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New Faculty & Staff Join DA This Year

For the 2024-25 school year, Denver Academy is excited to welcome to our team new full-time faculty and staff. Positions new to DA this year are a literacy specialist & speech pathologist and a vocal music teacher. All new faculty and staff, and those returning employees taking on new roles this school year, were on campus in July as part of a three-week teacher training program on Denver Academy's approach to teaching and learning.

Blair Butler, Elementary Teacher
Blair moved to Denver from Santa Barbara, Calif., where she taught elementary school for six years. She has a B.A. in Sociology from the University of San Diego and an M.Ed. and teaching credential from the University of California Santa Barbara. She is excited to be a part of the DA team! When she's not teaching, Blair loves to read, bake, and travel.

Sophia Carpiniello, Counselor 
Sophia is a licensed school counselor, a yoga teacher, and an artist. Sophia's passions for education, wellness, and creativity led her to pursue school counseling. She studied psychology, business, and studio art at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Penn., and then taught elementary school in New York City. While teaching, she earned her master's in school counseling from NYU. Sophia has worked in a variety of settings including a residential therapeutic program, public schools, and charter schools in both NYC and Denver.
 
Sophia is thrilled to be a part of the DA community and support students' social-emotional well-being. In her free time, she enjoys painting, knitting, skiing, and learning new skills like wheel throwing and guitar.

Art Curtis, High School Teacher
Art is a history and English teacher with more than 10 years of experience teaching, including teaching AP curriculum, at high schools around Denver. He’s committed to designing classes with diversity and equity in mind, and building classes that ensure all students have access to rigorous and challenging content, regardless of their background. Art has spent his career creating strong community spaces by sponsoring and coaching extracurricular programs including student council, Anime club, baseball, and even cheerleading. 
 
Art earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Northern Colorado and his teacher's license through the Metropolitan State University of Denver's Urban Education Program. When he’s not teaching, he loves camping, taking out his antique canoe, and going to the movies.

Tennyson Flint, High School Teacher
Tennyson Flint is a language arts, English, and grammar teacher, originally from Indianapolis, Ind., and Pomfret, Conn., where she began her teaching career. During her time teaching in Connecticut, she helped develop the new grammar curriculum for the English department while spearheading the implementation of the language arts curriculum. She is excited to hone her focus on English literature and writing at Denver Academy. 
 
Tennyson earned her Bachelor and Master of Arts in English and Comparative Literature and her Master of Letters (MLitt) in Early Modern and Shakespearean Literary Culture from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, UK. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing novels and short stories.

Dana Green, Literacy Specialist & Speech Pathologist
Dana Green brings more than a decade of expertise in the field of speech, language, and literacy, specializing in working with neurodiverse children. For eight years, she conducted in-depth speech-language and literacy evaluations as part of a multidisciplinary team for comprehensive psychoeducational assessments. Dana earned her Bachelor of Science in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Wyoming. Outside of her professional life, Dana enjoys exploring the great outdoors through hiking, immersing herself in captivating books, and quality time with her husband and son.

Kendall Newman, Vocal Music Teacher
In this newly created faculty position, Ms. Newman teaches vocal music to all grades at DA and strives to create a fun, safe, and welcoming environment for all students. She has always been passionate about music and has loved singing in choirs, writing songs, performing in musicals, directing an a cappella group, and teaching music. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, shopping at a local farmer's market, and exploring Colorado. 
 
Ms. Newman graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.M.E in Vocal Music Education. 
 
Natalie Pope, High School Teacher
Prior to joining the DA team in 2024, Natalie spent five years teaching writing and composition courses at the University at Buffalo in upstate New York while working toward a doctoral degree in English. She also holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she worked as a writing center consultant. Natalie has taught a variety of classes, including Introduction to Writing & Rhetoric, Writing About the Environment, Writing About Science, and The Novel. She is excited to bring her experience and passion for teaching to Denver Academy! 
 
In her free time, she enjoys cooking Italian and vegetarian cuisine, baking, and spending time outdoors. 

Christopher Reeder, Elementary Teacher
Christopher relocated to Denver from Columbus, Ohio. He has a bachelor’s in Middle Childhood Education with a concentration in Math and Science from The Ohio State University and has been teaching in and outside of the classroom for the past 10 years. He aims to create a fun and safe learning environment in his classroom. In his free time, Christopher enjoys exploring nature and trying new things with others as well as relaxing at home.

Debbie Robinson, Elementary Teacher
Ms. Robinson’s experience as an educator spans 32 years as a classroom teacher and a literacy specialist in grades kindergarten through five. She is grateful for a purposeful career that fulfills her passion for lifelong learning. 
 
She believes every child wants to learn and that it is her duty to help each student reach their goals. Ms. Robinson’s greatest desire is to build relationships with each of her students so they feel safe, confident, and loved. She has a deep understanding of literacy, language, and mathematical development. Her students develop a love for learning and a mindset that they can accomplish anything. She is committed to providing students with the best opportunities for learning, growth, and community.

Max Twarogowski, Sixth Grade Teacher
As a part of the team at Denver Academy, Max is excited and grateful to be working alongside and learning from the best, kindest, and caring educators in the country. Prior to working at DA, he was a kindergarten and third-grade teaching assistant at Graland Country Day School in Denver. Max is passionate about filming videos and capturing photos with his cameras and loves being around his family.
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Denver Academy is an independent private school for grades 2-12 located in Denver, CO. DA inspires and empowers a diverse group of learners through student-centered, differentiated, and transformative education.
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