Coaches & Support Staff

Sandra Hollified
Teaching Partner

Sandra Holliefield is a Teaching Partner, Instructional Coach at Tollgate Elementary. She has been an elementary classroom teacher at several grade levels and an instructional coach within two other school districts. Sandra graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. In addition, she received her master’s degree in Education specializing in Reading and Leadership from Regis University. Sandra is originally from Arizona and moved to Colorado with her husband and two daughters in 2007. Her family enjoys traveling to different places and exploring the many beautiful places in Colorado. In addition to traveling, she enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, golfing, and most recently, playing pickleball. She is excited to be a part of the Tollgate community and CREW! She looks forward to supporting both students and teachers with finding their passions and achieving more than they think is possible!

Email: shollifield@aurorak12.org

Nichol Castinado
Instructional Coach

Nichol was born and raised in Colorado, loving all the beauty this state has to offer, especially the mountains! She graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and received her Masters degree, in Curriculum and Instruction, from the University of Phoenix. She has taught Kindergarten, 1st grade, and a Kindergarten/First Grade combo (K/1) all at Tollagte Elementary. She is excited to serve more students and teachers this year by stepping into an Instructional Coaching role. She loves teaching at Tollgate because of how the staff and students embody what it means to be citizens of their community. WE ARE CREW! She is so inspired by students each and every day.

In her free time, Nichol loves to be outside, going hiking, camping, paddle boarding and snowboarding with her husband Scottie. She also loves to travel around the world with volunteer groups over the summers. She has been to 8 different countries and 5 continents!

Nichol is honored to work at Tollgate and in the Aurora community. She looks forward to working with you and your child! 

CREW WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/aurorak12.org/k1crew/home

Email: nmcastinado@aurorak12.org

Check out what Ms. Castinado's Crew did!

Holly Russell
K-5 Interventionist 

Holly has lived the majority of her life in Colorado and grew up just east of Denver. She graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor of Liberal Arts with an emphasis in English and Reading. She recently earned her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. She has taught Kindergarten through 4th grade as a classroom teacher and has served students in the role of Reading Interventionist for 15 years. Holly is new to APS and is looking forward to serving students at Tollgate Elementary in support of their academic, social, and emotional goals. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, camping, going on vacations, and spending quality time with family and friends. 

Email: hrussell@aurorak12.org 

Kaylie Brooks
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Kayli Brooks graduated from the University of Louisville in Louisville, KY with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with a concentration in Spanish. She spent time student teaching in Belize and then moved to Colorado. Her parents still live in Kentucky, and her siblings are spread between New York, San Francisco, and Colombia.

Kayli has been teaching at Tollgate since 2015. She taught 1st grade for one year, and then 3rd grade for the following 7 years. She transitioned to the role of CLDE TL in the 2023-2024 school year. She returned to Regis University to pursue CLDE coursework and earned her CLDE Endorsement with the state of Colorado in 2023.

At home, you can often find Kayli cozied up with a good book and fresh mug of coffee, or headed off to a yoga class. In her free time, Kayli loves hiking, camping, and traveling with her husband, Henry.

Email: kabrooks@aurorak12.org

Carla Chavez
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Carla has worked at Tollgate for one year and absolutely loves the diversity and cultures of the students at Tollgate!  She has been a teacher for 20 years and worked in Aurora Public Schools for 14 of those.  She enjoys being a lead learner, leader, and advocate for English Language Learners.  Carla is a Colorado native and is a very HUGE Colorado State University Rams fan and alumni.  She has earned two Bachelor's and a Master's Degree.  Carla is a PROUD mother of two amazing young men!  She has one son who is 14 and will be attending Regis Jesuit High School and another who is 23 and just graduated from Colorado State University.  She spends lots of time watching her sons, nieces, and nephews compete in a variety of sports.  She loves to travel, go to the movies and sporting events, shop, and spend lots of quality time with family and friends!

Email: cnchavez@aurorak12.org

Taylor Riggs
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education (CLDE) Teacher Leader

Taylor was born and raised in southern Wisconsin, and went to school at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and English as a Second Language. Before moving to Colorado, Taylor lived in Kansas City, Missouri for 2 years. Everyday, she comes to school hoping to spark students' interests and help them understand that they are smart and capable of learning. She is very passionate about making sure each student has access to and feels successful with what they are learning. Outside of school, Taylor loves camping, hiking, and traveling to new places with her husband and dog, or reading a good mystery book. 

Email: tnriggs@aurorak12.org

Catherine O'Meara
Speech & Language Pathologist

Cindy Matthews
Interventionist & Gifted and Talented Coordinator

Cindy was born in Nebraska but has lived her adult life in Colorado. She has taught at Tollgate as a classroom teacher for many years but is now working with small groups of kids helping them with math and reading. She is also Tollgate's Gifted and Talented resource teacher. She loves being outdoors walking, hiking, biking and exploring and that is why Expedition Learning is a perfect fit for her. It is the best of both learning and adventure. Seeing students make progress and be happy makes Tollgate the best spot ever to teach!

Email: clmatthews@aurorak12.org 

Dolores Gonzalez
District Nurse

Bio coming soon!

Email: ddgonzalez@aurorak12.org 

Caitlin Saar
Aurora Mental Health Provider

Caitlin was born and raised in Colorado until she was about 6 years old when she moved to Virginia with her mom. She grew up in Northern Virginia attending Prince William County Public Schools and graduated from Christopher Newport University (CNU) with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in communications in 2013. While at CNU she was deeply involved with her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha and interned with the counseling department her senior year. After graduating from Christopher Newport University, Caitlin worked at Antietam Elementary as a teacher's assistant in one of their lower elementary special education classrooms for the 2013-2014 school year. As much as she liked Virginia, Caitlin was drawn to Colorado and moved back in 2014. She worked as a Group Living Counselor at Excelsior Youth Center and later a Paraprofessional at Metro Children's Center. In May 2019, Caitlin graduated from Metropolitan State University with a Masters in Social Work. In her free time, Caitlin loves spending time with her boyfriend and their two dogs. She enjoys traveling, hiking, tubing, paddle boarding, and just being outdoors. 

Email: CaitlinSaar@aumhc.org

Sarah McKenzie
Kitchen Manager

Bio coming soon!

Email: slmckenzie@aurorak12.org 

Lori Carlstrom
Head Custodian

Bio coming soon!

Email: ljcarlstrom@aurorak12.org