Veritas Press Teacher Training 2009

TEACHER TRAINING :: SPEAKERS | SCHEDULE | REGISTRATION

SPEAKERS FOR PLENARY SESSIONS

	Gary DeMar Gary is a graduate of Western Michigan University (1973) and earned his M.Div. at Reformed Theological Seminary in 1979. In 2007, he earned his Ph.D. in Christian Intellectual History from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Author of countless essays, news articles, and more than 27 book titles, he also hosts The Gary DeMar Show, and History Unwrapped—both broadcasted and podcasted. Gary has lived in the Atlanta area since 1979 with his wife, Carol. They have two married sons and are enjoying being grandparents to their grandson. Gary and Carol are members of Midway Presbyterian Church (PCA).

	Douglas Wilson Douglas Wilson is a Reformed and evangelical theologian, prolific author and speaker, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Id., and faculty member at New Saint Andrews College. Many credit him as the key person in reestablishing the interest in and importance of classical Christian education. Included among the many works he has written are Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, Reforming Marriage, To A Thousand Generations, and Standing on the Promises. Additionally, he is the general editor of the Omnibus curriculum, a great books curriculum published by Veritas Press.

SPEAKERS FOR WORKSHOPS

	Scott Baker Scott Baker has taught Rhetoric and Communication Studies for over twenty years in a wide variety of courses. He has held positions at the University of Virginia, the University of Maryland, Goucher College, UNC-Greensboro, and Liberty University. He is currently an instructor at Bowling Green State University. Baker's contributions to the classical Christian setting include teaching Rhetoric at New Covenant Schools for eleven years where he also developed and directed the Senior Thesis program.

	Patch Blakey Patch Blakey is the Executive Director for the Association of Classical and Christian Schools and a member of the board for Logos School, Moscow, ID. He is a ruling elder at Trinity Reformed Church in Moscow. He and his wife Deb have four children

	Deb Chapin Deb Chapin is the second grade teacher at Veritas Academy. Her classroom management is a joy to behold. But the best thing we can tell you about her is what our son had to say ten years ago when she was his teacher: "Mom how do you get held back?"

	Marsha Davis Marsha Davis has been teaching in Christian schools for 15 years. Ten of those years have been at Calvary Classical School in Hampton, VA, where she taught multiple subjects to grammar and rhetoric students, including Latin. She has also been involved in academic planning and curriculum development for a number of years. She received her B.A. in Bible and Christian Education in 1991and her M.A. in Elementary Education in 1992 from Columbia International University. Over the years she has received further summer training at various classical Christian schools as well as training in the Institute for Excellence In Writing program. Marsha is originally from Florence, SC. She enjoys reading, good music, and going to the opera on occasion. She also enjoys playing golf, tennis, and volleyball. She currently lives in Hampton, VA. Her husband, Tracy, is senior pastor of Berachah Church, a local Reformed Baptist fellowship. They have two children, Rebekah, age 14 and Isaac, age 12.

	Stan Deen Stan Deen has taught drama and a whole plethora of courses in his long and varied career. He currently teaches at Veritas Academy, Lancaster County, Pa. His career includes a lengthy tenure at Garden Spot High School, New Holland, Pa., where he was recently honored by having their performing arts auditorium named after him—and he didn’t give a cent for it. He also served as a writer and director at the Sight and Sound Theater, a 2,000+ seat theater in Lancaster.

	Graham Dennis Graham Dennis is the Logic teacher for Veritas Press Scholars Academy and full-time teacher at Veritas Academy, Lancaster County, Pa. He holds a Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of South Carolina and a Masters in Philosophy from Boston College. He and his wife Stephanie are the proud parents of three children.

	Laurie Detweiler Laurie Detweiler is well known for her creativity and the sense of wonder she brings to children in her educational endeavors is a vice president and owner of Veritas Press. She has authored and published numerous books and curricular products. She was instrumental in founding two classical Christian schools, The Geneva School, Orlando, Fl., and Veritas Academy, Lancaster, Pa. In both instances she served as the curriculum coordinator for several years. Her involvement in classical Christian education, initially motivated to help her children, has made her a favorite speaker, consultant, and writer.She and her husband Marlin have four boys, Jameson, Brandon, Travis, and Parker.

	Marlin Detweiler Marlin Detweiler is the president and founder of Veritas Press, a classical Christian education company. He and his wife initiated the founding of The Geneva School, Orlando, Fl., (1992), and later, Veritas Academy in Lancaster, Pa. Marlin serves as a permanent board member of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools. He graduated with a B.A. in Business from North Carolina State University, where he played golf. He and his wife, Laurie, are the parents of four sons: Jameson, Brandon, Travis, and Parker.

	Nancy Donaldson Nancy Donaldson is the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Grace Academy, Georgetown, Tx. She graduated from Louisiana State University and has been involved in classical Christian education in numerous capacities for 16 years. She and her husband Bob (who serves on the ACCS board) have two children.

	Tammy Duby Tammy Duby is well-known for her book The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook. She and her husband Mike own Tobin’s Lab, which specializes in unique and interesting items to make science fascinating. Tammy has taught and lectured on many different subjects over the years and has homeschooled their two children.

	Bruce Etter Bruce Etter is the Administrator of Veritas Press Scholars Academy. He has also taught Omnibus and several other disciplines at Veritas Academy and has previously taught extensively at two other Christian schools. He holds a Masters of Religion and Bachelors in Bible from Columbia International University. Bruce and his family recently moved from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Lancaster County. He and his wife Julie are the parents of five children.

	Julie Etter Julie Etter participated extensively in writing lesson plans for Veritas Press Scholars and currently currently is the instructor for the Middle Ages Renaissance and Reformation Scholars course. She has worked with multiple grammar school grade levels and has served as Foreign Missions Coordinator in Christian schools. Julie and her husband Bruce reside in Lancaster, Pa., with their five children.

	Ty Fischer Ty Fischer has been the headmaster at Veritas Academy since 1997. He graduated from Grove City College and holds a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Ms. He is a permanent member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools. He is the Managing Editor of the Omnibus Curriculum Project from Veritas Press, and with his wife wrote the Veritas Press Bible curriculum. Ty and his wife, Emily, live in Lancaster County, Pa., with their four girls.

	Sidney Henriquez Sidney Henriquez is the headmaster of Stratford Classical Christian Academy, Stratford, N.J. He has served as a headmaster and teacher in classical Christian schools for over 14 years. He served as a writer and consultant for Veritas Press, and he frequently speaks on various distinctives of classical Christian education. He lives in Magnolia, N.J., with his wife and 8 children.

	Jackie Lake Jackie Lake is presently the kindergarten teacher at Veritas Academy. She has been teaching kindergarten for the past seven years at Veritas and has taught at two other Christian schools before that. She has had opportunity to teach in all the elementary grades but loves the kindergartners. She lives with her husband, David, and three children in Lancaster.

	Gene Liechty Gene Liechty is development director for Cary Christian School, Cary, N.C. His expertise and success in fundraising and development have enabled the school to grow meteorically. He also serves as the pastor of Christ Church of North Carolina. He is married to Kimberly, and they have four children.

	Pixie Lichtenstein Pixie Lichtenstein has been a homeschool mother for fifteen years. She is co-founder of a classical education co-op and has taught for eight years. She has been a speaker at conferences hosted by Blackburn Study Center and the Veritas Teacher Training. Pixie has used and instructed the Institute for Excellence in Writing program for the last eight years.

	Jim Nance Jim Nance has taught at Logos School, Moscow, Id., since 1990. Most known for his Logic texts, he teaches logic, rhetoric, doctrine, calculus, and physics at Logos School in Moscow, Id. He has been teaching since 1990. He is an elder at Christ Church and lives in Moscow with his wife Giselle and four children.

	Chris Perrin Chris Perrin was the headmaster of Covenant Christian Academy, Harrisburg, Pa., from its founding in 1997 until 2007. He has taught at Messiah College and Chesapeake Theological Seminary. Chris serves as publisher with Classical Academic Press, which publishes texts and media for classical schools and homeschools. He received his B.A from the University of South Carolina, an M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary in California, and a Ph.D. in Apologetics from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Chris and his wife Christine live in Camp Hill, Pa., with their three children.

	*Andrew Pudewa* Andrew Pudewa is the director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Nationally acclaimed, he travels frequently, speaking on issues relating to teaching, writing, thinking, spelling, and music with clarity, insight, practical experience, and humor. He lives in California with his wife Robin. They have seven children, three of which remain in their homeschool.

	*Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt* Thomas J. (Tj) Schmidt is the eldest of nine children and was taught at home for most of his life. Several of those years were spent homeschooling in foreign mission fields in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Tj enrolled in the Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy, a distance learning law school based out of California. Shortly after receiving his J.D. at Oak Brook, Tj came to work at HSLDA as a Legal Assistant. After passing the California bar and working at HSLDA for more than a year, Tj became one of the staff attorneys. Tj now enjoys answering general legal questions and assists members experiencing legal difficulties for the nine states he is responsible for at HSLDA. Tj and his wife, Susan (who was also taught at home), have three children, Josiah (5), Suzanna (3) and Ella (1), with another on the way. They look forward to teaching all of their children at home.

	Ken Spirduso Ken Spirduso has many animated film credits with studios such as Sullivan-Bluth in Dublin, Ireland and Walt Disney Animation-Florida and Project Firefly Animation, in Orlando, FL. Working as a layout artist, he designed backgrounds for films such as Thumbelina, The Lion King, Pocahontas, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Tarzan, Lilo and Stitch and painted backgrounds for Brother Bear and Curious George. Ken has created paintings for Walt Disney Imagineering that appear in the Magic Kingdom, painted commissioned portraits and historical art. He currently works as a senior concept artist for a studio in Orlando. Ken has taught background painting at Project Firefly Animation and portrait painting at EA/Tiburon and the Orlando Museum of Art. His work can be viewed at www.spirduso.com. Having received a classical training in art, Ken is committed to passing on that knowledge to students of all ages. He received a BFA in Illustration from the University of Kansas, studied for a summer in Great Britain, and attended Atelier Lack in Minneapolis. Ken and his wife, Caroline, have two children, Ian and Katherine.

	*R.C. Sproul, Jr.* R.C. Sproul Jr. is a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary, and Grove City College. He received his Doctorate of Ministry in 2001. R.C. was the founding pastor of and is a teaching elder at Saint Peter Presbyterian Church, and Founder, Chairman and Teacher of the Highlands Study Center. He has written or edited ten books, and contributed to several others. He once wrote for WORLD magazine, and for the Covenant Syndicate. The important thing is that he is the husband of Denise, and the father of Darby, Campbell, Shannon, Delaney, Erin Claire, Maili, and Reilly. At the Highlands Study Center, R.C. teaches the Tuesday Night Bible study, the Highlands Academy classes, the Highlands Hall students, and serves as executive editor of Every Thought Captive. When not busy teaching, or playing with the children, he is snow skiing, golfing, or trying to solve a Sudoku puzzle.

	*Anne Stublen* Anne Stublen graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1991. She worked for six years for the DuPont Company in a variety of engineering positions before retiring to stay home after the birth of her first child. When her third child entered kindergarten, she began a second career as a rhetoric level math teacher at Tall Oaks Classical School in Newark, DE where she taught algebra II and pre-calculus. She now teaches for Veritas Press Scholars Academy as well as homeschools her children. Her students report that she has an inexplicable love of the unit circle and has been known to rave about the beauty of calculus.

	*Eric Vanderhoof* Eric Vanderhoof is the administrator of Midland Christian Academy. He has taught at Dominion Leadership Academy and Veritas Academy. His talent and energy have inspired many grammar school children. He has a wealth of information to share. He lives in Michigan with Lisa, his wife. They have six children.

	*Greg Wilbur* Gregory Wilbur is an acclaimed director and composer, director of fine arts at Franklin Classical School, and professor of aesthetics at Bannockburn College in Franklin, Tn. He lives in Middle, Tn.., with his wife and daughter.

	Jay Wile Jay Wile is the author of several courses offered by Apologia Educational Ministries. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in nuclear chemistry. In 1994 he wrote his first course to assist homeschooling families. From there he continued and has completed a set of science texts for high school children studying at home or school. His humor and ability to express ideas has contributed to his immense popularity as a nationally-known speaker.

	Nancy Wilson Nancy Wilson has taught English literature at Logos School, Moscow, Id. She is a noted author, having written Praise Her in the Gates, The Fruit of Her Hands, and Building Her House, and she is a contributor to Credenda/Agenda magazine. She is married to Douglas Wilson and has three children and 13 grandchildren.