IDEA Hidden Meadow

She then relocated to San Antonio and began her work with IDEA South Flores. During her time as a reading teacher 100% of her scholars left her classroom fluently reading and working on grade level in math. In 2016 she received Teacher of the Year and became one of San Antonio’s first master teacher. In 2019 she received her master’s degree in Instructional Leadership from Texas State University. She served as an assistant principal of instruction for four years and has a consistent record of 98 to 100% of her grade levels reaching all goals for reading, language, and math.

Sonya most recently served as the senior assistant principal for IDEA Travis in Permian Basin as one of founding team members. There she helped to lead IDEA Travis in turning around the school culture and trained all PK-2 teachers in direct instruction. She helped to onboard and coach first year API’s, PIR’s and Relay mentor teachers.

Today Sonya is now serving as the proud Academy principal for Hidden Meadow Academy. Her expertise are classroom management, observational feedback meetings, real time coaching teachers, and professional development design. She is a firm believer that every child deserves to have the best teachers in front of them providing a high-quality education.

Outside of work you can find Sonya taking shorts walks with her dog Love Lee or reading. She enjoys getting wrapped up in a good reality TV show, trying trendy San Antonio restaurants with her boyfriend, and spending time with her friends that are in a monthly dinner club.

Prior to joining IDEA Public Schools, Mark worked for Corpus Christi ISD as a 6th and 7th grade Science Teacher. His passion for creating strong learning environment was evident as he was selected as a district-level model teacher for classroom management.

Mark joined the IDEA team and family in 2011, serving as the 7th grade Science Teacher and Grade Team Leader at IDEA College Prep Alamo. Mark worked diligently to increase scholar achievement and the effectiveness of his team, earning Teacher-Leader of the Year for 2011-12. Through the development of IDEA’s leadership team, Mark became the Middle School Assistant Principal of Instruction, serving as the instructional coach for Science and Humanities.

In 2014, Mark and his family moved to Idaho, but his dedication to closing the achievement gap in Texas remained his passion, resulting in Mark working remotely to support district Academic Counselors and also managing the 21st Century After School programming grant for 29 campuses in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley. Through this work, more than 7,000 scholars gained access to high-level K-12 enrichment programming like mariachi, dance, theater, and creative arts.

Moving back to Texas in 2018, Mark was eager to get back to serving scholars and families on campus and become a San Antonio Principal-in-Residence at IDEA Najim College Prep and IDEA South Flores College Prep. Through his work at both campuses, Mark worked relentlessly with the Math, Science, and Advanced Placement teams to close the achievement gap for all scholars.

Mark is excited to be the Founding Principal at IDEA Hidden Meadow College Prep and is eager to build Hawk traditions together with scholars, family, and staff!