Our Purpose:

To glorify God and keep His commandment to faithfully teach the next generation about His goodness by providing mutual support, encouragement, accountability and fellowship to new and experienced home school families in North Edmond through field trips, small group meetings, cooperative learning experiences, seasonal activities, mentor relationships, celebrations and informal/formal sharing/teaching opportunities.

Teacher Bios

2019-2020 SHINE Teacher Biographies



Cathe Aguirre is blessed to have 4 children, Mia (16), Bella (14), Lydia (12), and Nando (9) and has enjoyed learning along with them these past 6 years of homeschooling.  She has been married to her wonderful, fun-loving husband for 21 years.  She received her Masters degree in Nutrition and worked as a dietitian for 5 years before coming home full-time to care for her first daughter.  In her free time she enjoys studying God's Word, reading, gardening, and being outside in His beautiful creation.  Her family is very involved at their church, Bridgeway. 


Angie Alsup will be entering her 13th year on this homeschooling adventure and 5th year at SHINE.  Angie has been married to her husband John for 21 years.  She is mom to Jarod (17), Hannah (20), Daniel (10), and Isabel (5).  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and worked in the counseling field with adults and children before having children.  She also enjoyed working as the Ministry Director for The Kids’ Place Grief Support Center.  She has always enjoyed working with children.  She and her family are very active members of the Edmond Church of Christ congregation where she enjoys teaching children’s Bible classes, coaching Leadership Training for Christ, serving during VBS and hosting the youth group.  She and her family are also active in American Heritage Girls and Trail Life USA.  


Tasa Barnett is a trained and certified Clinical Laboratory Scientist. As part of her training she took classes in Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physiology, Anatomy, Microbiology, and Physics. She worked in a hospital laboratory for 13 years in Blood Bank, Special Hematology, and Bone Marrow Processing for transplants. Additionally, Tasa has been sewing since she was a child. The love of sewing was passed down to her from her mother and grandmother as she learned on an antique treadle machine. She enjoys teaching others to sew and sharing her love of the art!  She has been married to Jay, a lawyer, for 27 years and they have two amazing daughters, Elise and Christina who both take classes at SHINE.



Cindy Bergren is mom to two children, Jonah age 9 and Lily age 6.  This is her fifth year participating in SHINE and homeschooling.  She has been married to her husband Steven for 14 years. They attend Waterloo Road Baptist Church together where Cindy has taught in the children and youth departments for the past 19 years.   She attended UCO where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance.


Sarah Blomgren, wife to Jeff Blomgren, is entering her 4th year at SHINE, and 3rd year of teaching.  She has been homeschooling some or all of her 5 children since 2006.  Now that the youngest is nearing the end of elementary school, she is able to explore more teaching opportunities at SHINE.  It has become a joy in her life, something to look forward to weekly.  She endeavors to make learning a joy to all of her students, stressing that the work they put forth will reap great benefits.  Through her own experience, she has come to understand that children learn differently, and we need to meet them where they are.  She will hold your students to a high standard, encouraging them to learn to their full potential.  


Jenny Caldwell is the mother of Dallas Evylee (9), Aya (6), and Norrin (4). She has been married to her husband, Dallas, for 10 years. They attend Henderson Hills Baptist Church. Jenny graduated from UCO with a B.A. in English. She and Dallas are both independent authors. When she is not homeschooling, housekeeping, writing, or reading, Jenny reviews board games on her YouTube channel, 90 Second Nerd. This will be the Caldwell’s 4th year at SHINE!


Joanne Crawford has been married to Chris for 20 years and together they have three children that they have been homeschooling for about a decade now. This is their third year at SHINE. She has a degree in social work with a minor in psychology, is certified as a personal trainer and is an online ESL teacher. She has taught several different co-op classes throughout the years and loves watching kids learn and grow together.


Brianne Darbe was born in Oklahoma, but raised in Illinois. She is blessed by two children, Gavin (6) and Juliette (2). She attended OSU for her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She has a master's degree in Human Development and Family Science. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She is currently working in private practice at New Path Christian Counseling in Edmond. She is active in her church, Victory Church-Edmond campus. This will be her 3rd year homeschooling and her 2nd year at SHINE.


Lisa Doyle enjoys her role as home school mom and wife.  She is married to Jon and has been homeschooling their two children, Will, age 13, and Peyton, age 12 for the past 7 years.  She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Education from UCO and a current license to teach in Oklahoma.  Lisa enjoys gardening, organizing their home, and shopping!  If she could travel anywhere in the world, she would love to go to Australia!  Just a little trivia about Lisa...her parents used to raise emus.  :-)


Dara Filleman began homeschooling in 2012, but also has been involved in public and private schools.  She enjoys a wide variety of interests including baking, cake decorating, reading new and classic literature, and repeating herself frequently when giving instructions to her kids (and husband).  Dara and her husband Scott have been married for 17 years, and are blessed to have four of the best children anyone could hope for: Evelyn (14), Conlan (11), Aria (8), and Kimber (6).


Kristin Geddes loves teaching kids music skills and movement skills as well.  She has a Music Education degree from Baylor and a Musical Theater Performance degree from OCU.  She has also been a dancer since she was 3 years old:)   She taught Elementary music at Deer Creek Elementary for 4 years before staying home with her kids. She and her husband have been married for 20 years.  She has homeschooled her 4 children for 11 years and have been teaching music classes at co-ops for several years now.  Kristen also likes to teach voice lessons. 


Olivia Gottschalk is excited to teach PE again this year! The children are so much fun and they all have a great time! Olivia has been married to Rick for 19 years and they have 4 boys: Connor (18), Ricky (16), Hanlon (14), and Tristan (11). They have been homeschooling since Connor was in Pre-K and are excited to see him launch into the world at the end of this year!


Samantha Henson is mother to 2 and has been homeschooling for 5 years.  She is very interested in not only acquiring physical health, but mental health as well so that we can accomplish the most for the kingdom of God!


Carley Johnson is in her  5th year at SHINE and is a level 9 gymnast. Gymnastics is her passion and she loves teaching children gymnastics.


Liz Johnson is beginning her 14th year homeschooling her children, Carter age 18 and Cassie age 16. She loves all things classical education: Latin, literature, theology, history, and rhetoric.   Happily married to Rob for 19 years, the entire Johnson family hails from Pittsburgh, PA and is thrilled to be living in Oklahoma and enjoying all that it has to offer.  Liz holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Management and Technology.  Her hobbies are reading, movies, NFL football, music, traveling, and cooking.


Angela Kersh has been a RN for 23 years working the majority of her career with the childbearing family; specifically focusing on education. She graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. Cutting things open, popping things, and making the body and easy to understand brings a delight to her heart. The most important job she has as a homeschool mom is teaching her children how to think like a Christian and act upon God's word. She currently works at Integris Health Edmond in the labor, delivery and mother baby unit as well as teaching prenatal and breastfeeding education. She also obtained her Real Estate license 3 years ago and really enjoys educating and helping friends and family through the home buying and selling process. She has 4 children, Makenna 21, Will 18, Lizzie 9 and Lucas Blaze, 5, who put up with her obsessions with grace. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Paul, recently celebrating their 25 wedding anniversary. The Kershes will begin their 17th year of homeschooling this fall. Her favorite homeschool quotes include, "Start out with the end in sight." "School is our life, life is our school." It is her joy to serve the families at SHINE after co-starting this group 10 years ago. Creating a God-honoring, fun, supportive place for homeschool families is another obsession she GREATLY enjoys!


Rachel Neely is a homeschool mother of four beginning her fifteenth year of homeschooling and eleventh year of teaching at SHINE.  She and Travis have been married twenty-two years, and their kids range in age from nineteen to nine. One of her favorite things about homeschooling is being able to spend quality face-to-face time with her kids and experience their moments of revelation.  Fostering creativity and independent thought are very important to her.  She is currently working as a production editor at Teaching Textbooks creating animation content for their math program.  She has taught a variety of classes at SHINE through the years including Art, Cooking, and Crafts, and this will be her fourth year as the yearbook editor.


Jessica Newlon is a born and raised Okie. She and her husband Steven have been married for 12 years. They are blessed with 2 daughters, Stella(9) and Emme(6). She and her husband have been attending Life Church for over 17 years. In her free time you can find her reading, watching cooking shows, or baking something yummy with her girls. This will be her second year at SHINE and her first year to teach. She is so excited to share her love of reading and writing with the SHINE students.


Judy Noel is a 25 year veteran (now retired) High School English Teacher. She has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business/International Management and a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education. Ms. Noel was awarded Teacher of the Year and has sponsored several student organizations. Her greatest joy is Molly, her rescue pup, and the kids at Shine.


Miklyn Poe is starting her 11th year of homeschooling and 10th year as a member of SHINE.  As a graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University, she holds a degree in Business Information Systems.  Getting to spend every day with her kids, Camryn (17) and Clayton (14), has been a tremendous blessing, made possible with the support of Levi, her husband of 19 years.  Her passions are reading, gardening, traveling with family, and tacos.


Stacy Sefcovic is married to Mike. They have been married for 20 years and have 3 children—Cole 10,Rylan 4, & Emily 3. Stacy has homeschooled for 10 years and looks forward to helping mold your child!


Angela Smith is a homeschooling mom to seven, ranging in age from 8-25.  The Smith family just completed their 20th home schooling year and have graduated three children so far.  They are expecting their first grandchild this year. Yay!  Angela is an Oklahoma State University alum, (Go Pokes!) with a degree in Marketing.  She especially enjoys teaching elementary aged students and helping them to love learning. She and her younger four children are looking forward to another wonderful year of SHINE.


Angie Snodgrass and her girls have been in SHINE for eight years.  Six of those years, she has taught varied writing classes, Mom's Bible Study, and been a part of the leadership for four years.  She has a degree in PE/Health Education as well as an endorsement to teach English.  She speaks publicly in church settings, at a college a few times a year, and teaches Bible Studies outside of SHINE.  Angie really enjoys teaching adults as well as students!  For brownie points, she encourages all students to bring Reese's peanut butter cups.  (Or Ted's salsa/queso/chips!)



Amy Steele In Amy’s former life, (before kids) she worked as an occupational therapy assistant in Tulsa, where she grew up.  The Steele family moved to Edmond in 2014 due to a job promotion.  In 2015, Amy’s husband passed away suddenly from complications of a very rare autoimmune disease.  They were happily married almost 11 years.  She and the kids have been blessed to be able to continue homeschooling and enjoy time together as a family while developing a new normal.  Amy and her family became a part of SHINE in 2017.  You will often see her knitting and crocheting in the hallways.


Season Swift is super blessed to be able to home educate her 3 children, Sophie (11), Sammie (8) and Bonnie (5).  She has a Master's degree in Physical Therapy from OUHSC and owns her own PT practice (on her farm!).  She loves learning about the human body and is amazed daily at how wonderfully the Lord has designed us. She has been married for 15 years to Matt, a civil engineer. The family enjoys the beach, gardening/growing food and trying to keep animals alive on their farm. This is their 4th year at SHINE.


Sally Walker is a mom to 5 boys ranging in age from 4-10  She has been blessed by the support of her friends and family in her homeschooling journey.  In her free time, Sally works as a relief veterinarian in an emergency clinic and runs Red Fern Pets: In-home end of life care. She also enjoys running, camping, and extended RV trips whenever possible! Sally and her husband Forrest are running the 24 mile trip across the Grand Canyon this fall!


Missy Wood as a playwright and director, Missy Wood, has transformed student actors into all kinds of entertaining characters and transported audiences to imaginary worlds of adventure, mystery, and comedy. A thirty-five year performing arts veteran of the stage, she has brought over one hundred productions to life for audiences young and old. This will be Missy's 3rd year to teach SHINE Drama.


Michelle Zabel is a homeschooling mom of 10 years.  She has a heart for God and her family. She has two boys, James and John. She was an Air Force wife of 19 years until her husband retired recently. Michelle has been involved with volunteering and serving while stationed at different bases. She enjoys serving in the children’s ministry at Crossings. The Zabels  are members of Crossing Community Church in Edmond.   This will be the Zabels third year with SHINE.