Mr. Qazilbash ("Mr. Q") has taught middle school math in Baltimore and Boston for 19 years and has served as the cofounder and principal of Spark Academy for the last 8 years. He has earned National Board Teachers' Certification, has been nominated for Boston Teacher of the Year, and was awarded the Distinguished Teachers Fulbright by the U.S. State Department. He holds a Bachelor's of Science in finance from Rutgers University and a Masters of Education in Principal Leadership from Harvard University. Mr. Q is supported and sustained by his wife, Emily, his 3 "home kids," Maya, Alex, and Clavin, and his thousands of "school kids," both current and former, whom he has had the privilege of working with and knowing for the last 27 years.

 

Ms. Heuton has worked in education for eight years, but considers herself a lifelong learner. Previously, she taught third grade in Cleveland, Ohio and worked for an education non-profit working on academic and social emotional intervention across 14 Seattle Public Schools. Ms. Heuton visited Spark and fell in love with the school's mission, vision, students, and staff, so she and her husband moved across the country to come work at Spark. Ms. Heuton graduated with her Bachelor's in English Literature and French from the University of Minnesota and has her Master's in Educational Leadership from John's Hopkins University. She loves reading, writing, being active, and working with the amazing students and staff at Spark. 

 

 

        Mr. Holtan has 13 years of experience in education, having taught both ELA and History at the middle and high school     levels. His career began as a high school teacher in Denver. Then, he made a shift to middle school, having exclusively     taught middle school over the past 7 years. Mr. Holtan was Spark Academy’s Teacher of the Year in 2018, and he was also     nominated for the Lawrence Teacher of the Year Award. He is in his first year as the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction     and was an 8^th grade ELA teacher at Spark Academy for the previous 4 years. Mr. Holtan studied Public Relations at Drake     University and earned his Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado – Denver.