Instructors

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Beth Bacon has taught life science and biology for over twenty years. She currently teaches at Metro Academic Studies. Beth was Teacher of the Year for Daniell Middle School, Marietta, Georgia in 1999. She was listed in Who’s Who Among Teachers 2002. Beth graduated with a degree in Education with concentrations in math and science from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 1990. Beth has a Master’s Degree in Education with concentrations in math and science from Georgia State University, 1998. She attended the Institute for Chemical Education at the University of Wisconsin the summer of 1991. Beth has been a presenter at National Science Teacher Association Conferences, Georgia Science Teacher Association Conferences, and many local schools. Beth has Level T-5 Georgia Teacher Certification. She has completed over 500 hours of biblical training and received a Certificate of Completion from the BTCP (Bible Training for Church Leaders). Beth and her husband Kevin and their three children Kate, Olivia, and Jackson attend Genesis Bible Church of Dunwoody. Beth teaches Sunday School there and is on the Children’s Ministry Team.

 


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Noelle Bandy was a high school and college math instructor in her past life at various schools including Georgia Tech and Agnes Scott but has spent the last 19 years homeschooling her own children and tutoring other peoples children. If there is such a thing as a Freelance Math Teacher, that is what she would call herself.  She has lived in Atlanta since she came to college at Agnes Scott and is married to a boy from Tech. ​  She loves math, just ask her!

The Bandys have 5 darling children and attend St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church.

 


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Keicha Barnum is originally from Randallstown, MD, a suburb of Baltimore and moved to Snellville, GA in 2006.  She is a graduate of Lincoln University, PA.  Her post collegiate experience includes several certifications in technology and the Graphic Arts.  She has been married to her husband DeVaughn for 20 years and together they have three children, Kamayah (age 12), Darius (age 18) and Dionte (age 29).  For the past 10 years she homeschooled her youngest son and daughter.  During those years she searched diligently to find creative, relevant curriculum but was often disappointed.  In response, she began to develop her own lessons that incorporated her background in technology and Graphic Arts.  The result was an innovative, relevant educational experience for her children. 

Keicha's experiences in her own homeschool journey sparked a desire to share her innovative curriculum with other students and educators.  She is currently a Graphic Arts and Technology Instructor at two large homeschool Co-ops where her project-based classes are in high demand. She is owner and creator of Barnum Creative Resources, LLC and BCR TechED, a lead instructor for Whiz Learning Kids - a STEM-based after-school program in Gwinnett County, and freelance graphic designer.  All of her pursuits have led to the establishment of a uniquely geeky community of computer technology professionals.  

 


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Peter Bocchino is the President of Legacy of Truth Ministries, located in Atlanta Georgia. Legacy of Truth is a ministry dedicated to equipping Christian professionals and students to understand, effectively defend, and communicate basic Christian principles in a secular environment. The overall purpose of this training is to prepare them to serve as effective mentors for young adults so that they will be able to defend their faith and convictions in the post-modern and post-Christian arena of higher education. Peter graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and worked for 10 years in the power generation industry with both Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation and Jersey Central Power & Light Company, specializing in thermodynamics and forensic engineering.

Peter served as the Director of Leadership Training for an International Apologetics Ministry for nine years. He was responsible for writing and teaching an international, multi-cultural curriculum on critical thinking and Christian apologetics. Peter co-authored a book with Dr. Norman Geisler titled Unshakable Foundations: Contemporary Answers To Crucial Questions About The Christian Faith. He also served on the curriculum committee for the State of Georgia with the responsibility for raising academic standards, under the direction of the State Superintendent with specific responsibilities in the areas of US Government, Law, Ethics and character training. Peter created and integrated critical and constructive thinking units for Georgia's first Controversial Issues and Forensic Science courses.

Peter and his wife, Therese, have two children and reside in Atlanta, Georgia.

There is no charge for these courses, but donations to Legacy of Truth are most welcome. 

DONATE: https://www.legacyoftruth.org/giving/

Or By Check: Make check payable to Legacy of Truth Ministries

Mail it to: Legacy of Truth, PO Box 920063, Norcross, GA 30010-0063

 


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Patsy Butman is a Georgia Certified Teacher who received her BS degree from The King’s College in New York. After leaving the teaching field to raise and teach her own three children, she has returned to the venue of teaching homeschoolers. From 2009-2013 she taught Humanities at Veritas Classical Schools. Mrs. Butman recently served on the National Homeschool Speech & Debate League Board called STOA (www.stoausa.org). Formerly, she was the Regional and State Representative for NCFCA (National Christian Forensics Communication Association) for GA, SC, NC, and FL from 1996 to 2006.  She has been a judge and coach for the Optimist Oratorical Speech Contest in Forsyth County from 2006-2013 and serves as a speech coach for the National Oratorical Constitutional Contest. Some of her students, including her own daughter, have won national titles and large monetary rewards in speech & debate competitions. Her passion is to work with students to instill a love for learning and to reach one’s highest potential in communicating with others. Patsy and her husband John are active members ​at Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

 


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Anderson Carman is a graduate of SCAD Atlanta with a BFA in Sequential Art. He has two children’s books published with a third coming out this year. Over the last two years, he has produced several self-published mini-comics across various genres. He worked on the flat colors for Invader Zim with Oni Press in 2015. He spent a summer working as a character performer at Walt Disney World in Orlando. He is currently working on a creator-owned project and various freelance illustration projects.

Anderson likes long late-night walks, hot cups of tea, and waxing poetic.

Please visit Anderson’s online portfolio for examples of his professional work.

 


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Xiomara (Xio) Castro was born in New Jersey; however, she considers herself a “southern girl with an accent.” Born from a Colombian mother and a Dominican father, her first language was Spanish. Her family moved to the Dominican Republic when she was 10 years old and then  moved back to the United States when she was 18 years old.  At age 19, she joined the military and served in the Army for almost 7 years. She then went to work in Corporate America in different roles, including Director of Operations for an Atlanta financial company for 10 years. However, she felt called to homeschool and decided to let go of her corporate career. Xio taught Spanish for five years to both adults and students including those in the Fayette County home school community.  As a graduate of Colorado Technical University, she earned her BS in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Human Services and is looking forward to pursuing her masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the future.

She has been married to her best friend for 23 years and they have two children. A 27-year-old daughter, whom she homeschooled part-time during her high school years, and a son that was homeschooled until graduation and now attends Baylor University in TX. She volunteers with her husband at a ministry for homeless men in Atlanta and is active in her community.  When she is not spending time with her family, teaching, studying, traveling or serving, you will find her hiking at different state parks with her hiking club. 

One of her biggest passions is to work with kids, especially teens. She loves sharing her love for God with them, as well as her Spanish language and culture. Xio’s number one priority for her students is that they not only learn Spanish well enough to be successful in the next level, but that they learn to love the Spanish language and the culture. She is extremely excited about this opportunity to get to know your students and work with you, as a partner, in your child’s education.

 


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Mary Cypher is excited to have the opportunity to teach the Spanish & French languages! As a mother of 12 children, Mary has been home-educating since 1988 along with her husband, Russ Cypher. Their  adult children have moved on to careers including Nurse/Paramedic/EMT, Biotechnology, Information Systems, Communications, Ph.D in Criminal Justice and instructor at John Jay University, & a degree in Business Administration just this year. Her youngest son is now a Lance Cpl. in the Marine Corps.

She has a passion for teaching and has always agreed with Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." A passion for learning is contagious! 

Mary began studying French in 5th grade and continued through her second year of college, becoming qualified as a French tutor. She had a special passion for the French language most of her life, giving 3 of her children French names.  Originally from Quito, Ecuador, Mary is also bilingual with Spanish as her first language. Having learned English at the age of 6, by the immersion method, and French by more traditional methods - she has a unique perspective on learning a language. She also took 3 years of German in high school, keeping up an interest in it and Italian  - language might be considered her passion, along with teaching. From years of receiving instruction in multiple languages through high school and two years of college to then giving instruction as a tutor in college, homeschooling, and substitute teaching, teaching language is an integral part of Mary's life.

  Mary believes : "There is a new dimension that opens in the mind when a student learns a foreign language. There is a new awareness of the people who speak the language, of their culture and contributions to civilization." A passionate enthusiast of history and culture, Mary enjoys bringing that awareness into the classroom. She has served as a substitute teacher at MAS and has had 3 students graduate from MAS and her youngest is a dual enrolled Senior.

 


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Chris diDomizio is an art instructor, teacher, portrait artist, and professional photographer. He is the CEO, owner of a private art school diDomizio Arts Center, located in the Atlanta area since 1990.

Chris diDomizio has an BFA Degree and studied in Florence, Italy. Through his classical school he designed and innovated hundreds of learning programs with effective tools for art students to use in art. He teaches beginning through advanced classical concepts to teens and adult students in drawing, classical site measuring, oil painting, color theory, figure drawing, portraiture, and professional photography, and cutting-edge color theories. His passion is equipping artists with tools to use their voice in art for God’s purpose and calling.  

Chris also helps students prepare for college through portfolios and art competitions. Some of his high school students have won national, state, and regional art competitions. Some of his students have become top artists in the country and the leaders in nationally recognized art organizations.

Chris is a member of The Portrait Society of America, Portrait Society of Atlanta, Oil Painters of America, where he has won awards for portraiture and given lectures nationally on John Singer Sargent. Chris is appointed to paint a legacy series of President Jimmy Carter where his works will reside in Washington DC., Carter Center in Atlanta, Carter Library, Carter Presidential Museum in Plains, Ga.

His travels include plein air painting and photography trips to Italy, France, and mission trips to Haiti, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as well as inner city missions with City of Refuge, Heart Cry, New Hope in Haiti and Art With a Mission Atlanta.    

 


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Jodette pursued art early in life by drawing everything she could get her hands on. After graduating from high school, she discovered a passion to take drawing and painting further by advanced studies in college. Her works of art which are sold through commissions, boutiques, and art shows in Atlanta, Georgia.  She has designed colorful characters in a children's card collection. JoDette and her husband Chris DiDomizio, is owner/operator of a successful art school in Atlanta, DiDomizio's Art Center, Inc.  Thousands of adults and children have gone through the art program using a unique design called Touchpoint drawing which teaches principles using master concepts and applying them in today's art.  Many students have gone through the program who have won awards in local, regional, state, and national art competitions.  Jodette is an Artist, Art Teacher and Director of the Children's Art Program for ages six through eighteen. The Children's Art Program teaches homeschoolers and after school kids in the art studio, Metro Academic Studies, Konos, and other schools. This is a progressive program created for the purpose of equipping students with tools to reach higher levels in art. In 2010, Jodette opened her own non-profit 501c3 organization "Art With a Mission, Inc." Through this non-profit business, along with her husband, she reaches out to help orphans and needy families through art fundraising. JoDette is blessed to be a part of touching the lives of others through her gifts and calling as God expands her boundaries in art.

 


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Renee Dillard is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Georgia Southern University.  She holds degrees in Early Childhood Education and in Middle Grades Education. She has a masters degree from Lesley University in Literacy. She is certified by the state of Georgia in Middle Grades Science, Social Studies, and Math. Renee has taught 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th grades over the past 32 years in the public school system of Georgia. This is her third year at Metro Academic Studies. She loves kids and has spent her life encouraging students to be the best that they can be. Her philosophy has always been to have fun while you learn.  

Renee has been happily married for the past 34 years to George Dillard. Renee has served beside her husband for the past 30 years at the Peachtree City Christian Church where George is the senior minister. Throughout her life Renee has volunteered in all areas of ministry of the church. Renee has enjoyed teaching Sunday School, leading the women’s ministry, the youth, and working with special events held by the church. 

 



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Teresa Hatten is a graduate of Fisk University with a BA degree in Applied Mathematics. For more than 26 years she worked in the corporate sector in various assignments and Management positions including Engineering, Planning and Analysis, Human Performance Technology, Course Development and Instruction. She became interested in learning sign language in the 1980's after seeing it expressed during church worship services. Her journey into the Deaf world began through a small sign language class offered by the church. In 2004, after completing and accomplishing ASL skills training courses in the Sign Language Interpreter Program at Georgia Perimeter College (now, Georgia State University), she transferred to Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Services. She received a degree in Mortuary Science, became a licensed Mortician and took the helm as General Manager of her parent's funeral services establishment in the state of Tennessee after the passing of her mother. Teresa is an ordained Minister; Served as an Assistant Pastor in Louisville, KY, Associate Minister in Birmingham, AL and Atlanta, GA. For the past 4 years, she served at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf (AASD) as Assistant Librarian three days a week.  Until recently, she provided a service through WOHL Communications Services as a Reader, Scribe or Proctor for candidates with disabilities who are required to take national, state and local examinations and certifications.  Teresa has completed continuing education courses in American Sign Language (Basic and Advanced) at the University of Georgia.  She and her husband Jiendesha "JD" Hatten have been married 42 years. They have two children and three grandchildren.  Teresa and "JD" worship and fellowship at Buckhead Church Online (due to COVID-19 precautions).

 


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Karen B. Holston earned a Business Degree in Human Resources Mgmt and minored in Spanish at Long Beach State in Southern California where she grew up. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Business (MBA) at Kennesaw State. She has conducted leadership, communication, and management seminars in the corporate sector through her own Human Resources consulting business. She is eager to impart these vital life skills to high school students in her Career Prep course. She also enjoys teaching middle and high school Spanish in a highly interactive classroom setting. Karen's strong belief in the Lord and the power of prayer compel her to intentionally pray for her students. The Holstons have been very active members at Church of the Apostles in Atlanta since 1992. An advocate of home schooling, Karen home schooled her miracle Micah (graduated MAS in 2017) all the way through and was the director of a home school group south of Atlanta with over 50 families for five years. Finally, Karen competed in the sport of volleyball at the collegiate, international, and European professional levels. These combined factors inspire her motivational teaching style as she is a firm believer in guiding her students to reach their fullest potential. Karen has gratefully served her family in Christ at Metro Academic Studies since 2013 and is excited to continue to do so!

 


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Kareem Horton also known as “Coach Horton” is originally from Pasadena. California but has lived in the Atlanta area since 2008. After receiving his B.A. in business from Michigan State University and working in corporate sales for many years, Kareem found a more fitting and purposeful life developing young adults in sports and fitness. He has coached basketball for over 5 years and is currently the head men’s varsity basketball coach at Atlanta International School. He also has combined his coaching expertise with athletic training working with athletes on a one to one or small group basis. With an intense attention to detail and a “hustle hard” approach, Coach Horton takes extreme pride in improving both the physical and mental aspects of youth today. ​​

 


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Tim brings extensive business, corporate and entrepreneurial experience to our staff.  He has a strong background in leading training, sales, marketing and operations organizations, as well as founding his own training and consulting firm. Tim graduated from the University of Tennessee with a BS in Business Administration. Tim’s love for teaching began when he taught navigation systems while serving in the US Air Force. Later he managed AT&T’s Sales Leadership Training Center where he oversaw the development and delivery of training courses to their Business Sales Division across the Country. After leaving AT&T Tim founded his own company which provided Corporate Training Programs and business consulting. He later taught in a small Christian school and at a Gwinnett County public school.

Tim and his wife Laura worship at Decatur City Church.  They have two children, Andrew and Elaine, both of whom were homeschooled before going on to graduate from the University of Georgia and UCLA.  Go Dawgs!

 


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Jennie Jones attended two Christians schools for her primary and secondary school education. Growing up with a Dad as a professor and a mother who was a librarian, she has always had a love of history, a concern for our country, and a passion for educating others about history, government, and literature. She particularly realized the importance of freedom after meeting a Russian art dealer who had been imprisoned in the Soviet Gulag for resisting the Communists. Through the years, she saw that many Americans (including our elected officials—and Christians!) did not know our history and the foundations of our country’s freedom and prosperity.  So, she decided to go back to college and pursue graduate coursework in history, government, and literature. 

Jennie earned her Bachelor’s in program management from Northwest Florida State College and her Master’s in American Studies (history, government, and literature) from the University of Dallas in Irving. Before embarking on her master’s degree, she studied European history and American history at Texas State University in San Marcos. 

While working on her bachelor’s degree, she ran a local judicial campaign in Northwest Florida and worked on a gubernatorial campaign in Georgia. She also worked in civil service for the Air Force and for a non-profit organization before working for an internet technology firm while pursuing her master’s. While pursuing further graduate studies in Literature, she taught Federal Government and American History I as an adjunct at Collin College in McKinney. She has spent the last four years teaching Federal Government, Texas Government, American History I and II at Weatherford College. 

During her graduate studies, she particularly appreciated learning about the historical context, themes and storytelling methods. She is looking forward to helping students make connections between the American stories, their historical context and important themes. Some literature is analysis rather than stories, but stories contain analysis and lead the reader to analyze what the author or poet is trying to convey to the reader.   Her goal is to equip students to succeed at the next level, and to apply worthwhile lessons from literature to their lives, evaluating literature based upon a Biblical view of the world and of life. 

Thanks to her father, Jennie has immediate access to a library of approximately 3,000 books. When not reading books and keeping up with the news, she enjoys hiking mountain trails, cooking, traveling (especially historical places), horseback riding, and surprising her friends with puns. She has four nieces who live in Northwest Florida, and enjoys spending time with them, and, of course, teaching them a little too! 

 


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Maren Katz is a native German and moved with her family from Germany to the US in 2007, after living 1.5 years in the Netherlands. With the birth of her first son in 1999, she left the corporate world and became a stay at home mom. Always interested in foreign languages and being fluent in English, French and Dutch, she successfully started a kids’ English club for her children and their friends in 2002. Since in Germany it is illegal to homeschool, Maren and her family took her husband’s job opportunity to move to the US with a stop over in The Netherlands to be able to homeschool. She’s excited to share her joy of learning a new language and opening the door to understanding another culture through sharing her German roots. Maren enjoys reading and sewing to relax. Being able to create with a sewing machine is so much fun, that she can't keep it to herself but loves to inspire others in different age groups to get started, too, with her either individual or (pre- Covid) group classes. From different clothing items to purses and quilts, there's no limit ! She’s also supported her daughter’s love for animals in helping her raise a Canine Companion for Independence guide dog puppy, who is now a skilled helper to a former police officer. She loves to worship at Northlands Church.

 


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Ben Lipford is a professional photographer based out of Atlanta. He found his love of photography over 15 years ago in college while working for The Technique, the Georgia Tech newspaper. During that time, he began to photograph weddings and events. Since then, his love of photography has grown to encompass family, commercial, portrait, and documentary photography. He believes that photography is an opportunity to show others the love in their everyday lives.

When Ben isn't taking pictures of other people, he's documenting his life with his wife Rebecca, his baby daughter Emmy, and his pup Eva. 

 


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Amy Meyer has had a passion for public speaking and the theatrical arts since she first attended a performance of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (starring the then little-known Gary Burghoff!) at the age of six. She spent the next two years performing the role of Snoopy on the dining room table (no dog houses were available.) She was active in both the musical theater and drama departments in high school and in community theater. She was also a member of her high school competitive speech team where she received awards for dramatic oral interpretation.

Amy graduated from Florida Southern College with a BS in Political Science and minor degrees in Theater and Business. Before attending Law School at Florida State University, Amy was accepted into the FSU Masters of Theater program where she completed a BRITT acting apprenticeship and earned her Actor’s Equity card (the actor’s union.) She worked as an actor and director in both professional, semi-professional and academic settings.

Upon completion of law school, Amy became a trial attorney and litigated in the civil and criminal arenas. She wrote numerous briefs and successfully argued appeals before Florida appellate courts. Her most interesting job as an attorney was working as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami with the Janet Reno administration. After 14 years of trial work, Amy set aside her briefcase to raise and homeschool her two children, Madeleine and Sam.

Homeschooling has given her a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with her love of the theater. She completely enjoys working as the drama coach and director at Metro. She has coached children and adults in preparation for public speaking engagements and auditions for many years. Her goal is to help students find and refine their gifts as Godly participants in the world of drama, and to assist in raising up young artists and art supporters who approach their craft with a dedication to the promotion of a Christian worldview. She is working towards creating a non-profit organization dedicated to truth and integrity in the arts.

She has two children with her beloved late husband, Larry Meyer. Sam is a student at Metro and Madeleine is a Metro graduate who is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree. Amy is active in her church, often teaching Sunday school and looking for other ways to serve Christ in our culture.

 


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Angie Nasrallah is a wife, mother of five, teacher and writer.  A graduate of Florida State University, she also earned her Master's degree in Secondary English Ed from the University of Georgia. Angie began her teaching career at UGA as a graduate assistant in the Challenge Program for gifted and talented students. Since that time, she has taught language arts in a variety of contexts including public high school, private middle school, technical school, home school cooperatives and her own children. Angie’s favorite aspect of teaching English is helping students to get organized, encouraging them to find their writer's voice, and showing them how to view literature through a Christian world lens. She and her husband, Matt, live in Marietta with three of their school-aged children and attend St. Basil's Eastern Orthodox Mission.

 


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Derek Owens  taught physics, honors physics, AP Physics, and AP computer science at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, GA from 1988-2000 and AP Calculus at Providence Christian Academy. He graduated from Duke University in 1988 with a degree in mechanical engineering and physics, and worked at the TIP program at Duke for two years, teaching physics and heading the Satellite Science Program. He received a National Science Foundation scholarship and studied history and philosophy of science at L'Abri Fellowship in England. He worked as a software developer for five years before returning to teaching.

Derek has taught homeschoolers in the Atlanta area since the year 2000. He and his wife Amor and their two children Claire and David attend Dunwoody Community Church, a non-denominational church near their home in Norcross. Read about all Mr. Owen's qualifications and other classes at his website here.

 


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Kimberly holds a BA in Political Science from Spelman College where she graduated with Honors. She and her husband are true debate nerds at heart, preferring Debate and Dinner over Netflix any time! She could not be happier about teaching students these incredible skills that she believes will change their lives forever. Regardless of chosen fields for students later, Speech and Debate will offer critical thinking, research, presentation, and persuasion skills that will add a new dimension of growth in an unparalleled way. She believes that every student should have the good fortune to take Speech and Debate for years in their Middle and High School experience. She has been a part of this program for over 5 years and is passionate about teaching students the fundamentals through refinement tools that will allow them to reach their goals. Her goal is to see each student reach their fullest potential while offering a fun and encouraging environment in which to do so.

She is a homeschool mother of three beautiful children who range from 6th to 12th grade. She has homeschooled her children for over 11 years and taught in a variety of capacities. She and her husband started a Coding and Robotics business, reaching up to 60 students per day in the public school system. Her background prior to that was in Real Estate and Sales, where she loved helping people obtain ownership and investment dreams! She is excited to partner with you for your student’s success.

 


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Bill is the director of LifeChange Concepts, and is a trained and certified financial coach through Dave Ramsey Solutions. The primary thrust of his ministry is to do preventative maintenance with teens, young adults and young couples by laying a solid spiritual foundation through the biblical teaching of financial and discipleship principles. This will help better prepare them on issues such as time and money management which they will face as adults and in their marriages. 

Bill lives mortgage free in Locust Grove, GA with his wife Amy and their three children. An ordained deacon at his church, he served in full-time ministry with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes from 2011-2019. 

Prior to FCA, Bill was an industry-award winning commercial real estate broker in Tampa, FL. Completing his financial counseling training with LifeChange Concepts (Tampa, FL) in 2006, Bill served as an LCC board member and volunteered his time as a counselor. He also earned B.A. and M.S. degrees from the University of Illinois and won two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Paralympics. 

 


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Karren Richardson taught Algebra I, Algebra II, Algebra III/Trig, Geometry and Precalculus during her eleven years of teaching at Whitefield Academy. She spent five years teaching math to home school students and fifteen years providing math tutoring at the middle and high school level. Karren graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in math. She is married and has two adult sons. Karren and her husband have lived in Atlanta for 29 years and have lived in Smyrna for the past 11 years. They are members of Church of the Apostles. She is looking forward to tutoring math at the middle and high school level at Metro Academic Studies.

 


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Linda Richardson graduated from Furman University with her degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She worked in an inner-city school in Atlanta where she was recognized as Teacher of the Year. Additionally she was selected as an “Expert Teacher”, served as an advisory teacher for student teachers and was a presenter and trainer for language arts and writing instruction. She has also worked as a curriculum director, a reading tutor, and an English teacher at a local private school.

Two of her children have graduated from Metro Academic Studies and are currently in college; her oldest has graduated from college and is working. She has worked with many home educated families either in her own home, the student's home, in a hybrid class, or online. Linda is thrilled to partner with your family. 

 


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Lisa completed her BS degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Engineering emphasis from Michigan State University and her MBA from Santa Clara University. She worked in the computer industry in Project Management before retiring to take care of and homeschool her three daughters. 

Using her strong Math, English and Teaching skills she began teaching test preparation classes for Chyten Educational Services where she broadened into tutoring all levels of Math, Chemistry, AP courses and Writing skills. After 2 years she established her own test preparation and tutoring business, Champion Management Consulting, in 2014.

She has tutored 100s of students in the last 7 years and has found it very rewarding to see students master the SAT/ACT tests with a little direction and encouragement. Lisa has been an active member of The Church of the Apostles for the last 14 years and enjoys mentoring young women in God’s Word. 

 


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Tom Robinson graduated from Michigan State University in 1985 with an Electrical Engineering / Computer Engineering degree. At MSU, he played football for four years and was recognized with the Potsy Ross Award for the highest GPA on the team. He served as president of Eta Kappu Nu, the Electrical Engineering honor society, during his senior year.

Mr. Robinson has over 25 years of business and technology experience with leading companies including IBM, Gartner, and Computer Associates. He and his wife homeschooled their three daughters, who each attended college on soccer and academic scholarships.

Mr. Robinson applies his passion for teaching in the classroom by offering Computer Science using Derek Owens' curriculum. 

He and his wife are members of Church of the Apostles and live in Sandy Springs.

 


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Kathy Romanoff has enjoyed teaching homeschool students in the Metro Atlanta Area for over twenty years. During her eighteen year tenure as a public school teacher, she taught various math and science classes, but chemistry was her love. Numerous levels of chemistry, including Advanced Placement, permitted her to develop a thorough learner based program. Mrs. Romanoff stepped out of the classroom over twenty years ago and into the home to care for her children, Katie and Stephen. Shortly after this transition, she began to teach chemistry within the homeschool community. Through continuing education courses and workshops, Kathy maintains her teaching certification. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and earned a Masters Degree in Education from Georgia State University. Bruce and Kathy enjoy worshipping at Westminster Presbyterian Church.

 


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James Saxon was ordained as a PCA minister in 1979, and has actively served in the pastorate for the last 30 years. He was converted to Christ at the age of twenty while a student at the University of Alabama and graduated from the RTS Doctorate of Ministry program in the spring of 2005. He joined the staff of the fast-growing, outreach-minded, The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta in the fall of 2000. Since coming to Apostles, Dr. Saxon has served in a variety of staff roles and has recently assumed the role of Director of Evangelism and Outreach.

Though he is currently involved in outreach ministry, he is a pastor at heart and his life ministry verse is Colossians 1:28, “And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.”

 


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Margaret Shuman earned a secondary English education/German double major and a renewable, 7-12 GA teaching certificate at Berry College. She went on to get a master's degree from Bowling Green State University, OH, in speech and theatre, where she also took graduate level courses in literature and theories of teaching writing. Since graduation, she has taught in two public schools, two private schools, and the home education world. The College Board has officially approved Margaret to teach both AP Literature and AP Language, and has hired her to score SAT essays. She has also led seminars in drama, AP English, speech, and writing at professional development conferences. Margaret and her family worship at Passion City Church. You can find out more about Margaret at www.MargaretShuman.com or by emailing shumanhw@gmail.com.

 


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Duran Smith studied theatre at the University of West Georgia, film production at Biola University in Los Angeles, and graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor's degree in film production and a minor in theatre performance. He is now a graduate student at Southern Evangelical Seminary earning a master's in philosophy.

Duran has been an actor, writer, and director on-stage and on-screen for 15 years. He leads an apologetics group called Ratio Christi at the Church of the Apostles every other Sunday evening at 5:00pm.

Duran is a lifelong lover of film, philosophy, theology, and mountains.


To pay for courses, please use PayPal or Venmo. Please include the student's name in the description:

https://www.paypal.me/DuranSmith

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Or email to make other payment arrangements.

God Bless! 

 


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Joe Tribble, an Atlanta native, has been a teacher and coach at a private Christian school in the city since 1983.  He earned his BA from the University of Georgia graduating with a dual major in History and French Language.  He studied French history and culture for a semester at the Université de Paris, Sorbonne, before earning his Master of Arts and Liberal Studies at Dartmouth College with a concentration in 20th Century German and American History. Joe is a Boys’ Varsity Head Coach for cross country in the fall and an Assistant Varsity Coach for boys and girls distance runners in the spring. Joe also teaches a course he created in 1996 that combines his love of history and his passion for running and coaching. The course involves studying topics ranging from prehistoric Stonehenge to the pulling down of the Berlin Wall. Joe then leads the students on a summer tour of the previously examined sites found in the U.K. and Europe.  

For 30 years Joe was married to his lovely wife Gail, until she passed away from cancer. Gail was a studio artist and published illustrator who earned a degree in Fine Arts from Mount Allison University. Their daughter, Grace Marion, graduated from Columbia University in NYC, and went on to earn her Master of Philosophy in Assyriology from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom. She is currently a writer. Joe sums up his Christian faith with a verse from Paul’s letter to the Philippians (1:21) that “…to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

 


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Martha Vahanian majored in history and english at Wake Forest University. She earned her Masters in Divinity and Education at Emory University. Martha has worked for 33 years as a Director of Education for kindergarten through 12th grade. She homeschooled her three sons who all graduated at 16 and have full Zell Miller scholarships to universities in Georgia. 

Martha started her own tutoring business, Solid Foundations Tutoring and Educational Support, in 2021. She absolutely loves teaching students how to learn so they can be independent and proactive in their own education. Martha is nationally certified as a tutor with certificates in both reading and math by the National Tutoring Association.

 


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Brad Winsted was a career Naval officer and pilot and has run an international non-profit that produces Christian Educational material (childministry.com) since 1995. He attended the University of Colorado where he received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A. Political Science). He graduated with a Master's in Business Science (MBS-Human Resources Development) from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA and a Master's equivalent in National Strategy and Policy from the Naval War College in Providence, RI. Brad has taught American Government, American History, World History and Economics for 15 years in local Home School coops/academies (at MAS since it's inception).

Brad desires his students to become personally involved in their own education by giving classroom presentations, interacting with the subject at hand and questioning why and how things came/come to past.  In other words, not being passive learners, but motivated ones.  His best students bring challenging questions to class after completing their homework and reading assignments.  Brad often collectively prays with his students before tests that God will help them to recall and retain their subjects.  Remember true Christian education is to encourage students to be learners all their lives, to continually search for the truth and to serve and glorify God in whatever circumstances He places them. 

Brad became a born-again Christian while in the Navy. He and his first wife (Fawn, now deceased) home-educated all 8 of their children from K-12th grade starting in 1983 when homeschooling was largely unknown. Brad re-married after the death of his first wife to Marga, a Czech national in 2014 and has 14 grandchildren; nine are currently being homeschooled, with five being too young.

Brad wants his students to love the study of history as he does, seeing that it is "His-story" (God through His Son Jesus Christ), the study of Redemption. Brad desires his students to see the arc of history and how it impacts their lives today, to better understand events today.  Without strong families, a belief in the Triune God of Scripture, a community based on the free and respectful interchange of ideas, and the rule of law (guaranteeing the preservation of private property) our communities and lives will continue to disintegrate into atomistic units of confusion and meaninglessness with ultimately an autocratic dictator maintaining peace. To never study and understand our past as a people and nation, is to guarantee that we will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.  He holds to the "Austrian" School of Economics (as articulated by Von Mises) which supports free market capitalism and Brad further believes that governments which understand minimal government interference, the US Constitutional rule of law, balanced budgets (living within our means privately and publicly), private ownership of property and supporting policies to under-gird strong families will guarantee our national survival and prosperity.  

 

 


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Allison Wright holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Secondary Education from Georgia State University and a current Georgia teaching certificate in Language Arts, grades 6-12. She has been teaching in some capacity since beginning her career in 1994. Early on, Allison taught high school English and Public Speaking in Rockdale County Public Schools, where she continued teaching credit-recovery and summer school after becoming an at-home mom. For a time, she also was a certified SAT essay evaluator employed by Pearson/CollegeBoard.

In 2002, Allison and her husband Jason felt God’s call to homeschool, and they have homeschooled their 4 sons from kindergarten to graduation. In 2009, Allison helped establish Scholars Guild Academy, an accredited homeschool academy in Loganville, where she has taught literature, writing, and speech classes for the last 13 years. As an educator and homeschooling parent, Allison is passionate about partnering with families to help prepare homeschooled students for excellence in college and beyond. It is her joy to work with young people, inspiring them to value learning and seek after God’s plan.

Allison and her family are active members of Hebron Church in Dacula. For fun, she cherishes spending time with family and friends, reading and listening to audiobooks, cheering for Atlanta United, and going on adventures. Allison is looking forward to a great year of literature study with MAS students!

 

 

Announcements

Registration for the 2023/2024 school year is open!  
Please visit the Registration page for instructions on how to register and registration fees.

Contact laurie@metroacademicstudies.com with questions.








Join us for senior high socials! Contact Tad Dicks or Liam Brennan for more information at metrohighsocials1@gmail.com.