New Testament Survey

Melissa Blazs received her Bachelor of Science degree from Liberty University majoring in Elementary Education, where she was awarded Student Teacher of the Year. She homeschooled her three children, with her last child graduating from PEP in 2021. For over 30 years, Melissa has enjoyed teaching students, whether it be in a classroom or youth group, children’s ministries or homeschool co-op. In addition, she worked as a Children’s Minister and as the Artistic Administrator of the Jacksonville Children’s Chorus. Her greatest joy in teaching is pointing her students to Jesus. Seeing those “light bulb” moments in their lives…priceless! Missions also play a big part in Melissa’s life. Shortly after moving to Jacksonville, she and her husband received a call from the Lord to serve in Asia for one year. The time spent there opened doors for multiple trips back to share the Good News. They have also served on mission teams to Tortola, Chad, and Central Asia. Melissa has been married to her wonderful husband of 39 years, blessed with three adult children, a great son-in-law, and two incredible grandsons.

Chemistry, Biology

Connie Boone has a Bachelor of Science in medical technology from the University of Missouri and worked as a nationally certified medical technologist in hospital laboratories in Missouri, Arizona, and North Carolina. She married and moved to Florida where she put aside her career to be at home with their three children. Connie was certified as a Florida teacher and earned a Master of Education from the University of North Florida. She also was awarded National Certification while teaching science in public and Christian schools. She is looking forward to sharing the wonder of God’s creation with PEP students and helping them discover God’s character through His creation. She is active at Eastside Community Church and volunteers at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Connie and her husband are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this year. They enjoy travel and tent-camping in national parks.

Spanish I, II & III

Adriana Croft has a B.A. in Business Management from Warner Southern University. She is a mother of five and a wife to her husband of 23 years. Two of her children have graduated through PEP, and the younger three children will attend PEP this year. Adriana has 16 years of teaching experience in homeschooling, homeschooling co-ops, and classical public school settings. She grew up in a Spanish-speaking home and learned English as her second language. Adriana has taught Spanish, Latin, Photography, Math, Writing, Science, Reasoning, and Debate. She enjoys photography, traveling, and cooking/baking.

Biblical Worldview II, Biblical Worldview III

​Joel gave his life to Christ when he was 23, coming from a Jewish and naturalist background. Jesus transformed his life, starting with removing an idolatry for golf and replacing it with a passion for Him and teaching. He has an insatiable desire for the Truth and telling people about the treasure he has found in Jesus! Joel graduated from Flagler College with a degree in Business Administration, where he played golf and met his wife. He also received an M.Div. in Apologetics from Liberty University. Currently, Joel works as the Kid's Director, Treasurer, Cleaning Lead, and Missions Director at Reach Church. He also teaches undergraduate Bible classes at Calvary Chapel University. Joel and his wife have a son, whom they adore. They love to do everything together. He enjoys playing (real) golf, disc golf, working out, reading, and spending time with his family. He is a book nerd and collector, and dreams of filling his theological library with hundreds of books.

Ancient History, Medieval to Early Modern History, Modern History, American Sign Language I, Yearbook

Mrs. Dragiff has taught in private Christian schools for 20 years in Jacksonville after homeschooling her own six children throughout most of their school years. She has an undergraduate BA degree in Theatre/Dance from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and earned her MA in Humanities with a focus on History and Philosophy from California State University. She is a lifelong student of the Holocaust and has participated in conferences in Israel and the U.S. in order to deepen her understanding of this important event in history. Mrs. Dragiff came to know Christ through a private school outreach ministry as a 13-year-old, and found that being a Christian brought her the love, belonging, and certainty that she was seeking in life. One of her greatest joys is seeing her family continue to come to Christ themselves and she is very grateful to be involved in Christian education, because helping young people understand Truth and teaching through a Biblical worldview is her greatest privilege. Happily married for 45 years, she and her husband Matthew are blessed to be grandparents of five young children who live nearby. Travel and Art History are her special passions outside of family and teaching.

Drawing

Alan Fraser was born and raised in Panama City, FL and moved to Jacksonville in 1994 after studying in the Studio Arts program at FSU, while also running a successful graphic design freelancing business. Jacksonville brought new challenges as he learned a new way to use his love for art and design in the field of video production. After 8 years at north Florida’s premier digital postproduction house, and just a couple of years newly married, he started his own video production, design, and animation company, named CreationStudios. God has blessed Alan and his wife, Pam, with 2 beautiful, talented daughters, both of whom are current PEP students. He has over 20 years’ worth of business experience ranging from 3D animation, full video production, 2D digital and cell animation, to corporate and family photography. Mr. Fraser is excited to share his lifelong love of drawing with the students at PEP.

Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, , Geography, Latin I & II, Logic

Dabney received her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Memphis and worked in the field of microbiology for several years before discovering that her real passion lay in teaching. For over 40 years now she has had the privilege of tutoring privately and teaching in Christian schools. She joined PEP as a tutor in the year 2011. Her greatest joy in teaching comes from helping students discover how all knowledge points us back to our Creator, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. She is the proud mom of 6 children adopted from Mexico and Moldova, 2 of whom attended PEP while homeschooling. Dabney and her photographer husband, Jeff, can frequently be found on outdoor adventures delighting in the beauty of God's creation while kayaking or hiking.

Anatomy & Physiology

Becky has been happily married to her husband Robert for over 30 years now. Together they have homeschooled all four of their children. The older two boys graduated years ago and are now off and married. The younger two children, a son and daughter, are both in college here in Jax. Becky is a member of Christian Family Chapel and she serves the Lord as a certified ACBC biblical counselor through the HOPE Center. She loves all aspects of the study of science because all of creation points to our exceedingly wonderful Creator and Savior!

Biblical Worldview I

Brett is a Jacksonville native and married to his wife Shirley since July 2020; their first spouses went home to be with the Lord and God graciously brought them together in 2019.  They have four adult children who live across the country.  Brett received his Bachelor in Science in Information Technology degree in 2005 and worked for Prudential Insurance moving up from an insurance clerk and retiring as Vice President of Operations Support after 39 years of service.  He serves as an ordained elder at Christian Family Chapel since 2015, active in the counseling ministry as both an ACBC certified biblical counselor and course instructor in the counselor training program; Shirley is also a certified counselor and they both have a passion to bring God and His Word into lives of those who are hurting.  Brett and his wife love to travel and seek to experience different countries and cultures in the years that God gives them; they have had the joy to experience Germany, Austria and Ireland in recent years as well as ministering in India on a short-term mission’s trip with their church.  They enjoy music, biking, sitting at the beach as well as home projects and helping others with theirs.  Brett is passionate about how “Christ Makes a Difference” in his own life and desires to help students seek to put that into daily practice in their lives through a biblical worldview and a saving relationship with Christ; he will often say, “it is not about experiencing Christ, it is about being in relationship with Christ”.

Government & Economics

Erin Jones graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in history and a minor in education. Her primary focus was on early American History. She currently serves as a campus missionary through Every Nation Campus at Jacksonville University and Southpoint Community Church. Erin and her husband Jordan have a joyful little girl. They also have a heart to share the gospel here in Jacksonville and around the world, especially in Europe. In Erin's free time, she can usually be found on the beach either reading a book or on her paddle board. 

Rhetoric & Composition/Literary Analysis I & II

Katrina Larson has a BA in Literature and an MA in Communication Development. She has taught many levels of students from elementary to college level in homeschool, public and classical Christian schools. As a military spouse, she has lived and traveled all over the world with her husband and her two, now adult children. She loves German pastries, Korean cooking, and any tropical location. Mrs. Larson is passionate about classical Christian education and engaging in life-long learning from a Biblical perspective with her students. Her favorite subjects are literature, history and writing. She loves living in our nation’s oldest city and giving historic tours with Old Town Trolley in St. Augustine. In her free time, she enjoys water sports, reading, hiking, creative writing, acting and spending time with family.

Saxon 8/7

Debra McLemore has a B.A. in Behavioral Science with a minor in Elementary Education from King College (now University) and a Masters of Education from Winona State University. She taught for 10 years before taking time off to focus on her family. She and her husband of 26 years have 3 children--Eli, Adra, and Zelia. Adra and Zelia are students at PEP. Her family moved to Florida from Minnesota in September of 2021 and they have enjoyed the adventure--trading extreme cold for extreme heat. Hiking in the mountains, listening to the waves crashing on the beach, seeing a fresh snowfall, and smelling the rain as it collides with the earth are a few of the things she enjoys in God's creation.

Introduction to Composition (Core A), Introduction to Literary Analysis (Core B)

Courtney Murray received her B.A. in English with a Concentration in Education from Davidson College, then continued her studies at Arizona State University, where she earned her M.A. in English Literature. Drawn to teaching from an early age, she loves helping students understand complex ideas and discover how literature can open our minds and hearts to the experiences of others. She has taught and tutored in a variety of settings over the years, though her favorite has been homeschooling her own children. Courtney and her husband Mark were married in 2007 and have been blessed with a trio of delightful boys; she and her family are active in ministry. A lifelong learner, she loves reading – especially history, memoir, and historical fiction – as well as playing piano, hiking, and going on road trips with her family.

Old Testament Survey

Stacy Neal has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Colorado. Stacy’s journey with PEP began in 2018 as a study hall monitor and a mom of a Core A student. She spent two years tutoring Life Science and Anatomy, stepping down as a tutor last year to make the most of her oldest daughter’s senior year at PEP. This year she is back as a tutor and excited to be teaching Old Testament Survey to incoming Core A students. Stacy’s husband, Andy, works as a Family Nurse Practitioner in St. Augustine. They have two daughters, Alyson (18), and Kylie (15). Alyson will be heading to Kansas City, Missouri this fall to attend Spurgeon College and Kylie will be a Core D student here at PEP. The Neal family loves to travel and be outdoors. They especially love visiting their extended families in Colorado and Tennessee. They are active members at First Baptist Church Jacksonville and are involved as a family in Sidewalk Ministries.

Grammar

Debra Osborne has a B.S. in English with a minor in Secondary Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. She has taught at both the high school and elementary school levels. For the past five years, she has chosen to be a homeschool mom to her two PEP daughters, Gracen and Samantha, and is very excited to now be a PEP tutor. Debra has been married for over twenty years to her husband, Michael. She and her family are active members of Fruit Cove Baptist Church and are involved with Fruit Cove missions—locally, nationally, and globally. In her spare time, Debra enjoys reading a good mystery novel (Agatha Christie is #1), baking chocolate chip cookies (Southern Living’s Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best!), and traveling to and hiking in the mountains (for the mountains are always calling).

World History

Jill Patterson is a licensed principal and teacher in the state of Florida with over twenty years of experience in education.  She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Elementary Education and her Master of Education degree from the University of North Florida in Educational Leadership.  Jill has served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, assistant principal and principal. She homeschooled her own daughter for several years and is excited to partner with other homeschooling families to provide a quality education where we equip students to think critically, discern information and articulate ideas clearly.  Jill is an active member of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville – Nocatee campus where she teaches Sunday School weekly to elementary students and serves in other ministries throughout the year.  Providence Extension Program’s rigorous curriculum and teaching methodology aligns beautifully with Jill’s philosophy of learning (with the Socratic method being a favorite) and she is excited to join a team of high performing tutors who love Jesus.

Earth Science

Kathleen is a twice-retired teacher, who is back for her third tour of duty! She spent over 40 years teaching, learning, and living in science. Kathleen is passionate about science and has spent her summers attending universities (Princeton, Arizona State University, University of Florida, FSU, Maryland, Northern Iowa and more). She also trained with NASA (Kennedy Space, Houston Space Center, and NASA Space Center in Alabama), FDA, USDA, NOAA, FSU Meteorology Department, National Weather Service in Jacksonville, and Florida Forestry Service. For 3 years she was the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) planetarium director. Kathleen is a Christian who believes in taking an active role in her church’s mission field that includes the church’s Sunday School, Christian Education Committees, and the Preschool Board. She has been married 46 years to her husband John who, in his second career as an engineer, became a Physics and Math teacher before retiring. They have one son, John III who is also a teacher. She is a grandmother of 3 grandchildren.

American History

An alumnus of Providence Extension Program, Gabriel Schlabach graduated from Jacksonville University with distinction in May of 2024. He obtained a Bachelor of the Arts in English (with minors in History and Education) and is currently working towards a Master's in English Literature at the University of North Florida. Gabriel credits his experience at PEP as having provided him with the ideological groundwork to excel as a Christian intellectual in secular learning institutions. Aided by his passion for teaching, he hopes to demonstrate the PEP formula's continued applicability from within the classroom. It is his ultimate goal to assist future generations of students along the path to spiritual edification, speaking to them directly from a youthful perspective. In his free time, Gabriel delights in the pleasures of writing and maintains interest in various geeky pastimes.   

Composition & American Literature (Core C), Composition & Ancient Literature (Core D), Life Science

Alicia Zilinskis received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University, New York with a major in Psychology and minor in Elementary Education. She continued her education at Dowling College, New York receiving her Master’s Degree in Literacy and Special Education. Alicia’s passion for teaching started as a dance instructor in New York. She then taught Literature and History at a public school in New York. Her family moved to Florida nine years ago. In Florida, she taught 5th grade at a local Christian Co-Op. Alicia volunteers as a dance coach for a Nocatee school. Alicia’s daughters are students at PEP, which allow them to also focus on a preprofessional ballet program. Alicia enjoys being part of the PEP family and sharing her love for literature, history, learning and the Christian faith.