Brad Buhrow
Brad Buhrow teaches first and second grade, where culturally and linguistically diverse first and second graders continue to help inform his theory and practice. Brad has presented at state and national conferences, and he and his students are featured in the professional development video, Reading the World (Goudvis and Harvey, Stenhouse, 2005). Brad is co-author of Ladybugs, Tornadoes and Swirling Galaxies: English Language Learners Discover Their World through Inquiry, (Stenhouse, 2006) a book that explores inquiry as a literacy pathway for all learners. Brad co-authored an article on questioning for Connect, a magazine dedicated to inquiry based learning. Brad presented at the 2007 CCIRA, NABE, and IRA conferences. Brad and his teaching colleague Anne will be presenting in the coming months at the Colorado Association of Bilingual Educators and at the National Council of Teachers of English annual convention in New York City. Additionally they will be participating in a Research and Practice Symposium hosted by the Public Education Business Coalition. Our students and teachers are also featured in Strategies that Work written by Steph Harvey and Anne Goudvis. Learn more about Brad's Books HERE.
Anne Upczak Garcia
Anne Upczak Garcia has lived and worked in Latin America and in the United States for more than a decade with both children and adults learning two languages. She holds a Masters Degree in Multicultural, Bilingual and ESL Education from the University of Colorado. She recently authored a book with her colleague Brad Buhrow titled "Ladybugs, Tornadoes and Swirling Galaxies, English Language Learners Discover their World through Inquiry". You can learn more about the book
HERE . Her passions are her family, writing fiction and traveling to anywhere.
Check out a PODCast interview with Anne & Brad
Lynn Albert
I am originally from the East Coast and my mother, my brother and one of my sisters live in Connecticut. My youngest sister is a judge and lives in Washington, D.C. I have lived in the West: California & Colorado since I was 25. I moved to Boulder in 1990 with my husband Dan. Dan is a professor of Neuroscience at C.U. Boulder. Dan and I live on Uni.Hill near Chautauqua with our yellow Labrador Retriever: Moab. Moab was named after our favorite camping place: Moab, Utah. Along with camping, I like to hike, bike and draw. One of our favorite bicycle trips is on our tandem bike which we ride to Denver over the Labor Day weekend!
I have been teaching at Columbine for 10 years. My first four years were as a special education teacher and the last six were in the classroom as a first grade and second grade teacher. For the last three years, I have been part of one of the first grade/second grade looping teams. I have teaching credentials in elementary education and art education (K-12) as well as endorsements in special education and ESL. I have a Master's in education from U.C.L.A. and a Master's in Multicultural Foundations of Education from C.U. Boulder.
Tamar van Vliet
Tamar van Vliet is very excited join the Columbine staff this year as part of the first/second grade looping team! She has previously taught both a first/second grade combination class and a first grade class. Tamar completed her undergraduate degree in Spanish language and literature at the University of Colorado and also studied at the University of Costa Rica for one year. She is currently pursuing her masters degree in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education at the University of Colorado. Tamar loves teaching, traveling, running, hiking, gardening, and reading.
Marisol Payet
Marisol Payet teaches 1st and 2nd grade. She is from Lima, Perú and came to the United States in May of 1999. She travels once a year to Perú to visit her family and friends. Marisol also likes to stop in Miami because her brother lives there. Marisol studied Elementary Education at Metropolitan State College of Denver.She received her bachelor's degree in the Fall of 2003. This is her second year studying in the masters program for Bilingual Special Education at CU Boulder. She loves to teach, read, hike and paint with pastels. Marisol also loves to go to the mountains and visit places that she doesn't know.