Willow Grove Teachers
Willow Grove Academy teachers have extensive experience working with students in every range, from gifted and talented to struggling learners. We know that your child is bright, capable, and deserving of a teacher who is able to deliver information in a way that works for them!
Willow Grove Teachers
Willow Grove Academy teachers have extensive experience working with students in every range, from gifted and talented to struggling learners. We know that your child is bright, capable, and deserving of a teacher who is able to deliver information in a way that works for them!
Meet Our Teachers
Faith Berens
Christian Worldview & Bible
Meet Faith
Faith is a wife to Matt, who is former Army, mom to two (young adult daughter and teen son), educator and dyslexia specialist, who is a lover of Jesus and coffee, worshiper, nature lover, books, and a homeschool curriculum junkie. Faith seeks to equip and encourage families, particularly those with unique learning challenges, so that their children can thrive and meet their God-given potential.
Faith had a fifteen-year teaching career before she became a homeschool mom, including teaching, tutoring, and working as a reading specialist in both public and private schools. Her specific area of expertise is the identification and remediation of reading difficulties.
Education:
B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education (West Virginia University)
M.Ed. in Reading (Shenandoah University)
Currently enrolled Ed.D. student at Regent University
Courses
Shelley Whisenant
Writing & Math
Meet Shelley
Shelley has been homeschooling since 2004. She has been married to Dave since 1995, and they have 5 children ages 13-23. Before becoming a homeschool mom, she taught Spanish in public high school. She has also taught Spanish and English as a Second Language at the community college level. One of her passions (besides teaching) is traveling to explore new cultures and foods. Shelley and her family have lived on 5 continents.
Education:
B.A. in Spanish and International Studies, with a K-12 endorsement in Spanish (West Virginia University)
M.A. in Cross-Cultural Communication (University of Maryland)
Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language (Shenandoah University)
Graduate Certificate in Dyslexia Education (Southeastern University)
Courses
Sue Manning
Science
Meet Sue
Sue is a mom of three and has been homeschooling since 2005. Her background is in Nursing, and she has taught homeschool science classes both in person and online for the last decade. She specializes in adapting difficult information for kids who struggle with reading and processing. Sue is also the President of the Maryland Association of Christian Home Educators.
Education:
B.S. Old Dominion University in Sports Medicine
B.S.N. Norfolk General Hospital in Nursing
Courses
Trina Pywtorak
History
Meet Trina
Trina and her husband Bill raised their three homeschool graduates in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. After gaining some teaching experience in South Carolina’s public schools, she developed a special education program in a private Christian school in Northern Virginia. However, the bulk of her teaching career has been spent teaching history, writing, music, and a variety of other subjects in homeschool groups with a goal to help students develop stronger executive function skills to improve general cognition and enjoy learning.
Trina also teaches private voice and piano lessons in her home. When she is not researching ideas for classroom activities or working on music, you can find her crawling on the floor with her grandsons, creating in her kitchen, hiking in hopes of spotting a black bear, or curled up with a good mystery.
Education
B.S. in Special Education and Elementary Education, with a minor in Voice Performance (Bob Jones University)
Courses
Cassandra Whisenant
Literature
Meet Cassandra
Cassandra is one-of-five and a homeschool graduate. After serving as a Speech Coach at STOA’s West Virginia Speech and Debate Club (the first homeschool speech and debate club in the state of West Virginia), Cassandra discovered a love for teaching and furthered her lifelong love of reading. While an undergraduate, Cassandra had the opportunity to teach Audience Insight and Data Analytics at West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media. At the University of Reading, she was elected the Postgraduate Representative for the School of Literature and Languages, working with faculty and staff at the university to improve the experience and education for graduate students through workshops, expert lecturers, and university policy reform. When she has free time, Cassandra can be found curled up with a cup of strong coffee and a thick book.
Cassandra currently works in higher education and is applying to Ph.D. programs.
Education
B.S. in Advertising and Public Relations, with a minor in English (West Virginia University)
M.A. in Children’s and Adolescent Literature (University of Reading)
Courses
Contact WGA
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