SMMS FACULTY 2021-22
Mission Driven For College & Heaven
Levitate To Great
Our theme for the 2021-22 school year is: LEVITATE TO GREAT. Our faculty will lift our students up to grow in excellence through faith academics and service.
We have a highly qualified, diverse and dynamic faculty, united by a shared commitment to advancing our SMMS mission. In the spirit of our Patroness, who was Jesus's best friend, the first witness of the Resurrection and the Apostle to the Apostles, each faculty member strives to serve as more than an educator, aiming to be a witness. The following is an excerpt from the Holy See's Teaching on Catholic Schools:
"More than a master who teaches, a Catholic educator is a person who gives testimony by his or her life. Shortly after his election, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the kind of witness required of all teachers of the faith, including those in Catholic schools:
The central figure in the work of educating . . . is specifically the form of witness. . . . The witness never refers to himself but to something, or rather, to Someone greater than he, whom he has encountered and whose dependable goodness he has sampled. Thus, every educator and witness finds an unequaled model in Jesus Christ, the Father's great witness [cf. John 8:28]."
More than do this on an individual level, the SMMS Team is committed to collective witness of our mission to empower our students and our community to witness the Gospel and grow in excellence through faith, academics and service.
The ideal end results for our students: College & Heaven!
PRE-K3 TEACHER, ADRIANA ARIAS
Ms. Arias has a degree from the Instituto Teresa de Arila in Mexico City and has taught for over two decades.
Email: adriana.arias@stmmsa.org
PRE-K3 TEACHER, MONTSERRAT SILLER
PRE-K3 TEACHER, MELISSA GUERRA
PRE-K3 TEACHER, TERESA CALDERON
PRE-K 4 TEACHER, ALICIA VICTORIA
Ms. Victoria has nearly two decades of teaching experience, and earned her BA from Universidad Cristobal Colon in Veracruz, Mexico.
Email:
alicia.victoria@stmmsa.org PRE-K4 TEACHER, BERTHA CASTELLO
PRE-K4 TEACHER, SUZZANNE GARCIA
PRE-K4 TEACHER, CLAUDIA VASQUEZ
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, ALMA LEYTON
Ms. Leyton has been teaching since 2014, and graduated with a BA from Texas A&M San Antonio.
Email: alma.leyton@stmmsa.org
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, DENISE TERRY
Mrs. Terry has a BS in Education from Texas State University. She was the Teacher of the Year three times, once in Austin ISD, once in SAISD and once in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. She has over two decades of teaching experience.
Email: denise.terry@stmmsa.org
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, JESSICA BINVERSIE
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER, MELISA MARTINEZ-TAVERA
Ms. Martinez-Tavera has a BA from Texas A&M University - San Antonio, and begins her first year at SMMS.
Email: melisa.tavera@stmmsa.org
1ST GRADE TEACHER, CYNTHIA MARTINEZ
1ST GRADE TEACHER, ANNA NUNEZ
Ms. Nunez has a BA from Texas A&M San Antonio, and has nine years of teaching experience.
Email: anna.nunez@stmmsa.org
1ST GRADE, APRIL RODRIGUEZ
Ms. Rodriguez earned a BA from Texas A&M - San Antonio and an MA from UTSA in Education. She has been teaching since 2015.
Email: April.rodriguez@stmmsa.org
2ND GRADE TEACHER, MARIA SILLER
Ms. Siller earned her BA from the University of Texas Pan America. She has been teaching since 2006.
Email: Maria.siller@stmmsa.org
2ND GRADE, CRISTINA ESCOBEDO
3RD GRADE TEACHER, MINERVA ALEMAN
4TH GRADE TEACHER, KRISTINA GETTY
4TH GRADE TEACHER, SUSANNA HEIMBOLD
Ms. Heimbold has taught since 2002. She earned a BA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is currently pursuing a Master's from UTSA in Bicultural Bilingual Education.
Email: Susanna.heimbold@stmmsa.org
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS, BRENDA GALVAN
MATH, MARY INCO
Ms. Inco has a BS from Seton Hall University, and has a Master's in Reading from Our Lady of the Lake University. Ms. Inco has been teaching since 1988.
Email: mary.inco@stmmsa.org
SPANISH LANGUAGE ARTS & SOCIAL STUDIES, DANIELA GANDARA ORTEGA
Ms. Gandara is a member of the Marian Community of Reconciliation (MCR). She has a BA in Philosophy and Religious Education from UCN-Colombia.
Email: Daniela.gandara@stmmsa.org
RELIGION, LEEANN GARZA
Ms. Garza has over a decade of experience in youth ministry, earned Theology of the Body Certification from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and enters her sixth year on staff at SMMS.
Email: leeann.garza@stmmsa.org
SCIENCE, REVELL COZZI
Ms. Cozzi joins SMMS as a University of Notre Dame ACE teacher. She graduated from Notre Dame as a Biology Major, with a Bachelor of Science, and is pursuing her Master's in Education as an ACEr.
Email: revell.cozzi@stmmsa.org
TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR, MICHELLE MOORE
Ms. Moore earned her BA from Texas A&M University - San Antonio, and has been teaching for over a decade.
Email: Michelle.moore@stmmsa.org
ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONIST, TOM TERRY
Mr. Terry has a BA in Psychology from Texas State, and has been in education for over a decade. In that time, he was selected as Teacher of the Year in Austin ISD, as well as Special Educator of the Year, also in Austin ISD.
Email: tom.terry@stmmsa.org
COUNSELOR, DE'EDRA COX-DE LA GARZA
Ms. De La Garza earned a BA from OLLU, a Master's in Social Work from NYU, and a doctorate from The Institute For Teaching God's Word Theological Seminary. She has served in various counselor and social work roles since 2006.
Email: De'edra.delagarza@stmmsa.org
SPANISH SPECIALIST, SISTER ESIQUIA
Sister Esi is a member of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit Congregation, and has several decades of teaching experience in Mexico and the United States.
PRE-K INSTRUCTIONAL COACH, LAURA ORTIZ
Ms. Ortiz has been an educator since 2010. She graduated from Sul Ross Rio Grande College, and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Notre Dame.
Email: Laura.ortiz@stmmsa.org
LIBRARY MANAGER, ROBERTA GUAJARDO
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND ENROLLMENT, DENIECE JUAREZ
BUSINESS MANAGER, MELINDA FRESQUEZ
Ms. Fresquez has a degree in Accounting and Economics for Our Lady of the Lake University. She is a Catholic school product, and enters her second year with SMMS.
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR & PE COACH, AARON ARISMENDEZ
OFFICE MANAGER, MONICA CABRERA
PRINCIPAL, WILLIAM DAILY
Mr. Daily has a BA from Boston College, an MA in International Political Science from Marquette University, an MA in Education from Mount Mary University, and a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He completed the Emmaus Series for Catholic School Leaders at Boston College in the spring of 2016. He has been an educator since 2001, and enters his tenth year at SMMS.
Email: william.daily@stmmsa.org
