Introduction to Physics, Chemistry

Molly Carrico has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University of Cookeville, TN. She has six years experience as a chemical engineer, having worked for NASA, Eastman, and Pharmacia. She has taken projects from the initial lab stage all the way to the operational stage in the chemical plant. She has been a homeschool parent for 22 years, loves teaching, and is passionate about math and science. It is so rewarding to open up the wonders, complexity, yet logical order of God’s world to kids. Mrs. Carrico has been married to her husband, James, for 33 years. They have four children: Caleb (BS in Marketing from Cedarville University, now working for Freedom VanGo here in Jax), Anna (BS in Nursing from Cedarville University, now working for Sunrise of Cascade in Grand Rapids, MI), Sarah (BA in Elementary Ed and Special Ed from Liberty University, now teaching kindergarten in Lynchburg, VA), and Elijah (freshman at Southeastern University pursuing BS in Construction Technology).

New Testament Survey

Raised by Richard and Faye Rambo, Lynn was taught the love of God and the Word of God. At the age of 12, Lynn believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved. The Lord has provided people, opportunities and resources to help her achieve a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Valdosta State University, serve as a Behavioral Specialist in the public schools, marry Glenn Ellison since 1987 and have 10 children with him. He has helped and equipped Glenn and Lynn to homeschool them all. The youngest three have attended PEP. Through the years Lynn's favorite subject to teach her own was called "Character Focus." A focus on the character of the Lord Jesus Christ by reading, memorizing, applying and sharing His Word. Now, with great joy, she looks forward to surveying the New Testament with Core B students and persuading them to 'consider Christ Jesus!' (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Introduction to Composition (Core A), Composition & Ancient Literature (Core D), Film Analysis

Ashley graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in English, as well as minors in History and American Sign Language. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition. She loves the beauty of words and firmly believes that stories have the power to change the world. While she adores children of all ages, Ashley is passionate about helping teenagers grow both academically and spiritually.

Geography, American History

Bronwyn Gauthier earned her Bachelors in Art History with a minor in History from the University of North Florida. She has homeschooled all three of her children, with all of them attending PEP, two of which are recent graduates. She has traveled extensively, and also loves to read and embroider. This will be her seventh year at PEP. She brings to PEP a love of teaching and enjoys sharing her love of history and Geography with teenagers in a way that can be made real , relatable and fun! As a former flight attendant, she can draw on a wealth of experience with travel and brings with her that love of Geography, the world’s cultures, and God’s plan and presence in the history of the world.

American Sign Language I & II

Holly graduated alongside her college sweetheart from Flagler College in 2000 with a double major in Elementary Education and Deaf Education. She and Adam got married a few months later. Before having their three children, she taught 3rd grade in public school. That job lead her down the path of homeschooling. She is on the board of Mandarin Christian Homeschoolers where she has taught a wide variety of classes including American Sign Language. Holly enjoys her involvement with Christian Family Chapel where she serves with Power UP Clubs, Operation Christmas Child, as a Family Group Leader and a greeter.

Drawing

Wendy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She also completed many fine art and architecture classes while studying there. She has painted professionally off and on, including, most recently, developing designs for various products, and has illustrated three children's books. She has a great passion for art, is constantly working to improve her own work, and loves sharing what she’s learned with others, especially her students. She homeschooled her two children, who have graduated from college.

Biblical Worldview III

This is Jonathan's second year teaching at PEP. He and his wife have graduated two daughters from PEP and their youngest is in Core F at PEP this year. Jonathan has been married to his amazing wife Melissa for over 23 years - who also tutors at PEP. They are an Air Force family - Active Duty for 12 years and full-time in the Florida Air National Guard for the last 11. In addition to that, Jonathan is one of the Pastors at The Crossing Church in St. Johns County. He has a passion for teaching Biblical truths - especially to young adults. He served as Youth Pastor for a couple years and always thoroughly enjoyed watching them dissect truths, evaluate their ideas against scripture, and learn how to apply Biblical truths to their current context. Jonathan looks forward to having lively, respectful, and challenging discussions in class!

Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Biology

Mrs. Kassebaum earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from California State University San Marcos and has been a homeschool mom to her 3 daughters for over 20 years; from the very beginning until their own high school graduations. After teaching her own daughters at home, she knew she needed to join a community as they got older, and that's when the Lord faithfully led her family to PEP. Realizing she also wanted to be part of the PEP community, she became a PEP tutor in 2019. Her subjects are math and science and she is passionate about helping kids understand both. Her husband, also a PEP tutor, has been in the Air Force since 2001, so military wife and pastor's wife are also roles she fills.  She and her family have lived in Jacksonville since 2013. 

Rhetoric & Composition/Literary Analysis I, Introduction to Literary Analysis

Louise Leonard earned her B.A. in English Education from the University of North Florida, her Master's in Library and Information Science from Florida State University and has completed 18 additional hours of graduate study in English Literature at the University of Florida. She has been a teacher for over 20 years in public school, private school, charter school, and college; she realized a few years ago that she has taught students from every continent except Antarctica. Her favorite teaching position, however, was the blessing of homeschooling her own daughter from grade 3 through graduation. Working with other homeschool parents during that time really gave her a heart for the stress and anxiety so many parents feel as well as the desire to use her own skills to alleviate some of those worries. She has been married for 26 years to her husband Roger and has one daughter, Anastasia, who is currently attending FSCJ for her A.S. degree in Business Management. She then plans to transfer to the College of Central Florida where she will pursue her bachelor's degree in Equine Management with the end goal of owning her own stable. ​ Like most of us, Louise doesn't have a great deal of free time, but when she does, she enjoys attending the Church of Eleven22 with her family, reading, thrift store shopping, and taking care of her family's two dogs, one cat, fish, turtle, and six hens.

Spanish I, II, & III

Claudia Cardona Locklin is a native of Bolivia.  She first came to the U.S. for college and earned a B.S. in Biology at Abilene Christian University.  Upon completion, she went back home where she worked as a biologist.  She was also trained in Bolivia’s top language institute to teach English as a Foreign Language.  She has homeschooled her three children for the last fifteen years, and all three speak Spanish fluently.  During this time, she developed a new passion for teaching, not only teaching her children various subjects with a biblical worldview, but also teaching Spanish.   This is her 5th year teaching at PEP, and her 10th year teaching Spanish.

Ancient History, Medieval to Early Modern History, Modern History, Government & Economics, Yearbook

Heidi Manzone has a B.A. in History/Literature from the University of North Florida and a Masters in British History from UNF. She has taught history at the University of North Florida since 1997 and has been teaching middle and high school students for more than twenty years. In addition, she has been with PEP since the program came to Jacksonville in 2007. She also serves her church as the Director of Christian Education and president of its Daughters of the King chapter among other things, and spent many years homeschooling her sons, who are both graduates of PEP. She loves spending time with her family, her dogs and her cats and enjoys volunteering with various organizations in town. Heidi loves God, loves to teach, and loves to work with young people and feels blessed to be able to combine all three passions through PEP.

Biblical Worldview IV

Michele McKee worked as a Radiologic Technologist then went back to school to study Magnetic Resonance Imaging. She worked in those fields for 15 years. Michele managed the MRI department at Baptist Medical Center-Downtown for 8 years prior to staying home with her children. Michele and her husband Dave have 5 children who have all been homeschooled. In 2009, Michele completed her certification with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and has served as a biblical counselor at the Hope Center (CFC) since that time. She serves as a mentor to new female counselors and as an instructor for the Hope Center counseling training center. Her desire as a PEP tutor is for her students to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Geometry

Rachel has a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from the University of Florida with a minor in Communication. She has a love for math and is excited about sharing that passion with the students of PEP. Rachel and her husband, Dustin, are active members of Christian Family Chapel. They have five children and Rachel currently homeschools four of the children. Their oldest, Lily, will be a Core A student at PEP this year.

Pre-Calculus

Audra has a Bachelor of Arts in Statistics with a minor in Mathematics from the University of North Florida and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. She has taught high school mathematics in both the public and private setting, and she has independently tutored for the last 22 years. She has two teenage children whom she has homeschooled from kindergarten. She loves teaching, and she has always had a heart for teenagers. When she isn’t teaching, she enjoys leading worship, building things, gardening, and swimming on a masters’ swim team.

Algebra II, Geometry, Statistics

Lynne Hurley Norris is the founder and CEO of Diligent Solutions, LLC. She has been privately teaching and tutoring for over 40 years. Mrs. Norris specializes in math, specifically all Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, as well as ACT/SAT Math Prep, and introductory level college business courses like Finance, Accounting, Economics, Marketing, and Management. Mrs. Norris' former professional life included 20 years in the banking industry. She earned an MBA from Johns Hopkins University and holds a BBA in Finance from Loyola University.

Life Science

Erin, who is 54 and has lived in St. Johns since 2020, has been a registered nurse for 25 years. She has 2 Bachelors of Science degrees, one in Nursing and the other in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and is especially interested in speech, language, ADHD and processing disorders. She attributes her family to God’s grace, to include her husband Kevin of 23 years and her four children, Savannah (23), Amanda (21), Jack (20) and Emma (17). Her deep passion for science has been on her heart since she was a child, and teaching other children is a dream come true! The ability to teach science from a Biblical Worldview is something she is honored to embrace and looks forward to partnering with homeschooling families to do the same. 

Old Testament Survey, Shurley Grammar

Erika holds a Bachelor’s degree in special education from UNF; she taught in Duval County for six years and has spent the last 21 years homeschooling. She and her husband, Jeff have four children; the youngest is a PEP rising Core F student. They have one son who currently attends UNF and two older children who are now civil engineers. Two of her children are PEP alumni. Erika has experience as an interpreter for the deaf, she previously served three years as a member of the board for Florida Cyber Charter Academy and for the past 15 years continues to serve as a leader for Bible Study Fellowship International. Erika loves God’s Word and teaching young people. She hopes to inspire students with an enthusiasm for discovering truth for themselves from God’s Word and instructing them in its application personally and daily.

Composition & American Literature (Core C), Earth Science

Amy’s teaching experience extends to nearly all ages. She has offered English classes in her home to elementary and middle school children, and formerly tutored in as well as directed a Classical Conversations community. She is co-founder and writer for To Die Is Gain, a non-profit and ministry that encourages, exhorts, and equips women and college aged women in the church through the deep study of God’s Word, as well as a certified Precept Bible teacher. She is zealous for learning and developing a passion of reading and writing in hopes of fostering a desire for lifelong learning and growth through God’s Word, His magnificent creation, and some rich, fun, exciting, deep and clever literature sprinkled in between. Amy cherishes exploring and taking up space on the couch with her husband, Adam, and daughters, Madelyn and Elianna. They would all agree that most of the time one might find her reading or studying with Leilani, her German Shepherd, or Peaches and Zeus, her Scottish Folds.

Earth Science, Anatomy & Physiology

Amanda has a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a minor in Personal and Community Health. She also holds a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Albany Medical College as well as an MBA in Healthcare Leadership from Liberty University. She has a passion for education, specifically medicine and science. She particularly appreciates approaching science from a biblical worldview. For over a decade, she has been an educator and preceptor for graduate students at Nova Southeastern University. Amanda and her husband only started homeschooling their two daughters a couple years ago but they have enjoyed the freedom the transition has brought. Amanda likes to travel, spend time with her family, and fellowship at their church, Grace Life Chapel.

Rhetoric & Composition/Literary Analysis II

Barbie Towner has a love for literature and a heart for teenagers. She holds a degree in Elementary Education from Indiana University and is currently working toward a degree in English at UNF. Along with her husband Henry, she homeschooled their three children, who graduated from PEP and are now pursing academic and career paths as God directs. Barbie has taught at PEP since 2019.

World History

Wendy Watts has homeschooled her four children since 2011, and they will all be enrolled at PEP this year. She earned her B. A. in Biblical Studies and Theology from Regent University. She is actively involved in The Springs Church in Orange Park, where she leads a home-fellowship group with her husband for Parents with Teens and often teaches Bible studies. Wendy is an avid reader who is always ready with book suggestions for those who ask. She also enjoys playing board games with the family, putting together puzzles, and tending to her plants.

Biblical Worldview I & II, Logic

Briggham Winkler earned his B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Boyce College and his Masters of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY in May of 2020. During his time in Louisville, he served as the chaplain of the Eastern Star Nursing Home. After graduating, he was the Youth Pastor at Mt Pisgah Baptist Church in Ringgold, GA. Along with teaching at PEP, Briggham serves as the General Editor for the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention, a ministry devoted to Child Safety in Christian Ministries. His greatest passion is learning and teaching others about who God is as revealed in Scripture. He has been married to his wife Hannah since January of 2019, and they live in Jacksonville with their Chocolate Lab, Cass, and their two cats, Pepper and Julep.