Faculty and Staff

Maggie Knutson - Education Director

Maggie Knutson is a recipient of the National Milken Educator Award and the Target Teacher of Excellence Award. She comes to Laura Jeffrey Academy after fifteen years of teaching fifth and sixth grade students and seven years of designing and facilitating her own summer literacy camp for elementary and middle school students. As a governor appointed member of the Minnesota Board of Teaching, Maggie brings a wealth of contacts and resources from around the state. In August, Maggie will earn her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Minnesota. Maggie's scholarly work has focused on literacy, pedagogy and social justice education. She has presented her research at several professional conferences around the country and has led professional development initiatives in schools and districts around the state.

Sally Spreeman - Operations Manager

Sally Spreeman, Operations Manager comes to LauraJeffreyAcademy with many years of experience working in non-profit, business and education.  For four years Spreeman taught elementary school in El Paso, Texas as well as coordinated her districts evening adult basic education and ESL classes.   She is adept at project management and complex standard operating procedures as used with a Silicon Valley high tech manufacturer and local textbook publisher.  Her passion for girl programming comes from seven years of working as a Program Manager with Girl Scouts where she coordinated day camps, weekend events, leadership trainings, developed program resources for girls and adults as well as volunteer recruitment, marketing and strategically sought collaborative partnerships.  Most recently she was in the fundraising and grant writing field and created a development plan for LauraJeffreyAcademy while serving on the board the past year.

Kelly Armstrong - Social Studies Teacher

Kelly Armstrong is currently completing her Master of Education degree at the University of Minnesota. She received her BA in psychology, with a minor in women’s studies, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kelly has worked with students in a variety of settings. Throughout college, Kelly worked with homeless youth at an after school program. In the summers, she was the program director and trip director at a YMCA summer camp. She has also served as a middle and high school volleyball coach, and has worked with youth and families as a children’s case manager at a domestic violence shelter. Kelly is passionate about working with students and making content engaging and relevant to their lives. In her interview Kelly stated, “I want students to learn to engage fully in their education, to respect others and to feel like they belong in a culture of learning.” Kelly comes to Laura Jeffrey Academy as top recommended student in her cohort at the University of Minnesota.

Wendy Braun - Art and Technology (GTT / Project Lead the Way)

Wendy grew up in Southern California and moved to Minnesota 7 years ago to spend time with her grandmother where she fell in love with the state and can’t imagine living any where else.

She received a Masters in Art in 2005, and a Masters in Education (pending) from MSU Mankato. Her Bachelors Degree is in Behavioral Science and Psychology with an emphasis on Social Work from Concordia University Irvine California. She has over ten years experience working in the technology field emphasizing in graphics and web design. She has guest lectured at California State University Long Beach and Irvine Valley College and taught in Zambia Africa. More recently she became project Lead the Way certified allowing her to teach engineering classes specializing in the science of technology, electronics, and robotics.

As an artist her favorite mediums are mixed media, painting, and glass work. She views various art mediums as different languages in which students may express themselves and their understanding of what they are learning. Paint is a language; clay is a language, glass work is a language; She has been studying about art as a language from the world renowned schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy, over the past several years.

Annie Dau - Music Teacher

Annie Dau comes to Laura Jeffrey Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in K-12 Music Education from St. Cloud State University. Although her emphasis was in voice, she has been studying piano since she was eight and guitar since she was sixteen. Prior to her attendance at St. Cloud she was accepted to and graduated from the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, MN. After receiving her Bachelors, Annie ventured to Sydney, Australia to experience living and working in a different country. Annie has five years experience teaching as a private instructor, most recently for Simply Strings Studio in Minneapolis. She has also directed youth choirs in St. Paul and given general music instruction in both English and Spanish. During her undergraduate work Annie became interested in Women’s Studies and got involved in Women’s Equality Groups in both St. Cloud and Minneapolis, in which she continues to be active. She looks forward to beginning her work toward a Master’s Degree in Music Education in the near future. Annie is excited to create a hands-on learning environment where her students can experience, create, collaborate, and perform a variety of music. She hopes that students will be able to transfer the skills they learn in her classroom to the process of becoming confident and conscientious individuals within society.

Lizzie Forshee – Science Teacher

Lizzie Paulson comes to Laura Jeffrey Academy with a bachelor's degree in Science from the University of Minnesota and a Grades 5-12 Life Science Licensure from the College of St. Catherine. Lizzie has worked with students of diverse backgrounds and various communities. During her undergraduate work, Lizzie taught for Mad Science, an after-school science program. Lizzie is currently a Science Educator for the Science Museum of MN, and is teaching within the Minneapolis School District. Lizzie is coming to Laura Jeffrey Academy to promote hands on learning through a safe and responsive environment for young learners. Lizzie’s passion is to engage girls in science learning and promote critical thinking in their everyday lives. Lizzie’s passion for inspiring girls in the field of science is transparent through her energy and commitment to the classroom and her students.

Erin Rathke - Physical Education and Health Coordinator

Erin Rathke is excited to bring energy, passion, and knowledge to Laura Jeffrey Academy. Erin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education in K-12 Physical Education from Concordia University, St. Paul, MN. Erin also played on the women's basketball team at Concordia. She received a Master of Science in Multicultural Education from St. Cloud State University. She brings to her team eight years of teaching experience in Minnesota's largest public school district. As a teacher, Erin played an instrumental role in writing and implementing an all-girls physical education class for the past four years. In addition to her classroom leadership, Erin has inspired girls' participation in athletics by serving five years as a basketball and track coach. She also has held significant leadership roles in staff development programs, such as Seeking Educational Equity through Diversity (SEED). Erin has a wealth of ideas that she will integrate into Physical Education and Health classes that will help LJA students better understand and incorporate ideas of personal fitness, healthy body image and nutrition. Erin is a brown belt in Taekwondo, is a certified massage therapist and has a long history of instructing kickboxing and self-defense to women of all ages. Erin loves being in partnership with her husband, Eric, and being a mom to their young son, Maddox, whom they adopted from Guatemala. At LJA, Erin wants to help create this dream place into an authentic, empowering reality.

Allison Stapley - Math Teacher

Allison Stapley comes to Laura Jeffrey Academy with eight years of teaching experience in Houston, TX. All of her experience has been in schools of choice, including seven years at engineering magnet schools and one year at in International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education, with a minor in physics from Gustavus Adolphus College, and a Masters of Education from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX. Allison has worked as a science teacher, campus science specialist, engineering teacher, and math teacher. Throughout her experience she has worked with students in several programs including; Future City Competition, Botball, Young Astronauts Club, and Young Inventors Club. She has also provided professional development for teachers in the area of engineering and curriculum development. Allison has assisted schools in writing winning award and grant proposals, including both state and national magnet awards. 

Amber Wegehaupt - Language Arts

Amber is coming to us from Los Angeles, where she has spent two years teaching English in an ethnically diverse, low-income community as a corps member of the rigorous nonprofit Teach For America. She recently earned her Master's degree in education from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Amber has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish from University of South Dakota and spent six months of her undergraduate career living and studying in Spain to improve her competency in the Spanish language. In addition to her teaching experience, Amber has worked as a writing tutor, copy editor, and research assistant in the area of critical media literacy.

Amber has an incredible passion for empowering young people and a commitment to effecting positive change in herself, her students, and the world. She plans to lead her students in reading and writing for authentic purposes and is looking forward to exploring ideas in literature with her students through rigorous inquiry-based discussion. She will develop her students' confidence in reading and writing by providing high levels of support through a challenging academic curriculum. Amber comes to LJA excited to help young women learn about themselves so that they may live purposeful, meaningful lives.

Cindy Reuther - Project Lead

Cindy K. Reuther's work with educational, non-profit and corporate groups includes planning, board development, and designing systems that support organizational innovation and sustainability. She is published in “Rethinking Organizational & Managerial Communication from Feminist Perspectives,” a collection of articles examining communication theory, research, and practice. Her interest in a girl-focused charter school has been a dream in the making for more than a decade.  651-290-7683