Jacqueline Lake is the Kindergarten teacher at Veritas Academy. She is also a teaching assistant for 4th grade. Jackie has a B.A. from Asbury College and a Masters in Elementary Education from Towson State University. Previously, she taught at Calvary Baptist Christian School. Jackie and her husband, David, have three children. She can be reached at jlake@veritasacademy.com
Sharon Strawbridge is the First Grade teacher at Veritas Academy. She holds a B.S. in Special Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. Previously, Sharon taught for several years in Mississippi and South Carolina. Sharon is the wife of Gregg Strawbridge, the pastor of All Saints’ Presbyterian Church in Akron. They live in Brownstown with their three children. She can be reached at sstrawbridge@veritasacademy.com
Deborah Chapin has taught Second Grade at Veritas Academy since 1998. She has a B.S. from Messiah College and a M.A. in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary. She can be reached at dchapin@veritasacademy.com
Katherine Arrick joined our staff in 2003 and is teaching Fourth Grade. She attended Bob Jones University and Clearwater Christian College. Prior to teaching at Veritas Academy, Kathy served at Tall Oaks Classical School (Delaware) as a teacher and assistant principal. Kathy and her husband, Pastor Steve Arrick, are the parents of six children and reside in Akron. She can be reached at karrick@veritasacademy.com
Tamra Spykstra is the Fifth Grade teacher at Veritas Academy. She has been married to Rob Spykstra, our Development Director, for 21 years. She has four children whom she home schooled for eight years prior to their arrival at Veritas Academy. She received her B.A. in Pre-Med from Hastings College in Nebraska and her M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska. She has been teaching ballet for over 15 years and is certified with the Cecchetti Council of America. She enjoys hiking with her family, reading and a great cup of coffee with her husband. She can be reached at tspykstra@veritasacademy.com
Jonathan Daughtrey serves as Grammar School Principal and as a sixth grade teacher at Veritas. He is an advocate and graduate of Hillsdale College, where he double majored in history and religion. Having completed a Masters in Educational Leadership from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA, he is currently pursuing an MBA at Villanova University. He has written upper grammar school curriculum for the Veritas Press and has served as a basketball and soccer coach at Veritas Academy as well. He, his wife, Karen, and his son, Patrick, live in Manheim Township, PA. He can be reached at jdaughtrey@veritasacademy.com
Rebecca Knepley is the Grammar Science teacher. After receiving her DVM from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Rebecca and her husband, Paul, were in veterinary practice together for several years. She left veterinary medicine to pursue the higher calling of motherhood, and she and her husband have 5 children. Rebecca has home schooled for 10 years. She is currently developing and introducing to the Veritas Academy students a grammar science program that will acquaint them with a broad overview of creation, in general following the pattern of the creation week in which God first separated and delineated realms, on days 1-3, and then filled those realms, or habitats, on days 4-6. She can be reached at rknepley@veritasacademy.com
G. Tyler Fischer has been the Headmaster at Veritas Academy since 1997. He received a B.A. in History from Grove City College and a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He serves on the board of the Association of Classical and Christian School. He has been involved in numerous curricular projects. He presently serves as the Managing Editor of Veritas Press' Omnibus Project. His most recent literary endeavor is as a contributor to Perspectives on Family Ministry and Perspectives on Your Child's Education which was published in October 2009 and he edited Omnibus IV: Ancient Civilization published in November 2009. You can follow Ty's thinking on his blog called "The Leaky Bucket" by clicking on the bucket icon at www.VeritasAcademy.com. Ty and his wife, Emily, are the parents of Madelyn, Layne, Karis, and Elyse.
David Blank is the Secondary Science teacher. David holds a B.S. from Penn State University and a Masters degree in Science Education from Bucknell University. Before coming to Veritas, he was employed as a Science teacher at West Fallowfield Christian School. David also served as Assistant Principal, a Science teacher, and a computer programming teacher at Northumberland Christian School. David and his wife, Lisa, live in Atglen, PA. He can be reached at dblank@veritasacademy.com
Graham Dennis is a Secondary Omnibus teacher at Veritas Academy. Graham attended Columbia International University in South Carolina and a Biblical studies institute in Friedrichshaffen, Germany. He graduated with a B.A. degree in philosophy from the University of South Carolina. Graham received his M.A. in philosophy from Boston College University. Prior to coming to Veritas, Graham was employed at St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, MA and most recently at Calvary Christian School in Elizabethtown, PA. He and his wife, Stephanie, are the proud parents of three children. He can be reached at gdennis@veritasacademy.com
Chris Walker teaches Omnibus and Greek in our Secondary school at Veritas Academy. He attended Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he completed a B.A. in Classical Studies with a minor in Music. After graduating, he attended Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He lives in Leola with his wife, Kate, and daughter, Alana. He can be reached at cwalker@veritasacademy.com
Paul Reese is Music Director and Omnibus Teacher at Veritas Academy. He holds degrees in music and Bible from Philadelphia Biblical University and Westminster Choir College. He has served as the fifth and sixth grade teacher and the music teacher at Stratford Classical Christian Academy and as the Head Teacher at Trinitas Classical Cooperative of New Jersey. He was also for six years organist and music director at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Cherry Hill, NJ, and for seven years the children’s choir director at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA. One of Paul's life goals is to promote singing and music in the Christian home, school and church.
Anna Martin is the Secondary Spanish teacher. She graduated from Eastern University with a B.A. in Spanish. She and her husband, Jared, live in New Holland and are the proud parents of four children. Anna and her family previously lived and worked in Guatemala with orphan children. She can be reached at jared_anna@yahoo.com
Molly Carey is our Latin teacher. She graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a B.A. in Latin. In addition, Molly is a ballet teacher at Lancaster School of Ballet, being certified through the Cecchetti Council of America. She has also been a gymnastics teacher and coach. Molly and her husband, Chuck, are the parents of two children. She can be reached at mcarey@veritasacademy.com
Bill Dawson is a Secondary teacher at Veritas Academy. Before Bill came to Veritas, he served as General Counsel for a number of companies in the Washington D.C. area. He earned a B.A. from Gordon College and a J.D. from Catholic University. Bill teaches several classes in Omnibus, Apologetics, and Logic. He and his wife, Lynn, have two children, Liz and William. He can be reached at bdawson@veritasacademy.com
Christine Hash serves as the lower Grammar school Art teacher. Christine received her Bachelors degree in elementary education from Piedmont Bible College. After teaching school in the Hershey area and Haiti, she relocated to Lancaster where she met her husband Chuck. She is the mother of five children, all enrolled at Veritas. She can be reached at chash@veritasacademy.com
Dale Siegenthaler is a Mathematics teacher at Veritas Academy. Dale graduated from Philadelphia Biblical University with a B.S. in Bible and a B.S. in Mathematics Education. He completed his Masters in Mathematics at West Chester University. He and his wife, Meredith, live in Ephrata with their two children. He can be reached at dsiegenthaler@veritasacademy.com
Rhonda Forbes is the Omnibus Assistant and middle Math teacher at Veritas Academy. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Systems Engineering. She previously worked as a consultant with Andersen Consulting and Senior Analyst for Peoples Natural Gas in Pittsburgh. She taught various technology courses in both the Washington D.C. area and in Pittsburgh, PA. Rhonda is married to Scott Forbes and the proud mother of four children. They reside in Lititz. She can be reached at rforbes@veritasacademy.com
John Martin serves as Secondary Math Teacher at Veritas. A graduate of Ursinus College with a B.S. in Physics and minor in Mathematics, his prior career experience includes teaching at the high school and college levels, engineering in the electronics industry, sales and marketing in the building industry, and college campus ministry. John coaches cross country at Veritas Academy. He, his wife, Kris, and their 4 children are all full-time at Veritas Academy. He enjoys running and biking and laments the fact that his children will soon be faster than he is! John can be reached at jmartin@veritasacademy.com
Matt Clark is our upper level Grammar and Secondary Art teacher. He will also be covering Art history in the Omnibus classes. He was formerly the Art teacher at Dorothy Sayers Classical School in Louisville, Kentucky. Matt graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and earned a M.F.A. from the University of Florida. Matt and his wife, Amy, are the parents of four children. His work can be seen at www.drawingmatthewclark.com. He can be reached at mclark@veritasacademy.com
Rachel Nickel is our K-6 Grammar school Music teacher. She holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in Music Education from Western Michigan University. While in Michigan she was employed by Lowell Area Schools and Midland Public Schools and is currently Music Director at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Lititz. Prior to moving to Pennsylvania, Rachel and her husband, Jeff, spent 4 years living in Brussels, Belgium. The Nickels have 2 daughters, Natalie and Laura, and reside in Lancaster. She can be reached at rnickel@veritasacademy.com
Lynn Dawson is our Omnibus and 3rd grade assistant. She formerly served as our teaching assistant in 2nd and 4th grade and Literature in 5th grade. In recent years she has served as our Events Coorindator. Prior to moving to Lancaster, Lynn was a teacher and Administrative Assistant at two other Christian schools in Northern Virginia. Lynn has a B.A. from the University of South Florida and a J.D. from Antioch University's Law School in Washington D.C. Lynn and her husband, Bill, a teacher at our Secondary school, are parents of two children including a Veritas graduate who currently attends Penn State. She can be reached at ldawson@veritasacademy.com
Patty Ploutz is our 6th grade assistant. She was born and raised in Binghamton, NY. She earned an A.A.S. in Chemical Engineering Technology from BCC. She has been married to Michael for 22 years and they have 3 children: Tia, Michaela and Caleb. She and her husband have lived in NY, NJ, and most recently PA. She has been at Veritas in one capacity or another for 4 years. She can be reached at pploutz@veritasacademy.com
Stan Deen has lived in Lancaster County all his life apart from short stints for school such as receiving his BTA in Speech and Theatre Cum Laude from the Pasadena College of Theatre Arts in Pasadena, California. Stan taught at Penn Manor, Solanco and Garden Spot High Schools for 38 years directing 95 productions. In 1998 Stan worked at Sight and Sound Theatres directing Abraham and Sarah and the Christmas Water Show. Stan joined Veritas in 2003. He has directed Fools, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Huckleberry Finn and Annie Jr. Besides directing Stan teaches Cinematology in the Secondary school. He can be reached at sdeen@veritasacademy.com
Nate Busko is the Yearbook Advisor at Veritas Academy. He is the Assistant Director of the Veritas Players, working under the direction of Stan Deen. Nate attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia, majoring in Photography. He is currently employed full time at Sight & Sound Theatres as the Broadcast Producer (Photography/Video). He can be reached at nate.busko@sight-sound.com
