8300 West 94th Ave. Westminster, CO 80021 | Tel: 303-431-3694 | Fax: 303-423-4388
WWA LEADERSHIP
Woodrow Wilson Academy's Leadership team works together to ensure our school is a safe, exciting and nurturing learning environment. We are dedicated to helping our students, staff and community! We are outside each morning and afternoon and would love to say hello!
Carole Bartusiak
School Principal
My education career began in 1992 when I taught 8th grade mathematics in Aurora Public Schools at a Title 1 school. The six years that I spent with those students were helpful in forming my philosophy of education: an effective educator has the most impact teaching once they have established positive, caring relationships with children. This philosophy has guided me for the longevity of my career. All students deserve people surrounding them that are warm, kind, and happy.
Moving closer to my home in 1999, I made the change to Jeffco Public Schools and taught for several years at Everitt Middle School in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Eventually I took a six year hiatus from teaching to take care of my three boys and once my youngest was in kindergarten, I jumped right back into education at Woodrow Wilson Academy. Since then, I have been involved at WWA as a parent, Board of Directors member, Curriculum Coordinator, Assistant Principal, and Principal.
My passion is children; making them feel welcomed as a member of this amazing community and helping them learn and grow. I love the relationships that I have formed with our families and staff, and look forward to continuing the connections that have been made with my Woodrow family.
Jennifer Unruh
Assistant Principal
Athletics Director, 504 Coordinator 5-8, Middle School Scheduler
I started my teaching career in Siloam Springs, Arkansas in 2000 after graduating from Southern California College with a degree in Liberal Studies (Elementary Education). My husband and I were excited to move back to Colorado after he graduated, where I was hired as the first 3rd grade teacher at Woodrow Wilson Academy, a brand new charter school. I have enjoyed many rolls during my tenure here at WWA: 3rd grade teacher, Music teacher, Spanish teacher, Administrative Assistant/Enrollment Coordinator, and now Assistant Principal. When I am not here at WWA I enjoy hanging out with my wonderful husband and our three amazing boys.
As the Athletic Director, I work with my Athletic Manager and other schools to schedule and plan for all our practices, games, and meets. Middle School Scheduling Coordinator allows me to use my love of planning and working out the complications of being a smaller school…along with my love of color coded Excel documents! As the 504 Coordinator, I work with teachers, families, and students to come up with a plan to best allow students equal access to their education. But perhaps my favorite part of the job is being able to support teachers as they work with your students. I love watching our amazing teachers teach outstanding lessons to your students. Watching and listening to your students interacting with the teacher they clearly care so much about. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to be on the WWA WIldcat team for so many years.
Jaclyn Uttley
Assistant Principal
Gifted & Talented Coordinator, School Assessment Coordinator, Instructional Coach, Curriculum Coordinator
I started teaching my teaching career in Montbello, Colorado in 2004 after graduating from the University of Colorado with my Psychology and Elementary Education degrees. I moved to Florida to teach while my husband finished graduate school, but was so excited to move back to Colorado in 2007! I began teaching 3rd grade at Woodrow Wilson Academy and fell in love with the strong community, the amazing families, and the learning approach for the whole child. I moved into the role of an Instructional Coach in 2014 and in 2021 I had an amazing opportunity to work as Assistant Principal, and I jumped at the chance!
As the Gifted and Talented Coordinator, I oversee the GT programming at WWA, and work with our community to create effective and enriching programs for students. As the School Assessment Coordinator, I schedule, plan and train teachers for all testing administration for students and analyze the data to determine next steps with teachers. My favorite part of my job, though, is working beside teachers as an Instructional Coach. I love teaching classes, observing amazing lessons, brainstorming with teachers, and creating a welcoming classroom and school culture where we are all learning together.
When I am not working with our amazing staff and leadership team, I love to curl up with a book and snuggle my puppies, play video games, and hike with my family. I have 2 amazing girls that also attend WWA and we are so proud to be Wildcats!
Natalie Grigsby
Dean of Students
Middle School Activities Coordinator, Restorative Practices Liaison, Staff Development for Social Emotional Learning, Discipline Support
My teaching career started here at Woodrow in 2008. I was a student teacher for Kindergarten. After experiencing the parent, student, and staff community I knew I had to figure out a way to stay! I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2008 and applied for the second grade teaching position. I taught second grade for five years and moved to fourth grade where I taught for two years. The opportunity for the Dean position came about in 2014, while I was nine months pregnant! I was offered the job and started 6 weeks into the school year after maternity leave.
As Dean of Student Life, my priority is to partner with parents, staff, and students to provide a safe and successful learning environment. This includes implementing behavior management systems that are grounded in Woodrow Wilson Academy’s mission and vision, as well as restorative justice practices to ensure that infractions are teachable moments. I also oversee day-to-day disciplinary issues in the school and work closely with faculty to ensure compliance with school policies. I also get to have some fun coordinating after school clubs and planning middle school events throughout the school year. Last, monitoring and enhancing the quality of student life in the middle school including student focused events and student behavior. While fostering a positive, engaging and caring atmosphere, and a healthy middle school community by providing programming and leadership opportunities that enable students to flourish. My role works closely with the school counselors, staff, and teachers in providing restorative practices that embrace and teach the core virtues of our school.
I am married and have two wonderful daughters. We reside in Denver and enjoy camping most months of the year. We enjoy spending time exploring fun activities Colorado has to offer and hang time with our family and friends who live minutes away. We are very fortunate!