Special Education

District Special Education Partner

Jenny Pilger
[email protected]

Jenny Pilger is very excited to be a part of the Governor’s Ranch Elementary community as the assistant director of special education. Over the past 19 years, Jenny has served as a learning specialist, SSN teacher, special education coordinator and director in Sheridan School District. She strongly believes in collaborating with educators, parents, and administrators to build structures and supports for student success. She has been married for 15 years and is a mother of three children. She loves to spend time with her family and can be found at sporting events in her spare time.

Learning Specialists

Mental Health

Occupational Therapist

Physical Therapist

Speech/Language

SSN

Learning Specialists

	Lori Spindler [email protected] Lori Spindler is very excited to join the Governor’s Ranch Elementary community as the full time Learning Specialist. Previously, she has worked at Governor’s Ranch for the past 2 years as a .5 Learning Specialist, splitting time between 2 schools. She started her career in special education in Nebraska where she taught for 2 years before moving back to Colorado. In Colorado, taught Severe Special Needs students for 2 years, and has worked with students in elementary and middle school. Her biggest goal in working with students and families is strong communication and prefers a ‘team approach’ to supporting students. She has a strong desire to help students succeed in school both academically and socially. Lori is a mother of 4 children, all busy doing their own things. One daughter graduated from CU this year, another daughter is ready to graduate from KU in December, another daughter and son are ready to graduate from CSU and CU in a year. She loves to spend time with her family and all the craziness that a big family brings!

	Emily Whaley [email protected] Emily Whaley joins us for the 23-24 school year as our second full-time Learning Specialist. Over the past year, she has been working at GRE as a Guest Teacher and Special Education Para. Emily has 8 years of special education teaching experience with Denver Public Schools. She has one daughter and two sons, all of which are current and former GRE students. Emily is a 4th generation Colorado native, a CSU graduate, and married to her high-school sweetheart. She is thrilled to be able to both live and work in a community that she adores.

	Audra Lewthwaite [email protected] Audra Lewthwaite is joining Governor’s Ranch Elementary this year as she begins her fifth year as a Learning Specialist. This year she will be working with students at GRE as well as at Foothills Elementary. Prior to becoming a teacher, Audra has worked as a Tutor/Interpreter for the visually impaired as well as a paraeducator in a variety of settings. In her free time, she enjoys reading and doing puzzles. During the summer, Audra’s favorite place to be is on a beach and she loves to travel to new places. This summer she was able to spend two weeks in Colombia and absolutely loved it.

	Angela Shamis Angela Shamis began working here at GRE in September of 2004 when her son Travis started Kindergarten. Although at the time she didn’t have experience working with kids (other than her own), she immediately learned that it was something she was passionate about and almost 14 years later she is still loving getting up and going to work every day! Her current position is the Special Education Building Support Paraprofessional, and her primary job is to work with small groups of students needing extra academic support, and at times working with students one-on-one. She has been married to her husband Mark for 22 years and when they are not working they enjoy spending time with family and friends going camping and taking beach vacations. She has two children Lindsay and Travis, both of whom attended GRE, and two furry friends Dusty and Niko.
	Veronica Moritz Veronica Moritz has lived in Colorado her whole life. She graduated from CSU with a bachelor's degree. All of her children attended Governor's Ranch Elementary and she started working here while her daughter was in 4th grade in the fall or 2022. Veronica has a strong connection with Littleton and the Governor's Ranch community. Working with children has brought a new joy to Veronica’s life and she is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Governor's Ranch Elementary team.

Amber Valentine - Individual Support Paraeducator

Amber is joining us this year as a para. She has worked with differently abled children since she was a teen. Recently she was a nanny for several families in her area. Amber has lived in Colorado for most of her life growing up in Evergreen and then moving to Bailey. Amber has three children one in middle school one in high school and one who just left for college. Amber loves playing board games and going to escape rooms with her kids.

Mental Health Providers

	Michelle Myers, Social Emotional Learning Specialist (SELs) [email protected] Visit Mrs. Myer's Web site: https://sites.google.com/jeffcoschools.us/gre-sel-website/home Michelle Myers has been the Social Emotional Learning Specialist at GRE for the past several years. She is here full-time and enjoys supporting students, staff, and families with social emotional learning as well as mental health and community resources. Michelle grew up in Omaha, NE and spent a few years in the Chicago suburbs before moving to Littleton in 1999. She lives close by with her family including three teenagers/young adults who all attended GRE. Outside of school, she enjoys spending her time with her family, extended family, friends, and dogs doing all kinds of outdoor activities all around Colorado and beyond. She loves working in her community supporting students and families.

	Jamie Lauters, School Social Worker [email protected] Jamie Lauters is so excited to join the team at Governor’s Ranch Elementary School for the 24-25 school year as our second school social worker. She will be part of our special education team and will be at GRE four days a week. Jamie will be entering into her 23rd year as a school social worker and has spent the past 13 years working for Denver Public Schools. Jamie is originally from Michigan and spent time working for Chicago Public Schools prior to moving to Colorado. Jamie is a proud mom of three to Olivia, age 7, Ethan, age 6, and Eve, age 3. Her son and daughter are current GRE students. Jamie loves working with students of all ages, helping them develop healthy social and emotional skills for life. She loves playing tennis, reading, and spending time with her husband and children. Jamie is excited to work at her neighborhood school this year and be a part of the school community her children love.

Occupational Therapist

Clare Bixler
[email protected]

Clare Bixler is excited to be joining the Governor's Ranch community! Clare graduated from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, with her Master’s in Occupational Therapy in 2014. She has been a school-based practitioner in a rural mountain area since this time and loves working in the school setting. Clare also sees clients in pediatric home health and is so happy to be in the pediatric/school world because she gets to focus on one of the best occupations--play!  In her spare time, Clare enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, son, and dog. She loves taking pottery classes, practicing yoga, and sitting outside reading on a summer evening.

Physical Therapist

Julie Palmer
[email protected]

Julie received her Masters in Physical Therapy at University of Pittsbugh, and her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University. Julie has worked for Jeffco schools for 15 years as a physical therapist at Fletcher Miller School. Prior to joining Jeffco, Julie worked for 15 years at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Englewood, helping adults with brain and spinal cord injuries. She has her (NDT) Neuro-developmental Treatment certification in pediatric handling, and is working on her (DMI) Dynamic Movement Intervention certification. She has taught CPR, First Aid and (CPI) Crisis Prevention Intervention for the district. When Julie is not working she loves to travel, play golf, paddleboard and read a good book. She is looking forward to working with new students this year and helping them be more independent in their school setting.

Speech/Language Pathologist

Kirsten Fogle
[email protected]

Kirsten is excited to be back at Governor's Ranch! She worked part-time here during the 2015-16 school year. This is her 14th year as a speech/language pathologist and 12th year in Jeffco. She believes that communication skills are the foundation of everything we do both at school and in life. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, reading, and anything to do with Harry Potter. She has a 5-year old son who is adopted, and she and her family are hoping to adopt a second child soon. She looks forward to partnering with families and staff at GRE this year.

Kaitlyn Callahan
[email protected]

Kaitlyn is excited to join the team at Governor's Ranch Elementary School for the 24-25 school year as our second Speech-Language Pathologist. She will be a part of the special education team and will be at GRE two days a week. Kaitlyn recently moved to Colorado from New Hampshire and is excited to explore all CO has to offer! She completed her undergraduate degree at Gordon College in Communication Sciences & Disorders and recently graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology. Kaitlyn loves working with children of all ages, particularly in the school setting, to help students improve their communication skills so they can thrive academically and socially. In her free time, Kaitlyn enjoys hiking, skiing, going to concerts, and visiting national parks! She is looking forward to working with the students and families at GRE this year!

Significant Support Needs (SSN) Center Program

	Sarah Ladd - SSN Teacher [email protected] Sarah Ladd will be joining the team at Governors Ranch Elementary as an SSN Teacher. She is from Michigan where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in elementary and special education at Wayne State University in Detroit. She began her teaching work in Michigan as a special education teacher specializing in ASD and inclusion work with elementary age students. She moved to Colorado in 2015 and started work for Jeffco Schools at Fletcher Miller as a secondary teacher. More recently she worked at Elk Creek Elementary as a learning specialist and taught 1st grade. Besides teaching, she enjoys yoga and completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training last summer. Through this training, she also worked to complete an SEL certification designed for teachers and school communities. She has a 3-year-old son named Rex and loves living in the mountains.

	Lee Gonzalez SSN ISP This is Ms. Gonzalez first experience working in education, and she's thrilled to join the GRE team! She moved to Lakewood, CO from Eureka, CA in September 2022 with her mother, Amy, and their dog, Katana. She's been able to explore the Denver area by doing security for an entertainment company at a lot of the big venues here like Empower Field, Denver's Art Complex, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Fiddler's Green, and Ball Arena. Ms. Gonzalez is also a dog walker and sitter. On her free time she likes to spend quality time with the people she loves and cares about, play guitar, read, skate, bike, yoga, and take naps.

	Traci Patino SSN Para Educator Traci Patino is very excited to continue her role at Governor’s Ranch Elementary as a Center Para in the SSN program. Traci graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in Elementary Education. She was a stay at home mom for 22 years and a nanny for another GRE family for almost ten years. Traci and her husband have lived in Littleton since 1998 and have 3 children who are her world. In her free time she loves spending time with family, reading, being outdoors, traveling and hiking. She loves working with children and strives to have a positive impact in their lives.

	Tiffany Sperry SSN ISP Tiffany Sperry is a Colorado Native. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 20 years. They have three girls and one boy. Their eldest daughter joined the U.S Navy this year--a huge honor for the Sperry family. She has worked in healthcare for over 16 years and has dedicated her life to helping others. She spends most of her days out at the baseball fields where her kids play competitively. A daily goal for her is to make people laugh.

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Special Education