Teachers & Staff

Principal & Vice Principal

rebeca venega

Rebeca Venegas

Principal
24 years at Calibre

My name is Rebeca Venegas and I am the Principal at Calibre Academy. I was born and raised in Mexico City and moved to Arizona in the summer of 1996.

I have a teacher Diploma from Colegio Guadalupe and undergraduate degree in Accounting from Universidad la Salle. I have also taken several online courses through Rio Salado. Taking online courses allowed me to take several classes at the same time and the flexibility to work at my own pace.

In 1985 I started working as an English as a second language teacher for undergraduate students at Universidad del Tepeyac. I later taught English as a second language to Elementary and Middle School Students in Mexico City.

In 1991 I worked in the accounting field for Pricewaterhouse for a year but realized my passion was teaching not accounting so I went back to teaching.

In Mexico I also taught English (from beginning levels to conversational) to Executive Employees in companies like American Express, Geo New York Life, Colgate, Mancera Ernest & Young and the Department of Communications and Transportation.

I began working for Learning Matters Educational group in 1999. I taught Spanish and Global Government to middle school and high school students. Later on, I was given the opportunity to teach Math to the same group of students.

In 2008 I became the Principal for Calibre Academy Glendale and in 2015 I was offered the position of Principal at Calibre Academy Surprise.

I have been married for 27 years and have two sons. I enjoy spending time with my family and traveling.

Sharon Kaplan

Vice Principal
18 years at Calibre

My name is Sharon Kaplan and I am the Vice Principal at Calibre Academy. I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas and moved to Surprise in 2001.

I have a bachelor of Science in Family Studies from The University of Arizona and a Masters of Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I later went to University of Phoenix, as an online student, to take the necessary classes to get my administration certificate. I really enjoyed the flexibility of taking these classes at my own pace and time.

Before getting my masters degree I worked as a director of an after school program. Once I got my masters I worked as a 1st grade teacher at Fletcher Heights Elementary School in Peoria, AZ.

I began working for Carden/Calibre in 2005. I taught 1st grade, 3rd grade, and was the Title 1 Coordinator before becoming the Vice Principal in 2014.

Not only do I love working at Calibre but I also loved being a parent here. Both my children attended Calibre from preschool – 8th grade. My son, Jonah, is now 18 and my daughter, Jessica, is now 16. I also live with my husband, Jonathan and my 4 dogs.

Teachers & Staff

Rachelle Quinton

Administrative Assistants

Jodi Barahona

Administrative Assistants

Kim Eberlein

Resource

Cindy Riskas

Speech Therapy

Michelle Botteri / Zachery Labarbera / Rose Bullard / Lisa Roach

Extended Care

Harmony Olson

Nutrition Specialist

Julie Candelaria / Veira Freesh

Pre-K Teacher/Aide

Denise Leadabrand

Title I Coach

Robert LaBarbera / Maria Villegas / Manny Garcia

Facilities

Rick Klein

P.E./Athletic Director

Library

Stephanie Marciniak

Art

Kristina Brilhante

Technology

Ronnie Fredrickson

Music

Pre-K

Rose Bullard

Teacher and extended care

Julie Candelaria

Ashley Spittle

Aide

Krystal Miles-Mora

Krystal Miles-Mora

Aide and extended care

Kindergarten

Sharon Dewey

Sharon Dewey

Virginia Guzman

Virginia Guzman

Stacie Kopa

Stacie Kopa

Cassady Lewis

Aide

Debra Sullivan

Debra Sulivn

Aide

Maria Vega

Maria Madigral

Aide

1st Grade

Stephanie Peterson

Stephanie Peterson

Cheryle Swanson

Cheryl Swanson

Angel Ortega

Aide

Shahla Latifnia

2nd Grade

Monica Mitri

Brenda Rubin

Brenda Rubin

Dawn Hale

Dawn Hale

3rd Grade

Jennifer Armstrong

Jennifer Armstrong

Connie Clemmer

Angel Mejia

Aide and extended care

Zeth Napier

Zeth Napier

Aide and extended care

4th Grade

Clara Lopez

Clara Delise

Connie Harkness

5th Grade

Tracy Hill

Tracy Hill

Kristi Perkins

Kristina Perkins

Jake Freddette

6th Grade

Melissa Nevarez

Melissa Nevarez

Math & Science

Trevor Barber

ELA & Social Studies

7th Grade

Kayla Renckly

Kayla Renckly

Science

Linda Felix

8th Grade

Samantha Frost

Samantha Frost

Social Studies

Tyhanna Harrison

Tyhanna Harrison

Math Teacher

Specials

Kristina Brilhante

Kristina Brilhante

Technology

John Givens

John Givens

PE/Athletic Director

Claudia Yakin

Claudia Yakin

Art

Tyler Graves

Music

Leah Bowers

Leah Bowers

6th-8th Grade Specials and Gifted

Remote Learning

Brooke Wakeham

Brooke Wakeham

Suzanne Wiser

Administrative Assistants

Rachelle Quinton

Rachelle Quinton

Tammy Fuller

Enrollment Specialist

Aubrey Clement

Aubrey Clement

MTSS

Denise Leadabrand

Denise Leadabrand

MTSS coordinator

Ruby Lather

Ruby Lather

Lisa Roach

Lisa Roach

Elizabeth Meltzer

Resource

Lindsay Perez

Lindsay Perez

Resource Director

Jordan Koerber

Cindy Riskas

Speech

Zachary Dominguez

Support Staff/Extended Care

Michelle Boterri

Health Aide

Jennifer Crosby

Jennifer Crosby

Lunch

Kira Clauss

Lunch Coordinator

Kim Wavrick

Facilities

Arturo Bringas

Arturo Bringas

Head of Facilities

Robert Ramirez

Noel Beltran

Noel Beltran

Maria Villegas

Manny Garcia

Manny Garcia

Noe Avila

IT

Waylon Marble

Head of IT

Nicholas De La torre

Nicholas De La Torre

Right to Review Teacher Qualifications

Click the following link to learn more: Calibre Parent Notice

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