Mr. McKeown

Miss Stagner is from the Bay Area and became a San Diegan in 2013, when she attended SDSU, pursuing degrees in Theatre Performance and Fine Arts English. After graduating, she entered the education field as a 7th-12th grade English and Drama teacher.

This year she is thrilled to share one of her biggest passions with explorers: Film studies! As for English, her favorite aspects of teaching include novel study, creative writing, and in-class discussion. Her classroom library includes over 2,000 books, tons of Marvel and Star Wars collectibles, and posters galore!

In her spare time, Miss Stagner can be found in a bookstore or a movie theatre, or spending time with friends, family, and her cat, Kiki.

Maggie grew up in Grand Rapids, MI experiencing all seasons with her large family. 

She is 1 of 5 girls in her family that are scattered all around USA. She graduated from 

the University of Michigan with a degree in Primary Education with a concentration 

in Math. After graduation, Maggie headed to Thailand to teach in Thailand where she taught all subjects in English to a kindergarten class. She then traveled around Asia and landed in Europe where she ran a children’s summer camp at a family’s urban farm in Northern Italy guiding the children through inquiry of sustainability, cooperation and design.

Maggie decided to move to California to begin her teaching career in 2017. She began teaching 5th grade in Chula Vista and in 2020 began as a 6th and 7th Grades Math teacher at Kavod. She loves incorporating project based learning into the everyday classroom where our explorers guide their path of inquiry.

In her free time, Maggie loves to surf, travel, take film photography, do pottery, yoga and enjoy the sunshine and beach as much as possible.

Mr. Murphy is the Individual and Societies teacher for Middle school, in addition to teaching Theatre for 6th grade. Mr. Murphy is from the Bay Area, and moved down here 11 years ago when he attended SDSU. Mr. Murphy has been teaching at Kavod since January 2021, and when he is not teaching, he can be found with his family, at the gym, or playing basketball every Sunday, 

Rina came to San Diego from Israel.

She was born and raised in the city of Akko in the northern district of Israel. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Israeli army and served for two years in a unit called Search and Rescue. After the end of her military service, she worked and traveled in southern Europe then started my B.Ed. in Communication and Community Education at the Oranim College.

She has been working as a high school communication and cinema teacher since 2017 and has great passion for the field of new media and social networking as well. In her free time she likes to read, relax with Netflix, film and edit movies, meet new people and listen to music.

HaMorah Einav was born and raised in the Petach Tikva in the central district of Israel. She lived in Herzliya and Hod Hasharon.

In Israel, she was a school counselor, play therapist and a Social Sciences teacher.

For the over 13 years she worked in both Elementary and High Schools in Israel.

She earned her Bachelor's degree and teaching certificate in Psychology and Education at the Open University of Israel, and her Master’s Degree in counseling Education is from Beit Berl college, located on the outskirts of Kfar Saba.

HaMorah Einav has a great passion for traveling, the ocean, music and books, meeting new people, adventures and exploring new experiences. 

Ms. Hayes grew up in the Bay Area, CA and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon, majoring in Spanish and International Studies with a focus in International Education. She has lived, studied and taught abroad, in Chile, Spain and Germany. She taught English at a secondary school in Madrid, Spain, and earned a Master’s of Arts in Latin American and U.S. American Studies from the University of Erlangen- Nuremberg (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität), in Germany. In 2022, she earned a Master’s of Education from Portland State University, with endorsements in both Spanish and German. Her background in early childhood education and specialization in teaching the Spanish language brought her to Kavod!

When Ms. Hayes is not in the classroom, she enjoys laughing with friends and family. She loves yoga, hiking, reading and spending time at the beach.

Shawn Kessler grew up in the great city of Chicago before moving out to San Diego. He received his degree in Biology with a focus on Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology from UC San Diego. He has been teaching since 2008 and looks forward to continuing to grow as an educator. 

On his way to becoming an educator, Shawn worked as a clerk at the Chicago Board of Trade, a ski-lift operator, and a wolf biologist. He uses all of his past experiences to teach his students with real world, problem based projects. 

In his spare time, Shawn loves hanging with his family and dog is outside as much as possible surfing, hiking, running, and cycling. 

Mx. Vickers grew up on a farm in small-town Idaho. They spent most of my high school summers working in San Diego and eventually made the permanent move in 2010.

They obtained both a BA in Liberal Studies (w/ emphasis in science) and a teaching credential from San Diego State University. 

In their free time, they can be found taking care of their many plants, consuming all things horror (movies, books, podcasts, etc.), listening to live music, and spending time with friends and family!

Patrick McKerring has lived in San Diego with his wife and three children for more than 20 years. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Social-Psychology with an emphasis on Juvenile Delinquency from San Diego State University. After completing his B.A., he continued his studies, earning a masters degree in education and a California Teaching Credential. Mr. McKerring also holds a masters certification in Applied Behavior Analysis and has been at Kavod since 2016. 

Trevor Macleod is from San Luis Obispo, CA and is excited to be teaching the explorers 8th grade math and 7th and 8th grade design. 

In 2017 he graduated from UCSB with a degree in economics and in 2021 received his masters in global education.

Outside of school you will find him surfing, exploring new cultures, or under water diving.

A classroom teacher since 2005, Mr. Lancaster has taught grades 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Prior to 2005, he taught high school and middle school band, and was a substitute teacher for several years. Mr. L. began teaching while studying music at San Diego State University, where he gave guitar and piano lessons to his friends.

His first year at Kavod was 2019 as the music teacher, and will resume that post for the 2021 school year.

Mr. Lancaster’s family includes his wife and 2 sons, as well as 4 cats. All are Southern California natives! He enjoys spending time traveling with his family, playing the guitar,, reading, gardening, and tending to their flock of chickens.

Mr. Lancaster has a BA in Music from SDSU and a M.Ed. in Educational Technology from Lesley University.

Ms. Brandao was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations in Brazil before moving to the United States/San Diego in 2018. She has been a long-time roller skating coach back at home, and decided to keep following her passion of teaching and stay in the field. She is now pursuing her Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at Moreland University. Mrs. Brandao is happy to be a part of the Kavod team and have the opportunity to support explorers on their learning journeys. She enjoys the school’s positive environment, and the care shown towards all explorers. 

In her free time, Mrs. Brandao loves going to the park with her family and dog, going to restaurants and trying new food, watching soccer games (Go Wave!) and traveling.