April 27, 2017

Our Teachers and Staff

NICOLE BARNES

Nicole has her Master’s of Physical Therapy degree and a BS in Psychology.  She is also a certified catechist in the Montessori based Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, leading classes for ages 3-12 for the past 5 years. Nicole is blessed to have seven children and has homeschooled for 16 years.  Her passion is raising children to love Jesus Christ most of all, as well as studying theology, camping, hiking, reading and cooking.


CHRISTA BAUER 

Christa attended Concordia University, Nebraska for her undergraduate degree – which is Secondary Education (English and History) and a minor in ASL. She married her awesome husband and they moved to Minnesota – where she completed her master’s degree in History. Both of her kiddos were born in Minnesota and they moved to Wisconsin when her son was 6 months old. Her husband is a youth director and they are very active in our church and strive to show the love of Christ in everything we do. She is also a complete history NERD. She loves talking about everything and anything historical. Native American history is her specialty, especially growing up in New Mexico, Native American culture surrounded her and that is something she is incredibly passionate about and thankful for.


JULIANE BJERREGAARD

Juliane Bjerregaard (Mrs. B) has been a teacher since 1999 when she graduated from Alverno College. She holds a lifetime teaching license with the state of Wisconsin and is passionate about teaching STEAM/STEM subjects in Christian education. Mrs. B loves encouraging students to discover and use their God-given gifts and abilities to become all that God created them to be. She has three children, all of whom are homeschooled. In her free time, Mrs. B likes to draw, read, knit, and is learning to spin yarn.


KATE BLANK

Kate has a BS in Therapeutic Recreation and has always enjoyed bringing imagination and creativity to kids of all ages. In the education department at Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Kate developed and taught children’s in-house and community outreach programs. She also started and ran her own business, Puppet Story Theater, for 12 years. Kate enjoyed providing hands-on performances, workshops and educator training programs through various artistic expressions of puppet and prop making, stage building and script writing. Kate loves to see kids express their unique creativity and is delighted to be a new homeschool mom to her two kids


LISA KROER

Lisa has been married for 14 years and shares two terrific boys with her husband, Aaron. She has an Associate’s of Arts and Science degree from UW Waukesha, in the field of elementary education.

She has worked with kids since she was one herself at age 12 and on. She volunteered as a classroom helper and worked and volunteered at Afterschool, inc. at Dousman Elementary. She later worked at Children’s World in Delafield, Abundant Life Christian Childcare, as well as volunteered at Abundant Life Christian Academy. She has her EC1, Ec2, and infant and toddler certificates through The Registry Instead of continuing her education in teaching, she chose to stay at home with her children and homeschool them. She has since continued to volunteer in Sunday School, VBS, and church nurseries, and camp, and continues to babysit/provide childcare ever since. Lisa hasn’t had much time for hobbies since she moved several times and helps her husband with chronic pain and disability. Her interests are crafts, home décor, baking, and planning ministry activities. She thinks the best teachers make learning fun, and that’s her passion! She especially likes to share the love of Jesus and help others! She can’t wait to meet you and your kiddos!


STACY LATUS

Stacy is a wife to Ken, who you might find helping out behind the scenes of local theater performances, and a mother to two terrific boys.  She has been homeschooling for the past 12 years.  She is a certified Speech Language Pathologist and received her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Stacy previously worked at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for twelve years before she realized her calling to homeschool.  She enjoys sharing Jesus’ love and the beauty of sign language.  She is excited to be back teaching at Bright Rising now that both of her boys are in high school.


JAN MATTEUCCI

Janet is a wife, mother and grandmother to 6 grandchildren who she loves to share her creative talents with.  Having been in the workforce for more than 50 years and owning her own business for the last 15 years; she is enjoying retirement and dedicates her free time to family and hospitality/childrens ministry.  Janet has been instrumental in crafting, conducting experiments, and teaching life skills to her 3 homeschooled grandkids. Crafting and working with children are two of her greatest passions.


VICKY MAY

Vicky May is a homeschooling mom of three – one high school junior, and two college graduates. She loves Jesus and enjoys using her talents to glorify Him. A graphic designer with 20 plus years of experience, Vicky designs many of the marketing materials, social media ads, theater playbills and promotions for Bright Rising as well as provides website maintenance. She has degrees in Graphic Design and  Communication. 


ELIZABETH SCHMIDT

Liz has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and worked for 25 years in the field of mental health until 2021 when she joined Bright Rising as the Academic Manager. She has been homeschooling her two children since 2010. Her daughter graduated at 17 with both her High School Diploma and her Bachelor of Art Degree from Excelsior University. Her son is heading into his Sophomore year of High School and will be concurrently earning college credits. She is an eclectic homeschooler and their family has participated in a wide variety of co-ops, classes and programs where she helped teach, tutor and direct in various areas and subjects. She is passionate about Jesus, history and helping families cut time and cost by earning college credits during high school! Her husband runs his own Heating and Cooling Business and they attend Spring Creek church. In her free time she enjoys scrapbooking, exploring natural health remedies and playing games. She loves incorporating review games into her classes enjoy spending time with Bright Rising’s teens!


CHRISTINE TAYLOR

Christine enjoys learning as one of God’s many gifts and is excited to share that joy with the students at Bright Rising. For the last 15 years, she has homeschooled her three children. Through the years, she has led small groups through high school science labs, taught in co-ops, and worked in various children’s ministries. Two of her children have graduated, giving her more time for favorite pastimes of gardening, quilting, baking/cooking, and reading. She is married and has a Master’s degree in Applied Molecular Biology.


REBECCA VAN CLEVE

Rebecca holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree and double majored in chemistry and music. During a summer job in her college years, she discovered the fun of teaching hands-on science classes to grade school students. Prior to having children, she worked as a civil engineering technician for a company that specialized in open-web steel joist systems. Rebecca later homeschooled her own children for nine years and helped launch and manage a homeschool co-op. She taught at the co-op for the remainder of her homeschool days and joined the Bright Rising teaching staff in 2021. She continues to teach many of Bright Rising’s science classes and will be the Academic Manager beginning fall 2024. Her hobbies include playing the piano and gardening. Rebecca is blessed to live with her wonderful husband of over 20 years and their two teenage children.


JESS WEBER

The most basic of threads that has been with me my whole life is my fascination for reading & writing. They go hand in hand. What I have learned is that reading really good books enhances your writing, and writing what you experience connects you more deeply into the minds and hearts of the authors you love, as well as your own.  I’ve had some really wonderful teachers along my journey who have showed me how alive literature & writing can be. Books are us, our shared humanity; they connect us to so much, and are often our guides for walking a goodly, Godly path in life. This is the passion I bring to my teaching work, both at home with my own kids and to the classroom with yours: To encourage purpose and connection with what we read and what we write, so we can discover the gifts within our own hearts, voices and minds, and ultimately choose to walk our paths with more presence, courage and faith. Along with teaching & homeschooling, I have my own writing practice and lead writing groups from time to time. I am a mother, a wife, a student of meditation, and a lover of music and the natural world. I am usually reading about 10 books at once, but never tire of reading the book of Matthew or good poetry or anything by Professor Tolkien.


 

 

Board Of Directors

LIZ SCHMIDT

NICOLE BARNES

JAY SCHNEIDER

DANIEL HUDSON