We call our teachers guides, because that’s what they do: guide the student in their learning, always focusing on the student’s demonstrated needs and interests. Meet our 2024-2025 guides!
GINGER NOLKER
Head of School and Lead Guide
Drawing on 21 years of experience teaching public and private school and homeschooling five children, Ginger guides middle school students in all core curriculum areas, and teaches history, literature and rhetoric, and Spanish to our high school students as well. She also co-teaches physics, chemistry, and biology. Ginger is entering her sixth year at Prairie Song. Ginger is a Summa Cum Laude Truman State Master of Arts in Education graduate (BA in History and Spanish minor).
ERIN TRUTWIN
Lead Guide, High School Math
A fellow Truman MAE graduate, Erin brings 18 years of experience in teaching high school math in public school and then homeschooling her three children, and guides our high schoolers in math. Everyone appreciates her patient approach to helping students master new concepts, and guiding them through the entire math course sequence at their own pace! No matter whether students come to her confident in their math skills or sure that they’ll never learn them, she’s able to help each one of them progress well!
SHANNON YUTZ
Assistant Guide, Junior High
Shannon is beginning her fourth year at Prairie Song, and does an excellent job managing our classroom environments so that students have what they need to feel safe and well supported. Students love her sense of humor and ability to relate well to them. She’s able to guide them and keep them on task as they work through projects and tasks, and makes sure that everyone has what they need to be able to do their best academic work!
Not pictured, but equally valued members of our team: each students’ caregivers. We communicate and collaborate to achieve best outcomes for each of our students.
Our spectacular board, always focused on access, equity, and excellence as they guide our school:
2026-2027 Board Members
Kelsey Aurand de Razo, President and Tuition Treasurer
Monika Williams, Secretary and Fundraising
Maria Evans, Member at Large
Prairie Song Academy 