Pioneer Staff
Betty Burley-Wolf
I am the founding director of Pioneer
School. I have a
Masters degree from the University of Idaho in Elementary Education and a Masters in Gifted
Education from Whitworth
College. I
graduated from Whitman College in Walla
Walla with a Bachelor of Arts in 1977.
When I am not busy at Pioneer
School, I coach ski
racing at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. My husband is a chemistry
instructor at Spokane Falls Community College,
and we have two daughters who attend West
Valley High School and ski race for Schweitzer Alpine Racing School..
Send an email to Betty Burley-Wolf,
the Director
Tina Diemer
Welcome! My name is Tina Diemer. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
In my spare time I enjoy water coloring, reading, photography (digital
camera), camping, and spending time with my family and friends.
I have a M.Ed. Degree from the University
of Idaho. I hold an
Elementary Teaching Certificate in both Washington
and Idaho. I
also hold an Idaho State Computer Competency Certificate from Boise State
University.
This is my seventh year of teaching Kindergarten in private school in Washington State. Pioneer School
is a wonderful school for highly capable students in Kindergarten through Grade
Five. I have a great love for teaching and for children. I
especially love teaching at Pioneer
School! It is my
home away from home...
Casi Gronnenthal
Cheers! My name is Casi Rebel Skeie-Gronenthal and I am proud to be a Pioneer School teacher! Let me tell you a little
about myself. Upon entering my junior year in high school I was selected by my
peers to be a “natural helper.” This meant that with several other classmates,
I would travel around the area, working and visiting with elementary school
students. It only took one visit and I was hooked! Upon graduating from high
school, I entered Eastern
Washington University
in pursuit of a degree in education. Though I took breaks here and there to
marry my wonderful husband of 14 years, birth our first and only son, Cody, and
our twin daughters, Halie and Hannah, I graduated with honors in June of 1998.
Believe it or not, my twins were a year old at the time. I still can’t explain
how that was done only thank my husband again. After a move to Post
Falls, Idaho, I entered the University of Idaho’s Master’s Degree program with an
emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction. I graduated in December of 2006. And
now, seven years as a Pioneer
School teacher have
kindled a desire to learn more about the connection between children and
education. My hope is to enroll in a doctoral program very soon.
Outside of school when not taxiing my children around, I like to stay active
with my family, outdoors and in, playing soccer, softball, skiing, boating, and
whatever else for which my friends recruit me. Photography and scrap-booking
are two more passions in my life. Life is good.
Nicole Bronson
Hello! I have been given the honor and privilege of teaching at Pioneer School. I earned my Masters Degree
in Teaching through Whitworth
University in 2005.
I student-taught for one academic year in a first/second grade multi-age
classroom in 2004/05, and I taught first grade in 2006 at Eatonville
Elementary. It was my sincere pleasure to learn and grow alongside those
children.
I went to elementary school at Sadie Halstead Elementary in the Newport School District
in Northeastern Washington. My family
lived in a log house in the wooded hills above the Pend Oreille River,
and I grew up enjoying the outdoors in all four seasons. After graduating
from Newport High
School in 1995, I pursued my love of nature at Spokane Community College and The Evergreen
State College studying botany, zoology and ecology. I worked my way through
school and after graduation as a park ranger on public lands in North Idaho,
Northeastern Washington, Crater Lake National Park in the Oregon Cascades, and Turnbull
National Wildlife Refuge near Cheney,
Washington. My most memorable and
meaningful experiences as a park ranger were made when I had the opportunity to
share the outdoors with children. This realization let me to embark upon
teaching as my next great journey!
I feel blessed to have the opportunity to serve your children with the staff
at Pioneer School. I am excited about the learning
that will take place in our classroom!
Betsy DeHaas
My name is Betsy DeHaas and I am a 1997 graduate of the University of Idaho
in English Literature/Secondary Education and have a current Idaho State
Teaching Certification. I completed my Master’s of Arts in Primary Education
with the University
of Alabama and this is my
fifth year working at the primary level.
I have lived and taught in Ecuador
for the past eleven years and this is my first year back to life in the USA. I was
looking for a change that would bring me closer to my family and where I grew
up in Grangeville, ID. A friend told me about Pioneer School
and when I looked it up online, I just had to apply. Pioneer’s mission,
philosophy, and teaching practices are a perfect match to my own beliefs and practices
in the field of education.
