Anansi is fortunate to have exceptional teachers and other staff members who are passionate about teaching children. We believe in working as a strong team.

Staff List & Emails for Contacting Staff

Director:
Michele Hunt, mhunt@anansi.acstaos.org 

Michele Hunt is one of the co-founders of the Anansi Charter School. She is committed to the ongoing development and learning involved in creating the quality and unique educational opportunities that the Anansi Charter School offers. Michele has degrees and training in early childhood development, elementary education, educational leadership, and more. She loves her work with the children, parents, and staff that make up the Anansi community.

Office Manager:
Tracy Tarleton, ttarleton@anansi.acstaos.org

Tracy enjoys working closely with all the students, teachers, and staff and helping them out with various tasks. She also likes that the staff works together as a team and helps each other out in a time of need.

Administrative Assistant:
Roberta Martinez, rmartinez@anansi.acstaos.org

Kindergarten:
Teacher: Alicia Vigil
Educational Assistant: Elaine Gutierrez

First Grade:
Teacher: Annalise Hosel
Educational Assistant: Paula Medina

Second Grade:
Teacher: Jutka Furesz

Third Grade:
Teacher: Rachel Wetmore

Fourth Grade:
Teacher: Kelly Farewell, kfarewell@anansiacstaos.org

Fifth Grade:
Teacher: Eva Behrens, ebehrens@anansi.acstaos.org

Eva Behrens enjoys the fifth grade age group and how students are exploring their own ability to research, try out new ways of thinking, and learn independently. She is excited to act as facilitator in their journey toward empowerment and the discovery of new perspectives and concepts.

Sixth Grade:
Teacher: Elsbeth Atencio, eatencio@anansi.acstaos.org

Getting to teach Anansi Charter Schools 6th graders is like winning the lottery to Elsbeth. She can’t imagine a better way to spend her days. After years of teaching outdoor science classes and park rangering – here in Taos and around the west, Elsbeth is happy to share her experiences and passions with the students of Anansi. Each day, she tries to balance the classroom with loads of fun, plenty of hard work, and a sprinkling of silliness! Besides hanging out with 5th graders, Elsbeth enjoys many things: time with her family, hikes in the mountains, frequent naps, incredible sunsets, and her secret life as a birdwatcher.

Seventh & Eighth Grade:
English Language Arts & Social Studies: Conrad Cooper, ccooper@anansi.acstaos.org
Math & Science: Kaila Pavelka Dickey, kdickey@anansi.acstaos.org

Spanish Language grades K-4:
Teacher: Margarita Maes Martinez, mmaes@anansi.acstaos.org

Margarita is Native Spanish Language speaker from the Dominican Republic who loves teaching Spanish to students from Kindergarten to 4th Grade.

Spanish Language grades 5-8 & Music:
Teacher: Philip Handmaker, phandmaker@anansi.acstaos.org

Raised outside of Albuquerque, Philip Handmaker (aka Señor Felipe) heard Spanish a lot as a child and studied it in high school. He earned degrees in Linguistics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Georgetown University, then worked with indigenous teacher-education programs in Guatemala and Peru. After teaching fifth grade in bilingual immersion schools in Virginia for a few years, he came to New Mexico with his wife Brooke Zanetell and has been teaching Spanish at Anansi since 2005.

Special Education:
Teacher: Lisa Woolery, lwoolery@anansi.acstaos.org
Teacher: Doug Gleason
Teacher: Nancy Stotts, nstotts@anansi.acstaos.org
Teacher: Alicia Vigil

Gifted Education (robotics, steam, speech and debate):
Enhancement Teacher: Joelle VanWilligen, jvanwilligen@anansi.acstaos.org

The Gifted Education program at Anansi Charter School serves students in 2nd grade through 8th who have demonstrated an aptitude for needing and or wanting more enrichment. Most of the students who participate have an IEP that has diagnosed them through the State of New Mexico’s definition of Gifted Education. The program is designed to provide enriching opportunities for students to explore topics in more depth. Some of the exploration occurs in a pull out setting and some occurs independently in class.

Literacy Coach:
Teacher: Blue MacHardy

Literacy Intervention and 5th grade Science:
Teacher: Melissa Smith

Reading / Literacy Interventionist Assistant:
Assistant: Stephanie Vigil

Physical Education Teacher:
Teacher: Ashley Willock

Arts Facilitator:
Teacher: Leslie Warnick, lwarnick@anansiacstaos.org

Family Navigator:
Risa Lerher Draney

Arts Facilitator:
Leslie Warnick

Speech Therapist:
Areana Dru

Occupational Therapist:
Martie Lockwood

Aftercare Teacher:
Will be provided by Inspire

Title IX Contact:
Kaila Paavelka-Dickey, kdickey@anansi.acstaos.org

IEP Coordinator:
Lisa Woolery lwoolery@anansi.acstaos.org

504 Plan Coordinator:
Michele Hunt mhunt@anansi.acstaos.org

SAT Coordinator:
Nancy Stotts nscotts@anansi.acstaos.org