Arly Kruse Educational Foundation
All children are gifted and can succeed, given help and individual attention.
Board Member Biographies
Barb Puzio
A long time Boulder resident, Barb Puzio received her Masters in Education from Regis University. She served the Boulder Valley School District as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher at Bear Creek Elementary for 33-years prior to retirement. During that time, Barb served on various committees for the school, as well as district wide. She was awarded the Impact on Education Award and touched the lives of many, many students who passed through her classroom.
In addition to being an advocate of learning and leadership, Barb is an avid CU fan, the mother to two wonderful children and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and her husband, Jake.
Marilyn Jerde
Marilyn Jerde has extensive experience in public education. She has a 30-year record of achievement in teaching, coaching, and leading school change. Her experiences included being an elementary classroom teacher, a professional developer, literacy coordinator, an elementary principal, a university adjunct professor and a director of schools. She is recognized as an innovative and visionary leader. As a former elementary principal, Mrs. Jerde built a team of highly effective teacher leaders and successfully raised her school to a high performance school.
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Mrs. Jerde has served in numerous roles in the Adams County Twelve School district located in Thornton Colorado. She was most recently, Executive Director of Elementary Schools. During her five years in that role, Mrs. Jerde managed the elementary schools and worked directly with principals and assistant principals to improve instructional leadership skills and build highly effective organizations. She worked with principals to collect and analyze data to develop action plans that significantly improved student achievement. Mrs. Jerde earned the CCIRA Colorado Outstanding Administrator Award in Reading in 2004.