-
Community atmosphere
-
Educational excellence
-
Devoted teachers
-
Upper Elementary School
-
Middle School
-
High School
-
4th through 12th grade
Our
Teachers
ARE GROWING TOMORROW'S LEADERS
Eliza Hardin - Director
thehardinfive@gmail.com
Eliza holds dual degrees in English from King University and in Elementary Education from Western Carolina University. She is also a certified teacher in the State of North Carolina. She taught for three years in the public school system and has been homeschooling for eight years now. She has 3 boys, Ezra, 18, Cyrus, 14, and Jonah, 12. Prior to Classical Scholars, Eliza ran Classical Foundations for three years, where she offered classes two days a week to homeschoolers in grades 3-5. She is also a native of Hendersonville, and when she isn't teaching she enjoys reading, knitting, and spending time with her family.
Katie Dugdale - Co-Director
katie.dugdale@gmail.com
Katie holds a degree in Early Childhood Education from Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC. She taught for 4 years in the public school system and has been homeschooling for 12 years. She has four children- Elijah (16), Abigail (14), Selah (11), and Tybi (9). Katie served on the Henderson County Homeschool Association for six years as Activities Director, Treasurer, and Secretary. She has taught through HCHA's Enrichment Classes for many years. Katie and her family live in Hendersonville. She works with the youth at Grace Blue Ridge Church and also loves coffee and chickens!
Ashley Brown
With a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, and 20 years of design work of various types, Ashley has a love for visual communication. She has worked in advertising, product development, packaging design, brand identity, event planning, and taught graphic design/art at the college level. She loves planning and research, and making things beautiful. Ashley grew up moving frequently, and developed a love for travel and discovering new people and places, and she delights in sharing the wonder of our big world with students. Ashley and her husband Ethan are homeschooling their three children as they work with a local church.
Rebekah Byrd, RN
Rebekah Byrd has been married to Eric for 26 years and they are blessed with four children, Ethan (22), Isaiah (20), Abigail (16), and Chloe (14). The Byrd family has homeschooled for 17 years and been a part of cooperative instruction for 14 of those years. Rebekah has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Her Latin instruction came from her eldest son, Ethan! Theater became a passion for Rebekah way back in 7th grade. She is passionate about all things to do with her family, Shakespeare, Monarch Butterflies, Latin, Quilts, and her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Virginia Cooter
Virginia Cooter has a BS in General Science (East Tennessee State University) and a MA in Curriculum and Instruction (Texas A & M). Recently retiring after 38 years of full time teaching in 6th grade thru college classes, Ms. Cooter has teaching experience in Physical Science, Earth Science, Environmental Science, General Science, Pre-algebra, Algebra, and Science Methods. She has coordinated and/or directed science fairs in Tennessee, Texas, and Nebraska. Although she has been awarded several honors, including Earth Science Teacher of the Year for the Southeastern United States, her greatest pleasure is developing an awe in students as they observe God’s world.
Cybele Hetherington
Cybele Hetherington has 20 years of experience as a homeschool educator, organizer, and mentor. Her educational philosophy is firmly rooted in self-discipline and personal responsibility, with the goal of preparing students to be ready participants in the tradition of enlightened inquiry. Undergraduate: College of Charleston and Tulane University. B.S. In Anthropology with focus in Linguistics. Minor in Classics. Graduate: Duke University PhD. Program. Course work toward degree in Linguistics
Cindy Hyde
Cindy Hyde has become focused on teaching chemistry and physics, but she has experience in cardiopulmonary technology, nursing, homeschooling all twelve grades, tutoring dyslexic students, and achievement testing. She has degrees in biology, nursing, and education but continues to learn something new every day! She is married to Kevin and has two grown children that received full academic scholarships. James is a bioengineer for Gore in Flagstaff AZ, and Bethany is a data scientist for Johnson & Johnson in Somerville NJ. See https://achievementtesting.info/cindy.html for more details and contact her at cindy@achievementtesting.info
Ethan Brown
Ethan Brown has been in ministry for 19 years, and is currently the pulpit minister of the Hendersonville Church of Christ. He earned a B.A in Theater from Harding University, a Masters of Arts in Ministry and Master of Divinity from Harding School of Theology, and Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton Massachusetts. Ethan thoroughly enjoyed the five years he was an assistant professor in the department of Biblical Studies at Lubbock Christian University before moving five years ago to be among family and live near the mountains. He and his lovely wife Ashley have been married for 20 years, and they have three children: Gillian, Isaac, and Silas.
Carrie Koppin
With a BS in Early Childhood Education from Middle Tennessee State University, five years teaching in the public school system, and thirteen “official” years of homeschooling her daughters, Mary Elizabeth (17), Ada (13) and Evie (10), Carrie truly delights in teaching and pointing children to God’s truth, beauty, and goodness. Over the years, she has taught in various homeschooling communities. Brett and Carrie, who have been married nineteen years, feel incredibly blessed to live and raise their girls in fabulous WNC. When relaxing, Carrie enjoys hiking, strolling quaint downtowns, reading in the sunshine near a body of water, drawing house plans, and sharing tea with friends.
Traci Fleming
Traci Fleming has a BHS in Health and Nutrition. She is a Registered Dietitian and has worked at AdventHealth for 15 years as a Clinical Dietitian. Traci started homeschooling her oldest son 10 years ago and has been homeschooling in various capacities since then. She has taught in may different settings both professionally and personally, from cardiac rehab classes to homeschool enrichment classes. She has 4 children, Elijah (16), Anna (14), Jude (12), and Lucy (10).
Andrew Hamaker
Andrew has lived in Asheville since he was 11 years old. He grew up homeschooled and was a particularly high performer in high school Latin classes. In 2014, he graduated from Union University with a B.A. in English and a minor in Music. Currently, he also works part-time at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Asheville. He has taught homeschool classes since 2016.
Lisa Nelsen
Lisa Nelsen has a BSBA from Western Carolina University in Financial Planning. She has been homeschooling for 12 years and had the opportunity to serve on the Board of Henderson County Homeschool Association for 5 years as Director of Enrichment Classes and liaison for FBC. Lisa has three children: Aiden (17), Kiara (15), and Robert (10). She loves spending time with her family. You will find her on a baseball field, soccer field, or football field (cheerleading), watching her kids doing what they love.
Anne Jensen
Anne is a mother of 3 children with 11 years of homeschooling experience. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a BS in Applied Communication with a minor in Technology focusing on pottery and woodworking. She worked as an event coordinator before becoming a mom. Anne’s passion for art began as a child and continued as she studied art throughout all her years of education. She has taught private art lessons and enjoys inspiring the love of art in others. She has taught Introduction to Art, Master Artist Study, Middle Ages History and Shakespeare Design Team.
Yvonne Krowka
I have enjoyed 30+ years of teaching in situations from one-on-one to large public schools! Teaching through the co-op is certainly a pleasure. I have a BA and MA with post graduate hours totally at least 30 but no desire to attempt further degrees. I love teaching and most recently have taught science and social studies classes including competition levels in both subject areas. We are transplants from northern IL and have children in NC, IL, and Estonia - giving us opportunities to explore the mountains and trails as well as travel (when Covid settles down!) Thank you for the opportunity to share my passion to never stop learning.
M
montgomerygang@gmail.com
A small town girl transplanted to Asheville almost 20 years ago! My husband, Josh, and I have been married for 18 years. We have four children: Madison, Zoe, Eli, and Levi. I love being in classroom with homeschoolers teaching a variety of courses including Government and Economics, American History, and Public Speaking. Most afternoons I can be found either on the football field or basketball courts of Asheville Christian Academy coaching cheer for private and homeschool students. In any spare time I have, you can find me outside, usually with a great book!
Kevin Hyde
kevin@achievementtesting.info
Kevin Hyde is retired from General Electric and the U.S. Army Reserve. He has degrees in engineering and business. Most importantly, he is married to Cindy and was involved in home schooling their two children.
Sharman Norman
sharmnorm@hotmail.com
Sharman earned her Bachelor’s in Secondary Mathematics at UNC-CH. Then earned her Masters in Teaching at Appalachian State University. She taught at Hendersonville High School for 30 years. During her tenure, she taught all levels of math, primarily Algebra II and Pre-Calculus. And then taught middle school math 10 years at Immaculata Catholic School. While there, she taught 6th - 8th grade math including Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. She also taught at Classical Scholars one year. Sharman has homeschooled several students in Math I, II, and III, Algebra I and II and Geometry and continues to tutor all levels of math.
On a personal note, her husband and she have two adult children. Their daughter is a kindergarten teacher at Sugarloaf Elementary School and has three daughters ages 15, 13, and 11. Their son works at Arcadia University outside of Philadelphia. Her husband has also retired from teaching after 30+ years. They love to travel in their RV. She also enjoys reading.
Mark Watman
wat812@aol.com
Mark Watman: BA psychology, BS physical education, MA psychological counseling Before moving to the Asheville area, Mark was a high school teacher and college instructor. At his high school he taught Psychology, AP Psychology, Health Education and Physical Education. As a college instructor he taught a variety of undergraduate psychology courses as well as sociology and education classes. He also designed and taught 2 psychology courses for the OLLI program for seniors. Mark also coached high school gymnastics and fencing. (a number of his fencers were home schoolers who trained and competed with his high schoolers). Currently Mark is a substitute teacher in the Buncombe County Schools (all grades and classes) as well as at Art Space Charter School and French Broad Academy for Girls. Mark has been married to his wife Beth for 46 years. They have 3 grown children and 7 grandchildren. They have traveled extensively throughout the US and internationally.
Stephanie Marshall
pinkemmacade@gmail.com
Stephanie Marshall has a bachelor of science degree in education from Baylor University. She taught elementary education at Veritas Christian Academy prior to having children. For the last fifteen years she has been homeschooling her own children. Her son, Tucker, attends John Brown University in Arkansas. Her daughter, Emma Cade, is heading to Anderson University in South Carolina. And, her daughter, Maggie, will be a freshman in high school. For the last ten years she has been teaching local homeschool classes, and she is looking forward to continuing to teach one of her favorite programs, Institute for Excellence in Writing. She is also thrilled to teach math again after a long break. She stays busy at home running the Blake House Inn in Arden with her family.
Michelle Wright
michellencsu@gmail.com
Michelle graduated cum laude with a B.S. from North Carolina State University and obtained her Associate and Advanced Level Orton-Gillingham certification from Key Learning Center in Asheville, NC. God has blessed Michelle with two wonderful children, each with their own learning styles. Her daughter was diagnosed with Auditory Processing and Expressive Language Disorder, which led her to teach from home. Using her training in OG gave her the awesome opportunity and knowledge needed to teach her daughter, as well as her son, who also benefited from a multisensory structured approach to learning. Now, after homeschooling for the past eight years, Michelle looks forward to using her experience to teach others. Along with teaching, she works part time at their family jewelry business handling the finances. When Michelle is not teaching or working, she enjoys spending time outdoors or curled up by the fire reading.
Marji McIlvaine
mcilvain@bellsouth.net
After 26 years of homeschooling, Marji (& Rick) graduated the last of their six children. Marji has a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Florida, graduate hours from ECU, and worked at UF as a bilingual aide to the tropical animal science programs. Her fiercest won endeavor, however, is her well-worn degree from the ‘University of Homeschooling’. For 25 years she has taught homeschoolers locally and online. She also administers the W-J Achievement test. Her study of seven languages opened the door to working in positions at UF, a public school in CA, as well as translating for several businesses. In college, she attended the Université de Dijon in France. She later spent a semester in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, traveling and building her German skills. Her first years of college included a major track in science study since she had planned to be a veterinarian. Through homeschooling she found she could fuse her love of snorkeling, scuba diving and science with marine biology. Through her work at UF with graduate students, she found she could also fuse her interests in animals, science, and foreign language. Later, her homeschooling years incited a love of history, and now she is passionate about sharing the love of learning about every facet of God’s creation and His work in His people with her students. She loves staying immersed in our wonderful homeschool community. Contact Marji at mcilvain@bellsouth.net, or www.mastersmarkacademics.com
Eva Lobel
elobel@sparrowia.com
Eva is very excited to join Classical Scholars to teach in 2022. Holding a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, she has worked in various management settings since 1998, including running her family business for over 15 years. For the past three years, Eva taught English to Chinese students with VIPKID, leveraging her two English as a second language certifications (TEFL and TESOL). Eva and her husband, Matt, just celebrated 20 years of marriage. They have 4 children, Erica, 26; Julianna, 19; Rose 17; Jack 13 and have homeschooled their children for the last 17 years. Eva served on the HCHA Board for several years and also on the enrichment class team. She taught a variety of classes over the years at HCHA and Biltmore Homeschool. In Eva’s free time she enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, baking and coffee dates with friends.
Anne Partin
annepartin71@att.net
Anne has two children, Liam (18) and Laura (15), whom she has homeschooled for the past nine years –
with the excellent help of Classical Scholars and others! Anne enjoys using a multi-sensory approach to
engage students in the learning process. Anne studied chemistry at NC State University (no degree)
before embarking on a career in the insurance industry. She’s currently a licensed health- and life-
insurance agent and a certified personal fitness trainer. Her favorite hobbies include camping, reading,
and studying health/fitness.