Tim Deidrick
Secondary Math Specialist
tdeidrick@pistem.org

Mr. Deidrick is excited to join the PiSTEM team.  He has experience teaching, coaching and mentoring students at many different educational levels including junior high, high school, and college.  He loves teaching math and is looking forward to bringing his love for learning and math to this new position.

Early in Tim’s career, he taught math at the Junior College level.  During this time, Tim also coached men’s basketball, recruiting and coaching eighteen players that went onto play NCAA Division I basketball and two players that went on to play professionally.  He then went on to teach and coach at Truman State University.
After spending 11 years at Truman, he joined the athletic department at the University of Missouri, where he mentored and tutored athletes and organized and ran college sporting events.  Missing teaching, he went back into the classroom full-time to teach Algebra and Geometry for Columbia Public Schools. Tim was fortunate to work alongside Kathy Steinhoff who was National Teacher of the Year.  Tim accredits Kathy for his passion for teaching Geometry and his development as a strong secondary teacher. Kathy taught Tim how to use geometry activities and projects to engage students and help them develop mathematical thinking and deductive reasoning.

Tim left Missouri when his wife was offered a position in Boise.  During the transition, he taught Trigonometry as an adjunct instructor at Boise State University and again found himself working in the athletic department as an advisor and tutor for student-athletes.  Tim has spent the last four years at Compass Public Charter teaching Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Math in Modern Society and AP Statistics.
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In his free time, Tim spends time with his wife and two children (ages 7 and 13). They spend vacations visiting family in Missouri and spending time in the mountains of Idaho. He enjoys running, hiking, and swimming.

Zizly Quiroz
Secondary ELA Specialist
zquiroz@pistem.org

Mrs. Quiroz received her Bachelor degree in Broadcasting and Electronic Communications in 2012 and is in the process of completing a Master degree in Communication at Boise State University.

This will be Mrs. Quiroz’ first year in education as the Secondary English Language Arts teachers. She has transitioned from a career in broadcasting as a radio personality after seven years.

In her free time, Mrs. Q enjoys listening to music, any activity outdoors, but especially spending time with friends and family. She married her husband two years ago and gained a gorgeous bonus daughter! She also has two pups, Gracie and Sausage.

Her hope as a brand new educator is to use her lived experience in previous careers in broadcasting and communication to engage her students and invigorate their love for English and experience the importance of a great education while having fun!

Lauren Young
Secondary Science Specialist
lyoung@pistem.org

Miss Young has a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis in Zoology from Boise State University. During her undergraduate years, she traveled to India to learn about Indian Vulture Conservation and to New Zealand to plant Manuka Honey trees in the clear-cut forests of the North Island. Miss Young coached gymnastics for three years while in college and then transitioned over to teach preschool after graduation. She has taught preschool for the last two years and with this taste of education she is beyond excited to begin her journey teaching science at Project Impact STEM Academy.

Miss Young grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California. With this she gained an immense love for the redwoods that she would climb and the overall beauty of the great outdoors. Her free time is spent doing anything and everything active with a dash of reading. She loves climbing, acro-yoga, aerial silks, backpacking, biking, and traveling. Her passion for exploration has also led her to Peru to backpack the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, the Falkland Islands to learn about the conservation research taking place with the Gentoo Penguins and Black-Browed Albatross, and to Canada for acro.

Keoni Eshelman
Secondary History/Social Studies Specialist
keshelman@pistem.org

This will be Mr. Eshelman’s his first year teaching. He just relocated to Nampa, Idaho from Discovery Bay, California to teach at Project Impact STEM Academy. In 2019 he graduated from Northwest Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education. He is certified to teach grades 6-12 in World History, U.S. History, and Government.

​ In his free time, he loves to be with friends and family. Going out to record shops, buying vinyl's and listening to music. When the weather is nice, he likes to go hiking, play sports, and swim. His favorite thing to do is to go on adventure's with his 1-year-old corgi named Sir Maximus McFluffbottom.

As a teacher, his goal is to inspire the heart and minds of all his students so that they can go into the future knowing that they can make an impact in the world around them.

Athea Prillaman
Secondary Technology Specialist & Dean of Students
aprillaman@pistem.org

Mrs. Prillaman has her Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Science from California Polytechnic State University and her Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Idaho. She is a graduate of the Professional Technical Education Leadership Institute and served as an Attendance Dean at Columbia High School in Nampa from 2013 to 2016.

Mrs. Prillaman grew up in the mountains of California riding horses on a Christmas tree farm.  She has always loved the outdoors and animals. Her favorite place is sitting on a stump at Bull Trout Lake taking in the view.  She loves hiking, camping, biking, swimming, paddle boarding, and riding horses. She grew up on a ranch where working and playing hard was the only way to live life.  She loves balancing life with new experiences and challenges. Her passion for traveling has taken her all around Idaho, the United States, and the world. 
Mrs. Prillaman loves helping people find meaning in what they are doing and teaching others how to make their life easier.  She was first introduced to her passion for technology 22 years ago, and has spent the last 22 years working in technology, learning, and growing.

Mrs. Prillaman loves country music and classic rock music, she enjoys action movies. She considers herself one of the original 80's Star Wars fans.
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She lives in the country with my family, three horses, and one dog.

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.

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.

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.