Student Services & Administration

Ms. Nita Hansen

Chief – Student Services

Ms. Hansen has been crucial for the success of Red Comet. She has been associated with the company since its founding in 1999 and has worked tirelessly to help the school and student community that uses Red Comet. Nita is responsible for customer service and day-to-day business operations as well. She manages an administration team that is responsible for the day-to-day administering of coursework, tracking student progress, creating student reports and responding to student questions.

Ms. Hansen loves her grandson and loves taking care of her dogs.

Mr. Rick Rodden

Head of Teachers

For the past 25 years, Mr. Rodden has been teaching at Toppenish High School, Central Washington and Washington State Universities and at the Yakima Valley Community College. Since its inception in 2006, Mr. Rodden has been a critical part of the online high school program at Toppenish. Mr. Rodden has both taught and managed the online program since the very beginning. Prior to his teaching career, he was a research chemist working at universities and private companies. At Red Comet, Mr. Rodden oversees the day-to-day activities of Red Comet teachers in addition to teaching science. He is responsible for coaching and mentoring new teachers as well as training them. In addition to being a member of a community band, Mr. Rodden spends his free time golfing and fishing.

Ms. Debby Betcher

Transcripts

Ms. Betcher is responsible for ensuring all course requirements are complete prior to issuing transcripts to students.

Ms. Cynthia Poisel

Lead - ALE Operations

Mrs. Poisel has been with Red Comet since 2014 and is responsible for maintaining the day-to-day operations of the ALE Tuition-Free program. She diligently manages her team through student registrations and enrollments, as well as monitoring student schedules, tracking student progress, and creating student reports. Mrs. Poisel guides students as they endeavor to follow State regulations for the Tuition Free Program.

Ms. Brenda Villanueva

Tuition-free ALE Program Admissions

Ms. Villanueva has years of experience in student admissions. At Red Comet, Ms. Villanueva is responsible for ensuring students meet all admission requirements and for ensuring that all transfer requirements have been met for incoming students from other public school districts.

Ms. Esperanza (Hopie) Alvarez-Castro

Assistant - ALE Operations

Ms. Alvarez-Castro has been with Red Comet since 2016 and is a member of the ALE team, responsible for capturing and maintaining accurate data for purposes of student reporting.

Ms. Victoria Gallegos

Student Support Services Prime

Ms. Gallegos is responsible for customer service at Red Comet. She provides support to Red Comet students via email and phone and interfaces with parents and other school staff on a regular basis. Ms. Gallegos is responsible for enrollment of students and for processing all payments. Ms. Gallegos has an AA degree in Paralegal Studies.

Mrs. Jennifer Older

Lead Assistant - ALE Operations

Mrs. Older has been with Red Comet since 2018. She is involved with assisting Mrs. Poisel in all day to day projects which need to be accomplished for the continued advancement of the Tuition Free Program. She tracks student’s progress weekly and is also responsible for capturing and maintaining accurate data for purposes of student reporting.

Ms. Rajani Ankem

Lead Assistant – ALE Operations

Ms. Rajani Ankem has a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering and has worked in Quality Control of manufacturing process for nearly 7 years. At Red Comet, Ms. Ankem works closely with Mrs. Poisel to administer the ALE program to students across Washington.

Ms. Joann Kennedy

Assistant - ALE Operations

Ms. Kennedy has recently joined the Red Comet ALE Team and is responsible for capturing and maintaining accurate data for purposes of student reporting.

Ms. Ashley Ledbetter

Assistant - ALE Operations

Ms. Ledbetter has recently joined the Red Comet ALE Team and is responsible for capturing and maintaining accurate data for purposes of student reporting.