Scott Thornton
​4th-6th Team Teacher (Math Specialist) - Building Lead
sthornton@pistem.org

Mr. Thornton is in his fourth year of teaching. He graduated from Boise State University in 2012 with a Bachelors in Communication. In August of 2016, he received his teacher certification through ABCTE.  Mr. Thornton taught 7th-grade Math at Kuna Middle School during the 2016-17 school year and 4th-grade in Marsing during the 2017-18 school year. He loves the time he gets to spend with all of the students, helping them learn how to become the best version of themselves. His favorite part about teaching is seeing kids laugh and smile while they are learning.
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Mr. Thornton and his wife Jessica have been married for 12 years and three wonderful children,  Natalee (9), Grant (5), and Jack (2). Their free time is spent as a family, supporting their children in sports, camping, and traveling. His children are involved in basketball, baseball, and softball. Mr. Thornton also enjoys being a high school football official in the Fall and having season tickets to the Boise State University football games.

Julie Duty
4th-6th Team Teacher (Science & Engineering Specialist)
jduty@pistem.org

Mr. Duty graduated from Lewis-Clark State College in 2007 with a Bachelors of Science in Standard Elementary Education all subjects K-8 with a minor in Literacy K-12.  She spent her first year as a teacher in a one room schoolhouse in Pine, Idaho. She taught grades K, 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 7th. She found teaching in a one room school a wonderful experience, but wanted to live within a larger community.  Mrs. Duty worked at the BSU Children’s Center from 2011 to 2017, as an assistant teacher and then lead teacher. After substituting in area charter schools, she discovered that she wanted to work within a charter school environment. She took a position this last fall as an EA for the first grade and special education department at Rolling Hills Public Charter School, and then joined us at Project Impact STEM Academy following Winter break as the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade science teacher.
 
Mrs. Duty enjoys reading and writing and has recently taken an interest in acrylic painting.  She has a black belt in Kajukenbo and her favorite animals are cats, wolves, and jellyfish. She believes in teaching through doing and she is enjoying the opportunity to teach science at Project Impact STEM Academy.

Lorae Crownhart
4th-6th Team Teacher (ELA Specialist)
lcrownhart@pistem.org

Mrs. Crownhart is so excited to be a part of the 4-6th grade team at Project Impact Stem Academy this school year.

In 2017 she graduated from Northwest Nazarene University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Literature. After graduation from NNU, she moved to the island of Oahu, Hawaii to begin a job as a Registered Behavior Technician. For the next year and a half she worked one on one with kiddos diagnosed with Autism and other learning/behavioral disorders.

While living on the island she met her husband. They were married in October 2018 and moved back to Nampa, Idaho in January of 2019. After moving back, she worked as a Habilitative Interventionist until the opportunity to teach at PiSTEM appeared. She is now the English Language Arts Specialist for 4th, 5th and 6th.

Mrs. Crownhart enjoys spending time with her family and friends. When the weather is nice she enjoys exploring nature by hiking, swimming and camping. She enjoys reading, playing the piano and interacting with her 2 kittens during her free time.​

Christine Harms
Primary/Elementary Social Studies/History Specialist
charms@pistem.org

Mrs. Harms is a recent Idaho transplant. Originally from Tualatin, Oregon, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA in 2007 and took a teaching position at a local elementary school teaching second grade. Following her first year teaching, she moved with her family overseas to Haiti for ten years. During that time, she was able to teach English as a second language and work with Haitian nationals on English composition and grammar, as well as tutoring American students who had fallen behind. She is thrilled to be back in an elementary classroom!
Mrs. Harms and her husband have two kids, and as a family, they enjoy long walks, gardening and camping. She also enjoys reading, running 5K’s, and knitting. Her family is looking forward to enjoying all the great outdoor recreation that Idaho has to offer.

Julie Fox
​PE/Health Specialist
jfox@pistem.org

Mrs. Julie Fox graduated from Northern Illinois University in May 2008 with a BS Ed and Teaching Certificate and in May 2012 with a MS Ed.  Mrs. Fox has taught physical education to all grades and health at the middle school level. She loves working with students and watching them grow.  Mrs. Fox is excited to integrate PE and Health into into integrated Project Based-learning units. Her goal is to teach her students how to make healthy choices and learn lifetime physical activities.

Julie and her husband Jon met while serving in the army; they have been married 19 years and have three children, Gunner (16), Peyton (14), and Greyson (8).  They stay busy with their kids and have recently taken up paddle boarding and kayaking.

Elizabeth Van Zandt
​Technology Specialist
evanzandt@pistem.org

Mrs. Van Zandt has a Masters of Arts in Math Education from Western Governors University.  In addition, she also has a graduate certificate in teaching, a Bachelor of Science Business Administration in General Management, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, all from UCF.  She is also working on her Gifted and Talented endorsement. This will be her sixth year teaching. She has taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades and previously taught in West Ada, Caldwell, and in the south, where she grew up.  Her and her husband, who is a math teacher, have been married for 15 years, no kids.

Within the last 4 years, Mrs. Van Zandt has been learning to integrate technology in the classroom.  She has experience in using Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 suite, Skype in the classroom, and currently becoming a Google certified educator.  Mrs. Van Zandt is excited to be part of PiSTEM, to learn about project based learning, and to share her technology experience.

Kaylee Hersch
Art Specialist
khersch@pistem.org

Mrs. Hersch has a Bachelors in Art Education with a Minor in Art History from Western Washington University. Her plans are to guide students through the process of making art, whether that entails expanding on prior knowledge and skills or digging deep to help find your child's inner artist. She will be there every step of the way to ensure every student's potential and your (the parents) needs. Like one of her favorite quotes says: “Every artist was first an amateur” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

​Mrs. Hersch is married with three fur babies, a German Shepard and two kitties. She recently moved to Idaho from Washington to be closer to family. She is crazy about her friends and family. She loves to uphold family traditions and keep a hold of great family bonds and heirlooms. She's a sucker for the holidays especially when it comes to baking and spending time with the family. She also loves going on hikes with her husband and their dog, camping, and pretty much everything in the great outdoors. Fall is her favorite season! As soon as the colors of the leaves start changing and you feel that brisk chill in the air, you just know it's time for caramel apple cider, scarves, and warming up next to a fireplace. Her passions and hobbies include arts and crafts as well as the occasional D.I.Y.

Nichole Backhaus
K-12 Special Education Coordinator
nbackhaus@pistem.org

Originally from Germany, Miss Backhaus is equipped with a MS in Clinical Psychology from the Universität Trier. She completed her elementary and special education teacher credentials at CSU East Bay nine years ago. Previously, she has taught in both Honduras and California! This will be Ms. Backhaus’ third year teaching in Idaho, where she has worked in both the traditional public and public charter school environments. 
Ms. Backhaus is excited to start at Pi STEM in the 2020-2021. She believes that project-based learning and mastery-based grading offer access to and evaluation of learning for all students; academically and social-emotionally. She is looking forward to collaborating with parents to achieve the best outcomes for the students.
She lives with her two out of four (step-)children (23,21,20,& 14), their dog, and two rats in Boise. She feels lucky that her husband is a Chef. She spends most of her free time hiking, dancing, and competing at trivia.