My name is Steve Prahcharov and I am the Principal of Kachina Country Day School. I am in my 12th year of education having started my career in England.
I have a Masters degree in Educational Administration and am into my fourth year as a principal. I love my job and am extremely fortunate to be in a position where I can help children and see them grow each and every day.
I have been married to my wife Kathy for seven years. We have 2 1/2 year old twins (Henry and Elle) and a 6 month old boy - Spencer. The photo above shows me with our son Henry and daughter Elle.
Soccer is a passion of mine and after playing semi-professional in England for seven years, I then coached soccer for nine years. I love to play golf whenever I get the chance and have been lucky enough to have achieved a hole in one! I also enjoy traveling and so far have visited 22 different countries with Italy and Germany being my favorites.
Kachina Country Day School is a wonderful place to work, an awesome school for students and their parents, and a welcoming environment for everyone. I invite you to join our Kachina Family! Please contact me at (480) 348-1333 or steve@kachinaschool.com should you have any questions about our school.
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Elaine San Nicolas - School Secretary and Office Manager
In July 2009, I gladly accepted the position of Office Manager at Kachina Country Day School North. After a 25-year banking career at Bank of America, I welcomed the career change, and I continue to embrace the new environment!
At Bank of America, I was responsible for the business continuity initiatives for the Credit & Customer Retention group that included over 2500 associates. Prior to this role, I served as the executive assistant to approximately 8 – 10 Bank of America senior executives in the Credit Card Division and the Chief Financial Officer of the retail entity.
I was born and raised on the island of Guam and currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona. I truly enjoy spending time with my family, leisure reading, and love weekend getaways.
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My name is Michele Brick and I teach Kindergarten at Kachina Country Day School. This will be my third year with KCDS. I have been teaching for many years and love the magic of Kindergarten.
I graduated from ASU with my Bachelors Degree in Education, with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education.
I have been married for twenty years to my husband Tim and we have one daughter named Brighton. Brighton is a sophomore at Xavier College Prep. We have two dogs. A golden retriever named McCoy and a Bernese mountain dog named McKenzie. We fell in love with the Berner breed in Colorado where we spend most of our summers.
I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. I have one younger brother who lives in Kansas City.
I love spending my free time with friends and family. I enjoy movies, sports, music and travel and gardening.
I look forward to a great year here as we get to know one another and watch our children learn and grow!
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My name is Krista Spitzke. I feel extremely blessed to be a part of Kachina Country Day School as a 1st grade teacher. I received a Bachelors of Arts in Elementary Education K-8 Degree with emphasis in Social Studies and graduated with honors (Cum Laude).
I am native to Arizona and absolutely enjoy warm weather. I have lived in the North Phoenix area for over thirty years. I have a wonderful husband and 4 beautiful children. I love spending time with my family in the pool, camping, co-ed softball and fellowship. We are not shy to any of Arizona’s sporting events and my husband is fond of all the surrounding golf courses. He is slowly breaking me into the sport.
I love working with children of all ages. I have been called to work with younger children and I absolutely love it.
My Philosophy of Education is to successfully provide a safe and effective learning atmosphere for all students. It is my belief that children learn at various levels. As a teacher it is my responsibility to meet each student at his or her point of educational, intellectual, emotional, and physical ability.
I am looking forward to a positive and successful journey at KCDS.
Please feel free to stop by my classroom or email me any time.
Krista@kachinaschools.com
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Hello! My name is Abby Locatis, and I am very excited to be returning to Kachina as a first grade teacher. I have taught for five years both first and second grade. I earned my Bachelors degree at ASU and my Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix.
I’ve been married for 9 years to my wonderful husband Josh. We have a three year old son named James. I enjoy spending time with my family, scrapbooking, taking family walks and camping.
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This is my second year with Kachina Country Day School (last year I taught Young Kindergarten at the South Campus), and I am thrilled to be teaching Second Grade at the North Campus. I grew up in Kansas, where our family’s home was destroyed by a tornado in 1991 when I was a senior at the University of Kansas. Despite the rough weather, I miss Kansas and travel back “home” every summer to spend time with family.
I moved to Arizona in the winter of 1996 and quickly fell in love with the mild winters, the desert and the wonderful people. I have two sons: Jack is 14 years old and is a freshman in high school; Jake is 11 years old and is in the 6th grade here at KCDS. We have two crazy, little dogs named Stella and Sunny. We’re never quite sure what we’ll find after school when they’ve been home alone all day with too much time on their paws.
When I’m not at school, I enjoy swimming, playing cards with my sons, and reading. I have a shockingly large collection of yarn at my house, which I enjoy crocheting into all kinds of things to wear or use around the house (or sweaters for my dogs to wear! Honestly.)
I’m looking forward to a terrific year!
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My name is Sally Aaronson and I am the 3rd grade teacher here at Kachina Country Day School. I truly enjoying working with the students both as a 3rd grade teacher and the journalism teacher. It is exciting to be able to connect with each student and I thoroughly enjoy my days here.
I taught school for eight years in Tampa, Florida before becoming a stay at home mom fourteen years ago. I have been fortunate to have lived in many places including New Jersey; where I was born and raised, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. I am enjoying teaching as much as I did 14 years ago. I am looking forward to many wonderful years here at Kachina!
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My name is Donna Johnson and I am the fourth grade teacher at Kachina Country Day School. I have grown up all over the country attending schools in six different states: Nevada, Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, and Arizona. I see this as an asset - giving me the advantage of honestly knowing what it is like to be the 'new kid'.
I earned a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Elementary Education at Northern Arizona University in 1990 and 1996. I student taught in Tucson, taught third grade in a public school in Kingman, and then returned to the Valley to work for a private school in their pre-kindergarten program and second grade.
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Hi there, my name is Marla Molvin. I am the 5th and 6th Grade Science and Math teacher at KCDS North. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education K-8 in November 2009. Previously, I worked as an aid in the Kindergarten classrooms for the past seven years and love working with our students. My husband and I, along with our three daughters – Amanda, Shannon, Molly and two dogs – d’Huez and Galibier live in North Phoenix. We stay very busy between the sports for the girls and with the dogs. We love hiking, mountain biking, camping and cross-country running - anything that we can do outside!! I am also an AKC certified judge for field events and the local Rescue Chairperson for the Rio Salado Vizsla Club.
I really enjoy working with all the students. I truly believe that every child has a good heart and that they should have the chance to succeed academically and socially. I love the hands-on work and the wonderful things they say. My goal in life is to hopefully instill a love of learning in each child. I look forward to my second year at KCDSNorth!!
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My name is Amy Lantz and I am the fifth and sixth grade english and social studies teacher at Kachina Country Day School. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Arizona University, I returned to the Valley to begin my teaching career. I have been teaching middle school students for ten tears and am happy to now be a part of Kachina Country Day School. I look forward to a great year!
I am married with a two year old son. We enjoy movies, hiking, swimming, and dining out. I am an avid shopper and tennis player. Reading is a favorite pastime of mine. We enjoy traveling during the summer months.
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I am married and have two children. My son Matt is a junior at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro, and Casey is a ninth grader who attends Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. Our family is completed by an adorable golden retriever named Sammie.
I love the Arizona weather and enjoy walking, playing tennis, and shopping. I love to attend my sons' baseball games and traveling with my family. I also enjoy all of my friends and students at KCDS!
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My name is Terry Skovgard and I am the seventh and eighth grade math and science teacher at Kachina Country Day School. I have been teaching middle school students for the last three years. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Florida, I entered the manufacturing world as a process Engineer and manufacturing manager for a large US consumer manufacturing company. After the birth of my two children seven years later, I retired from engineering to be a full time mom. Since then, I have lived abroad for fifteen years. During this time, I traveled the world having visited six of the seven world continents. In the late 1990's, I returned back to school earning my teaching certificate at George Mason University. I then taught overseas as a high school math and science teacher at three different international schools. In 2006, I returned to the United States and have rooted myself in north Phoenix.
I have two wonderful boys, both studying engineering-one at the University of California and the other at Georgia Tech. Reading, swimming, and walks with my golden retriever, Rusty, are my relaxing pleasures. I am delighted to join the KCDS family. I look forward to an exciting year with many more to continue!
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My name is Paget Merriman. I serve as the School Counselor for KCDS North and the Coordinator for the Learning Strategy Clinic at both the South and North Campuses. I began my professional association with KCDS in 2007 and have enjoyed wearing several hats, including that of Elementary Principal for the South Campus last year. I was born and raised in New York City where I received my Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology. I began my teaching career at the Greenvale School in Glen Head Long Island and remained a member of that teaching staff for 6 years prior to moving to Arizona in 1978.
My relationship with the school has been longstanding, as both of my children attended KCDS in their early school years. I owned and operated a real estate firm specializing in multi-family residential property management and brokerage for over 18 years. During this time I also received my Masters Degree in Counseling from the University of Phoenix. I was contracted by ASAP (Adolescent Substance Abuse Program) as a substance abuse counselor for the Phoenix Union High School District where I worked for 2 years until the school contract ended.
I enjoy visiting my son and his wife in San Francisco, as well as spending as much time as possible with my daughter and two grandchildren in West Linn, Oregon. In my spare time, I enjoy taking ballet and jazz classes, playing golf with my husband and traveling.
I look forward to working with all of the KCDS students and their families this year!
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Hi. My name is Jennifer Haynes, and this is my second year as the Special Education teacher for Kachina Country Day School.
I am a native Arizonan who grew up on horse back riding and camping. I began my college path in the mountains of Flagstaff Arizona where I studied Special Education. I returned to the desert to attend the Arizona State University. In 1998, I graduated with a Minor in Elementary Education and a Major in Special Education. I have taught for the Alhambra School District and Deer Valley School District as a Special Education Teacher/Intervention Specialist. I have a total of 8 years as an educator. I am excited to be part of such a dynamic school as Kachina. The community support is amazing. I feel welcome and honored to be with all of you. My education philosophy states; I feel ALL children deserve the right to equal education, I feel all children are unique and have their own gift to offer. It is my mission to meet their needs and help them become the best possible learner and person that they can be.
On a personal note I am a mother of four
amazing children all with beautiful blond curly locks. Yet each one so
different then the next. There is Braden my strong willed 17 year old,
Madilyn my 7 year old "sports" princess, Landen, my little snuggler
who just turned 4, and 2 year old Andersen is my spit fire kiddo. I
almost forgot our 2 cats Whiskers and Bella complete the group. My
children and I are an active family who love the outdoors, bike riding,
camping, sledding in the mountains, always together and on the go.
I am looking forward to a great year and a long future with Kachina and all of its families.
Thank you and feel free to stop by my room any time to meet me.
Jennifer Haynes, Special Educator KCDS
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My name is Kyle Creager and I am the Health/P.E. Teacher at Kachina. In 2008, I graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. I am currently working toward obtaining my teaching certificate and Master’s degree in Education. I am fluent in Spanish and working on my Italian after traveling extensively throughout Italy. Prior to coming here, I worked for three years at Rancho Solano Private Schools, gaining valuable experience working with children both academically and athletically. In addition, I spent several years throughout high school and college serving as a mentor to inner-city youth in Phoenix.
I am a very active person and enjoy playing most sports, specifically basketball and sand volleyball. In my free time, I also enjoy traveling, going to the movies, surfing, hiking and reading. I am excited to begin my first full-year at Kachina and seek to make an immediate positive impact in the lives of our children.
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If any parent or guardian would like to see the current resume of any of our employees who provide instruction to the students, please contact our main office.