Staff

Terri Toback received her credential from Illinois State University. After teaching for five years, she took time off to raise her three children. She began working at Baymonte almost twenty years ago! She helped with After School Care and was a kindergarten aide before finally finding her niche teaching the best people on earth-kindergarteners! In her free time she can be found taking beach walks with her adorable dog, Kale. She also loves hanging out with her family and her church “family.” She feels, "thankful to have work that is so meaningful and satisfying!”

Shanna Murphy was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She played on her high school tennis team and was voted Most Inspirational Player. She graduated from U.C. Santa Cruz with a degree in Economics and promptly got a job at an insurance company. She returned to school to earn her teaching credential from San Jose State. She married her high school sweetheart, Todd, in 1990. She taught first grade for five years before having her daughters, Blake and Ellie. Once her girls were attending Baymonte she joined the faculty and has been teaching kindergarten for over ten years. “In my free time I like to hike, walk on the beach, read, go to yoga classes, and cook.”

Maureen Kitch received her B.A. in Psychology at U.C. Santa Barbara and her teaching credential through the San Jose State University Masters program. She taught kindergarten at Baymonte for four years and was two classes away from receiving her Masters before deciding to focus her time on being a full-time mother. Maureen and her husband Troy are proud parents of three daughters, Kiera, Chloe and Lily, all whom attend Baymonte. Both Maureen and Troy have lived in Scotts Valley since they were five years old and feel very blessed to be able to raise their daughters here as well. In her free time Maureen enjoys doing anything crafty: sewing, cooking, knitting, and painting.

Lisa Poston jokes that she has been at Baymonte since kindergarten and has never really left! She attended Baymonte from kindergarten through her junior year. She returned to teach first grade in 1996 after receiving her B.A. in Psychology at U.C.S.C. and her teaching credential at San Jose State. She loves first grade and plans to teach until she's old and gray! She lives with her husband, Ed, and her two girls, Maggie and Gracie, in Ben Lomond. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, swimming and going to flea markets.

Taylor O'Rorke  grew up in Fresno, California and comes from a long line of female teachers (grandma, mom, sister, herself of course!). She went to the University of California, Santa Barbara for her undergraduate degree and worked as a media planner for Netflix in San Francisco for three years. After this she followed her heart, and gentle nudges from the Holy Spirit, and received her MS teaching credential from San Francisco State University and became a second grade teacher! Taylor taught for two years at her former elementary school before getting married in June 2020 and moving to Aptos, California with her husband, Ryan, and new Irish Doodle puppy, Dean. Taylor is ecstatic about joining the Baymonte community as she loves Jesus, building relationships with her students, and sharing Jesus’ love for them. In her free time she enjoys reading, coaching (dance, softball, drama, you name it!), being with her family, watching movies, doing Bible studies with friends, going to the beach (really anything outdoors), and dancing. In fact, she can often be found singing and dancing, so don’t be surprised if you see her dancing/being silly both inside and outside of the classroom!

Jennifer Newton graduated from CA State University with her BA in Child, Adolescent, and Family Studies and a minor in Spanish. She is currently finishing her MA degree in Elementary Education. After spending summers serving in orphanages in Mexico she developed a passion for teaching and serving children. She has years of teaching experience in classrooms, ministry, and with children who have special needs. She is so happy to be a part of the Baymonte Christian School community.  In her free time, you can find her hiking, running, spending time with friends and family, and serving at Vintage Faith Church.

Cassy Hazen was born in March of 1983, in West Covina, California. She accepted Christ into her life as a young girl and has experienced God in amazing ways. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Child Education and a California teaching credential from Point Loma University. She married a Baymonte alumnus in 2007 and feels God pointed her toward teaching at Baymonte (her husband Jeff actually had third grade in the room she now occupies). She and her husband are blessed with two beautiful boys that keep them on their toes. She loves family time, the beach, movies, spending time with friends, date nights and her church community.

Kathryn McClure was born and raised in Scotts Valley. After graduating from Scotts Valley High School, Kathryn attended Vanguard University of Southern California in Costa Mesa where she pursued her degree in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in history and a minor in Biblical Studies. Kathryn received her Multiple Subject Teaching Credential and her MA in Education at San Jose State University. During her time in college, Kathryn served with Young Life, an outreach ministry for high school students. Kathryn has been on part time Young Life Staff for the last four years both in Newport Beach and Scotts Valley. She has also helped coach the girl’s soccer team at Scotts Valley High School for the past two seasons. Kathryn has a heart for the youth in her community and feels called to instill confidence, value, and a sense of wonder about our intricate world to each of her students. In her free time, Kathryn enjoys hiking, camping, reading, being at the beach, and spending time with her husband.

Terra Bliss grew up in Scotts Valley and with the exception of two years in college, has lived her whole life in the Santa Cruz mountains. She went to local schools and played on many sports teams growing up. After graduating from Harbor High School, she went to California State Hayward and then to Bethany University to earn her undergrad degree, teaching credential, and Master's degree. She competed in college soccer and softball. She helped coach both of these sports at Bethany University. She has also been a coach for Scotts Valley High School and Baymonte. Terra worked as a recreation leader for the Parks and Recreation Department and as the director for the Baymonte Summer Quest program. She joined the staff at Baymonte in 2006 teaching third grade. After two years, she began teaching fifth grade where she has been enjoying teaching ever since. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her friends and family, having game nights, being outdoors, and playing sports.

Christie Olson received her B.A. in music performance from George Fox University. She received her credential and her Master’s in Education from Vanguard University. She has taught at many levels from kindergarten to college, but finds fourth grade to be her “happy place.” She is a history nut and gets a kick out of turning kids on to California History. When she’s not grading papers, she likes to sing, act, or curl up under a blanket with a really good book. She also loves to watch her daughter sing and act and her husband and son play soccer. She joined the Baymonte staff full-time in 2003.  

Ingrid Adams teaches fifth grade and middle school English. She studied at North Park University in Chicago for her Bachelor’s degree, and returned to California to study Education. She has taught English at many levels (middle school, adult education and English as a Second Language) since 2003. Ingrid holds a California Teaching Credential along with a Master’s degree from Bethany University. She has taught at Baymonte since 2005. Ingrid loves spending time with her family, going to the beach and cooking.

Jeremae Reyes teaches fifth grade and middle school science. received her BA from Long Beach State University and her teacher education coursework at Biola University. She was born and raised in Long Beach and although an only child she has a God given passion for teaching children. She has experience as YMCA youth leader, a substitute teacher in the Long Beach Unified School district, and has taught robotics in Compton Public Schools. She loves going to Disneyland and drinking coffee but top of her list is her love for God. She loves to sing and was on her home church worship team. Moving to Scotts Valley will be a big change for this Southern California native but she is excited to meet our students and start a new adventure here at Baymonte Christian School.

Rachel Hofmann, a former Baymonte student, joined our faculty in 2008 after teaching in Baltimore, Maryland since 2005. She received her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Chemistry from Pepperdine University and a Master’s in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College. She received her Maryland Teaching Credential from Johns Hopkins University. If you peek into her classroom you could see a team of students working with Lego Robotics, rocketry or CO2 cars! On her day off you will find her sailing in the Monterey Bay.

Kate Wadhams is most proud to be known as wife to her husband Chris and the mom of Anders and Karsten, both boys are students at Baymonte. She has been working with preschool through middle school students in a variety of ministry and educational settings for over 20 years. She substitute taught at Baymonte for three years before coming onto staff as a teacher’s aide and fifth grade history teacher. She has a background in child and adolescent development and psychology with an emphasis in how children learn. It’s a huge blessing to be able to use this skill set simultaneously with sharing God’s love. When not teaching or driving her kids to karate, swim, basketball, or music lessons, Kate can often be found paddle boarding, hiking, reading, or doing pretty much anything fun outdoors.

Patrice Fernald is no stranger to Baymonte Christian School. She taught Arts and Crafts to our Middle School students twelve years before rejoining our staff as our Elementary P.E. instructor. Before her Arts and Crafts days at Baymonte, she taught Physical Education at both Boulder Creek Elementary and Brook Knoll Elementary. Her joy and enthusiasm for P.E. is apparent to all as she loves introducing new games and teaching life lessons of good sportsmanship, respect and teamwork!Her education background includes a BS in Recreation Administration, Program Planning Management from Sacramento State University and a degree from American River College in Recreation and Leisure Studies. Her family lives in Mount Hermon and on the weekends she is busy coordinating weddings for Mount Hermon Conference Center. Her son Landon is a student at Baymonte and she and her family enjoy mountain biking, running, playing UNO and spending quality time together!

Elizabeth Barrett Although Elizabeth has roots in Davis, California, she grew up in Central Illinois and studied Instrumental Music Education and English at Wheaton College. She has fostered musicianship in students of all ages, applying her Musikgarten training in Wheaton College's Community School of the Arts with emerging musicians and teaching advanced musicians in high school and middle school wind bands to earn her Illinois Teaching Credential. She is passionate about celebrating God's exhortation: "Sing unto the Lord a new song" (Psalm 96:1), and in her free time, if she is not reading Debussy, Bach, or Conductor's Scores; she is either reading the likes of G.K. Chesterton, Emily Dickinson, and Dallas Willard; or hiking, climbing, and birding in the book of nature. 

Ellen Arzouni is an Academic Support Specialist. She is trained in the Barton System of Instruction for children with learning disabilities. Her passion is keeping current and updated on student learning issues, attending workshops and clinics. She has worked in a variety of capacities at Baymonte since 1994. Her two daughters, Jenny and Mandy graduated from Baymonte. In addition to helping students learn to love learning, she enjoys reading , studying the Bible, and going for walks with her friends.

Sarah Schimmel received her BA degree in liberal studies from Biola University and finished her credential work at UC Irvine. She was the first 4/5th grade combo teacher at Mariners Christian School in Newport Beach. Her first job at Baymonte was working with Mrs. Thompson in IPI and then went on to teach Spanish in the middle school for several years. She is happy to be returning to the IPI program. Sarah and her husband have lived in the Santa Cruz area over 20 years and have 3 grown children. In her spare time you might find her walking her husky trying to wear her out and develop her courage.

Ingrid Adams teaches Middle School English. She studied at North Park University in Chicago for her Bachelor’s degree, and returned to California to study Education. She has taught English at many levels (middle school, adult education and English as a Second Language) since 2003. Ingrid holds a California Teaching Credential along with a Master’s degree from Bethany University. She has taught at Baymonte since 2005. Ingrid loves spending time with her family, going to the beach and cooking.   

Rachel Hofmann, a former Baymonte student, joined our faculty in 2008 after teaching in Baltimore, Maryland since 2005. She received her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Chemistry from Pepperdine University and a Master’s in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College. She received her Maryland Teaching Credential from Johns Hopkins University. If you peek into her classroom you could see a team of students working with Lego Robotics, rocketry or CO2 cars! On her day off you will find her sailing in the Monterey Bay.

Jeremae Reyes received her BA from Long Beach State University and her teacher education coursework at Biola University. She has joined our staff as the new middle school Science teacher. She was born and raised in Long Beach and although an only child she has a God given passion for teaching children. She has experience as YMCA youth leader, a substitute teacher in the Long Beach Unified School district, and has taught robotics in Compton Public Schools. She loves going to Disneyland and drinking coffee but top of her list is her love for God. She loves to sing and was on her home church worship team. Moving to Scotts Valley will be a big change for this Southern California native but she has enjoyed her new adventure here at Baymonte Christian School.

Dan Rozeboom has been teaching at Baymonte since 2000; he currently teaches social studies in the middle school. Dan also serves as the middle school student activities director and is the faculty advisor for the student council. He previously taught middle school physical education and coached both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams at Baymonte. Prior to his time at Baymonte, Dan was a director, counselor and experiential education specialist at numerous camps in Santa Cruz county - including Mount Hermon, Mission Springs, Kruz Kidz at Twin Lakes Church and Baymonte’s SummerQuest program. He graduated from Westmont College (Santa Barbara, California) in 1996 after studying History, Philosophy, Political Science and Economics. Presently, he loves spending time hanging out with his family, riding his bike in the Santa Cruz Mountains, listening to music, cheering for the Oakland A’s and Golden State Warriors and drinking coffee.

Elizabeth Barrett is Baymonte's kindergarten - 8th grade music teacher this year. Though she has roots in Davis, California, she grew up in Central Illinois and studied Instrumental Music Education and English at Wheaton College. She has fostered musicianship in students of all ages, applying her Musikgarten training in Wheaton College's Community School of the Arts with emerging musicians and teaching advanced musicians in high school and middle school wind bands to earn her Illinois Teaching Credential. She is passionate about celebrating God's exhortation: "Sing unto the Lord a new song" (Psalm 96:1), and in her free time, if she is not reading Debussy, Bach, or Conductor's Scores; she is either reading the likes of G.K. Chesterton, Emily Dickinson, and Dallas Willard; or hiking, climbing, and birding in the book of nature.

Middle School Physical Education

Kristi Trefethen is our middle school PE teacher. Her background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology as well as a Master’s Degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Kristi has taught many styles of fitness classes at over a dozen clubs, from Northern California to the Silicon Valley to San Diego, instructing students of all ages for more than twenty years. Kristi and her husband Steve married in 2001 and have been blessed with three amazing children. Kristi is currently teaching fitness classes for Active Sports and Toadal Fitness and has her own personal training business here in Scotts Valley. When she isn't watching one of her kids play sports, she loves spending time at the beach, going on short day trips and being active with her family and friends. 

Art & Architecture Teacher

Lauri McNeill, owner of McNeill Design Architects, practicing architect and artist, shares her passion for the arts as she teaches our middle school art and architecture classes. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a Masters in Architecture.

She has been teaching the art program since 2012 at Baymonte and also offers an after-school Art club for those who want to continue their growth and are passionate about art.

She uses a variety of studio lessons, including art history, she incorporates different art mediums and daily sketch prompts to teach basic techniques and elements of art, composition, design, and color.

Lauri explains her teaching philosophy, “Becoming an artist is truly about observation. I believe students can be taught to draw, if they can learn to see and have the desire to practice it regularly.”

ArcKIDtecture is a unique Baymonte school elective taught twice per week and introduces students to three dimensional design and planning. As a creative, hands-on experience, the students learn to create spaces in the built form, using cardboard, wood, Legos, hand drawing and computer design tools. 

Lauri’s family is a source of joy and inspiration for her work, especially Grandbaby June with her love for noticing the little things God has given each of us daily in a new light!

Ellen Arzouni is an Academic Support Specialist. She is trained in the Barton System of Instruction for children with learning disabilities. Her passion is keeping current and updated on student learning issues, attending workshops and clinics. She has worked in a variety of capacities at Baymonte since 1994. Her two daughters, Jenny and Mandy graduated from Baymonte. In addition to helping students learn to love learning, she enjoys reading , studying the Bible, and going for walks with her friends.

Sarah Schimmel received her BA degree in liberal studies from Biola University and finished her credential work at UC Irvine. She was the first 4/5th grade combo teacher at Mariners Christian School in Newport Beach. Her first job at Baymonte was working with Mrs. Thompson in IPI and then went on to teach Spanish in the middle school for several years. She is happy to be part of the IPI program. Sarah and her husband have lived in the Santa Cruz area over 20 years and have 3 grown children. In her spare time you might find her walking her husky trying to wear her out and develop her courage.

Steve Patterson is Baymonte's school principal. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with a B.A. in Liberal Studies and received a Master’s degree in Educational Administration from United States International University. He has a California Multiple Subject Life Credential and has been at Baymonte since 1980. Mr. Patterson has served as principal since 1991. In his free time he enjoys home building projects, spending time with his family, including his five grandchildren, and listening to great blues and jazz music.