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Cottonwood Valley Charter School is a K-8 public school. In addition to the required math, science, language arts, and social studies courses, we also offer art, music, physical education, and Spanish. Below is some information about our classes and the faculty who teach them.

Read the winning essay in the 2009 Aldo Leopold Writing Contest, submitted as part of writing class by CVCS 7th-grader Tita van Fleet.

Class supply lists are linked below where available.

The information in this section of the Web site is reviewed by K. Williams.

Teachers

Administrator: Ms. Karin Williams   Contact

Before joining CVCS in 2007, Karin spent 28 years as an educator, including positions in Magdalena, Socorro, and Alamo. She has taught children of all ages, and has also served as a mentor and professional trainer of other teachers.

Kindergarten: Mrs. Lilian Momanyi    Contact   Supply List

Lilian is a native Kenyan who went to South Dakota to earn her MA in Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to that she earned her BA in Kenya and taught high school for four years. She is K-12 certified and has been teaching at Cottonwood Valley Charter School since we opened in 2001. Her youngest daughter attends CVCS.

First Grade: Mrs. Kim Schaffer    Contact   Supply List

Kim grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where she fell in love with mountains and hiking. Kim graduated with an Elementary Education degree from the University of Utah and married her husband, Steve, in 1986. They have one grown daughter and one son who has graduated from CVCS. Kim has taught in Socorro county since 1992. She took a year-long sabbatical with her family in 1999 to Trondheim, Norway. Kim earned a Masters of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction the summer of 2008, as well as her Level III NM teaching license! She began teaching at CVCS in fall 2008.

Second Grade: Mrs. Bernadette Ulibarri    Contact   Supply List

Bernadette grew up in the outskirts of Socorro and attended Socorro public schools as a youngster. After graduating from Socorro High School in 1997, she attended New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, NM. Bernadette received a B.A. in Child Psychology from NMHU in 2001, then relocated to the Albuquerque area and continued her education through the College of Santa Fe Albuquerque Campus. She received her M.A. in Education from CSF and is currently licensed K-8. Before joining CVCS in 2008, she taught 4th grade at Magdalena Elementary for two years. Bernadette resides in Luis Lopez, NM with her husband Tommy and son Adyssen.

Third Grade: Ms. Karen Bailey-Bowman (Mrs. Bowman)    Contact   Supply List

Karen was born at the U. S. Navy's operations base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and grew up in California, earning her B.A. in Humanities with a minor in Physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1972. She completed her teacher training at CalState Hayward in 1973 and moved to New Mexico in 1976, where she received credentials in K-12 reading and 7-9 Language Arts, Science, and Art. Karen began teaching Language Arts in NM public schools in 1977, and received her M.A. in Education (Secondary Reading) from NMSU in 1980. After a stint in Arizona teaching at college and high school levels, she moved to Socorro in 1987 and earned her Elementary Education credential in 1988 from UNM while teaching at San Miguel School. Following several years teaching freshman English classes at NM Tech, reporting for The Mountain Mail, and three years as a Reading Recovery teacher in Albuquerque, she joined CVCS in fall 2004. In 2007 she earned her NM Level III licensure in the following areas: K-12 Reading and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages); grades 7-9 Science, Art, and Language Arts; and Elementary Education (K-8).

Fourth & Fifth Grade Math & Science (4th Grade Homeroom): Ms. Karen Gram    Contact   Supply List

Karen Gram grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico and graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1985. She attended the University of Colorado in Boulder where she graduated with a BA in Psychology and Sociology. Next she worked on her K-12 Counseling Certification in Alaska, where she worked as a school counselor in Mountain Village, a Yu'pik Eskimo village located on the Yukon River. After a couple of years in Alaska she returned to New Mexico and attended the University of New Mexico where she graduated from the School of Education and received a NM K-8 teaching certification. For the next nine years she taught first, third, and middle school math and science for the Jemez Valley School District. While working in the Jemez she completed a TESOL program from the University of Phoenix. Returning to school again, she has recently graduated from New Mexico Tech with a Masters in Science Teaching. In her spare time Karen enjoys bicycling, hiking, rock climbing, and camping. She started teaching at CVCS in fall 2007.

Fourth & Fifth Grade Language Arts & Social Studies (5th Grade Homeroom): Ms. Yvonne Allbritton    Contact    (See 4th & 5th grade supply list above)

Yvonne was born in California and from there relocated to Memphis, Tennessee with her family. She graduated from Gateway Christian High School in Memphis in 1986. She spent some time in the U.S. Navy during the Gulf War. She was trained as a craft electrician in Chicago, Illinois, and was then sent to Treasure Island, near San Francisco, where she was later honorably discharged from the Navy. She resided in California for several years where she refurbished and restored antiques. Yvonne later relocated to Socorro, New Mexico and attended New Mexico Tech, graduating with honors in 2008. While attending NMT, she was employed as a substitute teacher in several long-term positions at Sarracino Middle School, where she fell in love with teaching. Yvonne writes, paints, makes jewelry, and acts in her spare time. She joined CVCS in the fall of 2009.

Middle School 

• Math (6th/7th/8th); Science (7th homeroom + 8th): Mrs. Nancy Engler   Contact   Supply List

  Nancy is a Belen, New Mexico native and earned her BS and MS in Petroleum Engineering at New Mexico Tech. Upon graduation she went to work in Oklahoma as an engineer for seven years before deciding to go back to school for her alternative certification. Nancy taught Algebra and Computer Science for three years in Oklahoma before returning to Socorro to continue teaching, joining CVCS in our first year. Her son Eric attends CVCS.

• Science (6th grade homeroom): Mr. Rodney Mayfield   Contact   Supply List

  Mr. Mayfield will teach 6th-grade science, PE to all grades, and will serve as Science Olympiad and B.E.S.T. Robotics coach. He will also assist Mrs. Engler with middle-school math.

• Reading/Literature (6th/7th/8th homeroom), History (7th/8th): Mr. Nick Smallridge III   Contact

  (Note: Mr. Smallridge is on leave of absence in Finland until January 2010. On his return, he will resume teaching these subjects. During his absence, they will be taught by others as described below.) Mr. Smallridge graduated from Socorro High School in 1998. He attended Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, earning a BA in English and Writing and an MA in Education. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer from 2003-2005 where he was a TEFL teacher in Uzbekistan. He joined CVCS in fall 2006.

• Reading/Literature (7th/8th homeroom); History (7th/8th): Ms. Kate Burleigh   Contact

  Ms. Burleigh has held a variety of teaching positions at CVCS in the past. She will take over these subjects while Mr. Smallridge is away.

• Writing (6th/7th/8th); Reading/Literature (6th, until January 2010): Ms. Kim Berlat (see below for biography)   Supply List

• History (6th Grade): Ms. Iva O'Connor

Special Education: Ms. Kim Berlat   Contact

Kim grew up in Tucson, Arizona and Fort Collins, Colorado. She graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Renewable Natural Resources and worked briefly for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. While working at Bosque del Apache NWR, she fell in love with the area and later decided to make Socorro her home. She began teaching 18 years ago in Magdalena. After 2 years in Magdalena, she was offered a position with the Socorro Consolidated School District. She has a degree in elementary education from The College of Santa Fe and has a Level II license. In July, 2008 she fulfilled the requirements for a pre-K–12 license in Language Arts. She is currently working on her MST degree at New Mexico Tech. Kim has been teaching middle school (6th-8th grade) Language Arts for 15 years. She has also been a Gifted Education teacher/coordinator for 15 years and has worked with both elementary and middle school gifted students. Ms. Berlat works in our Gifted Program and will also teach in middle-school Language Arts. She joined CVCS in fall 2008.

Special Education: Mr. Jack Hibbs   Contact

Jack has been active in athletics and fitness his whole life. He graduated from The College of New Jersey where he majored in Political Science and Elementary Ed. He divides his time between Socorro and the Manzano Mountains, where he lives. He came to CVCS in fall 2005 and, before becoming interested in Special Education, taught PE, middle-school history, and Elementary Reading.

Spanish: Ms. Sheri Armijo   Contact

All students will receive Spanish instruction 1-2 hours per week. Ms. Armijo began teaching at CVCS in fall 2008. She is originally from Las Cruces, NM and has lived in Phoenix and Chicago. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from UNM in 1992, began teaching in 1994, and currently holds a New Mexico Level II license with endorsements in ESL (English as a Second Language) and Bilingual education. After teaching K-5 Spanish at Albuquerque and Moriarty public schools for 10 years, she and her husband, Ricardo, moved to Socorro in 2004. They love walking everywhere they can in Socorro, and if you pass by the Plaza some evening, you might catch them dancing in the gazebo!

Physical Education: Mr. Rodney Mayfield   Contact

Art: Ms. Iva O'Connor   Contact

Ms. O'Connor joined CVCS in the fall of 2009. In addition to teaching art to all grades, she also teaches 6th-grade history.

Music: Ms. Rheda Brown   Contact

Teacher Aides/Instructional Assistants: Ms. Eva Greenwood, Ms. Laurie Ware, and Ms. Patti Chavez

Student Teacher (Fall 2009): Ms. Aurelia Kerkmans

Ms. Kerkmans will be assisting Mrs. Bowman in 3rd grade.

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