DAYTON TUTORS
Featured
General Art, Drawing & Design
Shawn Marie Ashley holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art from Bob Jones University. She has been a homeschool mom of seven since 2001 and is passionate about sharing her love of art, as her children can attest! Her favorite medium is wheel-thrown pottery, but until she has her own wheel she expresses her art through floral arranging and drawing.
Algebra I, Geometry
Elisabeth Barulich graduated from Cedarville University in 2018 with her BA in math and math education. After graduating, she moved to China where she taught English and math for almost 4 years. As she has seen and experienced God’s grace, care, and creativity in her own life, Elisabeth enjoys pouring into her students to share God’s love and the way his attributes are reflected through mathematics.
Biology, Chemistry
Claire Bolha holds a bachelor's degree in biology and math from Cedarville University. She is an Air Force wife and homeschooling mother of 10 kids. After her husband Bob retired, their family moved back to Dayton in 2018 from VA. Having taught science in homeschool co-ops for many years, Claire loves helping kids learn more about our amazing Creator through science.
Spanish I, Spanish II
Nick was born in São Paulo, Brazil as a missionary kid. Believing he was called by God to serve in the US after high school, he left Brazil to attend Cedarville University. There he received a BA in History and met his wife, Katie. Together they served as missionary teachers for three years at a bilingual Christian school in the Dominican Republic where they learned Spanish. God provided his wife with an ESL job in Beavercreek while Nick spent time as a substitute teacher and later a teacher's assistant in a special education classroom in Beavercreek and Kettering. Feeling led into church ministry in 2017, he worked as a youth intern at New Community Church for a couple of years while obtaining a Masters of Ministry from Cedarville. Nick and Katie started fostering to adopt in 2019 and now have 3 children ages 5-13. Other than teaching Spanish, Nick is a bivocational pastor to a rebuilding church in Wilmington, enjoys running a family Airbnb in Xenia, traveling abroad, and playing basketball.
American History, Modern History, Pre-Algebra
Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Wright State University. Married to Glenn in 2004, Julie is also a homeschool mom to four kids and loves learning new things from apologetics to how to drywall a basement. Julie is excited to share her love of learning with the students at PEP Dayton!
Logic, Algebra II, Old Testament Survey
Joel Hollins has been a pastor at Grace Covenant Church in Beavercreek since 2015. He is husband to Mary and father to their four children. He taught Math, Logic, Physics and English in China for 11 years. He graduated with an MDiv from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a BS in Math from Cedarville. He is eager to support parents and churches as we partner together in the gospel.
Medieval to Early Modern History
Ashley received a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Cedarville University. For the last three years, she taught children in China as an online ESL tutor and now virtually tutors students across the US. She is a homeschooling mom of three, who loves to learn alongside her children. She has a passion for history and looks forward to sharing it with Core E students.
Biblical Worldview I, Composition and Ancient Literature (Core D), Rhetoric& Comp/Literary Analysis I
Michele has been homeschooling her four children and many others through various co-ops utilizing the classical method for twenty-three years. She graduated the last of her own children in 2021. Having taught almost every subject, her passion lies in history and literature. She enjoys seeing students draw from the elements of those two subjects, grasping new enjoyment and gaining new insight. Michele also serves as a biblical counselor through Grace Covenant Church where her husband, Jim, is an elder.
Composition & American Literature (Core C), Rhetoric & Comp/Literary Analysis II
MaryEllen has homeschooled her children since 2005. In 2015 She joined PEP as a tutor in the Comp & Lit department and enrolled her children in the program. With a love of learning and a passion for tutoring, MaryEllen brings enthusiasm, experience, and conviction to the PEP classroom. Over the years, she has witnessed the unique, life-changing benefits of PEP's academically rigorous, Christ-centered program in her classroom as well as her own home. In 2021 MaryEllen accepted an additional role as PEP Dayton's Administrator. By serving as tutor and administrator, she desires to come alongside parents in raising a generation of Kingdom builders for Christ.
Earth Science
Natalie Mahr graduated with a Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University. She went on to gain experience working in a microbiology lab and then a cancer research lab before becoming a stay at home mom to three boys. She loves learning more about the world God created through science and passing on this enthusiasm to others.
Composition & American Literature (Core C)
Jenna Matelski graduated in May 2023 from Regent University with a degree in Elementary Education. She attended PEP Mason for 4 years in middle and high school and is thrilled to return to PEP as a tutor! Jenna and her husband moved back to Dayton in 2023 with their newborn son and have enjoyed re-establishing roots in Ohio. She is grateful that God has opened the door to teach at PEP and is eager to see how she can encourage students in their academics and their faith.
Geography, World History
Laura Page has been teaching children, including ten of her own, for nearly two decades. A displaced southerner, she has a degree in Geography from the University of Georgia. She loves studying about the places God made for his people to live and the missionaries he has sent to them. As an Air Force wife, she has with her family seen or lived in much of God’s world and these United States. Having sent several kids through PEP, she is delighted to be teaching at the new Dayton campus.
Biblical Worldview II, III, IV
Brian Pinney has taught at both the private and public secondary school level. He has a B.S. in Secondary Education from Toccoa Falls College (Toccoa, GA), a Master of Arts in Teaching from Piedmont College (Demorest, GA), and a Masters in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary. Brian is the current administrator for both Kairos Journal and BibleMesh and serves as a deacon at Arbor Church in Dayton, OH. He and his wife, Heather, homeschool their three children.
Introduction to Literary Analysis (Core B)
Liz Poteet is a homeschool graduate with a passion for reading and writing. Since graduating Liz has served in several roles including that of a nanny, Hiring Director and Certified Trainer for Chick-fil-A, and most recently Marketing Coordinator for Reynolds and Reynolds. In all of these roles she has enjoyed the opportunity and privilege to teach, train, and disciple in varying ways. Joining PEP, Liz looks forward to focusing on her passion for tutoring and discipling students- all for the glory of God
Ancient History, Life Science, Conceptual Physics
Courtney Ward is a homeschool mom to six children, Air Force wife, and educator with over twenty years of experience. She is an RN and holds a B.S. in Nursing from University of North Carolina. She is passionate about the classical model of education and has taught in multiple homeschool co-ops and church settings.
New Testament Survey
Steve Woodman has pastored Arbor Church in Dayton (a congregation formerly known as Kemp Road Baptist Church in Beavercreek) since 2005. He has supported his wife Melissa in homeschooling their four children for many years, and PEP is now a part of that endeavor. Prior to entering pastoral ministry, Steve taught language arts in middle school for nine years at Heritage Christian School in Owensboro, KY. He has a BA in pastoral studies from Spurgeon Baptist Bible College. He loves interacting with teenagers and has a desire for them to know God through His Word.
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Matthew 6:33
Introduction to Composition (Core A), English Grammar, Yearbook & Journalism, Creative Writing
Celeste Ashley graduated in 2019 from Bob Jones University, where she studied English and music. Though teaching was not her original plan, she is thankful that the Lord establishes her steps! Celeste seeks to foster relationships with her students within and outside of the classroom that will both enable them to succeed academically and encourage them spiritually.