Our Staff.
Mrs. Ellsworth started at Heritage Academy as a junior high English teacher in 1999. She later had the opportunity to work as a teacher and assistant principal with other schools in the valley. She returned to Heritage Academy in 2014 as the founding Principal for our Laveen Campus.
Mrs. Ellsworth has a great love for the mission of Heritage Academy, our scholars, and parents. In her new role as principal of the Maricopa campus, she will provide leadership and guidance to all the Heritage Academy Maricopa scholars and their families. Mrs. Ellsworth will serve on the new school governing board and report to Mr. Jared L. Taylor who is the Chairman of the Governing Board and Charter Representative for the Heritage Schools.
Mrs. Ellsworth earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University. Mrs. Ellsworth has demonstrated her passion for teaching Arizona’s children throughout the course of her career and we are excited to have her be the principal of our newest school. Please join me in congratulating Mrs. Kim Ellsworth on her new role as the principal of Heritage Academy Maricopa!
Mr. Halterman received a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences and Spanish from Arizona State University, where he also worked as a teaching assistant for more than two years in the Earth sciences. After graduating from ASU, he joined a well-respected groundwater science consulting firm in the Phoenix area where he worked for 11 years as a hydrogeologist. Mr. Halterman also holds a Registered Geologist certificate from the State of Arizona.
In 2014, Mr. Halterman joined the teaching staff at Heritage Academy’s Laveen campus, and since then has helped to build a culture of academic excellence as Science Department Chair. He has also been a part of numerous extracurricular and campus activities, including coaching the middle-school baseball team, and assisting in set construction for drama productions. In his free time, he spends time with his family and volunteers with The Boy Scouts of America as a Unit Commissioner and Merit Badge Counselor.
Miss Bocchinfuso is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and moved to Arizona about 5 years ago for a teaching opportunity. She graduated from Penn State University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Additionally, she obtained a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University in 2017.
Miss Bocchinfuso has spent the entirety of her five years in education teaching fifth grade in the Casa Grande Elementary School District and Maricopa Unified School District. She enjoys spending time with friends and traveling home to see her family whenever possible. She also loves to read, sing, and spend time outdoors. She is very excited to embark on this new adventure at Heritage Academy!
Mr. Carpenter grew up in North Dakota with 3 younger sisters. After high school he attended Mayville State University in North Dakota where he earned a BS in Mathematics and Physical Education while playing baseball and football. After teaching math for a year in North Dakota, he moved to Arizona where he has been teaching Mathematics and coaching baseball for the last 5 years.
Education runs in Mr. Carpenter’s family as both of his parents were part of the school system as he was growing up. This influenced him to become a teacher as well as two of his sisters who are elementary school teachers. Mr. Carpenter has enjoyed being able to make an impact on student’s lives both in the classroom and on the athletic fields. As far as coaching experience, he has coached golf, baseball, basketball, and football.
Mr. Daniels graduated from Utah State University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in English and a minor in business. He also earned his Master’s in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Argosy University. After graduating with his English degree, he worked as a technical writer, copy writer, graphic designer and marketing coordinator for several organizations as well as himself for a short time. In 2010, he began working in university enrollment and was successful at helping students see the value of earning a college degree. With his career in higher education, Mr. Daniels worked as the Director of Enrollment for several institutions, most recently at Benedictine University, Mesa.
Mr. Daniels has a passion for teaching and leading youth. In college he worked for the Especially for Youth summer camps, as a counselor and director. He also worked as a Youth Development Professional for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and gained classroom experience during his senior year of college as a seminary teacher. He is excited about changing direction in his career and teaching the great scholars at Heritage Academy! Outside of work, Mr. Daniels spends most of his time with his wife and five children and providing service within his church and community. When time permits, he enjoys long boarding, running, disk golf, ping pong and going to the beach to surf whenever possible.
Ms. Fallstead graduated from the University of Nebraska, Kearney, with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Marketing. She then continued her studies at Peru State College, earning a Master Degree in Education, with an emphasis in Instructional Technology. In addition, she has post graduate hours of study in Mathematics and Computer programming from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and Western International University, Phoenix.
Ms. Fallstead has taught all levels of Mathematics from 6-12 grade and spent many years as a Math/Science/Technology Consultant for Glencoe-McGraw Hill and Holt-Rinehart and Winston Educational Publishing companies. She has also been an Adjunct Faculty member with Maricopa Community Colleges for over 10 years, teaching multiple math courses and writing curriculum for math courses for the traditional classroom and online study.
Traveling is her passion when she isn’t outdoors hiking with her Boxer, Casey. She is an avid fan of sports, especially her amazing Nebraska Cornhuskers! She has even demonstrated her flare for numbers by winning the Showcase Showdown on The Price Is Right gameshow! Ms. Fallstead is excited and honored to be part of the Heritage Academy team!
Mr. Ben Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Johnson has over ten years’ experience as a highly qualified science teacher having taught biology, anatomy, physics, physical science, earth and life sciences.
Before his teaching career, Mr. Johnson served as a Reservist for the United States Army and worked for the Department of Homeland Security Emergency Management. He also worked for the Department of Justice and the Office of Domestic Preparedness.
Robotics is one of Mr. Johnson’s teaching/coaching passions and he is frequently called upon to advise teams in developing robotic strategies. He has six years of experience as an Athletic Director and sports management, and has coached men’s and women’s basketball, football and track.
Ms. Turik graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and has been teaching for 16 years. She has taught grades 4th through 8th in Texas and Arizona and has especially enjoyed teaching American Sign Language and crocheting as elective classes. She loves making a difference in her community and encourages her students to give as well. Her crochet students donate the hats and bags that they make to the Cancer Treatment Center of America.
Ms. Turik has two amazing daughters that keep her super busy, as well as two cats and two dogs. Her favorite activities are cooking (well, mostly eating) and reading. Ms. Turik’s favorite genre is horror and she has read every Stephen King book written. She is so excited to be teaching 6th grade history at Heritage Academy!!
