EA Enlightenment September 2025
Welcome back to the 2025-2026 school year! Having students back in the classroom truly brings the school to life. This year, one of our school wide goals is clarity through communication.
With the move to Transparent Classroom, you should be getting more in-depth updates on the work that your child is doing in class. Along with that, you should be getting curriculum updates from the classroom teams looking back at the week, and also looking forward to the next week. We are excited for this year and have already had some fantastic opportunities to meet with parents and observe your children in the classrooms.
Celebrating Our Amazing Community!
We have some new faces and new programs this year. We wanted to highlight a couple of the faces and one of the programs.
Staff
Aimee Sill, who has been with EA since 2019, will be our new theatre teacher. She will be teaching theatre to our elementary students this year as an addition to our overall enrichment program. She will also be running the school play/musical in the spring, and you won’t want to miss it! Anyone who attended the Wizard of Oz musical last year got a taste of what she can do.
Nick Yonkee, who comes to us after working for several years at our Secondary campus, has joined our Upper Elementary and Middle School STEM team. Elena Suslov also moved over from our Secondary campus to become our UE/MS Humanities lead. Alexis Nicolas returned to EA this year and is our STEM lead for UE and MS. April Norby joined EA in 2022 and moves over from our Secondary campus as our Art Teacher and will be working on art integration for all levels. Bailey Nall is our new music teacher and music therapist. Kat Kirk has been an EA teacher since 2017 and will lead middle school enrichments. Shannon Beucher is shifting roles to be our PE teacher and Shelsie Luna will be joining our Red Butte team. We are excited for the amazing talent and dedication that we have with this staff and the opportunities that they will bring to our students.
Student Council
Our Middle school students are part of the primary campus’s first student council. They are guided by two of our staff, Kat Kirk and Makyla Ordonez. One of their goals is to make us an official Kindness school. Click HERE. This is in line with our Mission and Vision and will be a great tie in to what we are already doing.
A second goal is to look for opportunities that we as a school can improve our stewardship. Looking at energy usage, recycling, reusing materials, and sustainable habits. There are always places to improve and think about how our actions have a wider impact than we normally assume.
The student council will also be supporting and eventually running the pancake breakfasts and bringing their own particular flair to it.
Thank you for contributing your piece in our community puzzle. We are looking forward to continuing onward and upward!
September Events
September 1st: Labor Day Holiday
September 11th: Primary School Campus Conversations 8:50 AM – 10:00 AM
September 12th: Pancake Breakfast 7:30 AM – 8:30AM Purchase meals in the school store.
September 17th: Pizza Wednesday: Order by Monday, September 15th in the school store.
September 18th: Welcome Back Picnic 5:00 PM
Welcome Back Picnic
📅 Wednesday, September 18th
🕔 5:00 PM
📍 School Playground
Join us as we kick off the new school year with a fun and relaxing evening!
Meet other families, connect with staff, and enjoy dinner provided by the school.
🍪 Bring a Dessert to Share!
If you’d like to contribute, please sign up to bring a dessert.
We can’t wait to see you there!
Staff Highlight
We are thrilled to celebrate Elena Suslov, Upper Elementary and Middle School Lead Humanities teacher who has been selected for the highly prestigious Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program—a national award that recognizes outstanding educators and connects them with peers around the world.
Since joining Elizabeth Academy in 2022, Elena has inspired students through her passion for literature, arts integration, and building community. She has designed and led a standards-aligned ELA program for grades 7–12, guided the Humanities team, and spearheaded initiatives such as the interdisciplinary/arts integration puppet theater production of the student written “Feats of Maui”.
Elena’s own journey—as an immigrant, lifelong learner, and dedicated educator—shapes her vision of the classroom as a thriving ecosystem where every student can flourish. Through the Fulbright program, she will join a select cohort of U.S. teachers engaging in global collaboration, cultural exchange, and professional learning at the highest level.
Her achievement is not only a personal honor but also a moment of pride for Elizabeth Academy. The knowledge, perspectives, and connections Elena brings back will enrich our entire community—expanding our students’ horizons and strengthening our commitment to inclusivity, empathy, and global citizenship.
Mission in Motion
Mission in Motion: Returning to Montessori’s Roots
“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” – Maria Montessori
This past month, Elizabeth Academy had the privilege of welcoming the Montessori Medical Partnership for Inclusion (MMPI) to our Primary and Postsecondary campuses. Their two-day visit included in-depth workshops, small-group sessions with teachers and specialists, and inspiring conversations about the intersection of Montessori philosophy, medicine, and inclusion.
One of the central themes of their visit was the bio-psycho-social model of education—an approach that recognizes that a child’s growth cannot be separated into silos of health, learning, or social-emotional development. Instead, these aspects are interconnected, and education must respond to the whole child. This integrated model mirrors the work happening at Elizabeth Academy every day, where teachers, therapists, and specialists collaborate to meet each student’s unique needs.
It’s important to remember that Maria Montessori herself began her work with children with disabilities, devoting her first ten years to designing materials and methods for their success. Ironically, over time, Montessori education was adapted primarily for so-called “typical” students, leaving behind the very population it was first created to serve. MMPI’s work—and our mission at Elizabeth Academy—seeks to bring Montessori back to its inclusive origins, ensuring that every child, regardless of ability, finds a place where they belong, learn, and thrive.
The inclusive Montessori model not only benefits children with disabilities—it also profoundly enriches the experience of typically developing students. When children grow up learning alongside peers with different strengths and challenges, they cultivate empathy, patience, creativity, and problem-solving skills. They become more adaptable, compassionate citizens who see diversity as a strength. This is the beauty of our community: a place where difference is not only accepted but celebrated as a foundation for deeper learning and human connection.
This work is not something we do alone. Through our TIES partnership with the University of Utah, we continue to engage in collaborative projects that connect research and practice, preparing the next generation of teachers and leaders to embrace an inclusive vision of Montessori education.
The visit from MMPI has left us energized and inspired to move our mission forward this school year—reclaiming Montessori’s roots, honoring the whole child, and strengthening our community of belonging for every learner. And as Maria Montessori reminds us: “Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child to open up to life.”
At Elizabeth Academy, that is our daily work—opening up life to every student, and in doing so, helping them become the hope and the promise for our shared future.
SPED
Dear Parents,
Thank you for your collaboration as we begin this new school year. I’ve noticed how smoothly the year has started, and I hope you are feeling the same sense of ease and positive momentum.
I also want to express my appreciation to those who attended the Integrated Services Parent Orientation. It was a privilege to answer your questions and provide clarity. As we continue building more structure and framework around our services, please remember that every decision we make is guided by one central priority—the well-being and growth of our students. A mentor once shared with me: “When in doubt, always err on the side of the student.” I carry that with me, because while procedures and communications are important, our true purpose is supporting student progress.
Last week, we held our first Clinical Council meeting, and the energy in the room was inspiring. To sit alongside such knowledgeable staff, sharing observations and planning next steps together, affirmed the strength of our team.
Our interventionists and therapists are working from each student’s SSP (Student Support Plan) from last year so that we can seamlessly continue their progress. At the same time, we are collecting updated baseline data, recognizing that growth—or regression—can occur over the summer. This allows us to target the right skills for each child.
If you ever have questions, concerns, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s Interventionist or to me directly. I welcome the opportunity to provide clarity and to continuously improve our practice.
With gratitude,
Lindsay Baird
Special Education Director
EAPO
Campus Conversations
Primary School- Thursday, September 11th, 8:50 AM – 10:00 AM in the Black Box
Campus Conversations are monthly meetings hosted by the Elizabeth Academy Parent Organization (EAPO). Lasting approximately one hour, Campus Conversations are the best way to stay informed about what is happening and to be in the loop about upcoming events and activities. Light refreshments are served.
Pizza Wednesday
DATE
Our next pizza day is on Wednesday, September 17th for the Primary Campus. To purchase the pizza meal, go to the school store.
