Ponder East began teaching general music and beginning band in January 1998 in Wylie, TX and then taught middle school band in Grapevine, TX from August 1998 – June 2001. He then moved to Austin, TX in August 2001 and began teaching private saxophone, clarinet, and flute lessons in the area. From 2003-2010, he taught as the part-time jazz band director at LBJ and LASA High Schools. Then, from 2006-2008, he also taught as the part-time band director at KIPP Austin College Prep. In 2011, he became a full-time band director at LBJ and LASA High Schools. In 2021, he became the associate band director at LASA High School. And in 2022, he became the Director of Bands at LASA High School.

From 2003-2015, he co-founded and co-lead the Austin Jazz Project, a week-long summer jazz improvisation camp. Since 2017, he has been a member of the faculty at the Texas Jazz & Blues Camp where he is currently the Director of Camp Operations.

He has been the TMEA Region 18 Jazz Coordinator since 2011; became the Austin ISD Fine Arts Facilitator for HS Band in 2023; and has been the Performing Arts Department Chair at LASA for many years.

In 2026 he became the President-Elect of the Texas Jazz Educators Association (TJEA.)

In addition to teaching music, he has pursued a career as a professional musician, playing saxophone with many bands in the area, including recordings on more than 10 albums, and performances at SXSW, ACL, Utopia Music Festival, One World Theater, House of Blues (Dallas and Houston), The Elephant Room, Parker Jazz, Monk’s, and more.

When he’s not teaching or playing music, he loves playing disc golf (Northtown is his home course.)

He and his wife Cristine have two boys, Kydan and River.

Originally from Plano, Texas, I grew up oil painting and drawing with my Grandma every weekend as a kid. Once in high school my love of art became more than a hobby and I knew that one day I wanted to be an art teacher because of the tremendous impact my AP art teacher had made on me.

I graduated from Southern Methodist University with a BFA (emphasis in Drawing, Painting and Printmaking) and a minor in k-12 education. In 2010 I moved to Austin to begin my first year of teaching at LASA. I teach visual arts fashion design.

I live in Austin with my husband, daughter Faye, and our dog Denver. My parents and siblings all moved to Austin from Dallas four years ago, it is so nice to have the whole family here!

Some of my hobbies outside of art and fashion design include collecting mid century modern furniture, vintage shopping and spending time with family.

Paige Gomez's began her passion for dance at the age of five at APAC Studio with a focus on ballet, tap, jazz, and lyrical. Some of her favorite adolescent memories were during her time as a Jersey Village Gold Duster where she helped lead the drill team, serving as Junior Lieutenant and Colonel her junior and senior year. She completed her Bachelor's in Business Administration and a Dance Minor while dancing and teaching with student organizations such as Fade to Black and Dance Arts Society at Texas A&M and the A&M Dance Department.

After graduation, she completed a dance & business internship through Performing Arts Abroad in Barcelona, Spain with Varium Espai de Moviment. Additionally, she has over 15 years of experience teaching and training with various schools and studios in Texas.

In the Fall of 2018 - Spring 2021 she was the Dance Teacher and Drill Team Director for the LBJ/LASA First Ladies. Under her direction, she established the LASA Velocity Varsity Dance Team in 2021 and Dynasty Junior Varsity Dance Team in 2023.

Through her years of directing, she's led the all teams to great success earning numerous outstanding competitive awards, beloved traditions, group travel in and out of state, and strives to help each student grow to their personal best. Ms. Gomez also trained in a 200 Vinyasa YTT through Wanderlust Yoga. To her, dance and movement is a beautiful source of creativity, health, friendship, storytelling, and a way to connect with your community. She loves to inspire these joys within her students and is grateful to be a part of the LASA Raptor's story.

I graduated from LASA in 2006, earned a a BFA in Textiles from UNT, and returned to LASA in 2009! At LASA I've taught Algebra, Art I, Ceramics, Sculpture, Art History, AP Art and Robotics.

I’m married to a scientist and we have 3 kids William, Nico and Ryn. Our family loves to cook, work on construction projects and explore the outdoors together. As a child, I was drawn to craft and design, but disliked drawing. I found art classes discouraging and felt they focused on those “gifted” at drawing, not students like me. It was not until college that I learned different approaches to drawing and learned to embrace my own style and preferences. It was my experiences at LASA that made me pursue a teaching career. In my academic classes teachers always encouraged me to trust myself, try different strategies and to never give up. I strive to emulate those mindsets with my Art and STEM instruction. I believe that we can all do anything, we just need to trust ourselves, try new approaches and be resilient.

Rachel Horvitz received her Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. While at UT she studied under distinguished cello professor Phyllis Young and regularly performed with the UT Cello Choir and the UT Symphony, along with teaching in the UT String Project. In 2013 she earned a Masters in Secondary Education from Texas State University as part of the Partnership for Teacher Excellence Program sponsored by the Eanes Education Foundation. Ms. Horvitz has been with LASA HS since 2021 and is now in her twenty-sixth year of teaching in the Austin public schools, including Director of Orchestras at Hill Country Middle School in Eanes ISD from 2008 to 2021 and previously at Lamar Middle School in Austin ISD from 2001 to 2008. During her tenure at HCMS the Hill Country Middle School Full Orchestra was named the Texas Music Educators Association Full Honor Orchestra. The HCMS Full Orchestra went on to earn an invitation to perform at the 71st Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in December 2017. She has coached with Longhorn Music Camp and the Austin Chamber Music Center, served as conducting faculty with the Austin Youth Orchestra, and currently serves as a region clinician and UIL adjudicator in Central Texas. Her professional memberships include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association and Texas Music Adjudicators Association. Ms. Horvitz has dedicated much of her free time to performing in local orchestras and chamber groups including Temple and Georgetown Symphony and Musical Discovery Chamber Players. In her spare time she enjoys reading, listening to records, making the perfect cup of coffee, gardening, and planning her next trip to the beach.

Deric J. Lewis, is an accomplished musician/songwriter in multiple genres including Classical, Jazz, Pop, and Gospel. After graduating from Huston-Tillotson University (Austin, Texas) with a degree in Classical Piano Performance, he sought a postgraduate degree from Howard University (Washington D.C.). As a performer, Deric has traveled to several foreign countries and most major cities in America sharing the stage with national artists. His recording choir “Deric Lewis & The Church Choir” is currently signed & featured on three national releases. Deric has been called upon to assemble and train choirs for celebrities such as Diana Ross and Damon Albarn (Assembled, rehearsed, and sang background vocals for the Warner Bros. International artist’s SXSW appearances on Jimmy Kimmel-LIVE & his American tour which included The Tonight Show, The Governor’s Ball (NYC), The Bonnaroo Festival, Irving Plaza (NYC), The Royal (Boston), and the Fox Theater (Atlanta). Deric has been called upon to perform for celebrity weddings including the Jessica Simpson/Nick Lache wedding and the Nancy Mckeon wedding, and to score songbooks for gospel artists such as The Texas Mass Choir, Norman Hutchins, and Chester D.T. Baldwin. Deric is also the organist for the Missionary Baptist General Convention of Texas and a proud member of the most esteemed Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Deric is also a music educator. He holds an EC-12 certification in Music and is employed by AISD. He heads the Choral Department and teaches AP Music Theory & Piano at The Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Early College High School. Under his leadership, the LASA Concert Choir has made remarkable strides towards excellence culminating in their “Sweepstakes” award in Varsity, Mixed 5A at the Texas UIL Concert/Sight-reading competition.

I am a LASA graduate with a background in both choral directing and contemporary a cappella (fun fact: I was actually the founder and original music director of LowKey back in 2015!).

I double majored in music education and math at the University of North Texas, where I also music directed a student a cappella group for four years. After graduating college, I taught in San Antonio for three years before moving back to Austin and joining the LASA faculty in 2026.

I teach choir, piano, and AP music theory, and I sponsor LowKey A Cappella. I have a rescue cat, and I enjoy yarn crafts, TTRPGs, and collecting carnivorous plants in my free time.