Our Staff

Sarah has lived in Prescott since 1983. Growing up in Prescott, she attended Taylor Hicks, Granite Mountain Middle School and Prescott High School. Sarah met her husband, Tim, in high school, and they are now raising their three boys. Sarah has been a teacher in early education at different daycares and other local schools since 2000.

Sarah’s first involvement with the MOPS group was at American Lutheran in 2005. In 2006, she started her kids’ education at American Lutheran Preschool. After seeing what a great learning environment American Lutheran Preschool provided for her own children, she was excited to share the same values and Christian-based learning with other families. Sarah was able to accomplish this after she received her teaching position at American Lutheran Preschool in 2009.

Sarah and her family enjoy giving back to the community in every aspect possible. In her off time, she keeps very busy with football, basketball and baseball games. She enjoys the beautiful outdoors and spending quality time with her loved ones. Sarah takes pride in helping her students learn and grow. With the resources and great team-oriented staff at her disposal, she has been given the opportunity to keep having families return year after year. The smaller class sizes allow for a more personal and consistent learning environment, building a bond and a great start for their educational journey.

Darcel has been a Pre-K teacher since 2007. Darcel strives to get the children in her class excited about school. She is committed to preparing the children for kindergarten in a loving, Christian environment. All 3 of Darcel’s children attended American Lutheran School for 2 years each.

Darcel loves being a Christian. She feels blessed to be able to teach Pre-K. She says one of the best things about teaching small children is seeing how far they come over a whole school year. The experience is truly amazing!

On her days off, Darcel spends time with her family and enjoys writing and drawing in her art journal, reading or listening to music.

Charity is one of the Pre-K teachers and believes she has the best job in the whole world! She grew up in ‘Small Town, Montana’, and moved to Arizona in 1991. While living in Flagstaff, she met her husband Brandon in 1992. They have two sons, Corey & Cameron- and added a daughter in law in 2020 when Corey married Linda. Charity is also blessed to be Grammy to Oakley and Anaya. Spending time with her grandchildren is her absolute greatest joyand she loves being Grammy! When she’s not working, Charity’s favorite thing to do is spend time with her family. She also enjoys being outdoors hiking, and sitting on her deck watching the birds and other wildlife. Some of her hobbies are making custom cakes, crafting, and thrifting. Charity has always had a heart for the Lord and has been a Christian all her life. She loves sharing the peace and joy that comes through knowing and abiding in Jesus. God is the center of her family, and they faithfully serve Him wherever they can. She has been a teacher at American Lutheran since 2008 and feels very blessed to be a part of this school. Her favorite thing about teaching is the love she receives from the children and families, and the excitement on their faces when they learn something new! She enjoys each and every ‘ordinary’ pre-school day; filled with laughter, hugs, messy hands, many questions, and children growing in Christ!

Mattie Smith is a born and raised Prescott native, and is very thankful to be raising her family in her hometown! She started her teaching career at Yavapai College in 2007, and moved to an elementary classroom setting in 2009 after receiving her Master’s Degree in Education. Mattie’s own children all attended American Lutheran School, and now she is thrilled to be teaching here in a Christ-centered preschool classroom.

Mattie and her husband, Ryan, have been married since 2007, and have an awesome son and two incredible daughters. The Smiths are a foster family, so sometimes they have “bonus kids” in their home, too! Mattie loves spending time in God’s beautiful creation with her family, and you can often find them hiking, camping, climbing and paddling around the state of Arizona.

Outside of teaching, Mattie is active in her church and in several local youth organizations. She’s coached the Prescott Badgers Youth Cheer team since 2020, and spends many evenings & weekends cheering from the bleachers for her kids. In her downtime, Mattie loves to garden, drink coffee, and read. She is grateful to be a part of the ALS family!
 

Hi, my names Hanna Sears, a new 3-Day teacher here at American Lutheran School.

I have been working in preschools since graduating from Chino Valley High School.  I am currently attending Yavapai college for Elementary Education with an endorsement of Early childhood. I have been teaching swim lessons to preschool ages children the last 4 years. I plan to have a fun and safe learning environment for all my students. 

Miss Strom DuBord is  our lead teacher's aide. She started volunteering in the classroom after graduating high school in 2015, before officially starting work in 2021. She’s lived in Prescott her whole life attending American Lutheran Preschool as a child. 

She has always loved working with young children and used to spend her summers working at Camp Maripai. A summer camp run by the Girl Scouts where she was lovingly nicknamed “The Brownie Wrangler.” 

When not busy wrangling children, Stacia spends her days off with her family or curled up with a good book. She can’t wait for another fantastic school year watching these wonderful children grow and helping them learn the same Christian Values that American Lutheran taught her.

Anna and her husband moved to Prescott in 2003 and they quickly started their family.  Both of their kids attended American Lutheran Preschool and absolutely loved the Christ-centered start to education.  Anna started her career in education in 2001 teaching high school English prior to moving to Arizona.  While staying home and raising her kids in Prescott, she has helped with her family businesses and several volunteer opportunities over the years.  Now that her children are each about to fly the nest, she knew it would be a sweet coming home to return to the classroom and especially at ALS!    

Anna truly enjoys helping kids feel loved and welcomed in school while drawing out their confidence and planting a love for learning.  Teaching and mentoring kids has always been a love of hers.  Her commitment to kids has led her to volunteer in her church youth program for 5 years where she is walking alongside a group of high school girls each week until they graduate!  

Married for 23 years now, Anna and her husband enjoy coffee dates together, ice baths and being active in the gym, on the single track with mountain bikes, or just walking the dog through the neighborhood. She also enjoys gardening, reading, traveling and spending time with friends and family playing games, laughing and sharing a meal.   

Hi my name is Nicola. I am so excited to be starting my first year at American Lutheran Preschool. I love working with kids and enjoyed working at Cornerstone Preschool for four years while obtaining my AA degree in Early Childhood Education from Yavapai College. I am a great listener with kids, someone who is quiet and caring so that they feel comfortable in daily classroom interactions. One of my favorite activities with children is to read them fun books which I love to bring from home or the library.

A little about me… I was born in Chino Valley and moved here when I was 4 and have grown up in Prescott ever since. I love living in Prescott as there are many things to do and see. I enjoy activities such as 4-H, hiking, kayaking, ziplining, and surrounding myself with many animals. I also enjoy volunteering at my church in the children’s area in the preschool age and in the baby's room also. I also volunteer at our local zoo at Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary where you can say hello to me in the gift shop every Saturday.

I love to travel, and recently followed my dream to visit Australia where I enjoyed snorkeling, sightseeing, and visiting the animals “down under”.

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