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Our Staff

Our teachers are devoted and passionate mentors, lovers of learning and of teaching young people. Each member of our faculty and staff embraces the Classical methodology and works every day to inspire students to stand proudly in their love of Christ and themselves, to summit mountains, and to become who they are meant to be as the leaders of tomorrow.

Teresa Fraser, M.Ed.

Head of School

Teresa attended the University of Oklahoma for two years before transferring to Milligan College where she earned both her B.S. in Elementary Education and her Masters of Education. She has been a part of the founding of four different schools: Providence Academy in Johnson City, TN; Rocky Mountain Christian Academy in Niwot, CO; Flatirons Academy in Lafayette, CO; and Summit Classical Academy currently in Broomfield, CO.
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Sarah Pfannenstiel

K-1st Grade Teacher

Sarah holds her Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Secondary Education and Social Science from Benedictine College. Prior to joining SCA, Sarah taught middle school History and Theology at Frassati Catholic Academy.
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Cindy Houghton

2nd-3rd Grade Teacher

Cindy studied at the University of New Mexico where she received her bachelor and master’s degrees in Elementary Education. Throughout her teaching career, she has worked in public and private schools, but her heart and passion fit with classical Christian education.
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Patrick Sobecki

4th-6th Grade Teacher

Patrick holds a Bachelors of Arts in Great Books from Bethlehem College and Seminary. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary Online.
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Elizabeth Hoffman

Educational Support

Lizzie received her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Colorado Christian University in 2014. Additionally, she holds TESL Certificates (both K-12 and adult) from Front Range Community College (2011) and will graduate with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in March of 2021. She is most passionate about exploring the intersection of theology, culture, and the arts.
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Stephanie Fiechtner

Teacher Assistant

Stephanie holds an American Farmer Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Central College in Pella, Iowa.
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Whitney Kelley, DMA

Music Teacher

Dr. Whitney Kelley received her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Flute Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a BM in Flute Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. As a Suzuki teacher, Dr. Kelley has trained extensively in teaching young students through the Suzuki Method, including training with Japanese Suzuki Flute founder, Toshio Takahashi.
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Jennifer Rieger

Art Teacher

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with an oil painting focus, from CU Boulder. She has an extensive knowledge of art history and has been teaching drawing and fine art for over 15 years. She is a commissioned portrait artist.

Mark Miller

Science and Mathematics Specialist

Mr. Miller holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Wichita State University, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in four states.
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Lorene Wrapp

Athletics Coordinator

Lorene is a lifelong fitness and health enthusiast with a passion for Christian education and for growing in the love and knowledge of the Lord. She comes to SCA with 12 years of experience as a Physical Education teacher.
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Addison Fraser

Special Education Consultant

Coming soon…

Laran Wilke

Head of Security

Coming soon…

Norma VanTol

Nurse Consultant

Coming soon…

Ali Webster

Educational Support

Coming soon…

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Teresa Fraser, M.Ed.

Head of School

We believe that it matters greatly who teaches our children. For that reason, the founders of SCA have handpicked Teresa Fraser to serve as Head of School. She is a leader of principled character and gracious love. Her heart for families results in beautiful relationships and a profound impact on the students she disciples. Teresa attended the University of Oklahoma for two years before transferring to Milligan College where she earned both her B.S. in Elementary Education and her Masters of Education. She has been a part of the founding of four different schools: Providence Academy in Johnson City, TN; Rocky Mountain Christian Academy in Niwot, CO; Flatirons Academy in Lafayette, CO; and Summit Classical Academy currently in Broomfield, CO. As Head of School, Teresa has worked in planning, preparing, and producing an excellent classical Christian education for students and their families. She is fully committed to sharing the grace and truth of Jesus with children, supporting parents, training and equipping teachers, and building a strong community of families. The heart of her profession has been the relationships she has built through the years with students, parents, staff and colleagues. Teresa believes her role is to come alongside parents as a partner in their children’s education. She is especially devoted to building a strong network of support for single parents, and she has a unique passion for involving fathers as much as mothers in their children’s school, because she has seen evidence through the years that students enjoy even more success with the mom and dad team behind them. Teresa believes that academics are only one facet in the educating and raising of children and that children need time to play and pursue their passions, gifts, and interests outside of the classroom. For this reason, she strongly believes in minimal homework so as not to intrude on other important activities such as family time, music, sports, art, friendships, and freeplay. Teresa and her husband Jim have been married since 1992. They have raised two remarkable children, their daughter Sadie and son Addison. Though Colorado is their beloved home, Teresa still faithfully cheers for her football teams, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Buffalo Bills, proving that she is no fair weather fan but loyal to the core.

SARAH PFANNENSTIEL

K-1st Grade Teacher

Sarah holds her Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Secondary Education and Social Science from Benedictine College. Prior to joining SCA, Sarah taught middle school History and Theology at Frassati Catholic Academy. Her passion for classical education, methodology, and curriculum began in high school when she attended Ridgeview Classical School in Fort Collins. Studying in Florence, Italy, in college further deepened her love for history, culture, and the Western Judeo-Christian tradition.

Sarah and her husband were married in January of 2020. They enjoy hiking, camping, and exploring new places together. Their faith, family, and friends are most important to them.

Sarah shares her love for Christ naturally with her students. Her joy of learning is contagious as she teaches.

Sarah’s Philosophy of Education

Solid education combines classicalism, constructivism, and the philosophies of Thomas Aquinas. Classicalism incorporates Great Books curricula and the root beliefs of Western Civilization. This is taught in the Trivium of Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric at appropriate ages of development in a pupil’s life. Constructivism postulates that all learning spirals back on previous learning, so that one’s education builds on itself naturally. Lastly, following Thomas Aquinas, humans ought to study what is good, true, and beautiful to reach their end goal of knowing intimacy with God.

Although differing in cultural expression, all humans are ultimately created by God to know, love and serve Him. In school, students and teachers might know God in part by seeking what is true, noble, and beautiful in their studies. For this, curriculum should be truthful and worthwhile, be that practical or appreciative, and balance the humanities, hard sciences, reason, faith, art, creative expression, and physical exertion. Teachers might incorporate images of great art, beautiful poetry, or the wonders of nature to inspire their students to seek beauty and truth in their lives. By constructing new knowledge on past learning, lessons might be deeply experienced and integrated. Curriculum and assignments should follow the order of the Trivium so the level of difficulty is appropriate to the student’s development.

Learning also comes from example. Teachers should model Christlike behavior and teach moral lessons with love and logic to demonstrate the dignity, love, and respect given to each person and exemplified by Christ to his contemporaries. This must be done consistently, both within and without the classroom; positive relationship building with students and the community is key. Implicit curriculum should promote Christian philosophy and virtues, such as sharing and respect. Lastly, opportunities for service and social interaction will foster cooperation and conscientiousness so students and faculty can love God by loving each other. Combined, these practices will help students and teachers cultivate a relationship with God, an undying love of learning, virtue, and respect for others.

Cindy Houghton

2nd-3rd Grade Teacher

Hello! My name is Cindy Houghton, and I’m thrilled to be a part of Summit Classical Academy. I have lived in Colorado for 26 years, but I grew up in Texas. I have been married to my college sweetheart, Richard, for 29 years, and we are blessed with four amazing children. We have entered the empty nesters phase of life, but enjoy having our children close by. Three live in Colorado, and one lives in Arizona. We also have a fur baby, Harley, who we spoil daily.

I studied at the University of New Mexico where I received my bachelor and master’s degrees in Elementary Education. Throughout my teaching career, I have worked in public and private schools, but my heart and passion fit with classical Christian education. It is my happy place. At Summit Classical Academy, we teach from a distinctly Christian worldview as faithful worshippers of the God who is at the center of every aspect of our lives. Children should be taught that there is no separation from God in any area of life. Deuteronomy 11: 18-20 reminds us to fix God’s Word in our hearts and minds and to talk of it with our children throughout the day. God is intertwined in all of work, school, home and play.

As a Christian educator, I can help students see that knowledge apart from scriptures is imperfect. I believe it is imperative to be a teacher who instructs with excellence; after all, we serve an excellent Creator. I trust that the parents of my students have given me permission to come alongside them in their role as their children’s primary educators. It is my goal to stimulate both a love of learning and good habit formation necessary for a student’s independent study.

Since God is the author of love, He gives me love for my students and a desire to be the best teacher I can be. The true goal of education is to love God in everything and in all ways. My deep desire is to elevate God in my classroom and to demonstrate how to love Him with heart, mind, body and strength.

Patrick Sobecki

4th-6th Grade Teacher

Patrick holds a Bachelors of Arts in Great Books from Bethlehem College and Seminary. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary Online.

Patrick married his college sweetheart in 2016. Originally from Colorado, they love living in the Boulder area and are excited to be part of discipling and training the next generation. Together they enjoy visiting coffee shops, reading great fiction, and the theater. They are members of Calvary Bible Evangelical Free Church in Boulder.

Patrick is excited for the opportunity to be teaching and sharing the classical education he received at Bethlehem College, where the great books are studied in light of the Greatest Book for the sake of the Great Commission.

Patrick’s Philosophy of Education

My philosophy of teaching focuses on the six habits of mind and heart that I learned while at Bethlehem College in Minneapolis. These habits are there to serve students as they progress out of the classroom and prepare them to become lifelong learners and achievers of great things. The mark of a truly educated person is not their ability to pass a test or regurgitate a prepared answer, but to be able to grasp another’s meaning, understand it thoroughly, and to answer it with the wisdom God has provided in His Word and His world.

The first habit of mind and heart is observing. Students must learn how to see for themselves what is before them, not just to be told what is before them. This first habit is the foundation for all critical thinking, as the student learns how to see for themselves what is in a text, or in creation, or the content of another’s speech. Then after learning to observe carefully, they can begin to see the world in the way in which God sees.

The second habit of mind and heart is understanding. This is the habit of being able to rearticulate the ideas of another in such a clear way that the author themselves would exclaim with delight over being so well understood. Without this habit, education becomes a twisting of other’s words to fit one’s own worldview. Understanding both Scripture and secular writers from all times and places exposes the flaws and faults of our own culture’s thinking and opens up students to the beautiful truth that God has set in His Word and world.

The third habit of mind and heart is evaluating. Since God is the source of absolute truth and He has revealed it to us first through the special revelation of His word and then through the general revelation of reason, students must be taught how to put the claims of authors against the truth of God. Only then can students learn how to rightly sift the true things that authors may be saying from the dross of cultural or philosophical falsity. This habit is crucial, for it allows students to honestly engage secular authors while still holding the Scriptures as the standard against which all claims about reality must be measured against.

The fourth habit of mind and heart is feeling rightly. Since God has ordained that people be feelers as well as thinkers, helping students pay attention to their emotional responses is a vital part of education. God is glorified by our right emotions of joy over Him and sorrow over sin. This habit of observing and understanding our emotions as we encounter reality helps students to see the way in which they are reacting to God’s Word and world.

The fifth habit of mind and heart is applying. The truths that are learned in the classroom must reshape the lives of students, otherwise the teaching has failed. Therefore, the process of students applying truth to their actual lives must be taught and followed through on, so that students can learn that the life of the mind and the life of the heart are intertwined.

The sixth and final habit of mind and heart is expressing. This the final step of a student who has passed through all the other stages of learning and can finally teach others the truths they have learned. This final habit is arguably one of the greatest goals of education, so that as students come to love God and their neighbor more, they can also help others to do the same.

These habits of mind and heart represent the core of my philosophy of teaching. Students come into contact with the greatest thinkers and ideas throughout history in the arena of classical education. They would have learned the habits to not just poke holes in the arguments of others, but apply the Golden rule to learning, understanding others as they wish to be understood.

Elizabeth Hoffman

Educational Support

Lizzie received her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Colorado Christian University in 2014. Additionally, she holds TESL Certificates (both K-12 and adult) from Front Range Community College (2011) and will graduate with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in March of 2021. She is most passionate about exploring the intersection of theology, culture, and the arts.

Before coming to Summit Classical Academy, Lizzie acted as the Local Outreach Coordinator for Flatirons Community Church in Lafayette, Colorado. She brings several years of administrative experience to the table, having worked as an admin within both educational and ministry contexts. Additionally, she has worked in collegiate settings as a choral accompanist, assistant choir director, and teaching assistant. As a professional singer with the Original Dickens Carolers, she can be seen traipsing around Denver in full Victorian garb during the winter months.

Lizzie and her husband Joseph live in Westminster with their two cats. They spend their free time playing board games, reading in craft coffee shops, and watching Indie films.

Stephanie Fiechtner

Teacher Assistant

Stephanie taught kindergarten for four years. She then helped to found SCA, teaching a combination of 1st and 2nd graders in the initial homeschool co-op. Originally from a farm in Iowa, Stephanie moved to Colorado for her first teaching position. Along with her excellent work ethic, she has a gift for showing her love for her students, which, in turn, helps her to draw out their highest potential as daughters and sons, friends, and most importantly, children of God. Stephanie holds an American Farmer Degree and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Central College in Pella, Iowa. She also owns and operates a small business, Wilderness Paper Products. She and her husband love to be home, play board games, hike, and go on road trips.

Whitney Kelley, DMA

Music Teacher

Dynamic performer and teacher, Dr. Kelley is the principal flutist with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. She received Masters and Doctorate degrees in Flute Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a BM in Flute Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. As a Suzuki teacher, Dr. Kelley has trained extensively in teaching young students through the Suzuki Method, including training with Japanese Suzuki Flute founder, Toshio Takahashi. Her research has focused on the effectiveness of many different teaching strategies and has been published in the NFA Pedagogy Anthology, American Suzuki Journal, Colorado Flutist, and Flute Examiner. She has served as president of the Colorado Flute Association and coordinated summer music institutes and chapter affiliates for the Suzuki Association of the Americas. She actively teaches in the Denver metro area.

In addition to her orchestral position, Dr. Kelley has performed with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and many area orchestras across the Denver metro, and she performed for many years with the Airde Ensemble, a woodwind sextet based out of Boulder, CO. She has performed in multiple summer music festivals, including the Ravinia Music Festival, Texas Music Festival, and the North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Performance Festival. She additionally performs and teaches as a guest artist, clinician, and adjudicator for music programs and competitions across the country.

She and her husband, Shawn, have two young girls and love to hike in the Rocky Mountains, tackle home DIY projects together, and enjoy music as a family. Whitney and Shawn are the founders of Resound Music Academy.

Mark Miller

Science and Mathematics Specialist

Mark Miller is an engineer by training, and has a passion for figuring out how something works, or how to fix it when it doesn’t. Mr. Miller started his engineering career with AT&T and Bell Telephone Laboratories, but left after 10 years to start his own consulting engineering firm. During his 25 years in private practice, he wrote and taught continuing education seminars on computer communication topics to working engineers and computer scientists all over the world, basing his seminars on the 20 books that he had published on those subjects (his writing skills being a credit to his late mother, who taught high school English and Latin). When he retired from the engineering business, he missed teaching, and obtained a substitute teaching license, assisting the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont. In SVVSD, he has taught every math and science class from 6th grade through Advanced Placement levels, and also has a very active tutoring business, with students that have ranged from elementary grades through AP Calculus. Mr. Miller holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Wichita State University, and is a Registered Professional Engineer in four states.

Mark and his wife, Holly have two sons and five grandchildren, and enjoy life in the Boulder County foothills. Mark is also a trumpet player that performed for 15 seasons with the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, and since 2000 has been a member of the Denver Municipal Band, the oldest fully professional band in the United States. In addition, he is a member of several nationwide amateur (ham) radio organizations, including SATERN, the Salvation Army organization that supports emergency radio communication during times of natural disasters.

Lorene Wrapp

Athletics Coordinator

Lorene is a lifelong fitness and health enthusiast with a passion for Christian education and for growing in the love and knowledge of the Lord. She comes to SCA with 12 years of experience as a Physical Education teacher.

Lorene and her husband Mark raised their two sons in Boulder, where they still live. They enjoy the outdoors, hiking, biking, walking, running, all sports, gardening and raising chickens.