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Welcome to ATI San Francisco

I'm thrilled to welcome you to ATI San Francisco. 

We're a unique school in this remarkable city. We combine the best of a rigorous, intellectually demanding liberal arts education with the best of a progressive orientation to cultivating student independence, agency and responsibility. We help each student become a great thinker and a great doer in a way that corresponds to their gifts, interests and passions.  

Our learning community is intentionally small so we're able to deeply know each student, help them thrive emotionally and socially, and support their individual path to excellence. We're proud of our orientation to a set of values that guide us as a community, and I'd love to discuss how ATI might align with your vision of an extraordinary high school education.

I'm honored to lead this school and to partner with our exceptional educators and our remarkable students and families to co-create a challenging, supportive, deeply caring, and inspiring learning community.  

I hope you'll explore our website to learn more about ATI and then come see us for yourself.  I'd love to meet you.  

Warm regards, 

Joey Elftmann

Head of School, ATI San Francisco

Our Vision

In 1907, in San Lorenzo, Italy, Dr. Maria Montessori had a radical idea. What if we “follow the child” and let their interests, curiosity and engagement with their environment drive their learning? What if we create an approach to education that systematizes the inputs that a student needs to follow her curiosity, independently work with her mind and her hands, and realize her inner potential?

Today, ATI San Francisco is proud to build on this educational tradition by bringing to life a Montessori-inspired high school for engaged adolescents. Our vision is rooted in a deep belief that teenagers — in the context of a supportive, challenging and enriching community — are capable of extraordinary learning and extraordinary work. We aspire to be a community where students thrive intellectually, emotionally, and relationally and leave ATI prepared and capable of creating lives of purpose, value, and joy.

Our vision for adapting Montessori principles to the adolescent context isn’t fanciful. It requires coordinating and aligning principles and practice. It requires thoughtful and deliberate attention to balancing structure and flexibility. It requires maintaining expectations of excellence with adaptability for how to achieve it. It requires a commitment to learning ideas, skills and practices that are foundational to navigating our world while also providing students with the space and support to pursue excellence in their unique interests and passions.

Our vision is bold and aspirational; it is our life's work. We feel lucky to do this deeply meaningful work each day alongside our students. We hope you might be as inspired as we are to pursue this vision and to join us in re-imagining what a middle school can be.

Our Team

  • Kiana Saniee

    Lead STEM (Science) Guide

    Kiana is a wildlife and quantitative biologist who is eager to bring her passion and enthusiasm for scientific research to young students. Kiana...

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    Kiana is a wildlife and quantitative biologist who is eager to bring her passion and enthusiasm for scientific research to young students. Kiana obtained her Bachelors in biology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a concentration in ecology. Kiana continued her education at Cal Poly in the masters program in biology, where she studied overwintering microhabitat selection of western monarch butterflies. Kiana believes the best way to approach science is with curiosity, skepticism, and evidence. 

    Kiana is also well versed in statistics and applied coding and data visualization, which she is excited to introduce to young students. In her free time, Kiana enjoys dog sitting, basket weaving, camping, game nights, and spending time with her friends and family.

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  • Michael Rivera

    Admissions & Communications Associate

    Michael Rivera is a passionate educational leader who's especially drawn to student mentorship, community impact, and operations management. He...

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    Michael Rivera is a passionate educational leader who's especially drawn to student mentorship, community impact, and operations management. He earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration Management from San Francisco State University and has spent the past five years as a Social Enterprise Manager for a nonprofit organization, JUMA Ventures, focused on recruitment and youth development in underserved communities.

    In addition, he earned a master's degree in Sport Management at the University of San Francisco and studied abroad in South Africa fundraising and coaching for Alexandra Baseball youth. During his studies, he also worked as an events manager for the Community Relations and Arena Operations at the Golden State Warriors. With his background in sport and community, Michael brings creativity, energy, and dedication to the ATI team.

    During his free time, Michael loves to stay active with cross-fit training and building his podcast channel reviewing movies, television shows, sports, entertainment and social issues.

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  • Sharon Cravanas

    College Admissions Counselor

    Sharon has been guiding students through the college admissions process for 40 years. Her experiences include serving as Director of College...

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    Sharon has been guiding students through the college admissions process for 40 years. Her experiences include serving as Director of College Counseling at Head Royce School; Associate Director of Admissions at Mills College; Consultant for the College Board; Instructor for the UC Berkeley Extension College and Career Certificate Program and other counseling roles. She has read applications for Cal Berkeley and UC Davis, and served on national committee for the National Association of College Admissions Counselors.

    With all that said, she really considers herself to be a matchmaker. Sharon thinks that there is no bigger thrill than to match a student with the right college.

    A native of the Bay Area, she is the very proud mom of 2 grown daughters. Her new passion (thanks to the pandemic) is cajun cooking.

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  • Susana Barajas

    Lead Art and Maker Guide

    Susana is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. She was born and raised in Mexico. Throughout her life, Susana has always shown her interest...

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    Susana is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. She was born and raised in Mexico. Throughout her life, Susana has always shown her interest for illustration and ability to create and design and she has always been fascinated by images and how the world is represented through the eyes of others and she always had a talent for drawing and creativity. She earned a bachelor's degree in Graphic Design. She has worked on numerous personal and commercial freelance projects since moving to the states, her proudest of which is being a dedicated alumni of the Imaginism Studios’ many programs, where she have spent a lot of time honing her creative skills designing and creating original illustrated characters while being personally mentored by some of their great artists and have been asked to collaborate in some of their personal Illustration projects.

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  • Jenifer Morgan

    School Operations Assistant

    Jenifer has been on a journey to learn more about youth and inspires to assist in personal growth in any way possible. As a recent graduate from...

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    Jenifer has been on a journey to learn more about youth and inspires to assist in personal growth in any way possible. As a recent graduate from State University of New York at Canton, Jenifer holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in the field of Sport Management. Currently, Jenifer is attending the Sport Management Masters Program at the University of San Francisco to continue her journey in the sport industry with a focus on youth and community relations. With a background as a Resident Assistant, a Student Ambassador and a Junior Giants AmeriCorps Associate, Jenifer brings great enthusiasm, experience working with students, and a new perspective to ATI. During her free time, Jenifer enjoys reading a nice book, staying active and going on adventures.

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  • Alex Gilman

    Lead Humanities Guide

    Alex has a passion for educating the whole person, combining intellectual rigor with emotional intelligence to guide and mentor adolescents to...

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    Alex has a passion for educating the whole person, combining intellectual rigor with emotional intelligence to guide and mentor adolescents to create a life that is successful and fulfilling on every level. 

    He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College with a bachelor's degree in History and Philosophy, the latter of which he also pursued at the graduate level at DePaul University. At Boston College, he was a member of their Honors Program, a four-year interdisciplinary Socratic Great Books program aimed at investigating the fundamental texts and ideas of the western canon, including philosophy, poetry, literature, theology and social science.

    Since graduating from Boston College, he has worked in diverse fields, including as a professional freelance writer and editor, nonprofit administrative manager, and carpenter. Alex also holds a Professional Life Coach certification from the Synthesis Center in Amherst, MA and worked for several years as a coach and trainer in the Mankind Project. He is also a long-time musician and music enthusiast, having played the guitar for over a decade, as well as an avid outdoorsman.

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  • Sara Watchko

    Lead STEM (Math) Guide

    Sara Watchko graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, and then earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) in...

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    Sara Watchko graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, and then earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. She also completed a certificate in Comparative Effectiveness Outcomes Research during her master’s program. Sara loves to travel, enjoys baking on the weekends, and is a passionate climate activist.

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  • Joey Elftmann

    Head of School

    Joey earned his undergraduate degree in Communications, while also studying English and Education at UC Davis. Upon graduating, he began his...

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    Joey earned his undergraduate degree in Communications, while also studying English and Education at UC Davis. Upon graduating, he began his career in education as a middle school world language instructor and athletic director. After several years in a dual teaching & administrative role, he then went on to earn a graduate degree in Kinesiology from Sacramento State. 

    For the past 10 years, Joey has continued his work in Bay Area independent schools, serving K-12+ families in a number of programmatic leadership roles. Additionally, he's supported his school communities in a number of areas related to campus operations, site safety, and community outreach.

    Throughout his career in education, Joey has also spent a considerable amount of time coaching collegiate men's and women's volleyball- at UC Davis, Sacramento State, and the University of San Francisco. In his free time, Joey enjoys exploring Bay Area hiking trails, rooting for Bay Area sports teams (Go 49ers!), BBQ'ing with friends, and spending time with his family.

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  • Katie Lee

    Director of Program Operations

    Katie Lee graduated with a degree in biology from Grinnell College, where she assistant-taught biology, chemistry, and neuroscience. She then...

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    Katie Lee graduated with a degree in biology from Grinnell College, where she assistant-taught biology, chemistry, and neuroscience. She then moved to Nanjing, China, where she taught AP biology and English courses. She has worked in college counseling and helped to open AP and IB centers in Chinese high schools.

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Gifted, passionate, and committed, our staff at ATI San Francisco are remarkable individuals both inside and outside our classroom.

Learn more about the ATI community.

Our Values

Our ATI values align our staff, students and families to a set of ideas and practices that inform and enliven how we collaborate, communicate and support each other. We aspire to bring these values to life each day in our work together.

  • The Pursuit of Wisdom

    “Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” –Socrates

    We approach learning as the ongoing pursuit of wisdom. We explore, interrogate and debate the big ideas that have shaped our world and connect those ideas to our own lives and context. We pursue wisdom not as an academic exercise, but to improve our judgment and actions in the world. 

  • The Development of Virtue

    “Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.” –Marcus Aurelius

    We know the word “virtue” may seem old fashioned. Yet the cultivation of our ethics, our integrity, and our habits shapes the quality of our lives. We are committed to exploring the connection between our deeply held values and our behaviors so that our inner character shows up in the world.

  • The Dignity of Work

    “The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” –Steve Jobs

    Work is central to our lives. It lets us direct our energies purposefully, enabling us to structure our time and action to reshape our world. Through cultivating our capacity for work, we develop an appreciation of genuine effort and a careful attention to quality.

  • The Power of Individual Agency

    “The only true freedom for an individual is to have the opportunity to act independently... There is no such thing as an individual until a person can act by himself.” –Maria Montessori

    We believe in independence and free choice. We seek to develop the courage of our convictions and the capacity for each of us to act with purpose, to overcome barriers and to pursue our individual aspirations.

  • The Responsibility and Joyfulness of Community

    “The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food.” –Dean Ornish

    We recognize the tremendous personal value of the communities to which we belong. And so we assume responsibility for the health and vitality of those communities, share in the joy of belonging and have pride for what we create together.

The ATI Network

The ATI program was founded as a program designed to apply Montessori developmental and pedagogical principles to today's adolescents. Our programming is designed to connect students with the history of human thought and achievement, and to do so in a way that is personal and empowering. ATI blendsthe rigor of human arts and sciences with a creative, entrepeneurial spirit.

And today's teenagers are networked. Our national network of small schools—in Austin, San Francisco, New York, St. Louis, southern Florida, and with more coming—is connected online and extends beyond our schools. The ATI network provides a structure and space for powerful learning to be brought to our students wherever they go.

If you are interested in bringing ATI to your city, please contact Scott Taylor, Executive Director of ATI Schools.

Careers at ATI

If you're interested in a career in administration or teaching at ATI, we'd love to talk further with you. We currently have the following openings at our schools.

Assistant Head of School / Admissions Director

Austin, Texas |  Learn More 

Director (Teaching Head of School)

Bay Area |  Learn More 

Math or Science Teacher and Curriculum Developer

Hollywood Beach, Florida |  Learn More 

Name Your Own Job!

Austin, San Francisco, New York, Hollywood Beach |  Learn More 

Virtual Assistant Head of School

Anywhere! |  Learn More 

Virtual Head of School (Middle School and High School)

Anywhere! Work from Home! |  Learn More 

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