I was born and raised in Southern California and moved up to Auburn after my oldest daughter was born. My wife and I keep busy with our two daughters and our dog. My hobbies include baseball, running, reading, and being a dad.
I played baseball at College of the Desert, and once I was done playing I transferred to San Diego State. My Bachelor's Degree is in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Physical Education. I went to National University for my Master’s Degree in Education, as well as my teaching credential. I have taught many subjects at the middle school level in Auburn and in San Diego and I truly love working with students and families. I am so fortunate to have landed in such a welcoming community at Harvest Ridge. The staff, families, and especially the students, make this a truly special place. |
Annette brings many years of experience working in schools from elementary all through high school.
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Paige Staton
Kindergarten Teacher |
Rebecca Feickert
First/Second Grade Teacher |
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Born and raised in Auburn, I grew up the daughter of a teacher and dreamed of a classroom of my own. I attended Newcastle School, where my mom still teaches today, before heading to Placer High School.
I obtained my undergraduate degree in teaching from Chico State, then went to work as a ranch hand in Montana where I found a passion for the ranching lifestyle. For the next 4 years I split my time between ranching across Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho while working towards my teaching credential during the school year. I finalized my teaching credential this year and am honored to land back in the community that raised me. In my time away from teaching I enjoy going to the lake, painting, and running in the canyon. Kindergarten is a special place as children expirience their first year in elementary school. Our youngest Hawks on campus learn through exploration, movement, art, reading, and writing. Each day in our classroom students engage in building community and friendships they can carry with them for years ahead. I am proud to be a part of Harvest Ridge’s unique culture with my fellow educators, and families. |
My name is Rebecca Feickert, I grew up in Newcastle attending Newcastle Elementary and Del Oro High. I went to California State University, Chico majoring in Liberal Studies for my undergraduate degree. After that, I completed my teaching credential at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village. More recently, I completed my Master's in Instructional Education. I’ve been teaching in the area for over 20 years working with all grade levels. Having grown up in Newcastle, it’s such an honor to remain in this beautiful area to teach.
My husband Casey and I live in Loomis with our two daughters. When we aren’t working, we spend much of our time poolside or lakeside as both girls are definitely water lovers and enjoy many water sports. We all love the outdoors, hiking, swimming, and relaxing beachside. Besides spending time with my family I love to read, work in our yard, travel and spend time with friends and family. Teaching is all I’ve ever wanted to do and I’m thrilled to be part of the Harvest Ridge Family. It’s a joy to be working with educators who enjoy and love what they do. There is something magical about Harvest Ridge and I am very proud to be a part of it! |
I was born in Quito Ecuador, South America where my dad was teaching in American schools. Growing up I also lived in Columbia, Alabama, Los Angeles, and King City. I moved to Chico to attend California State University, Chico and continued on to National University for my teaching credential.
I worked my way through college as an aide for special education and knew that being in the classroom was where I wanted to be. I found myself following a long line of educators and becoming a teacher. I worked for the Pleasant Ridge School District for twelve years and enjoyed every minute of it minus the drive. I chose to find a job closer to home, which brought me to Newcastle. I taught for two years at Newcastle Elementary School and moved to Harvest Ridge to open our wonderful school. I have found my home! My daughter attended Harvest Ridge, and has now moved on to high school. We love to travel in our spare time, and enjoy cruising, camping, and seeing places we have never been to before. I also enjoy reading, swimming, listening to music, and decorating. My passion is in the classroom and I look forward to every year I have with the students and families who forever touch my life! |
My name is Nate Nugen, I was born in Fairfield, California and lived in Rio Vista, California until about the age of 7 when I moved up to Citrus Heights, Sacramento where I currently live! I have 3 sisters, 2 chocolate labs and a bengal cat.
I graduated from Sacramento State where I played division 1 college soccer and got my degree in Kinesiology. I went on to play 3 years of semi-professional soccer until an injury had to bring my soccer career to an end. I still love the sport, on any given day you can probably find me in my office watching soccer games at lunch! It was in 2019 I decided to return to school to get my teaching credential and I received my credential in 2021 leading to me being hired here at Harvest Ridge later in the same year! Some hobbies of mine include fishing, playing pickleball, disc golf, ball golf, and most importantly: working out! I am a huge exercise and movement enthusiast and that’s what brought me to become a Physical Education Teacher. My desire is to impart my passion for leading a healthy, physically active lifestyle, supplemented by quality nutrition, to kids at all ages. |
My name is Andrea Sardella and I was born and raised in Modesto. After high school, I attended college at California State University, Chico where I met my husband, Eric. We both graduated in 1997 and moved to this area when my husband got a job working at Intel. I began my teaching career at Placer Elementary in Loomis teaching 7th and 8th grade. I loved teaching 7th and 8th graders, and I could not picture doing anything else until my children were born. I took a few years off of work to be home with my two sons, and I loved every minute of it. I returned to work as a part-time home study teacher, first in Loomis Union School District and then with Horizon Charter School. Teaching home study gave me the opportunity to work with students in grades K-12, and I learned so much about homeschooling, curriculum, and alternative approaches to education. I also had the chance to homeschool my own son for a year.
In 2009 I was thrilled to have the opportunity to help create Harvest Ridge Cooperative Charter School. I feel so lucky to be able to teach at a school that shares my same vision for education, a sense of community, and a love of children. My boys have both attended Harvest Ridge Cooperative Charter School. When we are not at school my family enjoys being at home together, boating, camping, and more recently, learning to raise chickens. In my free time, I can be found reading, listening to music, and pursuing any avenue that allows me to be creative! |
My name is Robin Silski and I was born and raised in Stockton. I went to Chico State where I received a BA in Liberal Studies, a Minor in Latin American Studies and my Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. After college I moved back home to teach 3rd/4th for eight years at a multi-age, project-based, performing and visual arts school. My husband, Todd, is a fireman and we met at a CPR class he was instructing. We moved to Auburn in January of 2007 to be close to the trails and we thought it would be a great place to raise children. Our two children, Robby and Amaya, keep us busy with many adventures.
I enjoy doing a lot of things. Searching through cookbooks, running with my two German Shepherds, working in the yard, and mountain/road riding are all things I love, as well as quilting and making jewelry. One of my favorite things to do with my family is to explore new cities on foot and asking the locals where to eat. This is how I discovered salted caramel ice cream! |
I was born in Southern California and moved to Auburn when I was nine years old. That move was tough, but I have been lucky enough to meet lots of wonderful people in Auburn over the years, including my wife! We have two kids in high school and we also have a dog, Milo Zeppy Dexter III. He’s kind of adorable!
I graduated and earned my teaching credential from Sacramento State University in 2005. I have been teaching ever since the fall of that year. My first six years of teaching were in Lincoln, California (5th grade) before I took my first job here at Harvest Ridge teaching the ⅚ combo class in the years between 2011and 2017. Over those six years, I mostly taught ⅚ combo before moving into the math teacher role. I left Harvest Ridge for three years and met amazing teachers and staff at E.V. Cain (one of them is Mr. Ornelas!) where I taught math and science in 6th grade. I am happy and thankful to be back. When I have finished my work and done my chores around the house, I enjoy golfing, fly fishing (thanks Mr. Wallgren!), playing drums, looking at art, and visiting with friends. We are lucky to have lots of family near us too. A quick “hello” to family members does not take much time (as a matter of fact, I can visit a family member in our very own office!) Go Hawks! |
I was born and raised in Auburn, California where I attended St. Joseph’s and Placer High School. I grew up playing basketball and baseball. After attending Sacramento City College, I played professional baseball for the Minnesota Twins. I was also inducted into the Placer High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. In my spare time, I enjoy music, fly fishing, friends, travel, 30 countries, and counting.
After taking almost two years off for world travel, I attended Humboldt State University where I studied Fisheries Biology, and later attended Seoul National University in Korea where my academic path led to a degree in ESL Education and Cultural Geography. I lived in Seoul, Korea for almost 15 years where I owned a private tutoring business attended by students ages 5 to 65. I taught English literature, reading comprehension, writing, history, science, and math. It was a great life experience that I will never forget. I came home to put down roots in the place where my heart lies. I started at Harvest Ridge in 2015. A new journey led me to Brandman University and Special Education. I obtained my special education credential through the Placer County Office of Education. Like many educators, I am a lifelong learner, and I hope to bring my background knowledge, experience, and coursework to my teaching practice for the benefit of my students. I look forward to every day on campus with our learners. I feel very proud and fortunate to be a part of the Harvest Ridge community which is a rare and unique learning environment. |
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Christina Cowan
Intervention Teacher |
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Originally from the Bay Area, I moved to the Sacramento area in high school and continued my higher education at CSU Sacramento. After college, I traveled and lived in England and Los Angeles for some time before moving back to Auburn to settle and start my family. I have one beautiful daughter, a very active dog, and several chickens. Also, I enjoy reading, hiking, anything in the mountains, and traveling.
My love of teaching comes from a long line of educators in my family. They have been my inspiration for teaching these past nine years. Within that time, I have grown so much as an educator and achieved a Master's Degree in Education Technology at CSU Sacramento. My credential program also focused on positive classroom culture and targeted literacy strategies. With this background, I am excited to join the Harvest Ridge community to grow and learn with my students and families. |
Our Support Staff
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