STEAM at Tope

Hey, STEAM @ Tope Eagles! 💙💛

Want to be part of the fun and help make our school even more amazing? Join us for our PTA Meeting TODAY at 4:20 PM in the Makers Space! 🎉

Come meet other Tope families, share your ideas, and learn how you can get involved. Whether you’re a longtime PTA supporter or brand new to the Tope family, we’d LOVE to see you! 🦅✨

📅 Today, August 18
⏰ 4:20 PM
📍 Makers Space

Let’s soar together, Eagles! 🦅💫
We can’t wait to see you there!

Mark your calendars for STEAM @ Tope Back to School Night!

Help us welcome Avery Racine to the Tope family! Avery will be coming on as our new Instructional Coach. Avery says:

A little about me: I’m originally from Golden, Colorado, and came to Grand Junction for college. I taught four years at Mesa View and six years at Orchard Avenue. Working with wonderful coaches inspired me to become an instructional coach, and I’ve spent the past two years coaching at Dos Rios. I’m excited to bring that experience to Tope.

Outside of school, I love being with friends and family—especially my little boy, Tommy, who will start preschool this fall! I also enjoy sports and being outdoors.

I’m looking forward to meeting you all and supporting our students’ growth.

My name is Kris Biggs, and I am thrilled to be joining the wonderful Tope Community as a substitute Secretary to the Principal. I am a retired D51 secretary. I worked in the district and at Scenic for 20 years. I have been married to my high school sweetheart Daren for 34 years, and we have one amazing son Ryan and a beautiful soon to be daughter-in-law Angelina, as well as our precious golden retriever girl Bailey and our extra sweet golden retriever grand dog Vega. I absolutely love spending time with my family! I also love to hike and fish and camp and play board games. I look forward to meeting and getting to know everyone at Tope. The 2026-2027 school year is going to be amazing!

Help us welcome Ms Crouch to the Tope family!

Hello everyone! My name is Rylee Crouch (Ms.C), and I am so thrilled to join the Tope family! To tell you a little bit about myself, I am a mountain girl, born and raised in Colorado. At CMU, I played softball while studying K-12 Phys Ed, Adaptive Phys Ed, and minored in Outdoor Recreation. In my free time you can find me at a farmers’ market, skiing, crocheting, rock climbing, the gym, or cooking yummy foods. I am a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, but my main passion is health and sharing that with the next generation. I am looking forward to meeting you and your kiddo(s)!

Please help us welcome Lynn to the Tope family! She will be job sharing the role of Principal Secretary as a substitute while Ms. Wells is away from the office.

Hello Tope staff and families! My name is Lynn Baughman, or Miss Lynn or Mrs. B.
I truly enjoyed working as a District 51 Secretary at Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary for 28 years. I retired in 2022 but missed kids and their families so I have been substituting as a secretary in the school district for the last few years. I am excited to be at Tope (my younger sister attended Tope 50 years ago) to job share the position, Secretary to the Principal, with Kris Biggs for a few months.

I am married and have two fabulous children and two fabulous bonus children with 6 grandchildren that I love spending as much time with as I can.I enjoy spending my time kayaking, riding the side by side and hanging out at our cabin on the Mesa during the summer. And yes… a Christmas Hallmark movie every now and then. My favorite time of year.

I look forward to meeting every one of you!

Have a fantastic school year!

Welcome to the Tope family, Cathy!
Mrs. Miller will be joining us as a kindergarten paraprofessional.

Hello, my name is Cathy Miller. I have enjoyed working as a paraprofessional for D51 for 6 years. I enjoy traveling with my husband, reading and hiking. I am excited to be joining the community at Tope Elementary this year!

Tope Families, help us welcome our new staff members to the family! First up is Mrs. Montoya, who will be our new lead custodian.

Hi I’m Reba Montoya, I’m from a small town in Nevada. I moved to Grand Junction in 2007. I’ve got two other sisters and I’m the oldest. I graduated high school here in Grand Junction and I met my husband Andrew Montoya here. I have a beautiful daughter who is headed to middle school. My family and I enjoy relaxing weekends, sometimes we go atving, bike riding, swimming if we can, or we go see a good movie.

Throwback to when Eddie the Eagle was sad and missing his kids. I bet he’s feeling the same way right now 🦅

TikTok · Kerry Lee Wells