Introducing the Founders

Here are the two staff members who are the school's founders. Meet Ms. Tomford, our Instructional Leader, and Ms. Bakkar, our Principal.

Ms. Tomford, Instructional Leader/Founder, K - 4 Teacher

Ms. Tomford is a compassionate, dedicated teacher with 25 years of experience in education and 10 years as a teacher. She graduated from Gilbert High with her high school diploma. She graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor's in Business, which led her to attend Grand Canyon University to receive her Master's in Early Elementary Education. She has worked in public and charter schools, both in-person and online. At age 10, she knew she wanted to be a teacher and loved teaching. Ms. Tomford is the proud mother of 4 children: David, age 29; Zach, age 27; Jamison, age 15; and Madyson, age 13. Her two youngest children keep her on her toes and teach her something new daily; we are never too old to learn. 

"Be Somebody Who Makes Everybody Feel Like Somebody." -Kid President

Ms. Bakkar, Principal/Founder, 5 - 12 Teacher

Ms. Bakkar is a hard-working, curious, and determined teacher with 5 years of online teaching experience. She has an adventurous side, traveling the world and experiencing multiple career paths, but eventually, she found her love in teaching. She graduated from Greeley Central High School with her high school diploma. She attended Capella University and received her Bachelor's in Business. She received her Master's in Secondary Education from Arizona State University. She is attending Arizona State University to get her Master's in Educational Leadership. Ms. Bakkar is the proud mother to Adnan, 7, and Lillianna, 12.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein.

Why did we create Encourage Online Academy?

Lastly, Ms. Tomford and Ms. Bakkar both felt that with many of the online schools offered to families through public school districts closing and/or changing their learning model, there should be another viable option for their children.

Over the last few years of being online, we have witnessed the students falling behind, and "we keep moving forward" without the students' understanding of what is being taught. With us moving forward at a pace, some students cannot keep up, placing them farther behind. This has caused frustration and a lack of confidence in our students, which has become a big concern for us. We want to help our students feel confident and successful, and the way to do this is by filling in the gaps that they are missing. Unfortunately, we can not do this when we are dictated how fast to teach. 

As we built our school, we thought this was our chance to change things for families and students. We want our students to love school as much as we love teaching, so we have created Encourage Online Academy.