Kristen is originally from Asheville, NC and has lived in Chattanooga since 2004.  She met her husband, Paul, at King College while studying for her Elementary Education degree.  She has three kids: Eden, Ava, and Bo. She has taught 1st grade at Chattanooga Christian School and at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church's Mother's Day Out program and Pre-K.  She is passionate about teaching and loves to support and partner with CBT families as they are faithful to the Lord's call in raising their children.

       If there is any spare time, Kristen loves to play the piano, write music, and watch movies with her family.

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      Katie Beth attended college at Samford University where she also met her husband Matthew. After pursuing a degree in Biology with a minor in Spanish, God led her to teaching. She was blessed to teach 9th grade Biology at another private institution under an incredible mentor and friend.  Once she and her husband were married, they moved to Chattanooga in 2021. She substituted at CCS for the lower school and found that she adored working with elementary-age students just as much as 9th graders, if not more.  She feels God led her to CBT so she could  join a tutorial that has Christ as the foundation and lives out their love for Him. 

       Katie Beth & Bo love to spend time with family & friends, watch a good movie, read, hike with their sweet husky, Jack.

       Stacey is originally from Tacoma, WA and moved to Chattanooga in 2020.  She has been married to her best friend, Matt, for 14 years and loves being a mother to her two beautiful children. She has a Bachelors of Music from The Masters University and has spent the past 13 years in elementary education in music education, choral directing & directing children's musicals.  She has cultivated her philosophy of teaching and education from a classical school in WA where she watched the great effect classical education has on students and families. She believes giving students truth, goodness, and beauty is the best way to create life long learners, which is the heart of Classical Beginnings. It is her prayer to encourage virtue, curiosity, mastery and play as partners with families to educate their children.

       Stacey is an active musician in her community, serves on the worship team at her church, loves the beach, reading, cooking, and museums. 

     Rebecca grew up in Chattanooga and attended public and private schools, as well as being homeschooled.  She received a Bachelor and Master of Music Education from UTC. Then later taught in Hamilton and Bradley county schools for eight years. She also holds an ESL certification and taught ESL classes at her church.  She has also taught piano for over 11 years. 

     CBT has been a great blessing to her family. Her oldest son started at CBT in 2016 and she began teaching Opening Exercises in 2017. She has enjoyed learning about and applying the Classical method of education.  Their family has benefited from CBT's Christ-centered approach to teaching and learning.  She looks forward to discovering the wonder of God's truth, beauty, and goodness with third grade students in our lessons each day. 

     Rebecca is married to Matthew and has two boys.  She enjoys reading, music, knitting, and a good long walk.

     Grace grew up in Winston-Salem, NC and was homeschooled from kindergarten to 12th grade alongside her four younger siblings.  Her early school experiences sparked a lifelong love of learning to where she was drawn to Chattanooga to pursue a degree in Elementary Education.  Through her teaching experiences and her own personal convictions about the role of Scripture and family in children's education, she felt herself drawn away from public education to a place where her faith could be the driver of her interactions.  After graduating from Covenant in 2023, she found CBT and felt she was able to live out her convictions in an educationally and spiritually rich environment.  Connecting with CBT was truly an answer to prayer and a gift from the Lord!

    She believes the goals of early education are to equip students with both the mental, emotional, and spiritual tools to tackle a life of learning, as well as a disposition that hard work of this task is a privilege and joy. 

      Grace got married this summer to her husband, Stephen! She loves to bake, cook, quilt, read, and hike in her spare time.

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     Rebekah is originally from the Pacific Northwest and moved to Chattanooga with her husband and two girls in 2022.

    As a third generation teacher she has spent the past sixteen years working in various areas of education: traditional public school, parent partnered public school, private Christian, and homeschooling.  She was homeschooled from kindergarten through high school and attended community college in Portland, OR. She then transferred to Concordia University where she received a Bachelors in Elementary Education. 

     Her childhood set her up as a learner.  The joy of reading, the beauty of hard work, and discipline were instilled in her at a young age.  She believes that education should be centered on helping students develop a lifelong desire to learn through hard work, perseverance, and curiosity.  Through these means students can experience God's truth, goodness, and beauty. She loves to help parents see the joy and privilege of being the primary educators of their children.

      Rebekah and her family have quite the affinity for board games, playing pickle ball, and cooking! She loves to read, listen to podcasts and music, play with her dog, Pickles, and discuss apologetics with anyone who is willing.

      Jesslyn is a first generation American, originally from Miami, FL.  She attended Florida International University and has a degree in psychology.  She worked with her K-12 high school alma mater.  She and her husband, Gabe, moved to Chattanooga in 2009.  They have four children who have been or are a part of CBT since 2015.  She loves to interact with all the wonderful students daily and to work alongside incredible tutors as a helping hand. 

      Her interests range from historical architecture, design, history, hockey, animals, and hiking.  She also loves good food with good company.  Most of all, she loves her Savior, Jesus, and raising the family He has entrusted her with.

     Christley grew up in Memphis TN, where she attended a Classical Christian school from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She moved to Chattanooga four years ago to attend Covenant College, where she recently graduated with a BA in Sociology. She met her wonderful husband, Seth, at Covenant, who grew up attending a Classical Christian school in Portland, OR.

      One thing that excites her as both a student and a teacher is the deep relevancy of God’s goodness and why we teach our children. Psalm 19 reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge.”  She believes the best teachers are those who are excited by what they teach and who in turn foster that excitement within their students. She is thankful to be working with parents and tutors who all believe in the importance of teaching our children to recognize God’s hand in all things, including math, english, and history. She is thrilled to join the Classical Beginnings team this year as an intern!

     Christley loves reading a good book, exercising, trying out new restaurants, baking, and cooking with her husband!

     Petrina is originally from Florida and has been in Chattanooga since 2007.  She and her husband, Rob, have been married 21 years and have 4 children. She graduated from the University of Florida with a psychology degree and from the University of Georgia with a Masters in Social Work, later also becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Registered Nurse. 

     Stumbling into the homeschool world, (one that she never thought she would land) her and her husband enrolled their oldest son in CBT in 2014 and it became a beautiful partnership and mentorship to educate their children in Christian community and in the classical method. They have since had all four children attend CBT, with the oldest two who have graduated and are now at Silverdale Baptist Academy.  God has led her into a variety of medical fields and then into teaching and administrative roles in many different venues. This includes sharing her love of science with our students and now, also the privilege to help lead and serve CBT as executive director. 

     Petrina loves to spend time with her family: exploring and checking off National Parks, reading, hiking, biking, camping, and running together along with their mischievous pup, Jubilee.