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ACADEMIC & HOMESCHOOL

ENRICHMENT TEACHERS

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Heather Anderson

Heather Anderson earned her bachelor’s degree in 2007 from The University of Tennessee where she studied English Literature. During and after college she worked as an assistant teacher at the university’s Early Learning Center. After she and her husband welcomed their first child, Heather chose to stay at home. They now have three children and she has been homeschooling for six years. 

 

Olivia Atkinson

Olivia Atkinson is a homeschool graduate and is blessed to have been teaching at Peachtree for 8  years,  She is a certified Family Herbalist through Vintage Remedies, has formally studied photography, and has a professional photography business. She has studied piano, theater, and voice over the last 10 years with the Annie Moses Conservatory, and has furthered her classical vocal career with Melissa Shippen Burrows.   Olivia has participated in a number of shows through the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival and Conservatory, taking her to Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole’ Opry, and a roles in the premieres of  “Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge!” and "Tom Sawyer", as well as a drama masterclass with acting legend John Rhys-Davies.  Olivia was a member of Peachtree’s bell and vocal choirs from their beginning through her graduation. She loves working with young children and helping develop their creativity, and is thankful for the opportunity to share her interests with children while encouraging them to develop their talents to use for God’s glory.

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Canaan Bowman

After graduating from Tennessee Tech University in 2013, he has taught 9 years of high school math and assistant band director, as well as private piano. He and his wife, Paige, are blessed with six children.

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Angie Clough

I graduated from Austin Peay State University with a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies.  After marrying an Army soldier, I moved to Ft. Benning, GA, where I taught Kindergarten at a Christian school.  Upon becoming pregnant with our first child, I decided to stay home and care for our growing family. I’m in my 11th year homeschooling my two children and have always had a passion for art and science (particularly biology) and the way they complement each other so well.  I believe these areas of study are wonderful examples of God’s handiwork!  

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Jessica Figura

Jessica Figura graduated with a B.A. in liberal studies with an emphasis in elementary education from California Polytechnic University Pomona. She taught kindergarten for two years before being blessed with her first child of six. She has educated her children at home for over twenty years using a Christian classical approach to learning. She believes that we were created to glorify the Lord in all things.  , “ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36    

        She  started teaching Budding and Sprouting Artists in 2019 at Peachtree. She loves that Peachtree desires to see the arts redeemed for Jesus Christ and used for His glory. 

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Matt Figura

Matt graduated with a Bachelors from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, and his Masters in Divinity from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The Lord called his family to the Cookeville area in 2009 to serve as church planter for Faith Presbyterian Church (OPC) and in 2014 he was called to continue laboring as the church's senior pastor. Matt is excited about the opportunity to teach Chess and is bold enough to argue that apart from a Christian worldview one can't make sense out of the game of Chess (or anything else!). He looks forward to providing a solid knowledge, but even more to pointing Chess students to a deeper understanding of God.

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Sonya Henderson 

Sonya is a wife of over 30 years, a mother of 6 children and grandmother of 5.  She began homeschooling her first child in 1995 and has now graduated the youngest in June 2021.  Before having children, she earned a degree in Early Childhood Development and taught preschool at U.T. Knoxville’s Child Development Center.  She is excited to begin working with preschoolers again on a regular basis and counts it as a blessing to do that in the sweet environment of Peachtree.  She will be teaching a literature-based class which will include music, crafts/art and games.  She also works in Peachtree’s office on Mondays.

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Catrina Howell

Catrina is excited to be a part of Peachtree Learning Center as a teacher for the American Girl Historical Class II. While growing up as a child of educators north of Chattanooga, she developed a life-long love of history that began with walking down the halls of her elementary school carrying stacks of biographies to take home to read, helping her dad grade his junior high history classes’ test papers, and making frequent visits to the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park. Her background is diverse and includes painting, drawing, ceramics, needlework, calligraphy, writing, and medicine. She feels very blessed to have worked for many years with children of all ages. She is especially thankful that she is able to homeschool her own three young daughters, who also happen to enjoy American Girl dolls themselves. She has been involved in Community Bible Study (CBS) for the last ten years and the Upper Cumberland Christian Co-Op for going on three years now. She loves interacting with the children as she watches them learn and grow. While focusing on the American Girl historical dolls and what their lives were like during their time periods, she hopes to help bring history to life and desires that they will become aware of God’s providential hand which is evident throughout history.

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Justice Knowles

Justice is a certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is passionate about health from a whole body perspective, and believes God gave us the tools to both heal and maintain a healthy body + mind. She is wife to Bryan and momma to Lucian. 

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Adonna Pryor

Adonna is a Christian wife and mother that has lived in the Cookeville area for 30 years.  She and her husband homeschool three children, and successfully graduated a fourth from homeschooling in 2015.  Adonna has been the coordinator for the Upper Cumberland Christian Co-op, a homeschooling cooperative, for the last 5 years and the Math and History tutor at Sharp Arrows Tutorial.

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Eli Pryor

Elijah is a homeschool graduate and former Peachtree student. Fascinated with history, his hobbies include model building/painting, reading, historical research, and collecting various memorabilia. Faith in the Lord has played a major role in his life, and he hopes to grow and share that faith through his work at Peachtree.

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Jack Shelton

Jack has a BS degree in Civil Engineering and is working towards his Masters at TTU. Originally from Mississippi, he wound up in Cookeville because he found Tennessee Tech. Over the last 4 years has grown to love the Cookeville community, becoming very involved in his campus ministry and church! He is very excited for the opportunity to work with Peachtree students and show them how fun engineering can be!

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Chris Sullivan

Chris is blessed to have worked with children for over 30 years.  She has worked with children as a gym teacher, daycare teacher, taught children at church, volunteered in the school system helping them in their reading skills, and childcare in her home.  At present she tutors Reading and Math at home and guides children in “Early Reading Foundations” at Peachtree where she uses the “Sing, Spell, Read, and Write” program.  It is her joy to guide your child along with you.

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Jami Thornsberry

Jami Thornsberry is a wife and mother of two.  Her oldest graduated their homeschool in 2022.  She has a B.A. in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University.  Jami enjoys being a part of our vibrant homeschool community, and is looking forward to bing a part of the staff at Peachtree again.

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Bryan Vaughn

Bryan is husband to Meredith and father to five amazing kids. He has served the church most of his life both here and overseas. Bryan is passionate about helping young people dig deep roots into faith and confidence in the Lord God. Along with his family and a great core team, he is currently starting a new church in Cookeville. Bryan has a passion for helping young people come to deeper faith and confidence in the truth and the hope that is within us.

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Leann Wall

For the last twenty years I have homeschooled our eight children and others, including a foster child we adopted last year, and have par<cularly loved teaching higher math! We have graduated two of our children with Honors since moving to Tennessee from Texas, and I am finishing homeschooling our youngest 2 children this year. Over the last few years, I have also discovered the joy of homesteading! I enjoy teaching young people and watching life bloom through their eyes. I look forward to teaching this year at Peachtree!

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Eric Williams

Eric was raised in the snowy state of Michigan and became a believer in his teenage years. He attended most of his undergraduate degree at Boyce College in Kentucky, where he met his wife, Amanda, but completed his Bachelors in Biblical Studies from the Moody Bible Institute. After many years of ministry experience in various locations, Eric had the unbelievable opportunity to be the founding pastor of Fellowship Renewed Church in 2015, relocating with Amanda and his three girls to the heart of Sparta, TN. Eric has since obtained his Master of Divinity from Liberty University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Bible Exposition. In all he does, Eric sees Colossians 1:28 as the utmost of importance: Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

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