Hello, I’m Ty Sassaman, Reading Specialist for grades 3-5. This is my th year teaching at PSA, so I’ve been a part of a lot of positive changes at our school. I’m excited by this opportunity to join the board as a Teacher Representative! 

Leadership:  I’m on the Leadership Team as a Mentor teacher. In this capacity I’ve overseen a huge shift in reading instruction at PSA, advising on new curriculum adoptions and helping implement these through professional development, instructional support, and individual coaching, on top of my regular teaching responsibilities. 

Environmental Education: A big part of our PSA charter is a commitment to Environmental Education, a value I share personally, and for multiple years I’ve been the Chair or Co-Chair of the EE Committee at the elementary. I’ve worked closely with Lindsey on many projects, most recently the Planet Protectors. 

School Leadership : Finally, I have earned a Master’s degree in School Leadership, studying modes of Teacher Leadership and analyzed many different school governance models. This informs my perspective and interests in helping PSA be the best it can be. I’m excited to bring this experience and perspective to the PSA Board, and I thank you for your vote!

My name is Chelsea Pollock  and I am a high school social studies teacher. I am currently in my 11th year at Prairie Seeds Academy. This year I am teaching Civics, Economics, Career Seminar and Psychology. Another area of focus is working alongside seniors for career and college readiness by providing them support with FAFSA and college applications, scholarships searches, and exploring career clusters. This election would be my fifth year (3rd term, 1st year) on the board as the treasurer. 

Zha Blong Xiong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Social Science in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He was a former refugee who came to Minnesota in 1982 when he was 14 years old without any English. He completed his bachelor degree in psychology from Winona State University in 1991and his master’s and PhD degrees in Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 1997 and 2000, respectively. At the University of Minnesota, he teaches courses on diversity, immigrant, and refugee families and supervises several master’s and PhD students. In addition to his teaching and mentoring, he also runs two research labs, which focus on children’s education in charter schools and the life history of high achieving immigrant and refugee families. He was the first person in his family to attend college, to graduate from college, to earn a PhD degree, and to be hired as the first Hmong descent tenure/tenure-track professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He loves the outdoors and spends a lot of his free time with his wife, children, and grandchildren camping, hiking, and fishing.