September 2023 • Home of the Tigers

Highlights From The Principal

We have had a great start to the year! As always it has been wonderful to see all of our returning students and welcome our new students. In addition, we have welcomed a few new staff members and have included a little information about each of them below. We cannot wait for you to have a chance to meet them at Parent Teacher Conferences on September 27th!

We do have some great news to share with you. We recently received our School Performance Framework from the state, which includes our data from last year's state testing. We are again within the "Performance Plan" rating, which is the highest. The performance framework evaluates school performance on Academic Achievement, Academic Growth, and Postsecondary & Workforce Readiness indicators. We are so incredibly proud of our students and our teachers!

We are looking forward to a fantastic school year. If there is anything we can do to support you or your student, please let us know.

Kimberly Silva, ECA Principal

Welcome To Our New Staff

We wanted to give our ECA Family a brief introduction to the new employees to Early College Academy.

Dr. Rosa Isela Law

My name is Dr. Rosa Isela Law and I will be serving as the Director of Early College Academy with an official start date of August 21st.

I graduated with my Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership this summer and continue to advocate for student success. In my research, I focused on student development and retention within marginalized communities, such as students of color and first generation students. My dissertation explored student core self-evaluations, perceived discrimination and how students internalize their everyday interactions. I was able to learn how students interpret micro and macro aggressions and how their intersectionalities impact their interpretations of the world around them. I am an advocate of growth mindset and am guided by Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth Model.Yosso’s goal is to help researchers and educators better serve students by recognizing and acknowledging their strengths and the rich cultural capital they bring into the classroom.

I have over 14 years in higher education with experience in admissions, orientation, housing, advising, program development, retention and success. In my most recent position, I served as the Director of Advising and Success for the Monfort College of Business where I oversaw the day to day operations of the Advising and Success Center. My priorities included recruiting, onboarding and retention of business, software engineering and recreation majors. During my orientation days, I restructured the entire orientation program which focused on successful transitions and a sense of belonging. I also worked closely with the Early College High School, local community college and university partnership to ensure students had access to courses and were successful in this program. I have taught University 101-type courses and a couple semesters ago was given the opportunity to teach Intermediate Business Statistics at the university. I take a lot of pride in making education accessible. As a first generation student, my lived experiences guide my interactions with students and I am able to use my knowledge to make education understandable and attainable. I make the intricacies of a university easier to understand for students and parents new to the systems of higher education.

I enjoy building one-on-one relationships with my students and help them seek professional development opportunities to better support them. Across several mentorship roles, I have worked with middle, high school, and college students on both college and career readiness. Most recently, I was a guest speaker in an eighth-grade classroom of primarily Hispanic students where I addressed high school transition and how to be future-focused.

I'm originally from South Texas where I spent the majority of my life. I moved to Colorado 10 years ago with my spouse to be closer to family. I am a mom to three wonderful kids and a recent dog rescue. When I'm not busy running around in extra-curriculars, I enjoy the outdoors. We love to camp, hike, and fish! I've never been skiing but it is definitely on my to-do list. I'm really excited to join this team and can't wait to start this new adventure!

Ms. Kellyn Dominguez

Hello! I am so excited to be a part of ECA and cannot wait to get to know all of you! I am the new Academic Advisor for Juniors and Seniors with Aims Community College. I was born and raised in Greeley and am an alumna of Greeley West High School, the University of Northern Colorado, and Adams State University. I spent five years working at two other schools in District 6, Northridge and Greeley West, and one year at the Monfort College of Business at UNC. I am married to an awesome husband and have a four-year-old. We enjoy concerts, sports, movies, traveling, trying new foods, and OH – going to Disney! I believe that all students can be successful if they work hard and apply themselves and I cannot wait to be a part of your story. I am looking forward to a great year!

Ms. Kyrsten Householder

My name is Kyrsten Householder, my pronouns are she/her/hers. I am teaching English 9 here at ECA and I am so excited to be here. A little about me: I am coming to Colorado from Louisiana and North Carolina before that. I have been teaching for close to 10 years between High School and College English instruction. Outside of teaching my passions extend to all things nerdy! I love watching every new Marvel film, playing D&D with family, and sitting by the fire with whatever Fantasy/Sci-fi book is calling to me. In addition, I have two lovely fur-babies, a dog and a cat. I have always wanted to live in Colorado, so I am absolutely thrilled to be here.

Dr. Megha Suswaram

I will be teaching Environmental Science. I love teaching all subjects related to natural sciences. I have been teaching for 8 years now. I have a profound love for biology and genetics. My PhD thesis was about understanding the effect of anthropogenic noises on the evolution of animal communication.

Mr. Steven Wagley

Hi! I'm Steven Wagley. Born and raised in Southeast Texas, I come from a large family (number 7 of 8 kids)! Traveling around the world and learning/experiencing different cultures is a passion of mine. I have lived in El Salvador, Spain, and Japan and been to half a dozen other countries. When not traveling, I play video games and spend time with my wife, Michelle. I have been a teacher for over 5 years, teaching Spanish and English for the most part. This year, I will be teaching Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication at ECA and could NOT be more excited! I am extremely grateful for this opportunity!

Ms. Merritt Jones

Merritt Jones is a recent alumnus from Colorado State University, receiving her Master’s (M.M.) in Music Performance. She will be teaching Music Appreciation at the Early College Academy for the 2023-2034 academic year. Merritt is excited for the opportunity to share her passion of the arts with the students at the Early College Academy. She was the Principal flutist of the CSU Wind Symphony and the Symphony Orchestra. She received her Bachelors in Music Performance (Flute) at McNeese State University where she also minored in Saxophone. In addition to classical music, she doubles flute and saxophone and has experience in both jazz combos and musical theatre pits. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate degrees, she was honored to study with and participate in masterclasses led by many world class musicians, such as Jim Walker, Bonita Boyd, Carol Wincenc, and Diana Morgan. Merritt was also a top three finalist in the Colorado State University Concerto Competition. She enjoys teaching flute privately, teaching music appreciation at the collegiate level, and performing in symphonies throughout the Front Range.

Access to Aims

Early College Academy students are also Aims students, which means they have access to Aims' Physical Education and Recreation Center (PERC). The PERC offers recreation hours, intramural sports, and activity classes.

Students who wish to utilize the PERC during the 2023-2024 academic year must have a completed "Minor Waiver of Liability on File".

Parents/Guardians, if you have not done so already, please complete the waiver on behalf of your student.

Questions? Contact the PERC at 970.339.6295 or physical.education@aims.edu

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