Senior Management Team
Apart from the Head of School, the Senior Management Team (SMT) consists of the two Heads of Section (Primary and Secondary) and the Administrative Coordinator.
The Head of Primary is the person in charge of all things to do with the Primary school, which are the years from Kindergarten through to Grade 6. The Primary school follows the IB PYP (Primary Years Programme).
The Head of Secondary is the person in charge of Secondary School, which is Grades 7 through to 12. This area of the school is divided into two academic programmes, the IB MYP (Middle Years Programme) for Grades 7 to 10 and the IB DP (Diploma Programme) for Grades 11 and 12.
The Administrative Coordinator coordinates the non-teaching aspects of the school.
Jamie Schmitz
My name is Jamie Schmitz, and this is my third year as Head of Primary at Westlake Academy. I graduated from the University of Tasmania (Australia) with a B.Ed in 1994, and I am currently working on my M.Ed. at the University of Bath (U.K.).
For the past 10 years of my 15-year career in education, I have been fortunate enough to work with the International Baccalaureate (IB) curricula in different cultural and school contexts around the world. In addition to my current remit, my roles have included: working as classroom teacher as part of a progressive public education system in Australia, working as a classroom teacher and IT coordinator at the International School of Stuttgart (Germany), working as a classroom teacher and language coordinator at the Vienna International School (Austria), and working as a Primary Years Program (PYP) coordinator and deputy principal for both the PYP and Middle Years Program (MYP) at the International School of Milan (Italy).
With regard to professional development, I have attended more than 10 IB workshops and conferences at varying international destinations, which have included an IB administrators’ conference in Athens, Greece, where I was invited to present sessions on emotional and social intelligence, and the IB Academy in Chicago, where I was trained as an official IBPYP workshop leader, site visitor and consultant. This affords me the luxury of being able to travel to many interesting places for the purpose of training, authorizing and evaluating schools and consulting.
On a personal note, I enjoying playing the guitar and singing, running, and technology in general.
Mark Garcia
My name is Mark Garcia, the new Head of Secondary beginning in the 09-10 school year, and this will be my second year with Westlake Academy. During my first year at the Academy, I taught DP Theory of Knowledge, DP History, World Geography, Government, CAS, and Model United Nations.
Prior to being at Westlake, I spent ten years in a K-12 IB charter school in the Las Colinas area as both a teacher and administrator, so I am familiar and experienced with the International Baccalaureate. I believe in its curriculum and teaching philosophy, and I am glad to be part of a school that so richly integrates this into its program. My teaching background is in history and social studies to middle and high school students. My degree (BA) is in geography and history from Texas State University, and my teaching certificate is in social studies. Over the years, I have received IB training in the following areas: History of the Americas, Theory of Knowledge, History of Europe, and Geography, and my AP training has included: US History, Geography, and World History.
In my past experience as an administrator, I served in several capacities, but most importantly, my responsibilities included overseeing the upper school - students, teachers, staff, and programs. I have spent an extensive amount of time working with seniors and their families for college planning, transcripts, GPA's, and credits. I have also worked closely with students in other areas of academic life, which included: heading the graduation committee and working with senior sponsors, parents, and students for the ceremony, overseeing and heading the annual awards and recognitions ceremony, the junior tie ceremony, class trips, class team-building retreats, and much more. I also have extensive training in many areas of Texas School Law and administration, including training for: instructional leadership, Teacher Evaluation and Appraisal, Special Education, and PEIMS.
I am excited to bring this experience into a school that is about to graduate its first class of IB candidates.
Darcy McFarlane
I am proud to say that I have been with Westlake Academy since it opened in 2003 and have enjoyed five great years here. After five years acting as the Assistant to the Head of School, I am now taking on the role of Administration Coordinator.
Although, I do not have a background in education, I have discovered a passion for education after seeing the incredible learning environment that Westlake Academy is providing for our students.
I currently have a senior standing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a major in Communications and a minor in Hotel Administration. My goal is to complete my degree within in the next few years and add an aspect of public administration to my degree.