American Government, American History, Geography, Intro to Theology, Western Civilization
David Bashore is entering his seventh year as a Cornerstone Tutor. He has previous teaching experience both as a pastor and as a high school social studies teacher, and also is an adjunct professor in the communications department at Anne Arundel Community College. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and is working on his Master’s through Dallas Theological Seminary. Outside of education, David is a travel agent, husband and father of 3 teenaged boys, amateur chef, and a huge sports fan (particularly soccer).
Psychology, Child and Human Development
Theresa Berkoski joined the Board this winter as our Guidance Counselor. She is an intent listener and revels in peer growth. Theresa is a native Marylander who currently lives in Southern Maryland with her College Sweetheart, Dan, whom she has been married to for 22 years. Together, they have 2 kids-Ryan Daniel (12) and Kayleigh Jayne (15) and their Australian Labradoodle Tucker. She has a Masters Degree in Counseling and College Student Personnel from Shippensburg University and a Bachelors from University of MD in Family Studies and an Associates Degree in Early Childhood. Her career has spanned both the private and public sector, as well more than six schools between three states. She has worked in a number of capacities that include Teaching,Counseling, Resident Life, Student Affairs,Biblical Field Counseling & Crisis Management. Additionally, she has a huge heart for helping youth find their passion and connecting the dots to their future. Please don’t hesitate to connect with her about any of the classes she is teaching, any issues you are concerned about you or your child may be struggling through. She would love to be a source of prayer and resource to you or your family.
Music Theory, Music History, World Music
Becky Case earned her degree in Music Education with an emphasis in the flute and choral conducting through Grove City College in 2004. After graduation, she worked for Calvert County Public Schools for 10 years as a middle school choir and music appreciation teacher while also directing her school’s yearly drama production and occasionally serving as the woodwind specialist for her local high school’s marching band. She left teaching in 2014 to become a stay at home mom and foster parent. She has since become a homeschool educator and has gone on to teach multiple music and drama classes at the various homeschool co-ops that her four daughters have attended. Becky has a passion for teaching middle and high school level students and is excited to support and encourage homeschool families through her work at Cornerstone. In her free time, Becky enjoys camping, reading, and playing board games. Her family currently attends Riverdale Baptist Church.
Art, Anatomy, Health
I have a master’s degree in Healthcare Services Leadership and Management, with a Focus in Nursing Education as well as advanced certificates in education across the lifespan. As an Associate Professor at the Community College of Baltimore County, I developed, implemented and has coordinated blended versions of three nursing courses, coordinated the Associate to Bachelor’s Degree Program, and served as the head of the curriculum committee.
Three years ago, I resigned from my full-time position to homeschool my two youngest daughters. Our experiences over the past few years have fostered an appreciation for the psychological, social and academic benefits of homeschooling. My middle daughter, Sarah, attends Cornerstone Tutorial. Cornerstone has blessed Sarah academically and emotionally. This inspired me to teach for the tutorial.
Prior to becoming a nurse, I worked as a graphic artist, web-designer and marketing coordinator. My family and I enjoy creating artistic and practical projects together and participating in arts and crafts shows. I endeavor to capitalize on students’ artistic interests to facilitate achievement of individual academic and career goals in multiple disciplines. For example, by teaching anatomy and science using art, it is my hope that students will learn anatomy, physiology and health content while also improving their artistic skills.
Drama
Coming Soon
General Science, Life and Earth Science & Chemistry
Rachel graduated from Albion College (Albion, Michigan) with honors in chemistry and a minor in cell and molecular biology in 2004. While at Albion, she worked for several semesters as a teaching assistant in chemistry labs and wrote an honors thesis related to public health and smallpox bio-terrorism. She enjoys having the opportunity to tutor at Cornerstone as a ministry to local homeschooling families, as an encouragement to your children’s faith, and as a resource to help them pursue their future college and career endeavors. Outside of Cornerstone, she is a homeschool parent of four children (ages 13, 10, 8, and 4), and enjoys periodically leading Bible studies at her family’s church in Crofton, traveling, meals with friends, and reading.
American Literature and British Literature
My name is Michele Harlow. This will be the second year I have taught at Cornerstone, although my kids have been attending here for several years. I have a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I began my career in teaching at Calvary Baptist Church Academy in Glen Burnie. When my husband and I started our family, I stopped teaching to stay at home with our children. I subsequently began homeschooling and have been doing so ever since. While our oldest is now attending college in Ohio, our three other kids are still at home.
My family attends Grace Pointe Community Nazarene where I teach a high school Sunday school class and a 2nd and 3rd grade Caravan scouting class. I am an active part of our Children’s Council and a member of our church homeschool group. I have always loved reading. It comes as no surprise that God has presented the opportunity to teach American Literature. I am excited to dive into the classics that represent our nation’s history and move into the more modern era of writing with the Cornerstone students.
American Sign Language (ASL)
I started learning American Sign Language (ASL) in my 10th grade year of high school, only because Spanish did not go so well in the 9th grade. I never knew 10 years later I would be an ASL interpreter. I also did not know I would have this wonderful relationship with The Lord.
My name is Chelsea Hertz. I am first a Child of God. I am also a wife and new mother. My husband and I are currently apart of a team of amazing people who are planting a church! The church will be known as College Creek Church and will be located in Annapolis. We currently are meeting weekly with our core team to worship and discuss all the things you need to know about a church to plant. We will be launching sometime August of 2021.
I grew up in Texas and moved to Maryland in 2013, where I knew I would have access to the Deaf Community. I attended Community College of Baltimore County and obtained two associate degrees: ASL interpreter preparation and ASL and Deaf Culture. Currently I attend online with Carolina University to achieve my bachelor’s in ASL interpreting, with a minor in ministry.
I have been working as a Freelance ASL interpreter for the last two years and have recently began working as a Video Interpreter with ZVRS. I have a background of working with many different individuals in many different settings, such as: medical, education, theatrical and VRS. The amazing part about this is it opens my eyes to the beauty of diversity that we will see in Heaven.
Some things that I love: my cats, coffee, and having girl time with my friends.
Pre-Algebra and Algebra 2
Marjorie Impraim is a homeschool mom to her five people and wife to the one of a kind Eric Impraim : ) Together they reside in Maryland, just a short distance from the Chesapeake Bay. She has always had a love for math and science and therefore graduated with a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Maryland at College Park. It was there that she encountered Jesus.
Her coursework testified to the great order of everything from the tiny cell to the massive universe. How could anyone NOT believe in an all-wise God and Creator? After college she started her career as a Research Associate at The Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md. where she and her team sequenced several bacterial genomes used environmentally.
During that time period she began to feel that “oh-so-familiar” tug on her heart to be a full-time wife and mom to her young family. It was during this time that she learned of this movement that was sweeping her area called “homeschooling.” She readied herself by tutoring local college students in Basic College Math, Calculus and Organic Chemistry. As her family grew, she began to teach at and eventually oversee a homeschool coop. She loves to teach about missions, geography, math, and science.
Her other love is teaching small group Women’s Bible studies and engaging in biblical counseling. Together, Eric and Marjorie serve the Lord at their church of nearly 20 years, Calvary Chapel Breath of Life, where Eric is an associate pastor. In their spare time they do a lot of laughing. (Their kids say it’s too much). Her desire is to see people know Jesus and enjoy Him forever.
Intro to Computer Science
My name is Stephen Impraim. I am a Cornerstone alum from the class of 2019. In May of 2023, I will be receiving my B.S. in Computer Science: cyber operations with a minor in Biblical Studies. I have spent the past four years gaining both academic and professional experience in the field of computer science. I fellowship at Calvary Chapel Breath of Life in Landover, Md and I am passionate about musical worship and youth ministry.
Mathematics
Amy started tutoring math when she was in 11th grade and first met Jesus through a math project with a classmate her senior year.
She went on to The Ohio State University and completed a BS in Electrical Engineering and a BS in Computer and Information Science Engineering and then worked 11 years for IBM doing logic design, technical sales, and network management consulting and education.
Her focus shifted to “Mom” when her first child was born, and from 1997 – 2011 she taught math to homeschooled high school students at Cornerstone Tutorial in Severna Park, Maryland. Additionally, she directed the children’s ministry at her church. In 2011 she moved on to Annapolis Area Christian School along with two of her children, where she taught high school math for nine years, and in 2020 she returned to Cornerstone.
She is passionate about math and problem solving and sees the reasoning skills of math as essential to the pursuit of Biblical truth. She LOVES helping students learn new skills and seeing the light bulb come on! In her spare time, she enjoys the outdoors (especially downhill skiing and SUPing!), cooking, choir, oboe, and spending time with her husband and/or three+ adult children.
Recommendations can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-jenkins-310a3331/.
English 2, Literature, Speech/Creative Writing
I’m Dani Pettrey. I have a heart for homeschoolers. I homeschooled both of my daughters all the way through graduation. One owns her own business and is a marketing strategist and my older daughter will be graduating with a doctorate in statistics in December. I’ve enjoyed teaching writing and history at several co-ops over the years. I love working with budding writers and students eager to learn. I was a Classics major in college and adore ancient history. I’m a wife of thirty-one years, a grandmother to two adorable boys, a professional speaker and a Publisher’s Weekly and #1 Amazon bestselling author of Christian fiction. I teach at writing conferences across the country and speak regularly at women’s ministry events. I’m excited to be teaching English 2, Creative Writing, Speech and Ancient Literature as I’m passionate about them all. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, spending lots of time at the beach, and visiting as many coffee shops as I can.
English 1
Emily Risner fell in love with grammar and literature during her first “Comp & Lit” class at Cornerstone Tutorial in 2000, under the wonderful tutelage of Tutor Emerita Cindy Herndon. Inspired by Mrs. Herndon’s passion for great literature, and encouraged by her gracious support, Emily determined without a doubt that analyzing texts was her passion, and a degree in Literature was the only path for her.
Emily completed her Associates Degree at Anne Arundel Community College before transferring to Washington College in Chestertown, MD where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. During her years at Washington College, her faith and her love of literature overlapped under the instruction of a professor who in one class taught the Old Testament from a strictly literary perspective and, in another, taught Chaucer and Tolkein in such a way that the universal truths of the Christian faith were undeniably pronounced. This way of finding art in the Bible, and Biblical truth in real life, has shaped how Emily has approached all of life and education since then.
Shortly after graduation, Emily got married and together she and her husband lived on a farm on the Eastern Shore. They later moved to Baltimore City where three of their children were born. Child number four was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where the Risner family lived, worked, and homeschooled for 6 years before moving back to the USA. These days, Emily is happy to be living in Annapolis where she grew up. In between homeschool lessons for her four children, Emily enjoys baking, playing card games, and going on walks in the woods.
Physics and Physical Science
My name is Myra Russell and I live in Windsor Mill in Baltimore County. I was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. I graduated from Clemson University (Go Tigers!) in 1991, with a Bachelor of Science in Science Teaching, with an emphasis in Mathematics. My family moved to Maryland in 2015 when my husband transferred here for his job. We have one son, Jacob, whom I homeschool. Our family are very active members of Severn Run Evangelical Presbyterian Church. I currently volunteer at the food pantry at Severn Run EPC and Celestial Manna pantry at Severna Park EPC. In my free time, I enjoy reading mysteries, hanging out with other homeschool families, and baking.
I taught Physics at Cornerstone for the 2017-18 and 2019-20 school years and had a wonderful time. I am amazed how God created a world where things precisely move at His design. I look forward to sharing the Study of Motion to students through experiments and discussion.
Guitar
Eddie Spuler holds a degree in Guitar Performance from the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. These studies were in preparation to use in church music ministry, Eddie’s passion from a young age. He has been on staff as the music pastor at CrossPointe Church in Arnold, MD since 2015. There he has the joy of leading worship, writing songs, among other body life and pastoral responsibilities. Eddie has been teaching guitar for over 10 years in various musical styles. Apart from greater instrument facility and appreciation for music, Eddie’s greatest desire is that his students come away with an awe at the beautiful, creative, and gracious God who gave us the gift of music.
Pre-Calculus
(William Swick) Bill is a new tutor at Cornerstone this year. Previously, he was a US Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Officer. He holds a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate School and taught for 8 years at the US Naval Academy before retiring in 2020. Most recently, he taught PreCalc and AP Calc at Mount de Sales Academy. He has been married to his college sweetheart, Laura, for 25 years and is a father of six kids, ages 21 through 6, all who have had a homeschooled classical education. In his free time, he enjoys coaching, hand-cycling, and chess.
Photography and Yearbook
Laura Wiegmann majored in Photography with a minor in Journalism at UMBC, and started her business, Laura’s Eyes Photography, in 1995. She has done countless weddings and portraits, with a specialty in photographing people with special needs. More recently, her focus is dual: Commercial Photography, and also people and events on boats. In 2016, she won the Home Based Business Champion of the Year award for the State of Maryland from the Small Business Administration. Personally, Laura has raised 6 children ranging in age from 34 to 17. Her family attends Lake Shore Baptist Church, where she has been a youth leader for many years, and attends Centrifuge camp, a week-long camp for teens, annually.
Biology
I grew up in a Christian family and have followed Christ all my life. In college, I studied to become a dietitian, and in the process found my husband Steve. After graduating with my bachelor’s, I continued with my education and completed my master’s degree in human nutrition and my PhD in Nutritional Biology. Our daughter was born the year before I finished my PhD and I have been a stay-at-home/homeschool mom ever since. However, not wanting to leave my profession and with the Lord’s provision, I have also worked part-time at the university level for most of the last 15 yrs. I know and appreciate the scientific method, but I also find God’s creation awe inspiring and include both when teaching science.
Spanish
Alejandra is a native Peruvian and mother of two, a girl and a boy. She graduated from St. Augustine University in Peru with a degree in Business Administration. Upon her arrival in the U.S. in 2007 she worked in Early Childhood Development, attaining multiple certifications while working with pre-school and young school age children. She understands what people go through when learning a new language, having arrived in the U.S. with little fluency in English. Alejandra and her husband Reid have homeschooled their two children their entire lives, which revealed to her a love for her language and culture she had previously taken for granted. Her work as a professional educator and experience as a home educator has further stoked a passion for education and the inherent experimentation needed to discover the best possible approach for each unique and individual child. She has also tutored privately as an au pair before starting her own business as a Spanish tutor, as well as leading classes at the co-ops her children have attended.