Angie Sayre grew up in West Virginia and attended undergrad at Marshall University. During her time at MU, she worked as a writing tutor at the university’s Writing Center and taught English as a Second Language classes through Marshall’s ESL department. Once she earned her B.A. in Communication Disorders, she moved to Knoxville to complete her M.A. in Speech Pathology at the University of Tennessee. After working as a speech-language pathologist for three years, she and her husband moved back to Tennessee where she chose to become a stay-at-home momma. She has been homeschooling her children for the past 15 years: two sons now in college, one daughter in high school, and another daughter in elementary. Angie loves teaching at home, but she especially enjoys bringing her energy to a weekly classroom setting….better still it involves writing and literature!

Alison Tipton is a Knoxville native who can sometimes be seen prowling old graveyards and dressing in historical garb. She has been interested in history since she first read R.L. Stevenson’s Kidnapped at age 12. Now considerably older than that, Alison is excited to be returning to CEEC where she taught History and Composition classes from 2008-2012. She and her husband live in Fountain City where they are currently homeschooling four of their five children (and running breathlessly after the toddler and the dog).

Carolyn Christiansen has a B.S. in Education from Bryan College and has been published in Nature Friend Magazine. She worked at a Christian school before starting to homeschool her six children. She has been homeschooling for over 25 years. Volunteer positions: SMHEA secretary & resource fair coordinator, Sam Houston Historic Schoolhouse - historical interpreter, museum curator, & board secretary, Berean Bible Church - children's ministry director, Awana secretary, librarian, and CEEC - teacher for over 15 years.

Dr. Jerry Burns is an East Tennessee native. He graduated from Sevier County High School (1984), Carson-Newman College (1988), and the University of Tennessee (1995; Ph.D. in chemistry). He did doctoral research at ORNL and has been teaching full-time at Pellissippi State Community College since 1994. He is a homeschool dad of four marvelous children, all now done.

Robert Core was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, and grew up in Syracuse, New York. After his family moved to Knoxville, he attended and graduated from the University of Tennessee. Over the years, he eventually received a Master’s and Ph.D. from there, also. Upon his initial graduation, he began his teaching career. He taught Physics, Chemistry, and upper level Mathematics for 32 years with Knoxville City/Knox County Schools. He was then employed by Berean Christian High School as principal/teacher for ten years, teaching Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Following this, he helped start and direct SOAR at Berean School, a program designed to correct learning difficulties. He currently volunteers twice a week with after-school tutoring with the Emerald Youth Foundation.
Robert is married and has three children and seven grandchildren. His hobbies include golf, fishing, drawing and pastel painting, gardening, and reading. He has enjoyed his career in teaching, making many friends and lasting relationships along the way.

Hannah Dee grew up in Cleveland, OH and was homeschooled until 10 th grade. Her
experiences as a homeschool student and a public-school student have given her a unique
understanding of different learning environments and teaching methods.
Hannah has a B.S. in Physics from Cleveland State University, where she met her husband
(Phil). After graduating from CSU, she moved with her husband to Knoxville. She has worked at
a clinical laboratory for several years while Phil attended graduate school and now, she is
embracing the opportunity to pursue her true passion of teaching.
Hannah loves teaching science and math, and she truly believes that a good foundation of
knowledge in these subjects sets students up for a lifetime of success in any career they may
pursue. She focuses on problem solving skills and critical thinking while incorporating plenty of
real-world examples in her lessons.
Hannah and Phil have two young children and enjoy spending time as a family, both at home
and around town in Knoxville. In her free time, Hannah enjoys reading and gardening.

Heather Duncan is a choir director with over 30 years of experience with church, traditional school, and homeschool choirs. Ms. Duncan holds a Bachelor of Music in Sacred Voice from the University of Tennessee, as well as a Masters of Music in Music Education, also from UTK. She has taught both ensemble and private voice lessons and has participated in both local and national vocal and choir director associations enabling students to participate in adjudication, such as: the All East, All State, and Smoky Mountain Music Festivals. Committed to comprehensive musicianship and lifelong music making, Ms. Duncan continues to attend workshops and classes during the summers; and is an active member of two professional music groups, the Palmetto Voices Spirituals Ensemble, and Rich Mountain Celtic. In the latter, she not only sings, but plays bodhrán and mandolin. In addition, Ms. Duncan is the President and co-founder of Victoria Watoto Fund, a non-profit committed to meeting the physical, emotional, and educational needs of children in Mbita, Kenya.
Ms. Duncan loves working with young voices, and is committed to not only teaching musicianship, but hopes to enrich the lives of her students by introducing them to diverse music from different cultures and different genres, and to foster a life-long love of singing.

Jill Heaton attended Crown College and received a Bachelors in Elementary Education and a Certificate in ASL Interpreting Training through the college’s Language Navigators Program. Jill also attended Sword Deaf Baptist College and received her Masters in ASL and ASL Interpreting. The Lord burdened Jill’s heart for the Deaf, and that burden turned into a deep love and respect for the Deaf and the Deaf culture. Through her educational experience, Jill learned more about the great need for a Christian outreach into the Deaf community, not only in America, but throughout the world! Jill also works as the Deaf ministry leader of her church, Clear Springs Baptist in Corryton. Jill’s ultimate desire is to reach the Deaf with the Gospel and share with them of Jesus Christ and his love for them. Jill hopes to touch other’s hearts with the burden for the Deaf so that there will be many people who will share the burden for the Deaf and will seek to learn their language so that they too may be able to share the Gospel and Jesus Christ with them!

Le'Ann Cassidy has her B.S. Degree in Athletic Training from Carson Newman College. She's homeschooled both of her boys since kindergarten. Her oldest has attended CEEC for the last 3 years and will be a senior next year. Her youngest will be coming in soon. Le'Ann works at home as a Certified Health Coach and Personal Trainer and loves helping others regain their health. She's married to Donathan, and their family attends Salem Baptist Church in Halls.

Mark Brackney has been a teacher at CEEC for the past twelve years. He has been married to his wife, Christine, for thirty-three years. They are blessed with seven children and have always home-schooled. Their six oldest children have been a part of CEEC. Mark received a B.R.E. (Bachelor of Religious Education) degree from Rochester College, a Christian liberal arts college in Michigan. He received his M.A. (Master of Arts in Ministry) degree from Oklahoma Christian University. They moved to Knoxville in January of 2003 where he currently serves as the minister for the Arlington Church of Christ in North Knoxville. Before that, he worked for the Rochester Church of Christ for twelve years in various roles (campus ministry, youth ministry, family life ministry). He taught adjunct classes in Bible for Rochester College (Rochester Hills, MI) for ten years before moving to Knoxville. He loves the classroom and the interaction with students. He says it is a joy to watch them grow in their faith.

Ruth Caldwell graduated from LMU with a B.S. in Biology in 2004 and an A.S.N. in Nursing in 2006. She
has been married for almost 20 years and has two kids. She worked at Parkwest Hospital for several
years before realizing that God had different plans for her. She was a stay-at-home mom before she
began homeschooling their two children who are now in high school. Her hope is that she can inspire
children to love science as much as she does and for her students to see how amazing and intricate
God’s world is.

Shelley Stockton is an East Tennessee native. She graduated from Temple Baptist Academy in Powell
and she earned an Associate degree in Nursing from Pellissippi State Community College and a
Bachelor of Science degree in Science Education from Pensacola Christian College. She taught in a
Christian school for three years before homeschooling her three children. She and her husband,
Stephen, have been homeschooling for six years. Shelley works part time as a nurse and full time as a
homeschool mom. She has been a volunteer leader in the American Heritage Girls organization for the
last six years. She loves riding horses and gardening. Shelley has a passion for teaching science and
loves being around students. She is a strong believer in life-long learning and hopes to encourage
everyone around her to continue learning for their entire lives.

Todd Kiles grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and always had a passion for art. He graduated with a B.F.A. from Harding University and moved to Nashville where he met his wife, Michelle. Todd started his design business, Gourmet Graphics, about 25 years ago and continues it today. He was also a professor at O’more College of Design in Franklin, TN. Todd and Michelle relocated to the Knoxville area several years ago and have 2 wonderful, homeschooled children, Evelyn (14) and Collin (10). He is looking forward to teaching the next generation of young artists.

Todd Sparrow has had a career in software development and systems management for over 30 years as a computer programmer, network administrator, web developer, devop and consultant. He began in the computer industry working as a data entry clerk and rapidly moved through the channels to become a software developer at a Litton Industries manufacturing plant in 1995. He was also the lead developer/manager for a small team building banking web applications in the financial software industry for Fiserv Inc. for over 5 years in the early 2000s. Todd continues to provide consulting and management services to small and medium sized businesses in the greater Knoxville area. In addition, he has taught programming courses to home school students and in software bootcamps for the past 10 years.