It is a great pleasure to formally welcome Stephanie Gronholz as our new Religious Education Specialist beginning in January. Stephanie and her husband Shane and their son Max have been members of our congregation since 2018. She’s a professional educator with plenty of passion for teaching and working with kids. Here’s a little from Stephanie about her background:
“Growing up in Spokane, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. After graduating from Whitworth’s Masters in Teaching program, I moved to Boulder, Colorado and began teaching high school English at an International Baccalaureate (IB) school. IB’s concept-based curriculum and inquiry-driven teaching model really resonated with me, and soon I was coordinating the program at my school. After spending six years with high schoolers, I helped open what became one of Denver’s largest and most successful middle schools, also an IB school. After six years there, my family had the opportunity to move home to Spokane, where I have worked at a homeschool partnership in Central Valley School District and the Pride Schools charter network.
“When I came home from my first UUCS service in October of 2018, I told my husband, ‘I found an IB church!” Part of IB’s mission statement is that “others in their differences can also be right.’ This seemed to be a Unitarian Universalist value too. I was thrilled that my own child, who was six at the time, could be raised in a religious community that would help him be a values-driven, compassionate thinker. I am looking forward to partnering with UUCS families to provide a safe and happy environment for our children to question, serve, and grow together.”
—Stephanie Gronholz
Welcome Stephanie! We look forward to your leadership and to your entire family remaining and important part of our church community!
Todd