MRS. Rachel~ DIRECTOR/Lead teacher

Miss Rachel is the founder and lead teacher at Integrative Learning Academy (ILA).  She is a certified teacher and has taught in both Colorado and Arizona for the past 20 years.  She holds an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado with an emphasis on Bilingual Education as well as a Masters degree in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners from the University of Colorado Boulder.  She holds licensures for K-5 General Education, K-12 Special Education, and K-12 ESL and Bilingual Education and has experience teaching preschool through 5th grade as a bilingual teacher, ESL teacher, Spanish teacher, Reading Interventionist and Special Educator.  
Her passion for teaching learners who don't fit into the box magnified when her third child was diagnosed with Autism.  She is passionate about inclusive education, learner-centered education, and holistic education.  
When she's not teaching she loves running, doing Crossfit, spending time with her husband Andrew, their four children, and their labradoodles Maddox and Jolene.  She loves Jesus and believes that it is her mission to share His love to every family that comes into ILA. 

Reading.  Educating.  Laughing.  It's all in a day's work as an educator.  I have been an educator for 15 years.  Prior to joining the ILA family I was a reading specialist for 8 years.  I have also  taught kindergarten, first grade, and second grade in both California and Arizona.  I even taught preschool for 3 years prior to that.  I graduated from Cal State East Bay in 2008 with my BA in Liberal Studies and my Elementary Teaching Certificate.  Then in 2014 I graduated from GCU with my Masters in Reading Instruction.  I have been married for 11 years to my husband, Tim.  We have two children together, James (8) and Juliana (5).  We love having family fun days and keeping busy. Whether it be exploring a new park, reading books at the library, running around in an indoor playground, or exploring Arizona with a fun staycation; we love family fun days! Our favorite family tradition is spending a week on Catalina Island for a week-long Christian family camp completely unplugged. I am looking forward to a year of academic adventures with all the students at Integrative Learning Academy.

I am a  certified teacher with a masters degree in Special Education.  I taught in Arizona for 8 years in the Washington Elementary School District.  With this district, I taught in a self-contained special education classroom  with students that had a variety of disabilities. I left the classroom after 8 years, so that I could be home to raise my three beautiful babies.  While they were young, I ran an in-home daycare at our house where I provided childcare for infants to age 5.  Our days were full of fun during that time.  Then as my middle son became the age of a preschooler, I transitioned from full day daycare to just part day preschool.  I then taught preschool in my home for 4 years.  It's one of my favorite ages to teach.  I have a passion for teaching children of all ages, as well as learning myself.  I hope to never stop learning and growing no matter how old I get.    

When I am not teaching I love to hike, be outdoors, spend time with my family, lead womens groups, plan events, volunteer, and learn new things.  I am also on a mission for my boys to see all 50 states before they turn 18, so every year we try to get to 4-5 states and explore the beauty that they have to offer.  This is something our family has really enjoyed doing and we have gotten to see so many neat things.  

I’m ecstatic about joining the Integrative Learning Academy as an Instructional Assistant! I’ve been teaching on and off since 2010 as a reading specialist for grades K-6, Kindergarten teacher and 5th grade math and science and I value building positive relationships with students by recognizing their strengths and encouraging their growth through those strengths.

My husband, Neal, and I have a beautifully blended family with five children, ages 5–14 and are lucky to have our parents living out here as well. I love playing music, traveling, and the chance to learn from new experiences. After living in many places, I’ve happily called sunny Arizona home for the past eight years.