Angie Sayre grew up in West Virginia and attended undergrad at Marshall University. During her time at MU, she worked as a writing tutor at the university’s Writing Center and taught English as a Second Language classes through Marshall’s ESL department. Once she earned her B.A. in Communication Disorders, she moved to Knoxville to complete her M.A. in Speech Pathology at the University of Tennessee. After working as a speech-language pathologist for three years, she and her husband moved back to Tennessee where she chose to become a stay-at-home momma. She has been homeschooling her children for the past 15 years: two sons now in college, one daughter in high school, and another daughter in elementary. Angie loves teaching at home, but she especially enjoys bringing her energy to a weekly classroom setting….better still it involves writing and literature!

Alison Tipton is a Knoxville native who can sometimes be seen prowling old graveyards and dressing in historical garb. She has been interested in history since she first read R.L. Stevenson’s Kidnapped at age 12. Now considerably older than that, Alison is excited to be teaching at CEEC where she taught History and Composition classes previously from 2008-2012. She and her husband live in Fountain City where they are currently homeschooling four of their five children (and running breathlessly after the toddler and the dog).

Cheryl Massey is a retired nurse, educator, and passionate advocate for the arts. Her career has included traditional nursing as well as teaching in public vocational education. After relocating to Knoxville in 1990, she continued working as a nurse until her family made the decision to homeschool, at which point she transitioned fully into teaching. She has worked with Classical Conversations and multiple co-ops, (including CEEC!). A self-taught artist with a deep love for creativity, Cheryl has exhibited her work at venues such as the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Emporium, Oak Ridge Art Center, Plateau Creative Arts, Clayton Center, and the Rose Gallery. She is an active member of the Arts and Culture Alliance and Knoxville Watercolor Society while serving as the President of both the Tennessee Watercolor Society and the Tennessee Artists Association. Beyond the art world, Cheryl is a professional dog trainer, AKC Evaluator, and volunteers with therapy dogs to support work with children and the elderly.

Hannah Dee grew up in Cleveland, OH and was homeschooled until 10 th grade. Her
experiences as a homeschool student and a public-school student have given her a unique
understanding of different learning environments and teaching methods.
Hannah has a B.S. in Physics from Cleveland State University, where she met her husband
(Phil). After graduating from CSU, she moved with her husband to Knoxville. She has worked at
a clinical laboratory for several years while Phil attended graduate school and now, she is
embracing the opportunity to pursue her true passion of teaching.
Hannah loves teaching science and math, and she truly believes that a good foundation of
knowledge in these subjects sets students up for a lifetime of success in any career they may
pursue. She focuses on problem solving skills and critical thinking while incorporating plenty of
real-world examples in her lessons.
Hannah and Phil have two young children and enjoy spending time as a family, both at home
and around town in Knoxville. In her free time, Hannah enjoys reading and gardening.

Heather Duncan is a choir director with over 30 years of experience with church, traditional school, and homeschool choirs. Ms. Duncan holds a Bachelor of Music in Sacred Voice from the University of Tennessee, as well as a Masters of Music in Music Education, also from UTK. She has taught both ensemble and private voice lessons and has participated in both local and national vocal and choir director associations enabling students to participate in adjudication, such as: the All East, All State, and Smoky Mountain Music Festivals. Committed to comprehensive musicianship and lifelong music making, Ms. Duncan continues to attend workshops and classes during the summers; and is an active member of two professional music groups, the Palmetto Voices Spirituals Ensemble, and Rich Mountain Celtic. In the latter, she not only sings, but plays bodhrán and mandolin. In addition, Ms. Duncan is the President and co-founder of Victoria Watoto Fund, a non-profit committed to meeting the physical, emotional, and educational needs of children in Mbita, Kenya.
Ms. Duncan loves working with young voices, and is committed to not only teaching musicianship, but hopes to enrich the lives of her students by introducing them to diverse music from different cultures and different genres, and to foster a life-long love of singing.

Jill Heaton attended Crown College and received a Bachelors in Elementary Education and a Certificate in ASL Interpreting Training through the college’s Language Navigators Program. Jill also attended Sword Deaf Baptist College and received her Masters in ASL and ASL Interpreting. The Lord burdened Jill’s heart for the Deaf, and that burden turned into a deep love and respect for the Deaf and the Deaf culture. Through her educational experience, Jill learned more about the great need for a Christian outreach into the Deaf community, not only in America, but throughout the world! Jill also works as the Deaf ministry leader of her church, Clear Springs Baptist in Corryton. Jill’s ultimate desire is to reach the Deaf with the Gospel and share with them of Jesus Christ and his love for them. Jill hopes to touch other’s hearts with the burden for the Deaf so that there will be many people who will share the burden for the Deaf and will seek to learn their language so that they too may be able to share the Gospel and Jesus Christ with them!

Le'Ann Cassidy has her B.S. Degree in Athletic Training from Carson Newman College. She's homeschooled both of her boys since kindergarten. Her oldest attended CEEC for all 4 years of high school, and her youngest will begin this year. She's married to Donathan, and their family attends Salem Baptist Church in Halls. In her free time, she helps coach people to better health & loves to craft.

Mark Brackney has been a teacher at CEEC for many years. He is married to his wife, Christine, and they are blessed with seven children. They have always home-schooled and their children have been a part of CEEC. Mark received a B.R.E. (Bachelor of Religious Education) degree from Rochester College, a Christian liberal arts college in Michigan. He received his M.A. (Master of Arts in Ministry) degree from Oklahoma Christian University. They moved to Knoxville in January of 2003 where he currently serves as the minister for the Arlington Church of Christ in North Knoxville. Before that, he worked for the Rochester Church of Christ for twelve years in various roles (campus ministry, youth ministry, family life ministry). He taught adjunct classes in Bible for Rochester Christian University (Rochester Hills, MI) for ten years before moving to Knoxville. He loves the classroom and the interaction with students. He says it is a joy to watch them grow in their faith.

Regina Reed grew up in Seymour, TN, a little bedroom community just inside
Sevier County from South Knoxville. She graduated from Seymour High School and
went on to study Elementary Education at Crown College in Powell, TN. During that
time she married her husband, Darrel (22 years). She earned her Bachelor of Biblical
Studies majoring in Elementary Education in 2004, then moved to Ypsilanti, MI where
she taught second grade for one year at FaithWay Baptist Schools and third grade for
two years at Calvary Christian Academy. The recession of 2008 hit the Christian
schools in Southeast Michigan pretty hard, so she began teaching toddlers until her first
child was born and she became a stay at home mama. Their family moved back to the
Knoxville area in 2011. She began homeschooling her first child in 2014 and has been
homeschooling all three children since.
The Reed family consists of 2 parents, 3 children, 2 dogs, and a tortie cat. They
live adjacent to Ijams Nature Center on the quarry side, so one of Regina’s favorite
pastimes is to wander through the forests of Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. She also
loves cozy evenings reading aloud to her family, and cozy days reading to herself.

Ruth Caldwell graduated from LMU with a B.S. in Biology in 2004 and an A.S.N. in Nursing in 2006. She
has been married for almost 20 years and has two kids. She worked at Parkwest Hospital for several
years before realizing that God had different plans for her. She was a stay-at-home mom before she
began homeschooling their two children who are now in high school. Her hope is that she can inspire
children to love science as much as she does and for her students to see how amazing and intricate
God’s world is.

Todd Sparrow has had a career in software development and systems management for over 30 years as a computer programmer, network administrator, web developer, devop and consultant. He began in the computer industry working as a data entry clerk and rapidly moved through the channels to become a software developer at a Litton Industries manufacturing plant in 1995. He was also the lead developer/manager for a small team building banking web applications in the financial software industry for Fiserv Inc. for over 5 years in the early 2000s. Todd continues to provide consulting and management services to small and medium sized businesses in the greater Knoxville area. In addition, he has taught programming courses to home school students and in software bootcamps for the past 10 years.