News

• 01 Mar 2021

Nola Whetstone was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. She studied at both Oakland University and the University of Michigan. Nola has degrees in English, anthropology, and education. She has certification in both elementary and middle school education. Before working in education, Nola was an anthropologist in a museum. Nola moved out West ten years ago to teach on the Navajo Nation. She has been a teacher for seventeen years working in 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades. Nola has taught in three states: Michigan, Arizona, and New Mexico. She has experience in both private and public school […]

• 12 Aug 2019

  Born and raised in Texas, Jodi has taught in public and private schools and worked with students from pre-K to 8th grade in many capacities, but most often as a classroom teacher.  Jodi graduated from Texas A&M University and began teaching right away in the school districts of Pearland and Plano. She left the world of teaching and began working in the corporate world, the spiritual and healing world, and spent time being a mom to her daughter, now in 5th grade.  Moving from Texas, to St. Louis, and finally to New Mexico in 2014 when she began working […]

• 26 Oct 2017

Miguel Santistevan is a Middle School Math Teacher at Taos Integrated School of the Arts. He has taught for 9 years in the Public Schools and has also taught classes for UNM-Taos and Northern New Mexico College. He has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology and Agriculture Ecology and certifications in Permaculture and ZERI design. His research interests are in the adaptation of crops and traditional acequia-irrigated and dryland agricultural systems of the Upper Rio Grande and Sangre de Cristo mountains over which he has written many articles and given many presentations including the Bioneers, the Green Festival, and the […]

• 01 Jun 2016

Ms. Roe has been teaching for 28 years, with 25 in public education. She holds a Bachelor’s, a Master’s, and an Ed Specialist’s degree in Early Childhood Education, and has taught K-8th grades. She is a certified Music teacher, and also has a TESOL endorsement. A musician and actor, Ms. Roe is thrilled to use infuse her teaching with love of the arts and love of learning! Contact me at: roe@tisataos.org Blog Link:

• 01 Jun 2016

Going into his sixth year as an elementary and middle school teacher, Mr. Coleman got his teaching license from the Santa Fe Community College. He is bilingual in Spanish and TESOL-certified and before moving to Taos taught grades 3, 5, and 6 at a public dual-language school in Santa Fe. Mr. Coleman got his Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics from Hunter College in New York City. Before becoming a teacher, he worked as an editor for a global online news service. That job gave him the opportunity to travel the world, and he visited and lived in several cities and countries, […]

• 11 Jan 2016

Gina Gargone is pleased to be part of the TISA family as the middle school science teacher. In previous years Gina worked with TISA teaching theater to grades K-8. Gina has always had a love for the outdoors and the natural world. She has a bachelor’s in theater with a background in Marine Biology and Botany. Gina brings her extreme enthusiasm, love of the scientific method (experiment and document!), and her understanding of the importance of integrating the arts with all learning disciplines into the classroom with her every day. Parents and students alike are encouraged to reach out to her at gina@tisataos.org.   Contact me at: gina@tisataos.org Blog […]

• 17 Dec 2015

Raised in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon, Sally earned a BA in Education from Prescott College, graduated with honors from the University of Northern Colorado with a MA in Special Education, & acquired Level III NM teaching licenses in K-8 elementary educcation & preK-12 special education, with endorsements in TESOL/gifted education. Sally spent time as a SPED teacher with Questa HS, worked in an Appalachian school facility for adjudicated teens, served as an English teacher in China, volunteered in England, led elephants/cooked on jungle treks in Thailand, operated a home-based pottery business, and spent countless hours astride a horse, working […]

• 17 Dec 2015

  Linda was born and raised in Lebanon, Egypt and Iran. Her mother’s family is from south Texas in the Rio Grande Valley and her father is Japanese Canadian from British Columbia. They met in Illinois and were sent overseas to Iran in 1945. Her father was a Presbyterian minister with the World Council of Churches in the Middle East from 1945-1980. In 1975, Linda graduated from Tehran Community School, an international school serving grades K-12th grades.    Linda attended Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, majoring in English literature and education. After graduation, she moved out to New Mexico in […]

• 17 Dec 2015

2021/2022 will be Melissa’s seventeenth year as a teacher and fifth year teaching Kindergarten at Taos Integrated School of the Arts.  She holds Level III teaching licenses in both general education and special education. Five and six year olds are very near and dear to Melissa’s heart.  She thoroughly enjoys all of their questions, energy, creativity, and enthusiasm for learning. Students in her classroom engage in integrated arts lessons in reading, writing, and mathematics but also have daily opportunities to learn through play and explore STEAM activities and social/emotional learning. Contact me at: melissa@tisataos.org Blog Link: http://tisakindergartendragons.blogspot.com