Sarah Jensen
Secondary Director
sarah.jensen@sageintl.org
Sarah was born and raised in Weiser, Idaho. She earned her B.A. in Education from Washington State University and her M.Ed. Leadership from Boise State University. Sarah has a wide range of experience in education, including six months on an American military base in Germany, and five years teaching middle school math in the Treasure Valley. In 2022, Sarah served as both Miss Jensen and Miss Idaho, and represented the Gem State on the Miss America stage. She is a plant lover, dog mom, outdoor adventure seeker, and exercise enthusiast. Her greatest passions are education and service, and she is excited to bring those passions to Sage International in Middleton.
Jacque Bettencourt
Elementary (PYP) Director
jacque.bettencourt@sageintl.org
Jacque has been in education for many years and was part of the Sage International Boise team from 2010-2015 in the role of Kindergarten teacher, PYP Coordinator, and then PYP Director. She then took a break to be home with her son, and most recently spent two years at Idaho Arts Charter School as the Secondary Assistant Principal. When she isn’t working, you will find her spending time with family and friends, perfecting her sourdough loaf, or enjoying the outdoors.
Kelly Shaw
Dean of Students
kelly.shaw@sageintl.org
Kelly is a seasoned French teacher with experience in both traditional and online classrooms. She has led international school exchanges, studied abroad twice, and travelled with over 200 students to seven countries. She values a global perspective and excels in the IB attributes of being caring and open-minded, as reflected in her volunteer work at an overseas orphanage and her service supporting Idaho youth through psycho-social rehabilitation programs. Kelly holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.
Born and raised in Boise, Kelly has had a passion for languages and world exploration since she was young. This passion drove her to education, and she believes that care and compassion are the foundations of student success and that every child is capable of achievement.
Nora Strauch
Primary Years Programme (PYP) Coordinator
nora.strauch@sageintl.org
Nora‘s teaching career began in 2007. She worked in a variety of schools, including charter schools, overseas international schools, and traditional public schools, and joined the Sage International Network in 2019. Nora has worked as both a classroom teacher and a coordinator at IB World Schools since 2012. Nora believes strongly in the inquiry, action, and international-mindedness aspects of the IB framework. When not at Sage, you can find Nora spending time with her family and friends either in the outdoors or taking a trip to explore a new city or landscape.
Emily Downey
Executive Director
emily.downey@sageintl.org
Emily joined Sage in 2014 as a parent of 3 boys, each of who have graduated with the full DP diploma. She enjoyed volunteering in a variety of ways at both of our schools, including as a member of the School Board, and in 2021 became the network’s CFO/COO. Emily is an experienced financial and operational leader as a CPA with over 20 years in the private sector with responsibilities spanning budgeting, forecasting, financial and operational goal setting, personnel management, market strategy, business consulting, corporate taxation and auditing.
Emily loves exploring the outdoors with her family and dogs, traveling the world, and tucking up with a good book.
Josh Noteboom
Chief Academic Officer
josh.noteboom@sageintl.org
Josh brings over 16 years of experience in public education. He previously led federal programs for the Idaho State Department of Education, advancing equity and access for Idaho students statewide. Josh has held a range of roles, including teacher and assistant principal in the Kuna School District, principal of Bruneau Elementary, and founding school leader of Village Leadership Academy, a Boise charter school focused on project-based learning.
A lifelong Idahoan and Kuna High graduate, Josh earned degrees from Northwest Nazarene University and Boise State. He is the proud father of two children—one a high school graduate and the other a current senior. Outside of education, Josh is passionate about Idaho’s natural beauty and enjoys hunting, camping, and paddle boarding.
Christine McMillen
Special Education Director & Federal Programs Manager
christine.mcmillen@sageintl.org
Christine moved to Boise in 1998 and worked as a special education teacher in West Ada and then most recently as principal of Canyon Springs High School in Caldwell.
She is also the proud mother of three grown daughters and two stepsons and enjoys spending as much time as possible visiting them in Colorado and Montana. She is passionate about student success and learning and looks forward to working with the great team at Sage.
Dani Zwolfer
IB/Curriculum/Assessment Director
dani.zwolfer@sageintl.org
Dani started at Sage in Boise when we opened our doors in 2010. She has held a variety of roles at Sage including elementary teacher, PYP Coordinator, and PYP Director. Dani is also an IB Workshop Leader and has enjoyed supporting colleagues at other educational institutions to develop their understanding of the IB. Before her career in education, Dani spent 19 years at an international market research company as a data analyst. When not on campus, she enjoys spending time with her husband exploring all the corners of Idaho and beyond or hanging out at a local coffee shop playing a board game with family.
Heidi Hagman
Marketing & Communications Director
heidi.hagman@sageintl.org
Heidi started at Sage in Boise as a kindergarten parent in 2010 and enjoyed time volunteering while having her own photography business. She officially joined the team in 2019 working at the front desk, and now enjoys using her photography skills and previous years of experience working in IT to market to our community and communicate with families about our wonderful schools! She enjoys traveling and taking outdoor adventures with her husband Mike and their two teenagers.
Arron Walton
Enrichment Director
arron.walton@sageintl.org
Arron started at Sage Boise as a parent when the school opened in 2010, and started working at Sage in 2014 as the ESage Director. She is now also Enrichment Director and oversees extracurricular programs at both Boise and Middleton campuses. She previously worked at the YMCA for 13 years in the Child Development Branch in a variety of roles working with infants through school age children. In her spare time, Arron enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, camping, kayaking and gardening.
Bob Brixey
Network Facilities Director
bob.brixey@sageintl.org
Bob is an Idaho native that grew up in Parma. Bob started working for Sage in the summer of 2016. Prior to that, for twenty years, he was the Facilities Manager for a large church in Indiana. Bob served as a youth pastor in Colorado for five years while he attended Denver Baptist Bible College. He has three children and five grandchildren. Bob enjoys camping with his wife Gayle, entertaining his grandchildren, hiking, driving his hot rod, and working on his miniature railroad.
Janna Mitchell
Multilingual Learner Coordinator
janna.mitchell@sageintl.org
Janna started her career in education in 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia at an IB school as a Kindergarten teacher before moving to Boise and starting at Sage in 2019. Besides teaching Kindergarten, she’s also been a first-grade teacher and an EL tutor. After getting her Masters’s degree in English Language Learners in 2021, she became the network Multilingual Learner Coordinator in the fall of 2022. In her spare time, she loves to read, travel, garden and explore the great outdoors with her dog Jubilee.
