging at competitions around the United States at the State, regional, and national level.

Pat Reynolds serves as Country Day’s Social-Emotional Counselor and is the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) teacher for 6th – 9th grades. Before coming to Country Day in 2015, Pat served as Upper School Counselor at a large independent school in Houston. Pat has been School Counselor and Head of Residential Life at an Independent School in Cleveland as well as a Middle School Science teacher at an Independent school in Virginia. Some of her past experiences include coaching a variety of sports, teaching Driver Education, and working at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Pat earned a Bachelor of Science degree at James Madison University and a Master’s degree in Counseling Education from Cleveland State University.  Her favorite college experience was playing varsity basketball at JMU. After college, Pat immediately began teaching and coaching.  One experience that stands out for Pat is that while she was in Cleveland she chaperoned an Eco-trip to the Dominican Republic. 

Pat has backpacked across the Grand Canyon, in the Grand Tetons as well as through Alaska, and kayaked around the San Juan Islands.  Most recently she has been car camping and exploring the State Parks in California. A new project is working with her dog Mocha who will become a certified therapy dog.  Her hobbies include bicycling (in 2009 she completed a Century ride in Southern Colorado), camping, reading, and dabbling in cooking.

Julie Shanks teaches fine art to Country Day’s Lower School students in Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade.  Her studio curriculum encompasses art from all genres, cultures, and media.  Using each grade level curriculum as a launching pad, Julie strives to make connections for students from art to academics.  Deeper yet, she yearns to reach into the heart of each student to appreciate art as a tool of expression for their emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Julie earned an A.A. in Art from Moorpark College in Southern California, a B.A. in art and a single subject teaching credential from California State University Sacramento.  Before teaching at Country Day she taught pre-school and serves as a teacher’s aide in a high school RSP class.

B.A., Harvard University; M.A., Johns Hopkins University

B.A., California State University, Sacramento

B.A., Haverford College; M.Ed Michigan State University