After you have downloaded and filled out the Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) Opt Out Form 2020-2021. Please use the upload button to upload the form. Then click submit.
After you have downloaded and filled out the Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) Opt Out Form 2020-2021. Please use the upload button to upload the form. Then click submit.

Burkholder Middle School focuses on being an exemplary learning community built on the foundation that all students can learn through rigorous academics, meaningful relationships, and effective communication. We challenge students to advocate for themselves to become lifelong learners, inspire a love for learning, and utilize technology in today’s world.
Teaching Staff
Rachel Glenn
Band
Hello! My name is Rachel Glenn and I started teaching at Burkholder MS in 2019. I grew up in Alabama and began my music journey by learning to play the flute in 6th grade. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education in 2013 from Auburn University in Auburn, AL. While there I served as head drum major of the Auburn University Marching Band in 2012! War Eagle!! After undergrad, I taught 6th-12th grade band for four years at Douglas Middle/High School in Douglas, AL before moving to Las Vegas in 2017. I received my Masters of Music in Wind Conducting from UNLV in 2019 while studying with Professor Thomas Leslie. When I’m not teaching or playing music, I love hiking and being outside! Traveling is one of my favorite things to do so I try to visit somewhere new any chance I get! I have two cats that run the house and keep me in line :) I'm looking forward to teaching your children to have a love for music!
Charmaine Pullman
ELA
Greetings! I have been working at Burkholder for three years as a English co-teacher and English Resource teacher in the Special Education Department. I am currently working on my Masters in Special Education from Sierra Nevada College. I also have a BA in Psychology from University of Nevada Las Vegas. Prior to teaching I spent four years working as a counselor for children in foster care. You can say that my passion has always been to help others. I am also a part of the Homework Club on Wednesday afternoon from 2:30-3:40pm if your child needs assistance with his or her homework or class projects. I look forward to another wonderful school year here at Burkholder with the amazing students and staff! Thank you for supporting your child and our school! If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Katie Crowl
ELA
Hello! I am Ms. Crowl and I teach 6th and 7th grade English. I received my Bachelor's degree in Middle Childhood Education with specializations in English Language Arts and Social Studies from THE Ohio State University, GO BUCKEYES! I then got my Masters degree in Elementary Education from Loyola University of Chicago and moved to Vegas soon after, where I taught 5th grade for four years. I then moved to Burkholder and also received my Educational Specialist Degree in Literacy from UNLV. I am originally from Chicago and am very close with my family, and my brother even lives in another country! In my free time I enjoy hiking with my dad, kayaking, and Netflix. I look forward to what we will accomplish together this year!
Jennifer Townsend
ELA
Welcome to 8th grade English. This is my third year at Burkholder Middle School and I am proud to call myself a Jaguar. I have been a teacher with Clark County School District for nine years. I earned my Bachelor's Degree at UNLV and my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Touro University in Henderson. I have a second Master's Degree in Teacher Leadership and a TESL endorsement. I previously taught elementary, 7th grade, and held a position as a learning strategist in CCSD. I have two beautiful children and a few cats that I adore and spend all my free time with. I am dedicated to your children and eager to help them attain their goals in English! For information on your child's course please follow the link to my website.
Amber Mochinski
ELA
Welcome to 6th and 7th Grade English! My name is Ms. Mochinski and I teach 6th and 7th grade English here at Burkholder Middle School. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Education and a Master's Degree in Special Education that I obtained from UNLV. I have resided in Henderson for over 15 years now but have traveled and lived all over the world. Aside from teaching, I enjoy spending time with my family and traveling to new places. I am very excited to be a part of the Jaguar team and can't wait to see what the year brings!
Victoria Petrie
ELA (Department Chair)
"What do you mean-we're moving to Las Vegas? People actually live there????" Being a member of a military family, Mrs. Petrie was used to moving around. She was born in Syracuse, New York and then moved Alaska, Alabama, Washington D.C., and Guam. Moving to Las Vegas a the end of her 7th grade year was not what she had expected. Fast forward 31 years and Mrs. Petrie lives with her husband and 2 daughters in Henderson. Mrs. Petrie graduated from Basic High School in 1989 (Once a Wolf, Always a Wolf). She attended CSN and UNLV where she received her Bachelor's Degree in education in 1995. Mrs. Petrie received her Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in education from Lesley University in 2000. Mrs Petrie is extremely proud to be teaching in the community where she lives.
Suzanne Lyle
ELA, Math , Science, Social Studies
Welcome to the Room 602 Family! We are incredibly excited that you have stopped by! One thing you might notice about Room 602 is that we are always busy! Whether we are working on our individual Math, Reading, and English goals or practicing completing applications on the computer, there is always something happening. In addition to our core subjects, we also learn Life Skills and Social Skills. Examples of Life Skills include cooking, doing laundry, counting money, telling time, completing agendas/daily goals/sign in sheets, and learning about community helpers. Our Social Skills class may often look like we are just playing games, but those games help us learn about taking turns, using words to communicate, being a graceful winner or loser, and identifying what is cool and what is not cool behavior. This year we have also added new members to our 602 Family with our Students Helping Students (SHS) group. Once a week some really incredible students who are learning English as their second language and their terrific teacher Mr. Esparza come to the room and we work on our language and social skills. Sometimes we play games, but other times we have cooked or created and delivered crafts and gifts together. It is a wonderful partnership with the other class and we really enjoy the time we spend with them. We hope you enjoyed your visit!
Midori Molina
ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies
Hey Jags! I am Ms.Molina and I’m happy to be a part of the Burkholder family. I grew up here in Las Vegas and always look forward to the desert sunsets. Outside of the school I practice yoga and Pilates regularly. I graduated from UNLV with a bachelors in special education and a masters in special education: emotional disturbance. I enjoy working with students with special needs. My daily goal is to build a positive learning environment for students to feel safe and welcome to be at school.
Richard Dumo
Health, Physical Education
Greetings! I am Mr. Dumo for 8th grade PE and Health. I am originally from southern California and a graduate of UNLV . I have been a teacher for CCSD since August of 2000. I have taught at the Elementary and Middle School levels. I have a B.S. in Physical Education and a Master of Ed. in Administrative Leadership. I am married and have two wonderful daughters. I enjoy most indoor/outdoor recreation activities but especially camping, hiking and sightseeing. I am an avid runner and cyclist and enjoy competing in triathlons, marathons, and trail running. I am both dedicated and passionate about the subjects and students I teach and look forward to expanding their knowledge and appreciation for fitness and sport. HAVE A GREAT YEAR!!
Colin Curi
Health, Physical Education
Hey I am Mr. Curi and I'm the Physical Education and 8th grade Health teacher. I was born and raised in Las Vegas. I have just recently graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2019 and I am excited to begin my teaching career. I enjoy almost all activities indoors and out. I enjoy traveling, hiking, basketball, volleyball, and much more. I am passionate about the importance of Physical Education and I want every student in my class to succeed and feel included. Go Cubs!
Robert Ballard
Math
Hello! I’m so happy to be a Jaguar! This year (2020-2021) is my first at Burkholder. After 25 years in another profession, I got bit by the teaching bug and became a teacher 6 years ago. I humbled, honored, and love having the opportunity to help kids and make a positive impact in their lives every day. I am originally from Northern California and moved to Henderson in 1995. I have an amazing wife (Michelle), two fantastic kids (Sydney and Eric), four dogs, and 1 cat. I LOVE running! I have run over 30 marathons, including the Boston Marathon 4 times! It keeps me in shape and makes me happy. My other interests are listening to all types of music, playing guitar, traveling, and fixing things around the house. I look forward to showing the kids how math is “everywhere,” and such an important and useful skill in their lives.
Erica Cazett
Math
Welcome Students and Parents!! I was born in San Diego, California on the US Marine Base at Camp Pendleton. As a young child we moved around until I was 4 years old. My family settled down in Paradise, Ca where I spent the rest of my childhood and graduated from Paradise High School. As a child went to school and danced for the Northern California Ballet Company. I performed in the ballets that the company produced twice a year, one in the spring and the Nutcracker in the winter. After graduating from High School, I attended the University of California, Irvine. I choose UCI because I was able to study math, science and dance. I graduated from UCI with a bachelor of Arts in Dance and a minor in Psychology. After graduating from UCI I settled down in Chino, Ca. and found a job at a small whole sale water company as a bookkeeper. Just over 10 years ago my husband and I decided to move to Henderson. I began my teaching career as a CCSD substitute teacher. After substitute teaching for several months, I was approved to be part of a CCSD program that would allow me to go back to school to earn my teaching license. Using the assistance of CCSD I was able to obtain my teaching license in 2008. I have taught at Mannion Middle School and Cannon Junior High School before I came here to Burkholder Middle School in the Fall of 2011. To find assignments and notes for your class click on the link appropriate link below. If you are looking for general information, resources, links and pictures click on the link to the right.
Marie Wapneski
Math (Department Chair)
Welcome Students and Parents- I was born in Rockford, Illinois, and spent my summers and weekends at a vacation house in Wisconsin. When I was in middle school, my family moved to our vacation house, therefore making Wisconsin my home. My husband and I moved to Henderson in 2006. I graduated from UW- Oshkosh with a degree in Education and Special Education. My Educational Technology Masters is from Marian University. This is my 29th year teaching. I love teaching math. This year my goal is to make math easier for students and more enjoyable.
Carrie Bolack
Math, ELA
Hello! I am very excited to join the Burkholder community. This is my fifth year of teaching in CCSD and this is my twelfth year teaching Special Education. My classroom services students who are hard at work increasing their academic skills and making friends all around school. I fled the ice and snow of the midwest and love living in the warmth and sun. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater and received my teaching certification from the graduate program at Edgewood College in Madison, WI. I like to knit and crochet, spend time exploring with my husband and cheering on the Minnesota Vikings. Wisconsin is my home state, Minnesota is second and that is why I am a fan of the Vikings. I look forward to making memories at Burkholder.
James Hsia
Orchestra
Hello, I’m James Hsia. I was born in Taiwan and moved to New York State when I was 9. I spent most of my pre-college days in Albany, NY, where I developed much of my musical skills in a family of all musicians. I have a sister and we love to play music, and growing up we have performed for various events including church services, and weddings. I received my bachelor degree in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia, and a Master of Music Degree in Violin Performance from Binghamton University. While obtaining my Masters Degree in 2012, I started my first teaching job at Binghamton High School in New York. I taught string orchestra, and also a music theory course. This job gave me the confidence boost I needed, and I absolutely fell in love with teaching kids. This job soon came to an end because of budget difficulties in New York, and so it brought me to where I am today - Las Vegas! I’m currently teaching string orchestra at Burkholder Middle school in Clark County district. I’m currently enrolled in Master of Education in Secondary Education. This graduate degree is something I wanted to pursue because I want to be more knowledgeable in understanding how to better manage and build relationships with students.
Mike Thomas
Science
Welcome to Burkholder. This is my 25th year of teaching. I obtained my bachelor's degree from UNLV in 1995 and a masters from Nova Southeastern in 2001. I was certified to teach middle school science in 2005 when I completed the certification program offered by the Regional Professional Development Program. I am originally from Nebraska, so I am a big Cornhuskers fan. I enjoy the outdoors and I am an avid fisherman and hunter. I look forward to an exciting year in the classroom. Go Jags!
Brianne Buchanan
Science (Department Chair)
My name is Brianne Buchanan and I will be teaching 6th and 7th grade science this year. I graduated from the University of Nevada Las Vegas with a B.S. in Elementary Education in 2006. I began my teaching career in elementary school, I have taught 3rd, 1st, and 5th grade. I graduated with my Master's degree from Walden University in 2012. I recently became certified to teach middle school mathematics and science. I am new to the Burkholder team this year, and I am looking forward to an exciting school year teaching science!
Annie Pande
Social Studies
Hi, my name is Annie Pande and I teach Science and Social Studies here at Burkholder MS; I get the best of both worlds with these two fascinating subjects! I was born in India and moved to Las Vegas at the age of 4 and have been here ever since. I went to UNLV and pursued sciences and ended up falling in love with tutoring so I changed my major to Education and finished my degree up at Nevada State College. I started teaching in 2017 at the elementary level and moved up to middle school back and have loved it ever since. In my free time I love to go hiking and kayaking with my friends and family. I am so excited for a great school year with your child! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!
Melissa Wilkinson
Visual Arts
I am in my twelfth year of teaching art. I started my career with CCSD at Walter V. Long ES and then spent six years at Dean Peterson. During this time I continued my education at Lesley University, where I obtained my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. My husband and I moved to Knoxville, Tennessee where I spent three years teaching art at a performing arts magnet high school. During this time I was honored to be Teacher of the Year 2015-2016 and Innovator of the Year 2016-2017. My goals as an arts educator is to promote problem solving and critical thinking while giving students opportunities to promote art in the community. Last year, I taught Ceramics at the high school level in Carson, California. I am excited to be teaching middle school art here at Burkholder and appreciate the warm welcome! I look forward to a wonderful year of creating art and promoting inspiring artists in the community. Please donate to my classroom @ https://www.donorschoose.org/project/digitizing-artwork/2793321/
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