Our Teachers

"The teachers are well-prepared and extremely encouraging . . . yet with very helpful suggestions for improvement. This is a difficult balance and [they] pull it off beautifully."
"I can't say enough good things! The teacher's level of commitment is amazing . . . and the classes? Amazing!"
"I don't even know where to begin with how fantastic our experience has been with the Learning Center and the instructors!"
"My daughter loves it, and it helps keep us on task."
"It has been an answer to prayer for my 15-year-old!"
"The teacher has been gracious and has encouraged the students to become thoroughly acquainted with the subject material. She does a good job of covering all the required information, and also getting the students to think about the questions that are a little deeper than just the 'facts.'"
We are blessed with wonderful teachers!
Lucerna Academy believes that passionate, skilled teachers who bring their subjects to life are the key to creating a classroom students love. Our teachers are master teachers who care deeply about their students and desire to inspire them to embrace a biblical worldview that will shape the rest of their lives. All of our teachers have taught for over a decade and bring that rich history and experience to our classrooms for the benefit of our students.

Teresa Burger

HISTORY, LITERATURE, & ELECTIVES
​​Teresa is the wife of a career Marine Corps officer and is currently living in Virginia with their three children (all graduated). As a military wife, she has made her home in 10 different states (so far), with each child being born in a different location. Mrs. Burger earned her B.A. in Early Childhood Development from the University of Kentucky, and after the birth of her third child, pursued an M.A. in Human Development in 2001. Tapestry of Grace has been a part of their homeschool curriculum for over 10 years, and she considers it a true privilege to work with families enrolled with Lucerna Academy and to partner together on this homeschool journey.

Kate Conti

HISTORY & ELECTIVES
Kate has never left the educational arena. After graduating with a B.A. in English and Mathematics from Wellesley College she joined Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Publishing Division as a marketing manager promoting not only HBS’s educational materials, but also training for teachers to sharpen their Socratic Method teaching skills—the basis of HBS’s teaching style.  This teaching method has been the gold standard for Kate and is one of the primary reasons she selected Tapestry of Grace for her own homeschool 14 years ago.  Living in New England has brought her an appreciation for our rich American history.  She loves to walk where the people who made an impact on and for our country walked.  With only one student of her own left at home, Kate is thrilled to join the team of teachers at Lucerna Academy to continue to enlighten and enjoy more students’ love for learning.

Kim Holman

WRITING & GRAMMAR
​​Kim, a lifelong OSU Buckeye fan, earned her B.S. in Education from The Ohio State
University, and her Master of Education in Curriculum and Supervision from Wright
State University in Dayton, OH. She and her husband live on an 8 ½ acre
homestead in the geographical center of Ohio and have four adult children, three
of whom are adopted, and two one-year-old grandsons. For the last 36 years, Kim
has enjoyed teaching writing and grammar in various capacities including private,
public, online, and co-op settings. She and her husband of 32 years homeschooled
their four children and loved using the Tapestry of Grace curriculum. Kim taught
with Lucerna Academy (formerly, Lampstand Learning Center) for several years before filling a need in 2018 at a Christian school teaching middle school and high school writing and literature.
God called Kim back to Lucerna Academy in 2022, and she is excited to guide
students in their writing skills to “develop strong communicators for Christ!”

Elizabeth Jacobi

SCIENCE & WRITING
​​Elizabeth lives in the middle of Missouri with her husband and three sons. They have homeschooled since the beginning and now have one son in college. Elizabeth earned her B.S. in Computer Science and worked as a systems support analyst until her first child was born. Elizabeth has enjoyed teaching homeschool chemistry and physics over the last 6 years, currently in a hybrid classroom. In addition, using the Tapestry of Grace curriculum since 2009, she has taught cooperative classes both in-person and online. Elizabeth devotes time each week to piano students and teens in her church’s youth group and youth worship team. She is excited to teach the design of God’s creation through chemistry with Lucerna Academy.

Kim Moss

LITERATURE, VOCABULARY, & HEALTH AND NUTRITION
​​​Kim is a California native, transplanted to New Hampshire! She now adores the beauty of God’s Creation in the magnificent New England colors of autumn. She holds a B.S. in Nutritional Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist. She enjoyed a career counseling patients and teaching classes in the many facets of healthy eating. She and her husband knew that, if the Lord ever blessed them with children, that they would homeschool them. Kim left her career as a dietitian when they were blessed with two sons. and began using her teaching skills in her homeschool. She taught from 2006-2010 in a local homeschool co-op. The Lord brought Tapestry of Grace into her family’s homeschooling journey in 2007, and they fell in love with it! Kim especially appreciates how Tapestry weaves God’s truth into the study of literature. She began teaching rhetoric-level literature in an online Tapestry virtual co-op in 2015 and is thrilled to continue teaching rhetoric literature with Lucerna. She is also excited to share God’s intricate and amazing creation of our bodies with her Health and Nutrition students and guide them in exploring their health from both a biblical and scientific perspective.

Abigail Sarabacha

WRITING & TAPESTRY ELECTIVES
Miss Sarabacha is a former student of Lucerna Academy and graduated summa cum laude at 18 years old with her B.S. in History from Liberty University. Since then, she has been a writer, and has led book clubs, taught classes, tutored students, and now teaches at Lucerna. Her passion is history, her enthusiasm is literature, and the Tapestry of Grace curriculum’s firm basis in history is one of the reasons she teaches it today. Miss Sarabacha is also ardent about the history, literature, and music of Poland, and had the opportunity to study the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 for her Senior project in college. Outside of teaching, she reads obscure out-of-print fiction and non-fiction works and listens to rare and historical symphonies, concertos, and operas from little-known composers.

Teri Skidmore

DIRECTOR & ELECTIVES
​Teri earned a B.S. in Computer Science and worked as a computer system engineer, corporate trainer, freelance writer, and project manager before becoming a homeschooling mom. But, what Teri really loves to do is teach, and she has found opportunities to do so for the past twenty years through local co-ops, private schools, tutoring, and Bible studies. Teri is a computer geek at heart, and now that her children are grown, she is excited to have the opportunity to bring classes to life online for students around the corner and around the world! We know you will find that her unique blend of enthusiasm for teaching and tech-savvy approach makes her a lively and engaging discussion leader. She and her husband have graduated four great kids and are now enjoying growing their young baseball team (5 grandsons and one granddaughter so far!).

Wendy Somers

WRITING & FRENCH
Wendy lives in the beautiful state of Colorado, high up at the foot of the Rockies, with her husband, three children, and two Labradoodles. They have homeschooled since the beginning, although that was not originally Wendy’s plan. A brick-and-mortar public school teacher educated and trained in the UK, it was quite a leap to join the homeschooling community! Wendy’s favorite phrase is that “God has a sense of humor.” After discovering the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, she did not look back and has graduated two of their three children. The oldest is about to go into Law School, and the middle child is pursuing a medical degree. Wendy has taught writing using the Tapestry Curriculum as the basis for her classes for the last nine years, first in face-to-face co-ops in California and then online in Colorado. Wendy is no stranger to the online world of teaching as she also teaches privately online as an ESL teacher to adults and children around the world. When she is not teaching, you can find her at church helping with the Youth, leading a women’s Bible study, or serving coffee during the services. Wendy has a BA in Drama and Education and a Masters in Education and Management. She is excited to continue teaching the art of writing at Lucerna Academy.

Becky Suon

SPANISH
Becky Suon is a wife, a Christian missionary, a teacher, and a mother.  She has four children biologically, all still in the nest, and they would say that over the years that number has grown to be many more than four.  Though she holds a degree in Interior Design, God has made it clear that He has other plans for her life.  In a series of events that could only be the Lord working, the Suons moved to the Dominican Republic, where they currently make their home and have been teaching and discipling Haitian immigrants in need.  Becky has a passion for teaching children and walking alongside families.  She has a spirited personality, is a dynamic teacher, and takes her role of influence seriously.  Always a student herself, she is thrilled to be teaching Spanish for Lucerna Academy, where her four children also attend classes.  Her purpose is missional: to equip students to engage with Spanish speakers in order to develop relationships that might Glorify God and present opportunities to communicate the gospel.

Laura Thurston

SCIENCE & HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, AND WORLDVIEW
Laura is a homeschooling mom of five, currently living in Upstate NY. Originally from Canada, she moved to the States to complete her master’s work in education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences, a Master’s of Elementary Education, and a certificate in Curriculum Development and Leadership from Liberty University. She started homeschooling in 2010 and has been using the Tapestry of Grace material with her own children since 2014. Laura teaches Science in her local homeschool co-op and has five years of online teaching experience. When not teaching, Laura enjoys spending time with family in NY and Canada, reading good books, and drinking coffee.