Instructors
HSLDA Online Academy carefully selects and trains instructors who are academically and spiritually qualified to help students grow in the online environment. Our instructors come from a rich variety of fields, backgrounds, and geographic locations. They include pastors, business professionals, college professors, and full-time high school educators. Many of them are homeschooling parents or graduates. All are fully qualified teachers with practical and specific knowledge of their subject areas. In our multi-layered application and interview process, we talk with candidates about their Christian faith, their educational background and experience, their skill in the subject they are applying to teach, and their familiarity with the homeschool movement. The instructors we hire have demonstrated excellence in these areas, in addition to their online presence and commitment to student success. We offer extensive training and development programs throughout the year to equip instructors and help them grow professionally. They have access to webinars, workshops, and discussions with their peers, in addition to live support for educational and technological questions. Each semester, we conduct a comprehensive review of each instructor’s performance, evaluating live class presentation, interaction with students, and completion of job responsibilities. Student feedback, collected from surveys, is a key factor in this evaluation process. Instructors receive personalized feedback and suggestions for growth on each evaluation. In most HSLDA Online Academy courses, two kinds of instructors are represented. The Master Teacher is the academic supervisor of the course, responsible for maintaining course content, setting grading standards, and overseeing all Classroom Teachers who deliver the course material. The Classroom Teacher works directly with students, leading live class sessions, grading assignments, and answering questions about course material. To read more about the instructors for a particular course, please scroll down to the course you are interested in and click on an instructor’s name. English & WritingFoundations in WritingMaster Teacher: Charmayne Rush English 1: Exploring Literature & WritingMaster Teacher: Caleb Nelson English 2: World Literature & WritingMaster Teacher: Emily-Rose Cockerham English 3: American Literature & WritingMaster Teacher: Emily-Rose Cockerham English 4: British Literature & WritingMaster Teacher: Leilani Mueller AP® English Language and CompositionMaster Teacher: Kristen Slone AP® English Literature and CompositionMaster Teacher: Cory Grewell, PhD MathematicsPre-AlgebraMaster Teacher: Heather Kipp Algebra 1Master Teacher: Angela Ellis Algebra 2Master Teacher: Angela Ellis GeometryMaster Teacher: Angela Ellis Pre-Calculus & TrigonometryMaster Teacher: Elizabeth Shimada AP® Calculus ABMaster Teacher: Newton Quan ScienceBiology w/ LabMaster Teacher: Noelle Stillman Chemistry w/ LabMaster Teacher: Kerri Adkins, PhD Physics w/ LabMaster Teacher: Newton Quan Government & EconomicsiCitizen LiveMaster Teacher: Jeremiah Lorrig Constitutional LawMaster Teacher: Peter Kamakawiwoole, JD AP® U.S. Government and PoliticsMaster Teacher: Miriam McElvain AP® MicroeconomicsMaster Teacher: Amy Raybould Derstine AP® MacroeconomicsMaster Teacher: Amy Raybould Derstine Foreign LanguagesSpanish 1Master Teacher: Kate Blevins Spanish 2Master Teacher: Eric Arthurton Spanish 3Master Teacher: Eric Arthurton Latin 1Master Teacher: Douglas Favelo, PhD Latin 2Master Teacher: Douglas Favelo, PhD Latin 3Master Teacher: Douglas Favelo, PhD German 1Master Teacher: Faith Cruz German 2Master Teacher: Faith Cruz Logic, Life Skills, and BusinessLogic & Critical ThinkingMaster Teacher: Benjamin Guido BusinessMaster Teacher: Amy Raybould Derstine Personal Finance & AccountingMaster Teacher: Amy Raybould Derstine HistoryU.S. HistoryMaster Teacher: Brian Trimmer AP® European HistoryMaster Teacher: Douglas Favelo, PhD AP® World History: ModernMaster Teacher: Douglas Favelo, PhD AP® U.S. HistoryMaster Teacher: Robert Spinney, PhD SAT® Test PrepSAT® Prep GeniusClassroom Teacher: Arthur Ricciardi Computer SkillsComputer SkillsMaster Teacher: Michel van Essen Graphic & Web DesignMaster Teacher: Michel van Essen Computer ScienceMaster Teacher: Michel van Essen |