Administration
Dr. Andy Glatfelter - Principal
Principal Andy Glatfelter with Astronaut Jose Hernandez
Principal’s Message
I’m Dr. Andy Glatfelter, your principal! This is my 16th year as a school principal, and I LOVE my job! It’s truly a joy to work with teachers and staff who care so much about our students and who give them their all.
We live in an amazing place, the Aerospace Valley. It’s the world headquarters of flight test. The B-21, the B-2, the Space Shuttle, and so many more planes were designed, built, and tested right here.
We’re the home to the F-35 production site at Northrop Grumman, to Skunk Works, and the first breaking of Mach 1, Mach 2, Mach 3, Mach 4, Mach 5, and Mach 6.7 by Pete Knight, the father of our Knight Prep namesake Congressman Steve Knight. Our students have hundreds of options for very high paying STEM jobs right in our own backyard, and Academies of the Antelope Valley is setting students on a course for success. Not all will become engineers. Jalen Nailor, one of our AAV alumni, plays in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings!
Knight Prep, SOAR Prep, and Virtual Academy are amazing campuses because of our amazing staff. Our teachers work diligently for our kids, and the results are borne out in our high academic achievement, our safe school environment, and our ability to help our students become creative problem solvers. Their ability to collaborate in teams, to speak in front of a group, to give a proper hand shake, and to think outside of the box will be valuable professional skills in whatever path they ultimately choose to take.
If you’re interested in learning more about our school, please give me a call. I’d be happy to talk with you, and if you’d like, to show you around. Our students will one day look back and say, “I’m so glad I had that as a kid.”
Best regards,
Dr. Andy Glatfelter
(661) 943-2091
I suppose a little biographical background might be interesting to share:
- Mission Viejo High School, IB full diploma.
- B.A., The Master’s University. Biblical Studies major with an emphasis in Missions and Biblical Languages.
- M.A., CSU Bakersfield. Master’s in Education: Curriculum and Instruction, core emphasis in educational technology.
- Ed.D., UCLA. Doctorate in Educational Leadership.
- Certificate in School Management and Leadership, Harvard University.
Experience:
- Antelope Valley Christian School. 5th Grade. 1999-2000.
- Desert View Elementary. 4th Grade. 2000-2006.
- Assistant Principal. Piute Middle School. 2006-2009.
- Principal. Piute Middle School. 2009-2011.
- Principal. Discovery School. 2011-2016. Founding principal.
- Principal. Fulton & Alsbury Academy. 2016-2023. Founding principal.
- Principal. Academies of the Antelope Valley: Knight Prep, SOAR Prep, and Virtual Academy
I teach a course called Instructional Leadership for CSU Bakersfield’s master’s degree program in administration. I’ve also taught Educational Research and Educational Statistics at CSUB.
Other interesting things:
- I was an honorary commander at Edwards AFB for two years, assigned to the Electronic Warfare Group.
- I’ve climbed Mt. Whitney three times, once with my brother-in-law, once with my wife, and once with a group of teachers.
- I crossed the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim in a day
- I rode my bicycle 137 miles in a day, from Seaport Village to the Santa Monica Pier.
- In 2021 I ran 5 marathons.
- I finished my first triathlon, Olympic distance, last summer.
- My mother’s cousin’s husband’s great-uncle is Ernest Hemmingway. True story.
- I’m known to run outside when I hear the rumble of unusual aircraft!
- I like to tell Dad jokes. Usually he laughs.
- And I’ve never been to Boston in the fall.
John Kleespies - Vice Principal
John Kleespies
Vice Principal
Tools are in my blood.
My great-grandfather was a ship’s carpenter back when boats were propelled by the wind and calls for help didn’t exist. When things went sideways on open ocean, it was my great-grandfather’s job to keep the whole shebang moving forward by creating solutions with nothing more than his tools and his brains. This was a mighty task, and other men’s lives relied upon his handiwork.
Great-grandpa eventually gave up the sea for a ranch, but his oaken toolchest saw no less action. It was passed down from generation to generation, filling with more tools for more projects. My dad climbed off the tractor to become a diesel mechanic, a remarkable welder, and a pretty doggone good woodworker. Out in my garage, I continue to shape steel and wood into my own creations, thanks to what my dad taught me in his garage.
Many of my tools used to belong to Dad, and a few objects from my great-grandfather’s toolchest can still be found on my workbench. One out-of-place looking vernier caliper belonged to my wife’s grandfather: after World War II, he was invited into this new scheme called The Skunk Works, and he used this caliper to build the A-12 spy plane for the CIA and, later, the SR-71 for the Air Force.
Tools hold a potential for magic that folks no longer seem to understand. Too many generations have withered in front of TV screens, and then computer screens, and then smartphone screens to the point that we’ve now fostered a society of Lotus Eaters.
I’d like folks to rediscover the potential of tools. Importantly, though, I want kids to understand that the tools themselves—things—are not the magic, and neither is simply “doing.” Anybody can do something: creation elicits pride. Thus, it is the act of creation that is the real magic, and this magic is the key to education.
I can think of no better way to learn geometry than to design and build a piece of furniture that is actually used at home. Ever see a kid smiling ear-to-ear as he serves food to his friends after baking for the first time? That’s called chemistry in action. How else should we learn the strange voodoo of electricity than to successfully wire a circuit to perform the task of our choosing? And for those looking forward to the future, then why not learn coding by… well, actually coding?
The passion to create is what drives people to learn. My great-grandfather knew this. My wife’s grandfather knew this. My father knew this. His son was taught this. And, my son will know it.
At Knight and Soar Prep, we present kids with projects that we’re betting will inspire passion in them, we then provide them with the tools to do these things, and then we enjoy the privilege of watching them take home their creations.
I welcome your child to join us so that the magic of creation may be a part of his or her future.
Thank you,
John Kleespies
Vice Principal
