Meet Our Religious School Teachers

K-1st grade -- Abbie Villanueva

Abbie grew up in the Las Vegas Valley and has been a teacher in Nevada since 2003. She and her husband, MKT past president - Marco, have been members of Midbar for many years and proudly raise their three children, two of whom attend the MKT religious school. During Abbie’s free time, you might find her working on her garden, binge watching a great show, fundraising for her classroom, organizing, or spending time with friends and family. She earned a spot as one of Pinecrest’s Master Teachers in 2018, and now in addition to her work in the Religious School with our Kindergarten and First Grade families, she serves as the GATE teacher servicing the gifted students at Pinecrest Academy Inspirada.

2nd - 4th grade -- Allison Stidham

This is Allison's second year teaching at Midbar Kodesh Religious School. She is a full time college student and working on finishing her Associate's Degree to move on to become a forensic psychologist. In addition to her Hebrew school teaching, she also works at CaptionCall where she assists the hearing impaired. For the Religious School, Allison teaches grades 2nd through 4th on Sundays and on Tuesdays, she teaches Hebrew. She loves teaching students about their Jewish history and heritage, and she hopes she can grow her students love for Judaism and its values. She is looking forward to a fantastic year and hopes to meet you soon!

5th - 6th grade -- Ryan Stidham

This is Ryan's third year teaching at Midbar Kodesh Religious School, and he is glad to be here. This will also be his second year working as the Prayer Specialist. As a kid, Ryan went to Hebrew School until his Bar Mitzvah, and directly after his Bar Mitzvah, he acted as the Gabbi every time he participated during Saturday morning services. As for his primary career, he works in banking. He really enjoys sports and just spending quality time with family and friends.