Hope Mukai came to Colorado from the East Coast in 2004, having taught high school science for three years in Skowhegan, Maine before arriving here at Foothills Academy.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Biology from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree in Integrated Teaching Through the Arts from Lesley University.  She became fluent in Spanish while living in Seville, Spain in 1998.  Her experience teaching within the public school system inspired her to seek out a school where she was able to truly engage with her students, to get to know them and bring Spanish to them in an experiential and authentic way. 

“After just one visit to this campus I was convinced that Foothills Academy was the perfect school,” says Hope.  “This is a place where learning truly comes alive for the students, and there is no better way to acquire new knowledge than through meaningful experiences.”

Hope’s passions involve travel and adventure, reading, and spending time with family and friends.  She takes full advantage of all that Colorado has to offer as she spends much of her free time outside biking, hiking, camping and enjoying summer music festivals.  She thoroughly enjoys teaching Spanish to the Preschool children, the Middle and Upper School students, and even to some adults here at Foothills Academy, as this is a school that allows her to guide students to a quick and fun acquisition of the language.  As a bonus she gets to teach an incredible course called the Junior World Seminar as part of the unique Upper School Explorations program, as it allows her to incorporate her favorite pastimes into the curriculum.