Mrs. Berman

School Counselor & Reading Educator

Mrs. Berman was a gifted educator and facilitator for 26 years in the Clark County School District. Her experience in the field of gifted education began in 1981 as a teacher/specialist and she has been part of the growth of the GATE program in the public school system.

Ms. Berman earned a Master’s degree in school counseling in 1983 from UNLV and has developed innovative programs for families of gifted students and their parents. Allison Berman was SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) certified in 2003 and has coached parent and student groups. In addition, she has created the curriculum and course work for the Nevada State Gifted Endorsement Program at Sierra Nevada College and taught several foundation courses for new GATE specialists. Allison was part of a team of GATE specialists that developed the Scope and Sequence for the CCSD GATE Program in 2005 and has presented at national and local conferences on various topics related to gifted education.
​Ms. Berman’s experience and passion for gifted students is prominent. She is excited to work with the team of professionals at Nasri Academy for Gifted Children. Her goal is to guide students to meet their academic and social potential. She looks forward to being part of this exciting opportunity to serve the educational needs of gifted learners in our community.

Mr. Camp

Coding and Robotics Educator

Mr. Camp is thrilled to join the Nasri Academy family as your new robotics teacher! With over a decade of experience in world-class robotics teams as both a student and coach/teacher, he is eager to share his passion and expertise. He looks forward to empowering students with the skills, confidence, and problem-solving abilities needed to build a better world for tomorrow.

In his free time, Mr. Camp enjoys hanging out with friends, playing board games, bowling, going on hikes, and indulging in all things FIRST robotics!

Ms. Berman earned a Master’s degree in school counseling in 1983 from UNLV and has developed innovative programs for families of gifted students and their parents. Allison Berman was SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) certified in 2003 and has coached parent and student groups. In addition, she has created the curriculum and course work for the Nevada State Gifted Endorsement Program at Sierra Nevada College and taught several foundation courses for new GATE specialists. Allison was part of a team of GATE specialists that developed the Scope and Sequence for the CCSD GATE Program in 2005 and has presented at national and local conferences on various topics related to gifted education.
​Ms. Berman’s experience and passion for gifted students is prominent. She is excited to work with the team of professionals at Nasri Academy for Gifted Children. Her goal is to guide students to meet their academic and social potential. She looks forward to being part of this exciting opportunity to serve the educational needs of gifted learners in our community.

Mrs. Covington

Art & English Language Arts Educator

Mrs. Covington was born and raised in Las Vegas and am proud to be from this beautiful, desert city. Her favorite subjects in school were Art, ELA, and International Language Studies. Shevgraduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelors of Science in Education with an emphasis on art education and a minor in ceramics in 2010 and completed her student teaching at Las Vegas Academy in the arts department.

As an artist Mrs. Covington loves to explore all types of mediums. She has dabbled in drawing, painting, screenprinting, graphic arts, sculpture, ceramics, crochet, and more!! She enjoys all forms of artistic expression but has focused for the last few years on textile arts and quilting. Mrs. Covington is excited to share her love of artistic mediums and sewing with children. Originally her plan was to teach highschool art but now that she is a mother of two elementary age boys she has become passionate about being a part of those early, formative years. Mrs. Covington wants to be a welcoming face that helps them feel excited to come to school and learn each day.

She is a lover of the written arts too! In school, she loved written assignments and excelled at essays. That said, she knows that MANY students are overwhelmed by essays, writing prompts and handwritten Q&A. Her  hope to help children find a love of writing. She also enjoys teaching Greek and Latin roots of words. Understanding root words and etymology can help children decode words that they do not know and it can be a very fun and exciting process.

Ms. Berman earned a Master’s degree in school counseling in 1983 from UNLV and has developed innovative programs for families of gifted students and their parents. Allison Berman was SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) certified in 2003 and has coached parent and student groups. In addition, she has created the curriculum and course work for the Nevada State Gifted Endorsement Program at Sierra Nevada College and taught several foundation courses for new GATE specialists. Allison was part of a team of GATE specialists that developed the Scope and Sequence for the CCSD GATE Program in 2005 and has presented at national and local conferences on various topics related to gifted education.
​Ms. Berman’s experience and passion for gifted students is prominent. She is excited to work with the team of professionals at Nasri Academy for Gifted Children. Her goal is to guide students to meet their academic and social potential. She looks forward to being part of this exciting opportunity to serve the educational needs of gifted learners in our community.

Ms. Fallico

Early Childhood Educator

Ms. Fallico, originally from Chicago, has been residing in Las Vegas since 2000. She’s a devoted mother who takes pride in her son’s involvement in the choir. In her free time, Ms. Fallico volunteers for the Nevada Special Olympics and at the Italian-American Club, showcasing her commitment to community service.

With a love for the beach and an active lifestyle, she frequents the gym and cherishes moments with loved ones. Laughter is her remedy, and as an enthusiastic preschool teacher, she brings joy to her students every day.

As a dedicated and passionate preschool teacher, Ms. Fallico brings over 25 years of experience in Early Childhood Education. With a warm and nurturing approach, she creates a stimulating and inclusive learning environment where young minds can thrive. Ms. Fallico is committed to fostering social, emotional, and cognitive development through hands-on activities, learning projects, imaginative play, and meaningful interactions. She believes in the power of building strong partnerships with families to support each child’s unique journey. With a background in Early Childhood Education, she holds a CDA credential, and over 575 Nevada Registry training hours. Ms. Fallico is excited to embark on this journey of growth and discovery alongside the Nasri Academy Early Childhood Development program.

Mrs. Frye

Math

Mrs. Frye was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. For the past 20 years she has taught K-12 exclusively in the Chicago Public School District. She has taught several of the primary and intermediate grades and she has taught World and U.S. History. She was a Social Studies Instructional Specialist for Johns Hopkins University for seven years. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from National Louis University in elementary Education. Her Master’s Degree was obtained from Concordia University in the area of Curriculum and Instruction as well as School Leadership.

Mrs. Hall-Young

English Language Arts, Literature, and Writing Educator

Mrs. Hall-Young has joined the Nasri Academy for Gifted Children this school year 2020-2021.  Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and raised for the majority of her life in Jacksonville Florida, she became an educator in 2007 where she graduated from the University on North Florida with a B.A. in English Education.  She has dedicated the last 13 years of her teaching career to the same community that she grew up in and has made it her mission to help students release their full potential. She has taught a range of students of varying abilities over the years from Standard English, Honors English, and College classes. One of her favorite classes is the Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) General Paper course which is an international curriculum and examination system that emphasizes the value of broad and balanced study. Alongside in-depth understanding of a variety of subjects, students also learn to master a broader range of skills critical for success in university study and employment.  She has enjoyed a multitude of roles as an educator such as serving as an ELA Department Chair, Lead ELA Teacher, helping to create professional learning communities among teachers, supporting first-year teachers by providing mentoring, participated in Marathon High as a coach to train secondary students to run a half-marathon in support for breast cancer, taught and supported students for after school clubs such as Girls Inc. and Cultivating Creativity in the Community where students can create different works of art and become entrepreneurs by monetizing their finished products, and lastly, she was named Duval County Teacher of the Year in the State of Florida for the School Year 2020-2021.

Mr. Iannaccone

Upper School Science Educator

Mr. Iannaccone is fairly new to Las Vegas but lived most of his life in Portland, OR.  Passion for Math and Science led to a career of 35 years teaching Middle and High School, focusing on using project based approaches to engage learners, promote problem solving, and show the relevance of concepts learned in school.  He also teaches Math and Chemistry at a local nursing college and is a grant writer for a non-profit film festival in Boulder City.  Mr. Iannaccone has taught in Atlanta, Columbus OH, Seattle, Portland OR, Detroit, and now Las Vegas.  In his free time he likes reading books on science, current affairs, and a range of fiction authors.  He’s often out hiking and exploring nature, or enjoying the local Las Vegas art scene.  While his name can be difficult to pronounce at first, he never takes offense to pronouncing it differently.  Iannaccone goes like this: E on a cone a

Mrs. Jensen

Lower School 1 Educator

Mrs. Jensen joins Nasri Academy teaching team this year after almost thirty years with Clark County School District. Her roles in CCSD included teaching Kindergarten, Second Grade, Gifted and Talented Education, Reading Specialist, TESL Specialist (teaching children who are learning English as their second language), Dean of Students at the middle and high school levels, fifth grade, and finally working with special needs children at the preschool level. While with CCSD, Mrs. Jensen received several excellence attendance awards and twice received the Southeast Region Distinguished Educator Award.

Mrs. Jensen grew up on a farm in Oklahoma with her three sisters and lots of farm animals and farm chores.  Surrounded by nature and being part of a farming family, Mrs. Jensen learned from a young age to work hard and appreciate the richness of nature.

In her free time Mrs. Jensen loves spending time with her husband, three grown children,  and two adorable grandbabies. She also enjoys the challenge of half marathons (sometimes walking, sometimes running) that benefit different charities.  In the past she has participated in runs benefiting The American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, Ronald McDonald House, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and other local youth organizations in Southern Nevada.

Mrs. Jensen is delighted to be back in the classroom this year as one of the Nasri Academy teachers. Creating a joyful and engaging classroom climate is her top priority for the upcoming school year.

Mr. Kubetz

Unit and Lower School Science Educator

Mr. Kubetz began his career in education with CCSD in 1990, after receiving a degree in Human Development from the University of Wisconsin. Fourteen years was spent as an elementary teacher. Mr. Kubetz then moved into gifted education and was a GATE teacher for grades 3, 4, and 5 for six years. During the ten years prior to retirement he was a Gifted Education Program Specialist. This position allowed him to work with highly gifted students from Kindergarten to grade 12.

Mr. Kubetz also has worked with parents, teachers, counselors, and school administrators to make sure that the educational and social emotional needs of the gifted students were met. When asked about his goals he answered. “I am passionate about the social and emotional growth of my students as well as their educational growth. My goal has always been for students to be able to identify problems, seek solutions, and persevere when they do not succeed. I feel the best way to do that is to build a strong trusting relationship with students and their families.” It brings Mr. Kubetz joy to help children develop to their potential. He is looking forward to working with everyone at Nasri Academy for Gifted Children.

Mr. Kubetz also has worked with parents, teachers, counselors, and school administrators to make sure that the educational and social emotional needs of the gifted students were met. Mr. Kubetz will be on campus regularly in November after he retires from CCSD. Many of our parents have already met Mr. Kubetz, he was one of Nasri Academy’s presenters during the ʹ2019-2020, Parent Education Program. When asked about his goals he answered. “I am passionate about the social and emotional growth of my students as well as their educational growth. My goal has always been for students to be able to identify problems, seek solutions, and persevere when they do not succeed. I feel the best way to do that is to build a strong trusting relationship with students and their families. It brings Mr. Kubetz joy to help children develop to their potential. He is looking forward to working with everyone at Nasri Academy for Gifted Children”

Coach Levik

Physical Education Educator

Coach Levik started coaching and teaching in 2000. His passion is coaching 4-12th  grade  girls and boys volleyball. He also has been a collegiate women’s volleyball coach at Los Angeles City College!  Coach Levik has been named coach of the year 4 times.
He is very excited to share his Physical Education teaching experience with the students of Nasri Academy.

Ms. Melchor

Early Childhood Educator

Aloha! Ms. Melchor, is born and raised on the island of Maui, Hawaii. After almost 36 years, she decided to move to Las Vegas with her two children and has had no regrets since.

With her 16 years of early childhood education and teaching experience in Pre-K she enjoys being in the classroom teaching, learning, playing and singing with the children. She strongly believes the school/classroom and colleagues is like your second home/family members and should always be welcoming, with a sense of comfort in the environment. With her outgoing personality, she loves to laugh, dance and to always live in the moment.

She is always eager to learn and try new things when approaching challenging situations not just in the classroom but also in life. She is super excited to be in a new city and in a new school to help children and their families by working together to build stronger, positive and nurturing relationships within the community.

Mrs. Scarbrough

Gifted Curriculum Educator 

Mrs. Scarbrough enjoys teaching children to love learning and to be curious about the world around them. Mrs. Scarbrough  holds a Bachelor’s Degree in United States history and a Master’s Degree in teacher leadership and gifted education. She began teaching in Las Vegas over thirty years ago and has taught gifted students as well as students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade five. About four years ago Mrs. Scarbrough became a Gifted Education Program Specialist (GEPS) for Clark County School District. As a GEPS, Mrs. Scarbrough taught GATE  teachers how to develop curriculum and employ differentiation strategies for gifted learners. She also worked with students who were identified as gifted and highly gifted in both academic and social and emotional learning. Mrs. Scarbrough has received awards for Best Action Plan Grant  Recipient from      Sierra Nevada College, and she was a Heart of Education Finalist. Mrs. Scarbrough is  excited to be a new  member of the Nasri Academy team.

Dr. Mirnabi

Robotics, Coding, Technology

Dr. Mirnabi He received B.S. degree in Software Engineering in 2007. His field on M.S. and Ph.D. are Information Technology-Network Engineering from the IT department of QIAU and NASRA in Armenia. He has taught Computer courses for B.S. and M.S. students at universities between 2009 and 2015. He was a judge of two International Computer Science conferences in 2011 and 2012.

In 2016, he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as a PostDoc-Research Scholar. He researched WSNs, Data Mining, Bio-Data Mining, Cloud Computing, Fog Computing in the past 10 years. He has written articles on Network and IT, which was published in Journals such as: IEEE, Elsevier Journals, and conferences. He has a coach the Robotics and has helped at Nasri Academy for Gifted students 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.

Dr. Stauffer

Science: Physics, Chemistry, Biology

Dr. Stauffer is so excited to be part of the Nasri family. In his younger days he traveled to Japan to study martial arts and received his black belt while in Japan. He went off to college and when he was a sophomore he met his future wife. They were both 17 at the time. Dr. Stauffer was a gifted child and then is a member of Mensa. He has been published and is best known for his publication in The Physics Teacher.

It was about how to measure the speed of light in your microwave at home. The lab is still being done at universities from Nairobi, Kenya to Sydney Australia. Dr. Stauffer has taught either high school or college for 30 years and he was an adjunct professor of statistics at CSN. Currently, he writes a column for Companion Animal Magazine on endangered species. To help protect endangered species in Nevada, Dr. Stauffer became a registered lobbyist and fought for the passage of Assembly Bill 83 to make the few remaining moose in Nevada a protected species.

Mrs. Kidd

Spanish Educator

Mrs. Kidd is thrilled to be back teaching Spanish at Nasri Academy for Gifted Children. Since the time Mrs. Kidd was in elementary school, she has had a passion to learn different languages and cultures. Her mother is from Santander, Spain and her father is from Mexico City. She speaks Spanish, French, Italian and English. Her family owned a private school in Mexico, where her passion for teaching children began. Mrs. Kidd enjoys learning, teaching and motivating others toward achieving their dreams.  Mrs. Kidd previously worked at the Mexican Consulate which enriched her career in many ways.  Her philosophy is “the more languages and cultures you learn, the broader your horizons will be.”  Mrs. Kidd believes that language learning should be fun in order to increase retention and engagement. She likes to implement the TPRS method in her classes. She loves spending quality time with her husband and their two sons ages 19 & 13. They enjoy going to basketball and baseball games together. Mrs. Kidd also enjoys running with her German Shepherd dog and working out. She is a passionate BYU Cougar fan. Mrs. Kidd believes that every student can be successful at learning a new language, so here we go school year 2021-2022!

Mx. Peerenboom

History & Math Educator

Mx. Peerenboom graduated from UNLV with a B.A. in History. While attending UNLV they studied abroad in China and was a moderator at a national convention in Montreal Canada. Ash aims to use the experience gained by working at Nasri Academy to obtain his masters in secondary education sometime in the future. They share a passion for working in the educational field, which was greatly impacted by one of their friends/mentors at UNLV. They are honored and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Nasri family and for the experience that comes with it.

Ms. Tyler

ELA, Reading, Science, Unit

I am so grateful to be on this educational journey with all of you as the teacher for LS1 and ELA LS2 for this upcoming school year. I have always believed that the best education fosters the students’ love of learning, assists them in developing a strong sense of self and also meets their individual academic needs. I currently have a bachelor’s degree in Human Development with an emphasis in Early Childhood and I plan to pursue my masters sometime in the near future. I am excited to share my knowledge and to learn and grow with you all!

Ms. Lilly

Early Childhood

Ms. Lilly is an early childhood teacher here at Nasri Academy. Ms. Lilly’s teaching journey began when she started teaching dance for a dance outreach program in her High School. She has continued to teach for various sectors including dance studios, public schools, private schools and nonprofit organizations. Andrea graduated with a B.A. in Dance from Long Beach State University and was a scholarship recipient. Having had the luxury of teaching all ages, her absolute favorite age to teach is early childhood. Andrea couldn’t be more happy that her journey has landed her here at Nasri. She loves everything that it stands for and is enthusiastic to continue to learn and grow within the gifted children world. She is most excited to contribute to a happy, healthy educational environment that supports learning a body-mind connection, social-emotional skills and independent thinking. When Ms. Lilly  isn’t teaching, she enjoys adventuring in nature, hot yoga & playing with her kitten

Mrs. Alder

Early Childhood Teacher

Mrs. Alder is one of our Early Childhood Teachers she is married and has four sons who are all grown and are on their own life adventures.  She and her husband cherish each moment they get to spoil two grandsons.  Mrs. Alder believes that there is nothing she holds higher than family.

Mrs. Alder was raised on a farm in Connecticut. She and her siblings had house chores and outside chores caring for the gardens, horses, cows, chickens and of course the care for two energetic dogs.  Six children and a farm kept her parents on their toes.  Her childhood was love of family, animals, nature, fishing, and camping.

During her young adulthood she wanted a career in the preschool world. She started working with Head Start and continued her schooling, trainings, and conferences in the ECE field for the last forty years.

If there is a something to know about Mrs. Alder, is that she has a love of nurturing children. She feels that it is important to support the social, emotional, and physical movement of little ones.  It is important for a child to communicate with their teacher with confidence as well to be able to explore the social world with trust and love from the adults that interacts each day with them. A preschool teacher is involved with a child at the beginning.

Mrs. Alder hopes that she can make a difference. She is happy to be involved with the Nasri Academy Early Childhood Development program.

Mrs. Altstaetter

Executive Administrative Assistant

Mrs. Kim Altstaetter is newly transplanted from California. She earned her degree in Child Development and Art. Mrs. Altstaetter has worked in the education field for over 25 years. Her experiences have been as an Assistant Teacher, Teacher, Camp Art Director, ECE Assistant Director and ECE Director. She has worked in private, public, for profit and non-profit schools.Mrs. Altstaetter is married with 3 children; a12 year old, an 8 year old and a 6 year old. She enjoys sew- ing, arts and crafts, watching movies, going to museums, traveling, gardening, learning new things, playing video games, and spending time with her family. Her family are all fans of Disney Theme Parks, Star Wars, and Comic Books. She is excited to be part of  Nasri Academy.

Ms. Sobel

Music and Theater Educator

Ms. Sobel has sung leading operatic roles with Opera Ontario, Connecticut Opera, New York City Opera Touring Company, Cirque Grüss (Paris), Opera Roanoke, Syracuse Opera and the Artpark Festival in New York. Career highlights include her debut at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in the Fauré Requiem with the Mid-America Production Orchestra and singing under the baton of Sir Colin Davis with the New York Philharmonic in Der Freischütz.

Ms. Sobel is a native Virginian with a BM from The North Carolina School of the Arts and a MM from UNLV in Music Performance. She has studied at the prestigious American Institute of Musical Studies in Austria and was an apprentice with the Sarasota Opera. Ms. Sobel is busy private voice teacher in Las Vegas and also teaches Music and Drama at The Nasri Academy for Gifted Children.

Ms. Sobel has been in three different productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera where she portrayed the fiery diva CARLOTTA GUIDICELLI. It was a thrill to collaborate with Hal Prince, Gillian Lynne, Charles Hart, and Baron-Lord Webber for the Las Vegas Production of Phantom.

Ms. Skandros

ELA Teacher

Stephanie Skandros, is honored to be a part of Nasri Academy an outstanding school for the gifted. Ms. Skandros has lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for 60 years and attended elementary, junior, and senior high schools in Las Vegas.  She began teaching in 1987, after graduation from UNLV with a degree in Elementary Education. The next 30 years were spent teaching 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade children of all abilities at Clark County School District elementary schools. During that time, she raised her dear son Johnny and continued her education as well. She earned her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction followed by more courseworks in Deserts of the Southwest and Computer Science. Ms. Skandros guided three UNLV education students as their Master Teacher, and saw them through to complete teaching degrees. However, it has always been her passion to help children learn and have developed different strategies to target each child’s individual strengths. She especially loves elementary math and created many programs to help children learn by using interactive materials and models that build conceptual understanding of the skills that are being introduced. Ms. Skandros looks forward to working with the exceptional staff, parents, and beloved children of Nasri Academy.