Our Staff
Our teaching and support staff are deeply committed to making SRCSA a welcoming, safe, environment, conducive to learning. Each member of SRCSA brings years of experience and specialized knowledge.
Sierra Bradley
Grade 4
Ms. Bradley has been teaching for twelve years, eleven of which have been at SRCSA. With a background in musical theater, Ms. Bradley enjoys dance, music and theater the most. She LOVED school as a child, especially reading, history, spelling and history. What she loves most about teaching is getting to know the students and watching them grow. Ms. Bradley said, “In fourth grade there is so much growth from September to June. Their sense of humor develops, they learn to love reading, and their individuality starts to show. It’s such a cool age.” When Ms. Bradley is not teaching she enjoys spending time with her dogs hiking, watching sports, reading, playing trivia and trying different foods.
Email: sbradley@srcs.k12.ca.us
Web site: http://msbradley.edublogs.org/
Bronwen Bryson
Grade 3
Ms. Bryson has been teaching at SRCSA for 7 years, and she worked as a drama and art teacher for ten years prior to starting at SRCSA. She loves theater and performance based activities the most, but she also really enjoys visual art. When she was a child she loved spending time with her friends, making art and being out in nature. She has very vivid memories of art projects she did at school and on her own. Ms. Bryson said, “Teaching is challenging, inspiring and super rewarding! I love those moments in class when I look around the room and my students are totally engaged and energized. The best is when a student finally understands a concept that was challenging for them, when they’ve worked really hard on something and it finally makes sense, and their face just lights up!”
Email: bbryson@srcs.k12.ca.us
Maureen Chesanek
Grade 3
Ms. Chesanek has been teaching for 12 years, including six years here at Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. The art forms that she enjoys the most are music and visual arts. When she was a student herself, participating in music was her favorite thing about school. What Ms. Chesanek loves most about teaching is the ability to inspire life-long learners and “making a difference in the lives of students every day.” Outside of the classroom she loves snow skiing, gardening, spending time with her family and swimming. She has two daughters at SRCSA.
Email: mchesanek@srcs.k12.ca.us
Libby Cookman
kindergarten Teacher
She started her adventure as an Aide in 2016 and quickly fell in love with the idea of teaching full time in the classroom. Miss Libby creates a classroom environment that is fun and inviting. Her favorite Art is music, and you will see her class moving to music often. Miss Libby loves seeing students work out problems and leave class feeling confident about math.
When she is not in the classroom, Miss Libby enjoys spending time with her family, baseball, being outdoors and going to Disneyland.
Email: ecookman@srcs.k12.ca.us
Rachel Daniel
MUSIC
Ms. Daniel is in her second year at SRCSA and has been teaching since 1996. She teaches violin and band to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and String Orchestra (violin, viola, and cello) for the middle school. Ms. Daniel, who is a Santa Rosa native, also loves teaching musical theater and working with other teachers to integrate music into many subjects. Outside of work, she volunteers at a local animal shelter and enjoys being part of her own children's sports and music programs.
Faun Etienne
Grade 4
Ms. Etienne has been teaching at SRCSA for six years and has been a teacher for 11 years. Her favorite forms of art are visual arts and drama. When she was a student her favorite thing about school was reading and going on field trips. Her favorite thing about being a teacher is “connecting with my students and watching them learn and be excited about it.” Outside of teaching she loves to be outdoors. She enjoys running, biking, gardening, hiking and going to the beach.
Rebecca Finley
Kindergarten
Mrs. Finley has been teaching for 10 years, including seven years at SRCSA. She enjoys all kinds of visual art, and has always loved photography starting when she was in high school. When she was in elementary school, Mrs. Finley enjoyed art, music, and sports and fondly recalls participating in school plays. Her favorite part about teaching is that every year each class is so different. Mrs. Finley said, "I love all my kids and care about their successes. I love that when a lesson is taught, each child reacts a little differently. I also love my age group because they have such an honest way about them!" Outside of work, Mrs. Finley loves to travel, and enjoys outdoor activities, photography, scrapbooking, gardening, reading, and especially hanging out with her family.
Email: rfinley@srcs.k12.ca.us
Sally Genolio
Grade 1
Mrs. Genolio has been teaching for 10 years and is excited to now be part of the SRCSA community. She enjoys visual arts, and especially loves working with clay. When she was a student, her favorite subjects in school were art, math and science. What she loves most about teaching is inspiring each of her students to take chances in their learning and discover new things about themselves and their world. When she is not teaching, Mrs. Genolio enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, gardening and spending time with her family.
website: https://sites.google.com/srcs.k12.ca.us/f103srcsa/
Hannah Hofmann
Resource Specialist Program (RSP)
Ms. Hofmann is beginning her third year as SRCSA’s RSP teacher, but she has been an active SRCSA parents for many years and has been teaching for 9 years. She loves all forms of artistic expression. When she was a student herself, she enjoyed language arts, history, art, music and science. What Ms. Hofmann enjoys most about teaching is “working with students getting to know them as individuals and forming meaningful relationships with them.” Outside of work, she loves to practice Yoga, be in nature, spend time with her family, traveling, and cooking.
Email: hhofmann@srcs.k12.ca.us
Michelle Holmstedt
Grade 6 Homeroom, Middle School Science Teacher
Ms. Holmstedt started her teaching career here at SRCSA four years ago after working at the Sonoma County Water Agency. Her enthusiasm about science education, and water and fish specifically, is infectious! The type of art she finds most exciting is the visual arts. As a student herself she loved science class and performing experiments and investigations, physical education, as well as school rallies. Ms Holmstedt says, “Seeing kids passionate about the work they do and the ‘ah ha’ moments” is what she loves most about being a teacher. Outside of teaching she enjoys fishing, abalone diving, kayaking, photography, hiking, cooking, playing softball, and of course watching the San Francisco Giants!
Email: mholmstedt@srcs.k12.ca.us
Joe McDivitt
Art
Mr. McDivitt teaches part-time at SRCSA; he is also a teacher in Santa Rosa High School’s ArtQuest program. Mr. Mac has a big laugh and a lot of patience and enthusiasm when teaching the wide variety of art students at SRCSA.
Email: jmcdivitt@srcs.k12.ca.us
Mike Milbrath
BAND
At This time I am a Choir, Band, and Theatre Teacher, as well as occasional administrator at Piner High School, Comstock Middle School and Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter School.
Carmen Molina
Grade 5
Mrs. Molina has been teaching for three years. She loves teaching and integrating the arts into the learning experience, and is thrilled to be a part of the SRCSA community. “ I grew up in a community that had such a strong passion for art education, and am so proud to give that experience back to our students.” Some of her fondest memories of elementary school where learning about science and math, and performing in theater and dance. When Mrs. Molina is not teaching she is spending time with her family outdoors hiking, camping, and swimming or working on sewing projects. Costume making is one of her favorite things to do.
Email: cmolina@srcs.k12.ca.us
Sandy Pawek
Dance
Ms. Pawek has taught at SRCSA for 10 years and has been teaching for 25 years overall. She loves all art forms but of course dance is her favorite! When she was in school, Ms. Pawek loves “doing anything social” especially school dances! Ms. Pawek loves to dance, so she says that she is passionate about her job. “I love it when students get excited about learning in the dance room. When they experience the joy of movement and the art of dance.” Outside of school, Ms. Pawek likes to spend time with family and friends.
Email: spawek@srcs.k12.ca.us
Allison Pearce
Grade 2
Ms. Pearce has been teaching for eight years, and this marks her second year at SRCSA. She has taught kindergarten, third grade, and most recently second grade. As a child she loved art projects and science experiments and looks forward to doing both in her own classroom. What she loves best about teaching is “when I teach a new concept and a bell goes off once they really understand something. It's a great feeling to help a student gain a better understanding of existing concepts too,” she shares.
Email: apearce@srcs.k12.ca.us
Andrew Ravani
Drama
A recent graduate of the Sonoma State University teaching credential program, Mr. Ravani is proud to have spent two years teaching at SRCSA and looks forward to many more. His preferred art form is Theater and in elementary school he was enthusiastic about Science and Social Studies. Mr. Ravani shared: "I left a life of professional acting to make a more significant and positive impact on the world. I figured the best way to do that was to use my experience in the theater to provide young people with the skills of collaboration and cooperation.” Outside of work, Mr. Ravani enjoys camping, gardening, traveling, and cooking.
Email: aravani@srcs.k12.ca.us
Adam Thomas
Physical Education
Our Physical Education program uses fitness and skill-based learning, combined with health education to provide our students with a well-rounded physical education curriculum. This course provides students the opportunity to learn through developmentally appropriate games and lessons, planned in accordance with state standards. Strategies and concepts, including sportsmanship, self-responsibility, mindfulness, positive social interaction and group dynamics are interwoven into units on volleyball, basketball, soccer, frisbee, floor hockey, fitness, yoga and dance.
Email: adthomas@srcs.k12.ca.us
Melissa Wilde
Grade 1 and Arts Coordinator
Ms. Wilde has been teaching at SRCSA for seven years and for 12 years overall. For three years, she has been the school’s Arts Coordinator as well. Music is the art form that she loves the most. When she was young, she loved learning and school and she was a very hard working student! As an educator she brings that passion of learning to her teaching. Ms. Wilde says she loves “getting to create a positive, fun, caring and safe place for kids to learn.” When she isn’t teaching, she loves gardening and being in nature, and eating organic healthy food.
Email: mwilde@srcs.k12.ca.us
website: https://sites.google.com/srcs.k12.ca.us/f103srcsa/