Staff

I received my Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood from Utah State University in 1972. I have been married for 46 years to a wonderful man who is also involved in the economics and general well being of our school.  He retired from Wheeler Machinery in 2015, where he had been for over 40 years. I have been blessed with two beautiful children who are now adults.  Hilary graduated from Columbia University and London School of Economics.  She married a wonderful British man, and is living in London.  They just had their first baby boy in July, which made us proud grandparents again!   Johnny graduated from the University of Utah, coached basketball as an assistant with the Utah Flash, and now is at The Winner School, full time, as an Owner and  Director, which is fantastic for me!  I have a beautiful daughter in law April, and they have three delightful children.

The staff at The Winner School has become a family who embrace the students, parents and incorporates our vision of building self -esteem.

We opened our doors in February of 1990. The curriculum I developed supports my philosophy of education, that the child comes first. In 2007, we were Nationally Accredited by NAEYC. We take pride in offering state of the art programs with an amazing, highly qualified, staff!

Johnny Saccomanno has worked at The Winner School since 1997 and is now a co-owner and Director of the school.  He works hands on with students, parents and with employee development.   For him, there is great fulfillment in mentoring and working with people of all ages, integrating life skills and lessons at every opportunity. He finds that conscious communication and interaction build positive and meaningful relationships. Johnny views all experiences in life as ways to learn, develop and make progress as a person, a teacher, and a student of life.

Johnny graduated from the University of Utah in 2005 in Interpersonal Communications.  He has also earned a KRI Certification in Kundalini Yoga, which he faithfully practices and loves to teach to students of all ages.

 He has coached and taught basketball on collegiate and professional levels working to develop team and individual skills, but his true passion is the enrichment of young people. 

I met my husband Nick when I moved to Utah in February of 2008. We have three beautiful daughters named Adilynn, Avery & Ayla.

I have an Associates of Applied Science degree in Deaf Studies from the College of Southern Nevada. I enjoy most sports and used to play softball competitively until my freshman year in college. I still play co-ed softball as often as I can. My family enjoys camping, barbecuing, bike rides, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Raili Steenblik details

I have a passion for teaching, which begat at an early age with my mom and dad both being school teacher where I grew up in Law Vegas, Nevada. I received a scholarship to attend the University of Utah, graduated with a BS and worked at two hospitals, educating patients in nutrition, exercise, and heart health before I came to The Winner School. I am excited to get to know all of you new families and seeing again all returning families to our wonderful school. You have made a great choice in your child’s education and we will have a wonderful year together.

I am so fortunate to be part of the Winner School staff. I love that I work with my sister, Connie and nephew Johnny, owners of the school!

I have been married to my husband, Ron, for 33 years. We have two beautiful children. Anthony and Natalie.
Natalie is currently working as a teacher’s aide in the after school program! Both of my children began school at The Winner School at the age of 2 and have grown up here. We are very lucky that we have had the privilege to be involved with a school that provides so many opportunities and positive experiences.

I enjoy working at the school with your children and with the winner school staff. I look forward to another year at the Winner School.

My name is Scout Fairbrother, and I have worked here at The Winner School since May of 2016. I currently work at the front desk and in the store during the evenings and I love it! I love the opportunity I’ve been given to be a part of the awesome staff; where I can help around the school, answer questions, or address concerns with you parents and your wonderful children.

I grew up in Murray where I graduated from Murray High and attended Salt Lake Community College for General Studies.
My husband Matthew and I have a daughter named Lucy, a baby girl due in January 2018, and a puppy named Charlie. We love to spend time together whether it be hiking, camping, fishing, going to the zoo, or traveling. We also love sports and cheering on our Utes, Patriots, Jazz, and, Red Sox!

Shana Espinoza Details!

My name is Jamie Shaw. I have worked at The Winner School since September of 2000. I have worked with the Dino class (after school kindergarteners) since I started here and have loved every day of it. I have also been teaching early-threes preschool since September of 2008. I love having the little ones for their first school experience; I want to make them love coming to school. In my classrooms I provide a fun and safe learning environment, where a child feels loved and can explore freely. I love getting to know children and their families. I have been married to a loving husband, Jason, since June of 2003. I have two beautiful children, a step-daughter Alexis who loves to dance, and a son, Kade, who attends The Winner School karate program. I love spending time going camping and playing board games with my family. I am currently working on the Utah Career Ladder Program for Early Childhood Education. I am a big kid at heart and I think that is what makes me a fun teacher. There is nothing like coming to work and getting hugs from children that love being in my class. I am looking forward to a great year.

Hi! My name is Karrie Adams. I was born and raised in Parowan, Utah. I have been married to my husband, Tory, for 18 years. Together, we have three amazing boys. Nikk is 17, Parker is 12, and Jaxx is 3. He will be attending Miss Vickie’s 3-year-old preschool class. We love camping, riding motor cycles, watching or playing football, and anything outdoors. The Winner School has been a huge part of our lives the past 15 years. My boys and I have grown up here. I have taught just about every age group and enjoyed them all, but I am very excited to be teaching the two-year-old preschool class with Miss Cidny. See you soon!

My name is Amanda.  I have been teaching at The Winner School since 2013, and I love it!  I have worked in several age groups, but mostly with the 2 Year old and 3 Year old Programs.  I first fell in love with teaching when I was a coach for my local Swim Team and Water Polo Teams.  I loved helping others learn new skills, and watching them grow.  Prior to teaching, I studied Human Development and Family Studies, with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education at the University of Utah, and received a Batchelor of Science Degree.  I love that I get to apply what I studied, each and every day!  When I am not working, I enjoy traveling, swimming, and spending time with my family!  I look forward to meeting each of you and your children.  We will have a great year!

Hello, everyone! I have worked at The Winner School since 2011. I absolutely love it! I graduated from Utah State University with a degree in family studies. I have two beautiful children who also attend the school and enjoy it very much. I will be working in the early threes preschool and four and five-year-old preschool. Also, I will be working dayschool with the Bears. I love teaching, playing, and growing with all the wonderful children at this fun school.

Hello! My name is Natalie Sefilian. I am currently a student at the University of Utah and will be graduating this December 2017 with my Bachelor of Science in Human Development with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education. When I am not working or studying I am with my family (who mean the world to me) or with my closest friends either binge watching our favorite tv shows or going on long drives/walks. I love to go boating and four wheeling with my family in the summers and I also love cooking Armenian foods with my mom and grandma.

I have worked with children since I was sixteen years old. Throughout my high school years, I volunteered at my school’s daycare and had an incredible time working and playing with the children; I even took a child development class in my sophomore year and had the opportunity to take home one of those fake babies (which I honestly enjoyed so much and even asked if I could keep it for another week). When I was a senior, I applied to a daycare where I spent more than two years working as a teacher with children from the ages of 2 months to 8 years old. At the beginning of this year I interned in a Montessori classroom for 8 months where I learned the Montessori Approach (which is learning through self-directed activities and hands-on collaborative play).

It’s safe to say I absolutely love working with children. The imagination and welcoming/comforting personality shown by children is purely amazing to me, and I am beyond grateful and excited to have the opportunity to be a part of The Winner School.

I trained at Becky’s school of dance in tap, jazz, and ballet.  I moved my training to The Christensen Centre in Murray, in 1989.  At that time, the Centre was under the direction of Willam F. Christensen. His passion for dance was infectious and I was hooked on ballet.  In 1991 my training changed focus, again, as The Christensen Centre transformed into The Ballet Centre with Ala Chernova taking over as Director of the school and transitioning the school to the Russian Vaganova  method of ballet.  My early training, at that time, was also enriched by being a student of Anatoliyus Grazulis, lovingly referred to as “Tony,” by his students.  He was a master in choreography, ballet technique, character and folk dance.  I was honored to be his student for close to five years. I danced in many of his original pieces and in traditional Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Spanish folk dances.  I studied under the direction of Michelle Armstrong for close to 20 years, as I could not be kept away from the classroom or stage, even after starting my family.  I learned a great deal of classical repertoire under her direction, as well as learning from her skills in choreography as she set original pieces. I studied Pas de Deux work for over 10 years.

I continue to take master ballet classes whenever possible.  I have taken many master classes in Vaganova syllabus from Misha Tchoupakov and Regina Zarhina.  I love that dance is an ever evolving art form that encourages constant growth.

I started teaching ballet technique at The Ballet Centre in 2003. I taught pre-ballet classes, beginning ballet technique, beginning pointe, and intermediate through advanced techniques until the Summer of 2012.

I started at The Winner School in September of 2012. I am the Intro through Razzle Dazzle 7-10 Coordinator and I also teach Ballet & Pointe technique for all groups.

Dance, movement, music, rhythm, technique are all things I am very passionate about. I feel strongly that dance can bring out the very best in a person.  I know it has for me.