Meet Our Teachers

Estrella is coming aboard the Grace teaching team to teach our Spanish classes. She currently homeschools her two daughters who been taking classes at Grace for a few years. She worked for REMAX of California & Hawaii Corporate Headquarters as an Educational Services Coordinator and translated marketing content for Hispanic campaigns, as well as educational materials for Spanish speaking agents. She also worked for another large corporation composing communications in Spanish on behalf of the VP to the various staff in Latin countries. Both in elementary and middle school, she lived attended school in Mexico, where she learned to write in Spanish and the basic grammar, and expanded learning of the native writing and language. She also returned to Mexico after college where she also learned more about the Spanish culture.

Amy is coming back this year to teach one of our PK classes. She homeschool her two young boys and has a passion for teaching children through books and play. She created a business that gave families monthly packages with everything they needed for a week full of learning based on a theme. Another passion of hers is supporting small businesses & raising awareness for autism. She and a friend recently created Maddox’s Market in honor of her son and has been a blessing to be able to serve the community in this way. Becoming a mom opened her eyes to the love of God and experience his grace on a new level. She is thankful for all He is teaching her family.

Britny is stepping up to take over the afternoon PK classes. This is her 5th year homeschooling, and has a 9th, 7th, K, and PK student. She has taken child development, and has also worked at preschool, along with a great deal of experience in children’s ministry. She has been our Elementary Activities Coordinator this semester, and she did a wonderful job with the Thanksgiving party. We are excited to have Britny join the Grace teaching team!

Carol comes with much teaching experience. She not only homeschooled her 5 daughters from PK to middle school & high school, but she has nine years of experience teaching grammar and IEW writing with other homeschool coop programs. She has also taught privately and tutored high school composition and speech; taught high school literature classes, and she also taught Latin and French. She has her BA in English and Italian, and an AA in Fashion Design. Beyond her education, she is most passionate about teaching, reading and literature. She loves seeing students light up as they gain insight on concepts and skills to express themselves. A well-crafted sentence can be a thing of joy!

Carrie Lopez and her family have been at Grace for several years. She is gifted in teaching soccer to young students and will be back again not only sharing her knowledge of soccer, but also teaching them sportsmanship, teamwork and more!

Cathy is the administrator who runs the classes program alongside a wonderful team of ladies who have a heart for homeschooling families. She has homeschooled three girls, two who went all the way through graduation. In her previous season of life, she was a licensed vocation nurse, formerly practicing as a baby nurse, postpartum and labor & delivery scrub nurse, and OB/GYN back office nurse. She was also a long-time self-trained legal secretary, which instilled a love for organization and paperwork. Besides loving the Lord, her husband of 34 years and her family, she loves getting the job done, loves helping and serving people, and she loves Algebra too. She has many years of experience with this kind of homeschooling program, and even though her daughters are all grown, she wants to continue to offer these classes and a fun school-like atmosphere for homeschool students and families.

Christina has always had a heart for teaching! This year she will be teaching an elementary Physical Education class Tuesday mornings, and Reading Basics Wednesday mornings. She has four children of her own whom she has been blessed to homeschool, and her oldest is a senior this year! She has a great deal of experience teaching other students over the past 12+ years, including teaching PK last year at Grace, teaching a kindergarten group and girls faith based club at a previous church, and she currently leads a local American Heritage Girls troop. She loves the Lord, and is passionate about her faith, family, and freedoms.

Cindy has been teaching exciting and hands-on science classes for homeschoolers for many years now and we are so blessed to have her continuing to teach at Grace again this year. Her classes are always favorites, and she has a love for teaching and her students that is apparent to all! Some classes she has taught for K-6th and Jr. High levels are Botany, Land Animals, Garden Club, Fun & Run, Marine Biology, Zoology 1 Flying Creatures, Weather Makers and the oh-so-popular Kids in the Kitchen. She has added to her repertoire of teaching with Human Anatomy, Biology, General and Physical Science too. She homeschooled her two sons who are now graduated; her oldest has now graduated from college. In her spare time if she has any, she loves working in her garden, but she absolutely loves her students and is very excited to be teaching at Grace!

Dana has been homeschooling her four children for twelve years. Over the years, she has been part of Grace and other co-ops where she has taught several classes, including science, art, and multi-subject book-based studies. She has also led multiple church groups, including Sunday school, often including teaching. She has also helped in writing a faith-based curriculum.

Hayley has her first year of teaching at Grace Homeschool Classes under her belt, and boy, did we get rave reviews about her classes from students and parents alike. She has a vast amount of education experience. She has been a private math tutor in the local area for several years, working one-on-one with elementary, middle school and high school students. She is a cheerful and positive-minded individual with great communication and children management skills, bringing more than 8 years of classroom teaching experience. She also has 13 years as the primary instructor for four children including special needs, during grades kindergarten through twelfth, having developed and implemented appropriate curricula, and 10 years in assisting special education for students with issues that impair learning and social functions. She has developed personalized learning paths teaching English, Math, History, and Science including a variety of electives: Beginning Spanish, Equine Science, Civics, Economics, Accounting, Business Math, Writing, Home Economics, Life Skills, Bible, Physical Education, Pet Psychology, and Canine Communication. She has also taught using a variety of curricula: Abeka, Accelerated Christian Education, Easy Peasy All-in-one Homeschool, Math-u-see, IEW, Apologia, Video Text Interactive Math and Bob Jones. She has done licensed foster care, owned a petting zoo, been an equine summer camp counselor, a PK teacher for private schools and churches, and done in-home daycare. She is married with 4 children, 3 of whom have graduated, and also homeschooled for the past 13 years. Her Favorite past-times are swimming with her dogs and decorating her house for Christmas.

Heather is excited to teach the Architecture and Art class. She received her Doctorate in Architecture from Hawaii in 2012. She has been involved with Habitat for Humanity and did research and planning for community housing in Hawaii. She now homeschools her children, and we are thankful she will be sharing her gifts and talents with Grace students.

Heather is teaching our IEW Writing using Narnia classes and IEW Grammar and Spelling. Heather has been homeschooling her own jr. high son for six years, and they have been at Grace Homeschool for over two years. She comes with a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Santa Barbara and has been a full-time substitute & teacher of Pre-Chemistry & Physics, 7th Grade Math, Psychology, and Sociology. She has a heart to help new homeschooling families and has now taken on the job of assistant to our PSP Administrator and is doing a wonderful job!

Heidi has taught several classes at Grace and has a gift for teaching and a heart for homeschoolers. She has her Bachelors Degree in Social Science from CSU San Marcos. In addition to working as an Office Manager for many years, she also worked as a substitute teacher for the Lake Elsinore School District. She enjoys being involved with the children’s ministry at her church and teaching in the 4th and 5th grade class. She left teaching as a sub to homeschool her children, which has its challenges but is also a joy! She homeschools her children who also take classes and she is so happy to have found Grace Homeschool Classes. She enjoys joining with other wonderful families to learn new things and grow closer to the Lord together.

Jenna has has been homeschooling her two daughters for the past nine years. She has been assisting our Sewing teacher, Wendy DeCoste, this last semester and will continue assisting her and teaching some of the weeks in the Spring. She has a love for sewing, and she has a definite servant’s heart!

Kaitlyn was a senior last year at Grace. She took Creative Art, and is a very gifted artist herself. She has wonderful ideas for the classes and is excited to share her gifts and love of art with the students. She will be overseen by Grace teacher, her mom, Christine Smith.

Kaylee is excited to teach the drama classes at Grace. She loves theatre and has been in acting for 10 years. She has also taught a couple of other drama classes and was the teacher assistant for drama class in high school. She loves Jesus and especially loves bringing Jesus into this form of art!

Kristen has been teaching ASL to students in the Temecula Valley for many years. She homeschooled her own children for 13 years. She received her AA degree in ASL interpreting in 2004 and has also been an ASL interpreter for 10 years. We are very thankful to have her coming aboard to teach ASL 1 this year.

Lauren has been a Licensed Vocational Nurse, as well as a Swim Coach through USA Swimming, and an Ombudsman for the USS Dewey, and has worked in the medical field for more than eight years. She was homeschooled as a child and loves the freedom of homeschooling her own three children. She was the captain of the water polo and swim team in high school and then traveled all over the world with the Christian organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM). She loves teaching at Grace but since her husband is in the Navy, she also looks forward to going to wherever the military sends her family next! The best thing about teaching at Grace is getting to be free to share about how God relates to and cares about all the areas in our life.

LeAnne is new to Grace this year as she is moving here from Nevada, and will be teaching the K-1 art class. She has homeschooled her two daughters for six years, with one still in jr. high and the other going to Biola University in the Fall. Being a preacher’s kid, she has served in Children’s church since a very young age. When her youngest was a Christian school, she taught art for 1-2nd grade. Along with her friends, she started a homeschool co-op and has taught elementary science and upper elementary Bible. This year, using “My Fathers World” curriculum, she taught several different subjects each week including art, geography or science. They also had a book club and were using the “Socratic” method. She is excited to be moving to Temecula Valley and especially excited about being a part of the Grace Homeschool community.

Lori has been very busy homeschooling her five children over the last 20 years. When they were young, she taught them to sing and harmonize and formed a family acappella singing group called The Wangler Family Singers. They ministered at churches, care homes and various Christian conferences and events. Lori is a singer/songwriter herself, and has performed as a lead vocalist in music groups in Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego. She is excited to share her giftings in music and singing with our students at Grace.

We are thankful for the years of having Maren teach at Grace. We have had so much great feedback about her classes and teaching style! She comes to Grace with a great deal of knowledge and teaching experience as she has her Bachelor’s of Art Sociology (CSUF), and Secondary Teaching Credential classes completed (National University). She taught 6th-8th Grade Science, Bible, Language Arts and Social Studies at Calvary Chapel, Capistrano Beach; and she has also been very involved in youth ministry. Her favorite thing to do is spend time with family; traveling, camping, hiking and swimming. Reading and playing at the beach are other passions of her. She delights in working with children and feels incredibly blessed to have the privilege to teach/disciple young hearts at Grace Homeschool.

Marianne is an experienced teacher of the basics of rhythm guitar and music theory. Her background includes ten years of giving lessons and many years of study, teaching in a class setting, and private tutoring, as well as playing guitar and singing on the worship team in many different types of church services. Marianne and her husband homeschooled three kids to graduation and is very much an advocate of homeschooling. Her goal for the guitar classes here at Grace is to not only teach the basics of theory and aid in perfecting the skill of the students at playing the guitar, but more importantly to impart the desire to worship God in Spirit and in Truth with music. (Romans 1:11, John 4:24)

Marty has been homeschooling her four children since 2021. She has her Master’s in Social Work; and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She has had several teaching positions and is currently part of the Adjunct Faculty at Cal State Fullerton. Marty enjoys making learning engaging and hands-on for her students whenever possible. She has always adopted a learner-centered approach in her pedagogy. She wants students to be able to take the classroom knowledge and use it in a practical way towards their academic & personal development.

Mitchell Kopitch was homeschooled from kindergarten until college where he earned a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. He attended Azusa Pacific and the University of Washington which both provided incredible opportunities in both the craft of writing as well as the subject of learning as a whole. He took a teaching practicum at UWB and has been a tutor, editor, and teacher since 2017. Mitchell continues to write science fiction novels in his spare time, but as a teacher, he looks forward to helping his students think critically, independently, and become more confident readers and writers.

Monique and her children have attended Grace for over 10-years, and she has previously taught IEW, All About America, and Art History at Grace over the last 2 years. She has married 22 years and has been extremely blessed to be able to homeschool her own children for nearly 16 years; including 3 now graduated and her youngest will be a Junior this year! She is also currently a self-employed entrepreneur, with a home décor/antique vendor booth in Old Town Temecula. With a passion to disciple and teach on topics about Biblical Worldviews, History, Art, and her love for America, she is excited to be expanding her classes to our Jr. High students this next fall. She can’t wait to see what the Lord does in her and at Grace as she continues her homeschooling journey.

Natalie is coming aboard to take over the morning PK classes in the Spring. She has been assisting in the classes since her own two boys are in the classes. It will be great to have her in the class as the little ones know her already. She has just started homeschooling this year, and enjoys spending time with her family, especially on road trips. Natalie is looking forward to teaching the PK students at Grace!

Randa has been sharing her gifts and talents with Grace students through teaching many classes, but we so glad to also have her as the administrator of our PSP, Grace Christian School of Temecula Valley. She has been a licensed Esthetician and makeup artist for 15 years. She used her leadership skills when she was PTA president while her children were in public school, and has also been a leader and mentor for moms at Revival Christian Academy. She was a tutor for 3 years at Revival classes, teaching Art to grades ages K-12 , as well as Lego Fun. She has been homeschooling for seven years, and has been part of Grace for much of that time. Her daughter will be a senior this year so she will definitely be busy! She loves art and photography, and has passed down that love and talent for these to her children too!

Shaleem has been homeschooling for 12 years. She has her bachelor’s degree in history from Azusa Pacific University, as well as my MBA in International Development from Hope International University. She is well versed in subjects pertaining to history, economics, government, cross cultural relationships and management, missions, geography, global studies, and business. She is also a gifted musician and songwriter. She was called us to move to Washington D.C. to serve alongside a prayer ministry, and has a heart to teach our youth about our wonderful U.S. Constitution. She loves the Lord Jesus and is passionate about giving our children the opportunity to learn about him and the world he created in a safe, innocent, and creative environment.

Shannon loves working with children. She is just finishing her first year homeschooling her oldest who is in Kindergarten, and next year, she will have another child in TK. Shannon has her Bachelor of Science in Child Development with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Cal State Fullerton. She has worked as a Pre-K teacher and has lead at KinderCare. She also loves working in children’s ministry/nursery at church. We are thrilled to have her teaching art to our younger students at Grace.

Toni is excited to teach California History this next semester. She has been with Grace since the inception, and has been in administration all of that time but has also taught some classes along the way. She has three grown children, and homeschooled her own daughter through graduation. Toni was always very involved with outside classes while schooling her daughter. Toni does keep very busy at home now, and besides working in administration at Grace, she is homeschooling her niece and nephew too. Her daughter is now married, and has given Toni the wonderful gift of her first grandchild!

We are so excited to have Virginia teaching again at Grace. She has taught elementary math and science, and is a retired Biola University professor. She actually created the science curriculum she will be teaching this year! More on her bio coming soon!

Wendy has been homeschooling for 12 years. Her daughter graduated last year and her son is in high school. She is gifted in sewing and quilting and loves to share her knowledge with others. She is excited to teach sewing to the students at Grace, and has many projects planned from them to complete. Besides her passion for sewing, her other hobbies are cooking, gardening, event planning and floral design. She also has a horse and is an avid rider.

Yoon Lee will be teaching the JH Intro to ASL and HS ASL 1. He is a graduate of Gallaudet University with a Bachelors Degree in TV, Film and Photography. He was one of the hosts for “Alaska: The Last Frontier” Deaf Mosaic. He retired from California School for the Deaf, Riverside, as a TV Teacher after producing 30 short movies with high school students throughout 10 years. Currently, Lee teaches ASL classes at Palomar College and homeschool students at his church. He also finished Deaf Interpreting Training and now mentors Interpreting Training Program students. Lee is inspired daily by his wife and a daughter. In his free time, he organizes monthly Deaf Socials and writes movie scripts.