Meet Our Tutors. . .

We have been truly blessed with some awesome tutors throughout our years of operation.  We are grateful to every one of them for their hearts, energies, and time they give these students as they instill their love for learning in their classrooms.  We have always made every effort to carefully select our tutors for every subject taught.  It is our desire to select tutors who bring an infectious love for their subject of expertise to the classroom, as well as having the necessary knowledge and the ability to relate with and teach our students.  We have never advertised for a tutor.  Our tutors have all come to us by referral. 

We asked each of our tutors to write up a short, simple biography on themselves so that you may have the opportunity to get to know them in a small way. . .

Bullington, Matthew  "I was homeschooled myself all the way through my high school graduation, during which time I spent five years at RTA.  I completed my bachelor’s degree in economics with minors in math and Spanish in 2006.  A son, nephew, and grandson of teachers, I am passionate about teaching, and have been tutoring for the past seven years.  I currently work for myself providing resources on how to prepare for college, and am the state lobbyist for the Tennessee Home Education Association.  I am getting ready to marry the love of my life, Meagan Clement, in May of 2011, and am excited about what the Lord will do with our lives.  I love learning, enjoy just about everything, and am passionate about seeking out the Lord’s handiwork all around me.  One of my favorite things to tutor is math, and I look forward to the opportunity to help your students view this subject as something they can master and enjoy!" ~ Matthew will be tutoring our Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry classes beginning in 2011-12.

Brandon, Valerie  "As a young girl, I loved visiting the classroom of my grandmother, a beloved teacher who showed me that every student has great potential.  While my formal training came from David Lipscomb College, my heart for being in the classroom was instilled much earlier by my grandmother.  I earned my B.S. in elementary education and followed her footsteps into a first grade teaching position, a career which was short-lived since Clark and I wished to begin our family.  Three of our four children attended public school; however, when the fourth was due to begin kindergarten, the dormant teacher spirit within me rose, and we chose to forge a new path into homeschooling.  Three years later God introduced us to RTA, and we confidently walked through the high school years with our two oldest children.  Now the two youngest are attending RTA and I am tickled to be back in front of a chalkboard (okay, dry erase board!) again, teaching and learning about composition and literature.   I am excited to have a good excuse to read more, with the addition of the literature class, but I am most thrilled to have the opportunity to sit around the table and learn with your delightful students.  I enjoy music, good books, sunsets, coffee with friends, and leisurely breakfasts with my family."  ~ Valerie tutors our Composition I & II classes as well as the Freshman English class, and she is also the Staff Director on the RTA Board.

Bryer, Sandy  "By the age of 12 I knew I wanted to be a writer. However, after earning a degree in journalism from The University of Texas, I traded in my career as a copywriter at a Dallas ad agency for a much more satisfying occupation as a wife and mother of two girls, Elizabeth and Julie. My husband Harold answered calls to churches far from my beloved Lone Star State, and we moved to the frigid zones of Minnesota and snowy Maine before eventually landing in the green hills of Tennessee. During those years, I discovered another passion—teaching! At the Lord’s bidding, I stepped into classrooms in Texas, Maine, and most recently, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Providence Christian Academy), to teach English, journalism, creative writing, history, and third grade, respectively. Somehow, sandwiched in-between those years was a three-year stint homeschooling our young daughters, in which I think I learned more than our girls!  As our daughters approached adulthood, I returned to the writing field, as a staff writer for five years for a Nashville newspaper, and then, as an assistant editor at Life Way’s Broadman & Holman book division. To my great surprise, I was named Reporter of the Year in 1997, and was presented a writing award for one of my articles. Today, I split my time (unevenly) between our home-grown ministry to international students, family, and part-time teaching. For the last six years, I’ve also enjoyed vagabonding throughout Europe with my husband, a 22” carry-on, and a hefty, but essential Rick Steve's guide. I can honestly say that we’ve been lost in more countries, with less money, and had more fun than anyone else I know. Yet, I’m always ready to return home to our daughter Elizabeth, two dogs and our many “adopted” international students. Leisure time for me?  An old John Grisham novel, cup of coffee with a friend, or a long cell phone chat with daughter Julie, who is the youngest-looking 4’11” prosecutor to ever put away the bad guys in Austin, Texas. Next fall, I’m looking forward to helping RTA students learn to have some fun playing with words!" ~ Sandy tutors our Grammar & Pre-Comp and our Comp III classes.

Forte, Angie  "I was born in Maryville, TN and was raised in that beautiful city.  I attended the University of Tennessee until one day I met this wonderful guy who swept me off my feet and moved me to Middle Tennessee.  We now 3 beautiful girls that we home school:  Kylie, who is at MTSU, Edie, an 10th grader at RTA, and Allie, a 7th grader at RTA as well.  We have a home with 8 acres in Lascassas.  Except for missing the Smokies, we really enjoy living in an area with so many great home schooling families and resources.  I enjoy drawing, gardening, antiquing, and being with family.  When I first felt the Lord's prompting me to home school my oldest, I tried doing "school at home."  It didn't take long before realizing home schooling is a lifestyle and is a part of our everyday life.  We absolutely love it!" ~  Angie serves on the RTA Board as the Administrative Director.

Forte, Kylie My name is Kylie, and I was born in Murfreesboro, TN and have lived in around this area my whole life.  I am an RTA graduate and loved every minute of my homeschooling education.  This fall, I will be a Senior at MTSU, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Lifespan/Development and Family Studies. I was a Photography major for my first few semesters, but God had other plans. I still love photography and look forward to teaching it at RTA.

Lester, Ross  "I have been beating on things with sticks since the days of my youth in Little Rock, AR.  Now it is my joy to lead others to skillfully beat on stuff with sticks.  I have spent a good part of the last 25 years as a performing musician and as a student of the drums, and have had the privilege of teaching rhythm and percussion since 1999.  At RTA I enjoy facilitating the informal experience of group drumming as well as leading students in the rigors of preparing for performance.  The home school tutorial is my favorite venue for doing what I do, as I believe it is the fruit of the amazing freedom we have as Americans to educate our children as we see fit.  This brings me to another passion of mine:  US History.  My father has a PhD in History and worked as a university professor when I was growing up.  Through him I received an appreciation for our heritage of liberty and the resulting opportunities for (among other things) music, drums, and the arts in general.  God's generosity has provided me the privilege of exploring rhythm and history with others, but His greater gifts to me are my lovely wife, Ahree, and my sons, London, Sims, and Wren." ~ Ross has tutored our Creative Rhythms Percussion Team going into his fifth year, and has some ROCKIN' AWESOME performances! He also tutors our US History, Government & Economics, and World Geography classes.

Lopez, Heydi  "Hola, Como estan? (Hi, how are you?) My name is Heydi Lopez. I’m Panamenian or a native of Panama, Republic of Panama. Spanish is my native language. I lived in Panama with my family for 18 years. I moved to United States to attend college and pursue my dream of becoming an Engineer 20 years ago.  I received my Electrical Engineering degree at City College of New York, located on the upper west side of Manhattan, New York. While pursuing my degree, I worked as a Teaching assistant and Tutor for Mathematics and Spanish. I always enjoy teaching and helping others, so tutoring came very easy to me and it was also a great way to supplement my income. I feel very fortunate that my parents provided me with a great education. I consider being bilingual a true blessing in my life. I met my husband in college and dated him for 4 years. When my husband, Neff, completed his Engineering degree, we decided to get married.  After college, we got our first engineering job and moved to Corning, New York where we lived for few years. In the year 2000 our employer relocated us to Charlotte, NC and 2 years later to Wilmington, NC where we stayed for another 2 years. In 2004 my husband accepted a position with Dell Computers and relocated our family to Nashville, TN.  The minute we landed in Nashville we felt like home. We love it here and we are very happy with our decision to settle down in this area. We currently live in Murfreesboro, TN near the Blackman area.  God has being very good to us, blessing us with 2 wonderful children.  My oldest son, Bryan is 6 years old and my daughter Giselle Marie is 4 years old. Bryan attends Blackman Elementary and Giselle will start Kindergarten in August of this year.  I’m very proud to say that I’m a Christian and I strongly believe that God is the foundation of my life and that with him everything and anything is possible. My family and I attend Sunday service at Fellowship Bible church.   I looked forward meeting you and your child. It will be my honor to help your youngster learn and fall in love with the beautiful Spanish language.  Thank you for providing your child with this great gift, the gift of a second language.  Hasta luego" ~ Heydi will be taking on ALL levels of our Spanish classes.

Lundy, Beth   "Originally from Nashville, TN, I have been married to my husband, Taze, and have lived in Murfreesboro for the past 20 years.  We have two boys, Alex and Rhett, who we have home schooled for the last 7 years.  They are also competitive swimmers, which has become a family sport.  My motto is “follow me long enough and you’ll end up at the pool.”  The Lord continues to bring business and teaching into my life.  From an early age I began to have an interest in various aspects of business, eventually leading to a Bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Tech and an MBA from MTSU.  This allowed me to not only work in the field, but also opened the door for me to be able to teach in MTSU’s College of Business.  As the kids got older, the need to focus more on home schooling became more apparent, so I donned the hat of “full-time home school mom.”  As most of you know, this opened doors for many opportunities to serve.  I spent three years on the HEART Board of Directors and an additional three on the Shepherd’s Heart Enrichment Tutorial Board of Directors.  Not to leave the kids out, as a family we have just finished our fourth year of volunteer work with the Children’s Discovery Center.  I am continually sustained by the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ, and the love of my family.  A good book, a cup of coffee, and a comfortable chair do not hurt either.  I am proponent of young people understanding all aspects of business and look forward to teaching the personal finance course." ~ Beth serves on the RTA Board as our Treasurer and she will be tutoring our Personal Finance class again this year.

McCreery, Ginger  "I was born and raised in upper East Tennessee and thus am bilingual.  My first language was Appalachian, and the second acquired language was English.  I’m still working on that second one.  I broke my father’s heart by attending East Tennessee State University (not the University of Tennessee!!!) and then, even worse, I also attended Middle Tennessee State University.  My blood does not run orange and I do not make an annual pilgrimage to Knoxville.  As a child I loved to read.  As an adult I love to read!  I got into lots of trouble in elementary school for always having a library book inside whatever textbook we were working in at the time.  After reading HARRIET THE SPY I decided to spy on my neighbors.  I got on my trusty bike with the banana seat and high handlebars and headed off.  Unfortunately, my neighbors didn’t live in close proximity to one another and they really had NOTHING interesting or exciting to say.  I gave that up in a day or so.  While in college I was able to participate in a couple of unique learning experiences that really challenged my assumptions about education.  I moved to Nashville to take an internship with the Tennessee General Assembly, fell in love, and became a flat-lander (middle Tennessean).  David and I married in 1979 and we have 3 children.  We discussed the idea of home education while we were still dating and started planning to home school our own children before they were even born.  We finished 19 years of home schooling in June of 2007 when our youngest child graduated from high school.  Jesse is 26 and is a 1st Lt in the Army, Hannah is 24 and has finished her Master's Degree, and Rachel, 21, is attending MTSU.  Home education was an incredibly positive experience for our family!   I was a home school junkie for those 19 years, volunteering in our local support group as well as serving on the MTHEA Board for 13 years.  You name it, we’ve probably done it or coordinated it or spoken at it.  I started tutoring at RTA in 2002 and absolutely love it!  Your children are amazing and I feel so privileged to get to spend a little time with them.  I am passionate about education, home schooling, family life, reading good books, and reading more good books."  “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”  Mark Twain  ~ Ginger tutors our Jr. High Lit, Jr. High Civics, Jr. High World History thru Lit, American Lit and Philosophy & Christian World View classes.

Peterson, Lisa  "I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and moved to Greenville, SC when I was 8 months old.  I got my B.S. from Clemson University in Biology Education and taught high school for 5 years, including coaching basketball, before having my first child.  I now am a stay-at-home mom with my sons Daniel (4) and Luke (2).  I am actively involved in my church and enjoy helping women grow in their faith.  I also love watching sports - football and basketball.  Working at RTA is such a blessing to me, and I have loved getting to know all the students.  Thank you for this incredible opportunity to teach your children."  ~ Lisa tutors our Biology I, Biology II, and Health/Life Management classes.

Theriot, Lisa   "I am Lisa Theriot.  Study Hall Monitor used to be my official title, but I am changing it this year to Study Hall Mom.  That describes my position much better, and it explains to you how these students have gotten into my heart.  I have 5 children, and we have home schooled for 15 years.  My husband Kyle and I have been married for almost 24 years.  We love to camp, hike, go rappelling, snow ski, vacation at the beach and participate in church activities.  I really do have the best job at RTA!" ~ Lisa is loved by all of our students as our Study Hall "Mom" as well as Monday Operations Manager.

Welborn, Brenda  "I was born and raised in Overland Park, Kansas and lived in the same house for 22 years.  After high school, I went to Kansas State University (GO WILDCATS) where I got my bachelors degree in Marketing.  I met my husband Cliff in high school and we went to Kansas State University together.  We got married one week after we graduated and moved to Columbia, SC.  We then moved to Hastings, NE, Mentone, AL, Fort Smith, AR, Fort Worth, TX (GO LONGHORNS) and finally to Murfreesboro, TN.  I love homeschooling our four wonderful girls:  Jordan – 15 years old, Tara – 12 years old, Olivia – 8 years old and Camryn – 6 years old.  We have been homeschooling for 10 years.  I also like knitting, gardening, scrapbooking, quilting and any other crafts." ~ Brenda serves on the RTA Board as our Volunteer Coordinator.