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Cara Thorpe - Owner/Director/Head Learning Coach  After graduating from Grinnell College with a major in German and a minor in Gender & Women’s Studies, Cara attended the University of Minnesota, where she completed her Master’s degree in Elementary Education. She taught at Creek Valley Elementary School in Edina, at the first, third, and fifth grade levels, for a total of seven years. Cara has taken special education classes to further her understanding of learning and the implications that a disability may have on classroom performance, as well as process involved in special education testing. The year 2009 marks her 10th year of working privately with students, pre-k through 12th grade.
Cara has combined her passion for teaching, learning, and children’s well-being, in creating K-12 Learning Solutions. Few things will take Cara away from spending time with her own family, yet collaborating with parents and classroom teachers in an effort to help a student achieve her or his full potential in the classroom and beyond is inspiring and energizing for Cara. As a parent of two young boys, she experiences firsthand the love and care that parents put into raising children. A main goal of K-12 Learning Solutions is to discover the learning techniques, strategies, and habits, and skills that will unlock “successful learning” for each student. In her free time, Cara enjoys runs and walks with her family, spending time at the cabin, and reading books, both educational and "for fun!" Meredith Seaberg - Assistant Head Learning Coach After graduating from Bethel College, Meredith went on to teach second grade in White Bear Lake for six years. During that time she got her Master's Degree in Education from the College of St. Catherine. Meredith recently just switched jobs to the Bloomington School District, where she will be continuing to teach second grade. In the fall of 2008, Meredith and her husband Marc had their first child, Abby. She will be one in September 09' and is one of the cutest little girls Meredith knows, admitting that of course she is biased. Marc and Meredith both grew up in Edina and are now living in Bloomington. During her free time, Meredith enjoys playing with Abby, traveling, scrapbooking, reading, and spending time at the cabin. For as long as she can remember, Meredith has wanted to be a teacher. Teaching is a profession that goes back four generations in her family, so she has amazing role models in her life. One of her goals as a teacher/learning coach is to model a love for learning. Another one of her goals is to help students realize and reach their potential She also strives to help students identify their strengths so that they can become more confident, motivated, excited learners. Her greatest joy in teaching is seeing a student experience success and celebrating that success. Jennifer Missman - Learning Coach Jennifer is so excited to have become a part of the K-12 Learning Solutions team! After graduating from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Jennifer followed her passion for working with children and young adults, as well as her lifelong love of literature, and went to graduate school at the University of St. Thomas, where she received her secondary teaching license in Communication Arts and Literature and her Master's of Arts in Teaching. Meanwhile, Jennifer worked at Edina High School in their Support Services program, working intensively with students who have learning disabilities or emotional or behavioral disorders, physical disabilities, or other learning obstacles. Since the birth of her daughter, Abby, in 2006, Jennifer has enjoyed being at home with her, watching her grow, helping her learn, participating in numerous activities and new adventures. Jennifer is thrilled to be working again as a Learning Coach and finds nothing more rewarding than helping students achieve "ah-ha" moments - moments when they finally understand a difficult problem or topic Although she enjoys helping students navigate any subject matter, Jennifer's true passion is language arts. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, traveling, reading, and writing.
Diane Sterna - Learning Coach
 After receiving a degree in Occupational Therapy from Mount Mary College in Wisconsin, Diane worked as an OT for 15 years in various settings. During this time Diane also started a family and as her children entered school she began to volunteer in the school and her passion for teaching emerged. She went through the training to receive her Substitute Teaching Certificate. After subbing for 1 year Diane had a passion to become a teacher and went back to college. She earned her Teaching License in 2002 and later that year received her Master’s degree in Elementary Education from the College of St. Catherine. Since then she has taught at Guardian Angels School 6th, 7th, and 5th grade for a total of 61/2 years. Diane has taken classes to enhance her understanding of ADHD, ADD and Learning Disorders. Diane has worked privately with students for the past 3 years.
Being a parent herself Diane understands the demands that are put on both children and parents. She believes that every student deserves a chance to be successful in the classroom and in life. She has various strategies that can be used to help cope in the classroom and make school be a place that children want to be at. Her goal when working with students is to make them feel good about themselves and to feel that they can do the work that is asked of them. She believes in each one of the students and lets them know that she truly cars for them and their success.
Maggie Vecchio-Smith - Learning Coach
Maggie double-majored in Elementary Education and Government at Smith College in Northampton, MA. She returned to Minnesota after graduating in 1999 and spent six years teaching 5th grade in the Anoka-Hennepin district. During these years she served as a building leader in the area of literacy and was on a Minnesota Department of Education committee related to writing the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) tests. In addition, she completed an MA in literacy education at the University of Minnesota. In 2005 she transferred to Edina where she continued to teach 5th grade and also enrolled in the administrative licensure program at the U of M.
During the 2009-2010 school year Maggie is wearing three hats. Two days per week she pursues her doctorate in Educational Administration at the U of M. The other days she is a stay-at-home mom to Ryan (almost 2). At night she enjoys coaching students as it keeps her connected to the art of teaching.
Luckily, the toddler tolerates the jogger and bike trailer, so when she’s not studying or coaching, Maggie loves exploring new parks with her son and husband.
Lindsay Quass – Learning Coach
Lindsay completed her English and French degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. While still in school, she began to volunteer with children on the autism spectrum. It was an incredible experience and introduced Lindsay to a new path. She spent a summer in Boston working with teenagers who had severe disabilities, and once graduated, she became an in-home behavior therapist through Minnesota Early Autism Project.
Working in the client’s home provided Lindsay with the opportunity to personally connect with families and ensured that learning was specific to each child. However, she saw room for greater collaboration between school/family/therapy, which encouraged Lindsay to undertake a masters degree in teaching special education. Lindsay is focusing on developmental disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. Lindsay has tutored second-graders in reading and has tutored high school students in math. She is eager to get to know the students she works with and help facilitate communication between home and school.
During her free time, Lindsay is outdoors (while it’s warm!). She is training for her very first half marathon and is looking forward to learning how to rock climb this winter. Lindsay likes to try out new activities and is constantly scouring the internet for creative entertainment.
Tim Hereid - Learning Coach
Tim is a teacher, writer and community organizer from Madison, WI currently living in St. Paul. He has taught and tutored hundreds of students at private and public schools in Maine, New York, Wisconsin and Minnesota over the past ten years. He graduated from UW-Madison in 2002 with a degree in History and Sociology. Currently, Tim is earning his master’s degree and two licenses in Social Studies education and English education at Hamline University. He is the co-founder and first president of Up and Coming Teachers, a professional development organization for new teachers. Tim has great passion for working with young people and helping them to develop and realize their academic and life goals. He brings a great enthusiasm for reading, writing and learning to his teaching and knows from experience that all students can be successful. John Delebo - Learning Coach John is not a teacher by current profession, but has experience tutoring students in his neighborhood in biology, chemistry and the physical sciences. He has two boys (one a freshman in college and the other a junior in high school) and has worked with them at times on their science homework and projects. His undergraduate degree is in chemistry, with a minor in biology, and he worked as an R&D chemist for five years, before moving into marketing and sales. John enjoys helping students learn and tries to give them not only a different perspective on the material, but also offer them advice on how they can apply their science knowledge throughout their lives ( He loves to cook and believe that my chemistry background makes me better at making
things taste good!!!) Tatiana Sampson - Learning Coach
Tatiana Sampson graduated from St. Olaf College in 2002 with a B.A. in Psychology and Family Studies. After having taken a few introductory courses in Elementary Education, she knew that was her passion. Tatiana graduated from the University of Saint Thomas in 2007 with a K-8 teaching license, a 5-8 Social Studies focus and a M.A. in Education. She spent a few years long-term subbing in the Edina School District and found she loves teaching math. Tatiana enjoys working one-on-one with students and decided to focus on tutoring when she had her daughter, Harper Olivia, in May 2009. Tatiana enjoys spending her days playing and learning with her daughter, and her evenings coaching wonderful students. In her spare time, Tatiana enjoys spending time with her daughter and husband, running, reading and traveling. Andrew Campbell - Learning Coach Andrew grew up in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area and loves living in MN. After graduating from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in Economics and Sociology, he moved back to the MSP area and currently works in Wealth Management at Wells Fargo.
Andrew has always had a love of math, enjoys the learning process, and helping students get to that light-bulb moment. He serves as a tutor through various volunteer programs organized through his company, helping middle school students prepare for the Minnesota end-of-year standardized examinations.
During his time in the Edina school system, he was part of the advanced track math program, finishing his senior year in AP Calculus. In college he studied Economics and completed additional coursework in Calculus and Statistics.
During his free time, Andrew enjoys spending time with family & friends, reading, traveling, and eating delicious food. Alison Jonswold - Learning Coach
After graduating from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a B.A. in Communication and Business, Alison began working at Target Headquarters in Minneapolis . After 4 years at Target, she took a position recruiting for UnitedHealth Group. During her time in the corporate world, Alison was involved in many volunteer activities focused on developing children and adolescents; there she found her passion!
In the fall of 2007, Alison and her husband Peter welcomed their beautiful triplet girls Maryn, Brynn and Leah into their family. They are busy and blessed! Always having a heart for teaching and connecting personally with students, Alison is thrilled to be coaching, motivating, and celebrating reached goals!
Along with coaching students, Alison enjoys being on the leadership team for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and is an active member of the Minnesota Valley Mothers of Multiples organization. She is an avid reader and loves playing with her busy little girls and relaxing at the lake.
Kerri Simafranca - Learning Coach Kerri comes to K-12 Learning Solutions with a broad range of teaching, volunteer and business experience. Kerri has a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of St. Thomas and many years of experience in coaching students. She has taught high level Math and English to 4-6 grade students in gifted education, coordinated/coached for the Destination ImagiNation program, assisted young adults through the college application process (including two of her own!) and volunteered at Orono schools for several year. Kerri has also worked in the business world utilizing her accounting degree. She has held such positions as: Project Manager, Trainer, Account Manager and Auditor. Through work and life experiences, Kerri has acquired advanced computers skills (Microsoft office, email, internet research, etc.), presentation skills, professional correspondence skills, and fitness training knowledge. Kerri feels that her business experience enhances her effectiveness as a teacher/tutor. Kerri believes in volunteering to make the world a better place! Kerri has volunteered in the community since college and continues to volunteer at the Twin Cities RISE! and Resource organizations. Kerri loves working with students of all ages. She gets a special satisfaction from assisting students as they enhance their strengths and develop strategies for maximizing their potential. In her spare time, Kerri enjoys marathon running, biking, reading, cooking, canoeing, yoga and baseball fan activities. She lives in the western suburbs with her husband and four children. Sara Singh - Head Learning Coach - Denver, CO
After graduating from Grinnell College in 1997 with a degree in English, Sara worked in higher education for a few years before pursuing her career as an elementary teacher. She completed her Master’s and certification at the University of Michigan in 2002. Sara moved to Denver to teach at Cory Elementary, where she taught for seven years in grades 1, 3, and 4. After having her own children, Sara made the decision to work half-time in order to spend more time at home with her family. She spent one year as a literacy specialist and intervention teacher at Polaris at Ebert. For the 2010-2011 school year, Sara will be the Humanities Facilitator at Fairmont K-8 in Denver. Sara is passionate about teaching, and finds it particularly rewarding to support students with their literacy work. She has had wonderful experiences with her own teachers through the years, and feels everyone deserves the same support and mentoring. Sara also enjoys sharing professional development opportunities and working as a “coach” for current teachers. She also has had a great deal of experience working with gifted students. Sara has a 3 year old daughter and a 6 month old son at home. She and her husband love being outdoors with their children as much as possible –running, walking to the library, spending a morning at the zoo, or drawing with sidewalk chalk. She is very excited to bring K-12 Learning Solutions to the Denver area! Michelle Guimond - Learning Coach Michelle graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2007 with a B.A. in International Management. She spent three semesters abroad at the Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile. Michelle fell in love with the Spanish language and Latin culture, which kept her in Chile for a few more years. She became an English professor at a local institute in Vina del Mar. There she discovered her passion for teaching languages and began to do private and free-lance English courses for affluent companies. Michelle also spent a few months as the "fun English teacher" at a private nursery for young children. After having spent over four years in Chile, she decided to move back to Minnesota, where she is currently honing her translating/interpreting/teaching skills. Michelle played hockey at Gustavus and continues to lace up her skates when she can. Over the past few years she has become a half marathoner and has run races both in the United states and in Chile. Her loyal four -egged friends accompany her on long runs. Michelle loves spending time with her family, especially her niece and nephews who enjoy her silly Spanish songs. Nicole Sandvig - Learning Coach
Nicole earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with a specialty in Communication, Arts and Literature from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2008.
In her free time, Nicole enjoys spending time with family and friends and shopping for bargains. She also likes reading, lounging in the sun, and watching movies. A fun fact about me her is that she just bought her first house!
Nicole's favorite part of teaching is working with students and creating a successful learning experience for them.
Bethany Willand - Learning Coach
After graduating from Minnesota State University Moorhead for elementary education, Bethany moved to the twin cities and began teaching with Bloomington Public Schools. She loves working with students both in large group and one-on-one settings. Bethany is very excited to be a K-12 learning coach and spend time helping students feel successful in their academics. She knows that helping students feel more confident in their work will provide more motivation for students and likes to make school work 'fun'.
In her free time, Bethany enjoys reading, running, scrapbooking, and planning for her upcoming wedding.
Bethany is very excited to be part of K-12 Learning Solutions and is looking forward to working with students of all ages!
Lindsay Burque - Learning Coach
Lindsay graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in elementary education and specializations in Reading and Social Studies. Lindsay's love of teaching reading led her to earn a K-12 Reading Specialist license from Hamline University as well. Over the past four years Lindsay has taught 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades, most recently in the Bloomington Schools. She has also tutored 1st and 2nd graders in Reading and Math.
Working with so many incredible young people and their families has inspired Lindsay to take a new path. In the fall of 2010 she will begin working toward a masters degree in K-12 Guidance Counseling through Minnesota State in Mankato. She is looking forward to working as a Learning Coach, which will allow her to stay connected to students and teaching, while she pursues this degree.
In her spare time, Lindsay loves being with her family and friends and being outside (when it's warm that is!)
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Coach Bios