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School Board

School Board Meetings

Avalon's School Board typically meets on the second Tuesday of every month, at 5:30pm.  Dates are listed below.

Next meeting: Avalon's School next full board meeting will take place at 5:30pm on Tuesday, March 12h: Avalon Board Agenda.

Board Meeting Location and Virtual Link

Avalon School  700 Glendale Street. St. Paul, MN 55114

Time zone: America/Chicago

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/qfm-kdui-rpz

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 225-532-1865‬ PIN: ‪835 061 229‬#

Meeting Dates 2023-2024

  • August 22nd, 6pm
  • September 12th, 5:30pm
  • October 10th, 5:30pm
  • November 14th, 5:30pm
  • December 12th, 5:30pm
  • January 16th, 5:30pm
  • February 13th, 5:30pm
  • March 12th, 5:30pm
  • April 16th, 5:30 pm
  • May 2nd, 5:30 pm - Annual Meeting (tentative)
  • May 14th, 5:30pm
  • June 11th, 5:30pm

Meeting Minutes

Avalon School Board's Meeting minutes can be found here:

Avalon School Board Meeting Minutes

Board Bylaws & Policies

Avalon school complies with all state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination. A copy of these laws is available free of charge upon request.

Email Carrie (Carrie@avalonschool.org) for details.

Avalon Board Bylaws & Policies

Board Elections

The 2023 Avalon School Board Elections will take place virtually from May 12th to May 19th.  Eligible voters will receive ballot instructions electronically in May.  Questions regarding the board elections can be directed to Maggie.

​To learn more about this year's approved candidates, see this flyer:

Board Candidates 2023.

Avalon Board Elections happen annually at our Annual Board Meeting in May.  

For more information, see Avalon School Board Bylaws.

School Board Goals 23.24

Student Engagement Committee:  

Communicate the story of our school performance and culture to the board, the staff, and the community at large, including highlighting areas of need and growth, specifically for our traditionally underserved communities.

*The student engagement committee typically meets on the Tuesday before a board meeting at 4pm in Avalon's math room.

Board Governance Committee:

Create a meaningful board evaluation tool that centers equity and reflects Avalon’s collaborative governance model,  streamlines  board function, and sets strategies for board governance improvement.

*The Board Governance Committee typically meets on the second Thursday of the month, at 4pm in Avalon's Math room. (There will be no meeting in January.). To join the meeting virtually, use this link.

Financial Committee:

Ensure our resources are applied where most needed to support Avalon’s equity goals, evaluate current needs, and consider new expenditures in light of the changes related to the pandemic.

*The Finance Committee typically meets at 5:00pm on Board Meeting days. Please email tim@avalonschool.org for more information.

Board Members

A full roster of our school board can be found here: School Board 23.24
Sarah Wallis

After graduating from St. Olaf in 2008 with a degree in Art and Education, Sarah was thrilled to find work in Northfield area schools. She spent the first decade of her career as a Middle School Advisor and Art Teacher at Arcadia Charter School (with a bit of quality time spent teaching K-8 Art at the Cannon River Stem School). At Arcadia, Sarah had many great students, friends, and mentors and fell in love with Project Based Learning. In 2016, she returned to school to earn her MA in Special Education and shortly after (2018) joined the Avalon staff. Sarah has been a full-time Special Education Teacher ever since. Sarah is passionate about reading and writing instruction and is currently pursuing her Orton Gillingham Certification

Sarah loves art, words (spoken and written), fractions, dogs and cats equally, green olives, long walks, and frequent trips to DQ.

Kevin Ward

Kevin Ward is an advisor at Avalon School. He joined Avalon in 2002 and feels lucky to be here. A graduate of Oberlin College with a BA in English, Kevin has also attended Northwestern University (MS in Secondary English Instruction) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (MA in English Literature). He lives in the Hamline Midway neighborhood of St. Paul with his wife Jess and two kids Murray and Olive. Kevin likes reading and working with students, so the whole thing is a pretty good deal for him.

Regina Goldner

In 2005, Avalon School was introduced to Regina Goldner. She was enthusiastic about math, thought the co-op model was a great fit for her, and was ready share her love of project-based learning with everyone. Regina moved from Seattle, WA to Minnesota back in 2000, ready to make the world a better place; little did she know that teaching was going to be the way she would change the world. She had just graduated from Fairhaven College with a concentration in Environmental and Social Justice and didn’t even think she liked the youth of America. Now, years later, she is proud of her Masters in Education from the University of Minnesota and knows that teaching is the job of her dreams and Avalon the school which she loves.

Maggie Duffy

Maggie comes to Avalon with experience teaching or tutoring each level of high school math. She is ready to work through the battles that come with teaching one of the least loved subjects. She hopes her energy, knowledge, and love of the subject encourage students to "take chances, make mistakes, and get messy." - Mrs. Frizzle Outside of school Maggie can be found trying to run/jog but mostly playing with her one-year-old, Liam, and enjoying life through his eyes.

Emily Sundseth

Bio to come!

Tamara Jones

Over the past twenty years, Tamara's career has been dedicated to social justice, elevating others, and creating equity for all. Her work in Human Resources, progressive politics, and the labor movement encompasses everything from creating best practices for workplaces through policies and procedures using employee engagement metrics to budget analysis to ensure competitiveness in the market.

She lives in southeast Minneapolis with her family, and is the parent of four wonderful children, all attending Avalon School, and who are thriving in Avalon's unique approach to student-centered learning.

Tim Quealy

‍Tim started at Avalon School in the winter of the 2007-2008 school year. Attending Hamline’s Master's in Teaching program during the evenings to earn his teaching credentials, Tim began at Avalon as an Educational Assistant. After two and a half enjoyable years as an EA, Tim was hired as a full time advisor in the high school, and has been there ever since. Tim is licensed in the Language Arts. Tim also loves math, technology, and terrible jokes.

Esteban Castillo

Esteban Castillo is a 2020 High school graduate of Avalon School and the Entrepreneur Fellowship Director. He is a social entrepreneur, organizer, and artist. His father was born in Mexico and mother was born in Colombia. His parents' very different lives and backgrounds have allowed him to connect with all walks of life.

Rebeka Ndosi

Our family has been at Avalon since our son was in 6th grade. He is in the High School now and I am eager to be more involved in supporting the school’s overall sustainability and deepening commitment to equity and anti-racism, and leadership in education, especially in this moment of deep change in the world.I have worked with youth of all ages and in the education world for over twenty years with an explicit focus on centering and empowering young people’s wellbeing as well as their voices and contributions to their families, communities and the world. I have extensive experience in holistic health, youth, family and community mentoring and life coaching, and mind-body wellbeing for youth, especially youth of color and Native youth. I also have extensive experience in nonprofit and education sectors and with community engagement between institutions and BIPOC communities.For more about my work, check out my website: www.rebeka.org.