Administration
Shanna Martin
Principal
Principal
Shanna Martin has been a public educator for 23 years and this will be her 12th year as an elementary school principal. She is excited to join Aurora Public Schools this year as the principal of Tollgate Elementary. Prior to being a principal, she was an assistant principal, instructional coach, and classroom teacher in 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th grade. All of her experiences in education have been focused on the elementary level.
She is originally from Washington state and received her undergraduate in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Development from Western Washington University. She met her husband, Josh, at Western and they are both Western Washington Alumni. In 2003, Shanna and her husband moved to Colorado where she taught and attended the University of Colorado, Denver to earn a masters in Administrative Leadership and Policy Studies. They have called Colorado home for the last 20 years.
Shanna has two high school children and a little Havanese puppy named Ollie. Her family loves to travel around the country and world. They love beach and lake vacations the most. They also enjoy a family game or movie night. She also loves the Colorado outdoors and takes advantage of our trails to take long walks!
Shanna loves working as a principal and is excited to join Aurora Public Schools this year. She looks forward to connecting with the Tollgate Elementary community and her goals will focus on ensuring all students feel safe and supported as well as challenged with learning they attend Tollgate Elementary.
Email: smartin@aurorak12.org
Araseli Garcia
Assistant Principal
Assistant Principal
Araseli was born in Los Angeles, California, and lived in Denver but spent the majority of her childhood in El Paso, Texas. Araseli and her family moved to beautiful Colorado after living in Illinois for 9 years. She has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Argosy University, a Masters in Education from Rockford University, and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Regis University. This is her 16th year as an educator. She has served in various roles in both PreK-5 and K-8 settings as a Dual Language teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal, and interim principal. Araseli loves spending time with her husband Ricardo and children, Valerie, Maya, and Diego. The family enjoys doing outdoor activities as much as possible or hanging out at home cooking and watching movies. She is excited about the opportunity to be serving the Tollgate community!
Email: agarcia2@aurorak12.org
Barry Hazen
Dean of Students
Dean of Students
Barry Hazen was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and has been living in Colorado for the past two years. Barry and his wife made the move to Colorado for her studies and have loved living in the Denver area. During the past twelve years he has been a 4th and 5th grade teacher, interventionist, technology integration coach and technology leader. Barry earned his bachelors degree in Elementary Education as well as his Masters in Educational Leadership Principalship from Arizona State University. Mr. Hazen believes all students are capable of success, no exceptions! Barry loves spending time with family, friends and loved ones. Together the family loves making music, exploring outdoors, and making memories. Mr. Hazen is excited to start building relationships and learning with the Tollgate community!
Email: bhazen@aurorak12.org