Middle School Grades 6-8

Mr. Axel

 

I moved to Durango five years ago from Houston, Texas, to attend Fort Lewis College and seek adventure in the mountains. Since then, I have worked as a backpacking guide, a raft guide, and a youth ski coach. I graduated from Fort Lewis with a BA in Adventure Education and a certificate in Wilderness Therapy. I have always enjoyed working with children and families, and taken special interest in forming communities and inspiring curiosity in my student's everyday lives. I am excited to join the team here at Juniper and get to know all of our students and families. Please feel free to stop by and say hello anytime!

 

 

 

 

Language Arts and Social Studies

Dr. Rush

 

I've been in education for 20 years, and this is my first year as a full-time classroom teacher! My background is in Critical Thinking and whole-school improvement, Educational Research, Teacher Training, and I spent the last 8 years as a Product Manager and Instructional Designer leading Data Science and Software Engineering bootcamps in EdTech. I moved to Durango this year because I love hiking and backpacking, and wanted to be closer to a wilderness that is still relatively wild. My B.A. is in History from Sonoma State University, I have an M.Sc. in Higher Education from Oxford University, an M.Phil in Educational Research and a Ph.D. in Education both from the University of Cambridge. I'm excited to learn with my students in the upcoming year and to hopefully inspire in them a lifelong joy of learning. Stop by and say hello, and if there's anything I can do to help your child learn and grow - I'd love to know!