Adam Napoleon Principal & Teacher
Adam Napoleon is currently in his eighteenth year in the field of education including twelve years as a social systems teacher at Northwest Prep. He took over as principal of Northwest Prep in 2019 and continues to teach in certain capacities. He grew up in New York and has lived in Sonoma County for the last fifteen years. He received his bachelors degree in Secondary Education with a social studies 7-12 focus from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 2000. In 2006 he received his Masters degree in Teaching with a focus on Critical Environmental and Global Literacy from New College of California in San Francisco. He has a wife, two young children, and a lovely dog. He enjoys snowboarding, kayaking, hiking, playing softball, and anything to do with music.
anapoleon@pousd.org
anapoleon@pousd.org
Alyssa Dossat IC/Mathematical Systems
As a sixth generation teacher, Alyssa Dossat has education in her blood. After graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Mathematics, she taught at the innovative project-based Marin School of Arts and Technology, the flagship school of Envision Schools. Marriage and children gave her the desire to bring what she had learned from Envision closer to home. At Northwest Prep she has found a long awaited chance to bring innovative education to her hometown of Santa Rosa. Ms. Dossat is a strong proponent of educational reform and enjoys helping her students see the beauty and relevance of mathematics. Teaching at Northwest Prep allows her to work with the project-based learning model that she views as the best way to prepare students for college and beyond, while also providing the small-school setting that gives her a chance to get to know her students over multiple years She welcomes each year's opportunity to infuse her students with the desire and capability to become autonomous learners, self motivated designers, and active participants in our changing world.
adossat@pousd.org
Brad Edmondson IC/Natural Systems
Brad Edmondson received his degree in Biology from CSU Channel Islands before graduating from UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School of Education with an MEd in 2015. As Northwest Prep’s Natural Systems instructor, he strives to bring as much hands-on instruction as possible into the classroom, introducing much-needed lab experience and exposing students to how science is done in the real world. In addition, he focuses as much as possible on the truly integrated nature of the scientific system, as well as examining the trial and error necessary to make even the most trivial-sounding of historical discoveries. He enjoys all things music and sci-fi.
bedmondson@pousd.org
bedmondson@pousd.org
Amber McKinney IC/Mathematical Systems
Amber McKinney has been a classroom teacher since 2015, and has worked in the education field
since 2005 in various positions such as teaching piano, working at the Boys & Girls Club, and as a
Denver Math Fellow. She grew up in Petaluma and currently lives there with her husband, new baby, and their dogs. She earned a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Physical Science from Sonoma State University through the Hutchins Program. She has been a Khan Academy Ambassador since 2017 and is passionate about teaching math as an integrated subject, using science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) together to spark student interest and deepen their understanding of the world. She is a proponent of growth mindset and teaches students that they are all capable of learning, growing, and being successful. In her free time she enjoys reading fantasy and non-fiction, hiking, camping, kayaking, biking, drawing, baking, writing, playing music, and gardening.
amckinney@pousd.org
Stephanie Boone IC/Language and Communication
Stephanie Boone graduated with a degree in English Literature from Sonoma State University. Along with teaching 13 years in Santa Rosa, she has taught English in Barcelona, Spain through the CELTA program, and Krems, Austria through Austrian American Educational Commission and Fulbright Austria. She has worked at all levels of secondary education, from 7th through college, and in 2014 was awarded the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Education Award. Ms. Boone is passionate about creating immersive, investigative, and interdisciplinary curriculum, exploring the power of choice and systems of thought through literature and writing. A fifth generation Santa Rosan, Ms. Boone and her husband are now raising their own children in our beautiful city.
sboone@pousd.org
sboone@pousd.org
Saloni Jhaveri IC/Social Systems
Saloni Jhaveri attended UC San Diego for her undergraduate degree where she majored in International Studies with an emphasis in Political Science and History, and minored in History. She taught middle school Social Studies, Civics, and Literature for two years in Southern California, before pursuing her M.A. in Teaching Social Studies at UC Irvine. She is a recent transplant from Southern California where she was born and raised. She loves playing sports, reading novels, baking cookies, and traveling to new places. As Northwest Prep’s Social Systems teacher, she hopes to empower the next generation of leaders and scholars. She is a firm believer that students learn best when they are given access to material that is relevant and purposeful to their lives and communities. She is passionate about providing students with the necessary skills and work ethic to be contributing and empathetic members of society.
sjhaveri@pousd.org
sjhaveri@pousd.org
Joyce Hamilton School District Counselor
Joyce Avignon-Hamilton has her M.A. degree in Counseling with an emphasis on School Counseling and earned her B.S. degree in Wildlife Biology and Management from U.C. Berkeley. She also has her Single Subject Teaching Credential in Life Sciences and Social Sciences. She loves counseling and guiding students at Northwest Prep in College and Career Exploration and Awareness. Along with counseling at Northwest Prep and other district schools, Ms. Hamilton is a Work Experience Instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College. She lived and worked overseas as a High School Counselor and Teacher at a multi-national school in Cairo, Egypt before coming to Northwest Prep and she enjoys working with diverse populations. Ms. Hamilton’s experience in education is wide and varied and includes working with teens and college students as a Counselor, Health Advocate, College Advisor, Park Naturalist, and Health and Biology Teacher, but all focus on one thing; that of guiding, nurturing and inspiring students, helping provide them with the tools necessary to be successful in their lives. She has a passion for educating students about good mental and physical health and regularly takes students outside for mental and physical health building, helping students gain an appreciation for and a love of the outdoors.
jhamilton@pousd.org
jhamilton@pousd.org
Kathleen O'Brien Office Manager
Kathleen O'Brien is proud to be a part of the team at Northwest Prep Charter School. The office is the central nervous system for the school and many have lost their nerves doing this job...Truthfully, she enjoys and finds this position to be a key part in supporting students, parents and staff. She loves the opportunity to get to know the students and to be a positive helpful part of their day.
kobrien@pousd.org
kobrien@pousd.org
Leonila Bergstrom Program Assistant
Kaci Fazio Food Service/Program Assistant