WVL Teaching Staff Wisconsin Virtual Learning prides itself on having outstanding teachers that work to create innovative solutions for all students. Many have been with our school since it's opening in 2003, making our teachers the most experienced in the state! WVL Elementary Team: Mrs. Shari Culver, sculver@nosd.edu Mrs. Culver is teaching kindergarten and first grade students using Little Lincoln curriculum this year. She has been with the school since it was first established in 2003. A transplant from Minnesota, she graduated from St. Cloud State (MN) University. She had several years of experience in traditional brick and mortar preschool through 3rd grade classrooms (including multi-age and Montessori) before becoming a “virtual teacher." She is married, has four children, and lives near Bloomer, WI, which is about 40 minutes north of Eau Claire. Shari loves working with parents and students in the lower elementary grades! Please click here to view Mrs. Culver's website.
Mrs. Phalen earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Elementary Education at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She is proud to say that her grandmother received her teaching degree from UW Platteville at the age of 53 as a mother of 11 children. Mrs. Phalen’s teaching experience includes 14 years with the Northern Ozaukee School District as a 4th grade classroom teacher. She transferred to the virtual school in 2005 and has worked with students in grades 2nd through 5th. Click here to view Mrs. Phalen's website.
Mrs. Nancy Peerenboom, npeerenboom@nosd.edu Mrs. Nancy Peerenboom has been with Wisconsin Virtual Learning since it started in 2003. She enjoys supporting the dedicated families who enroll their children here. Previously she taught in a variety of schools with students from preschool to adults. She holds a Wisconsin license for K-8 as well as a reading license. She and her husband enjoy living in Arlington with a large garden to keep them busy. Click here to view Mrs. Peerenboom's website.
Mrs. Swinehart is teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th graders using the Calvert and K12 curriculum this year. She has taught elementary students for 23 years in both traditional and virtual settings. This will be her fourth year with Wisconsin Virtual Learning. Mrs. Swinehart graduated from Carroll University in K-8 education with an emphasis in health. She lives in Delafield where she enjoys gardening, hiking and travel! Click here to view Mrs. Swinehart's website. Ms. Kaye Martin, kmartin@nosd.edu Ms. Martin holds certifications in Regular Education, Special Education, and as a Reading Teacher. She has both Bachelor and Master’s degrees from Alverno College. She also has the distinction of being the only teacher in the history of WVL to have taught both regular education and special needs students! She has spent the past 9 years in virtual education with NOSD. Click here to view Ms. Martin's website.
WVL Middle School Team:
Mrs. Liebergen earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire with a double major in special education grades Pre-K through 12 and regular education grades 1 through 8. Mrs. Liebergen is a special education teacher with Wisconsin Virtual Learning and this is her fifth year with the school. She looks forward to meeting and working with her new students, as well reconnecting with those that are returning. Click here to view Mrs. Liebergen's website. Mrs. Trina Michalsen, cmichalsen@nosd.edu Mrs. Michalsen came to WVL in 2006-2007, with six years of teaching experience she gained in the Fond du Lac Parochial School. She taught at the eighth grade level specifically in Math and Science, as well as Language Arts. She received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Marian College in Fond du Lac, as well as a minor in Computer Science. Mrs. Michalsen also has her Master’s Degree from Marian College in Curriculum and Instruction, with additional courses and a licensure in Alternative Education. Trina’s focus is in individual instruction for student success and aligns that philosophy with the learning goals of WVL students. She is currently working on her certification for Online Instructor, as being a teacher means being a “lifelong learner." She lives in Fond du Lac, which means the “foot of the lake” and is at the foot of Lake Winnebago. She is married with three children: Adam, who is a Crew Chief on a helicopter and works for the State Department and is currently in Iraq, Amanda, who recently was married and just finished her degree in Education, and the youngest, Erik, who is going to be a freshmen at UW-Platteville, loves football and drumming and plans to pursue a degree in Criminal Justice! Mrs. Michalsen loves to read, the outdoors- hiking, walking, camping, fishing and kayaking, as well as photography, and quilting in her spare time! Click here to view Mrs. Michalsen's website.
Mr. Olson is currently teaching math in the WVL middle school after 15 years with the Northern Ozaukee School District. He believes all students can lean and he enjoys the challenge of making it happen. Mr. Olson received his undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from UW-Oshkosh, as well as a minor in math. He also has his Master’s Degree from National Louis University in Curriculum and Instruction. Outside of school Mr. Olson enjoys music, motorcycles, cards, and being with his family. Click here to view Mr. Olson's website.
Mrs. Janel Mielke, jmielke@nosd.edu
Ms. Schaefer joined the WVL team this school year and is teaching middle school Social Studies and 7th grade Language Arts. She came to WVL with 5 years of middle school experience teaching, math, language arts, and social studies with technology integration as a main focus of her teaching. Ms. Schaefer's goal comes from the quote, "The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering the attitudes of their minds." Albert Schweitzer, M. D. She believes that learning is a state of being. Having an open mind and a positive attitude towards learning can lead to great things. In her free time she enjoys playing softball, exercising, traveling and going to the dog park with her dogs Shelby and Buddy. Her travels have taken her around the world to Australia, Jamaica, Hawaii, and Mexico, to name a few. Click here to view Ms. Schaefer's website.
Mrs. Jen Trattner, jtrattner@nosd.edu Mrs. Trattner has been with Wisconsin Virtual Learning for the past seven years and has been teaching science at the middle school for the past six years. She received her bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Continually striving to increase her knowledge in the sciences, she is active at the national and local level in the professional science communities. She has held her teaching license for the past twenty years. She has spent time teaching in the brick-and-mortar in the Milwaukee Public schools as well as a suburban school in the greater Milwaukee area. Mrs. Trattner lives in the greater Milwaukee area with her family and enjoys many of the outdoor opportunities that the area offers. Click here to view Mrs. Trattner's website.
WVL High School Team:
Mr. Conn has taught social studies at WVL since the high school opened in 2007. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a double major in history and broadfield social studies and his master's degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Conn currently teaches American History, World Cultures, American Government, AP United States History, AP United States Government, and AP World History.
Mrs. Zander received her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse with a double major in mathematics and education. This is Mrs. Zander's sixth year teaching at Wisconsin Virtual Learning. She has taught everything from foundations of high school math all the way up to Advanced Placement Calculus. She looks forward to helping her students develop their math skills and become self-advocates in their careers as students. This year Mrs. Zander will teach Algebra I, Geometry, Integrated Math, Algebra II, and Pre Calculus.
Ms. Yoder is teaching English 9, English 10, American Literature, and British Literature classes this year. She has taught for fifteen years in public and private school, in both traditional brick and mortar classrooms and virtual education for grades 6-12. She graduated from Ball State University, possesses a Masters from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, and is nationally certified in Early Adolescence-Language Arts by the National Boards of Teaching Standards. Ms. Yoder currently resides in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota and enjoys traveling, rollerblading, tennis, and golf.
Mrs. Becki Van Keuren, bvankeuren@nosd.edu Mrs. Van Keuren is currently teaching her second year of high school sciences at WVL. Prior to teaching at WVL, she was the Director of Education and a math/science tutor at Sylvan Learning Center in Brookfield. Mrs. Van Keuren earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry and pre-med. After working as a research assistant, she obtained her teaching certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, followed by 3 years of teaching. Mrs. Van Keuren currently resides in Waukesha with her husband and three children and enjoys fun family activities like camping and visiting the zoo, museums, and waterparks. She currently teaches Physical Science, Biology, Marine Science and Human Anatomy and Physiology and is also the advisor for WVL’s SMART (Students Modeling A Research Topic) team.
Mr. Meinnert is currently teaching high school Chemistry for WVL, as well as teaching multiple science classes for Ozaukee High School. Mr. Meinnert graduated from UW- Stevens Point in 2010, and has been teaching for the past three years for the Northern Ozaukee School District. Eric lives in Cascade with his wife, daughter, and chocolate lab. In his free time, Mr. Meinnert enjoys being outside camping, biking, working on a golf course, being in the garden, and most anything else outside! Mrs. Lori Bokowy, lbokowy@nosd.edu Ms. Bokowy is teaching high school Physical Education and Life Management. She joins WVL this year after teaching in the gym and the classroom for 7 years in Massachusetts. However, she also started working within the virtual setting after moving to Shorewood last year. Ms. Bokowy completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Montana and earned her Masters in Health Education from Boston University. She spends most of her free time running, biking, or swimming, and completed her 1st Ironman Triathlon in Madison last fall.
Mr. Jeff Nylander is a High School Special Education teacher at WVL. He has been married for the past 32 years to his lovely wife Jeannie, who is an artist. He has two wonderful children that are now 30 and 29 years old. He also has three beautiful grandchildren, who he calls his grandgarden. Their names are Lily, age 8, Violet, age 6 and Magnolia, age 5. He lives in the Lacrosse area with his family. He was blessed to be able to go back to school at a later age and earned his Bachelors Degree in Broadfield Social Studies, Education and then a Master's Degree in Special Education, both from the University of Wisconsin Lacrosse. His non-traditional teacher status comes from many years of real life experience working first, as a Construction Electrician in the United States Navy Seabees through 2 wartime periods. Second, as a Maintenance Manager for a chain of grocery stores in the Lacrosse area for 11 years. Third as a BSA, Scoutmaster for 20 years and fourth as a Nationally Certified, level two Firefighter since 1990. He began his teaching career as an instructor and also the Lead Instructor for the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy at Fort McCoy, then moved into the Lacrosse and Onalaska School districts. He has been with the Northern Ozaukee School district and Wisconsin Virtual Learning since its inception 10 years ago and loves every aspect of his job, especially the out-of-the-box, problem solving that comes with being a Virtual Special Education Teacher. Ms. Leigh Sisneros, lsisneros@nosd.edu Ms. Sisneros is a recent addition to WVL's high school team. She currently teaches one math and one English class and helps student's with their writing skills. She earned her Masters from Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI and her BA from the University of Colorado in Denver. She has taught 1st grade, 7th grade, and high school English in schools in Colorado, Spain, Mexico, and Milwaukee. She is very excited to work with all the students at WVL and help them become the best writers possible.
Mrs. Charysse Gregorash, cgregorash@nosd.edu Mrs. Gregorash is a Speech Pathologist and ELL Teacher for the Northern Ozaukee School District and Wisconsin Virtual Learning. She has 24 years of experience as a Speech/Langauge Pathologist and has worked in many settings including schools, Birth to Three Programs, Sheltered workshops for Developementally delayed and hospitals. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Communicative Disorders from UW-Eau Claire and a Masters of Science from Eau Claire as well. She also has an unofficial minor in Spanish in her undergraduate work. She went back to school to add certifications in Assistive Technology and most recently to be a Teacher of English Language Learners. She is married to Craig Nyholm and has two step daughters, Christy and Carrie. Both are married. She has 4 grandchildren: Izabell, Lexxie, Seth and Cooper. She loves to spend time outdoors walking, riding bikes, canoeing, fishing and taking pictures of plants and nature. Mrs. Gregorash also loves to travel and read. Click here to view Mrs. Gregorash's website. Mr. Chad Peterson, cpeterson@nosd.edu Mr. Peterson is honored to serve as WVL's school counselor. He has a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology and certification in school counseling. He has been on the school counseling scene since 2009 and has had the privilege of working with students of all schooling levels on academic and career planning, as well as social and emotional development. As a member of the WVL team, he works closely with the Student Learning Advocates to ensure all students have a positive and successful school experience. Click here to view Mr. Peterson's School Counselor website.
|
Mrs. Ellie Swinehart, 
Mr. Brad Olson,
Mr. Eric Conn, 
Ms. Kirsten Yoder, 
Mr. Eric Meinnert, 
| Shari Culver |
| Nancy Peerenboom |
| Lorie Phalen |
| Ellie Swinehart |
| Kaye Martin |
| Bradley Olson |
| Jennifer Trattner |
| Kristine Schaefer |
| Janel Mielke |
| Catherine Michalsen |
| Jeri Liebergen |
| Charysse Gregorash-Nyholm |
