Faculty Bios

Mr. Martin Cothran
Mr. Cothran, a writer and teacher who lives in Danville, Kentucky with his wife and four children, is the director of the Online Classical Academy. He is the editor of Memoria Press's "Classical Teacher" magazine, and is the author of Memoria Press's Traditional Logic, Material Logic, and Classical Rhetoric programs, as well as Lingua Biblica: Old Testament Stories in Latin. He is the Latin, Logic, and Rhetoric Instructor at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an M.A. in Christian Apologetics from the Simon Greenleaf School (Trinity University).

For the past 15 years, he has been an influential voice on public policy issues at the Kentucky State Capitol. His articles on current issues have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Louisville Courier-Journal, The Lexington Herald-Leader, and various other newspapers around Kentucky. He has served on several state commissions dealing with state education policy and is a frequent guest on Kentucky Educational Television’s "Kentucky Tonight" program, a weekly PBS program broadcast statewide. He has been heard on ABC Radio News, American Family Radio, and Family News in Focus.

Mr. Cothran is a popular speaker and author who has been described as “a master of the 30-second sound bite” by the Lexington Herald-Leader, and “articulate and relentless” by the Associated Press.

Mr. Glen Moore
Mr. Moore holds a B.S. in Secondary Science Education and a Master of Divinity in Missions from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, teaches Latin, pre-algebra, and middle school science at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky.  Mr. Moore has taught science, math, and Latin at Palmetto Christian Academy in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, as well as physics at the Western School of Technology and Environmental Science in Baltimore.  Glen, with his wife, Bethany, and two sons, Graydon and Ian, plans to pursue Bible Translation work somwhere in South Asia.

 

Mrs. Laura Bateman
Laura teaches 4th grade at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, KY. She and her husband, Nick, moved to Louisville to allow him to complete his Masters of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before moving to Louisville, Laura and her husband lived in Jackson, TN. In Jackson, she taught 3rd grade at the Augustine School. This was her first exposure to classical education and where her love for it began! Also in Jackson, she received her B.M. in Music Education from Union University. She and her husband have served in music and youth ministries for many years. She has greatly enjoyed teaching the Summer Latin Camp and looks forward to teaching for the online academy this fall!

Mr. Jim Fielder
Jim Fielder is a revolutionary figure in popular music. Mr. Fielder was the founding bassist with the legendary band Blood, Sweat, and Tears in the late 60s and early 70s, a group that not only produced hugely popular hits such as "Spinning Wheel," "When I Die," "You Make Me So Very Happy," "God Bless the Child" (on all which you can hear Mr. Fielder playing bass), and many more, but was also the key influence on other supergroups such as Tower of Power and Chicago. Mr. Fielder, who has been Neil Sedaka's bassist for 32 years, also played bass on the first two albums for the supergroup Buffalo Springfield, on jazz guitarist George Benson's "Tell It Like It Is," and other recordings by Danny O'Keefe, Al Kooper, Chris Hillman, Mary McCaslin, and Gene Clark, the founder of the Byrds. You can read online interview with him here. Mr. Fielder is the only member of our staff not only to attend Woodstock, but to play at it. He is now a minister of youth at his church and lives with his wife Alyse and two sons near Tyler, Texas.

Mrs. Carrie Christensen
Carrie is a graduate of Centre College, and has completed her research for a PhD in Biology at the University of Louisville. While working on her M.S. at Tennessee Tech., she taught human anatomy and physiology, conducted research in animal behavior, and in her spare time milked cows on her family’s dairy farm!  Carrie teaches biology and anatomy and physiology at HLS and coordinates science activities for the lower school. She also teaches anatomy and physiology to nursing students at the local community college.

 

Mrs. Camille Goldston

Mrs. Goldston is a native Alabamian, a mother of six and grandmother of three. A twenty-four year homeschooling veteran, Camille has also taught classes in history, literature, composition, economics, government, and logic. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science. (Camille studied Economics at Vanderbilt University, Government with the inimitable U of H Professor, the late Ross M. Lence, classical literature with Wes Callihan at Schola Tutorials, and Christian Classical Education with Andrew Kern of the CiRCE Institute and James Daniels of The Classical School Foundation.) Camille works in CiRCE's classical rhetoric Apprenticeship program in The Lost Tools of Writing (TM). She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Covenant Academy and speaks on Christian Classical education for various groups. She teaches for the purpose of cultivating wisdom and virtue in her students and has no greater joy than to hear they walk in truth.

Mr. Stephen Long
Mr. Long currently resides in Louisville, KY, where he teaches Greek, Latin, and Mathematics to students of various ages at The Highlands Latin School. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics and Classical Studies from Virginia Tech, as well as an MA in Classics (Greek) from the University of Virginia. He has also done further graduate study in Hebrew and Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Mr. Long is working on a Greek textbook to be published by Memoria Press someday . . . we hope.

 

 

Mrs. Anne Parry
Mrs. Parry teaches 3rd Grade at HLS where she is an extraordinarily organized and conscientious teacher. Anne earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Georgia, and though she was tempted to attend vet school, she opted to pursue her family’s traditional craft of teaching. Anne had teaching experience in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 2nd Grade before she came to HLS, where she uses her skills to assist our 3rd graders in the transition from primary to grammar school. She is excited to be a part of Memoria Press's Online Academy and looks forward to helping her students succeed.  She and her husband reside in Louisville, KY, where they enjoy hiking and exploring the outdoors.

Miss Brooke Preston
Brooke Preston is a native of Lexington, KY. After getting a solid foundation in Latin (thanks to Mr. Cothran), Brooke moved on and to receive her B.A. in English Literature and Latin at Asbury College in Wilmore, KY. She works full time at her home church as the receptionist and assistant to the children and youth pastors (which she totally loves!); she delights in all things theatre ... especially if she gets to be a part of the production; and she has a crazy addiction to the Nancy Drew mystery games ... well, really, all things mystery-ish. To learn more, you can find her at the online school teaching Henle HS Latin 1, 2, and 3 classes.

Mrs. Christina Szrama
Mrs. Szrama attended Furman University and graduated with a Bachelors in Music Education, with an emphasis in elementary education. She lived in France for 3 years as a child, where she attended French schools. She learned French like some kids learn to swim: no other choice for survival! She kept up French throughout high school and college, even winning an all-expenses paid week to Paris as part of a French contest ("Allons en France"). She also enjoyed recording the aural lessons for Memoria Press' First Start French 1 & 2, and still travels regularly to France and Europe with her husband Ryan. She also taught at Dorothy Sayers Classical School for three years (pre-k for 3 years and middle & high school choirs for 2 years).

Mrs. Sharon Grant
Mrs. Grant holds a B.S. degree in geophysics from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and a M.S. degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M. She has worked as a nuclear engineer for Philadelphia Electric Company and for the Department of Energy at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Sharon and her wonderful husband, Steve, were married in 1989, and they have four terrific children. They have embraced a classical Christian education as their homeschooling philosophy after reading Susan Wise Bauer’s, A Well-Trained Mind. Sharon has taught Prima Latina, Latina Christiana 1, Latina Christiana 2, Henle Latin Units 1-5, Book of Roots, English from the Roots Up, Cornerstone’s Starting Points and Worldview 1 at her local homeschool co-op in San Diego County. She has also designed the Latina Christiana 1, Latina Christiana 2 and Henle Latin 1 Units 1-5 independent study courses for Memoria Press On-Line Academy. Sharon’s passion lies in the training and educating of her children, and her heart’s desire is for each of them to have a strong Biblical worldview. She also has a strong desire to help other homeschooling families continue to homeschool throughout high school and has taken on the Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 classes at Memoria Press’ On-Line Academy for that reason.

Mr. Brandon Nygaard
A native of Iowa, Mr. Brandon Nygaard graduated with Bachelors of Arts in Classics with a minor in Writing from Samford University. He is currently studying for a Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. He has served in a number of church positions and was a research assistant for a seminary professor. Brandon is excited to have the opportunity to teach and is passionate about the classical education. He is engaged to Tara, and will be getting married in November of this year.




Mr. Scott Piland
Mr. Piland is a native of Missouri who is currently a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is a candidate for the Advanced Master of Divinity degree with an emphasis in systematic and historical theology. He is 30 years old and holds a B.A. in Theology from  the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He currently teaches logic courses for the online academy, as well as handles administrative responsibilities. He lives in Louisville with his lovely wife, Sunshine, who is a stay-at-home mother with their sons, Jude Anselm and Jett Silas. His general academic interests are within the fields of philosophy and systematic theology.


Mrs. Hilary Cesare
Hilary holds a B.A. in Music from the University of Louisville, with minor concentrations in Italian and Medieval Studies. While at UofL, she was a member of the Cardinal Singers, ranked #2 choir in the world. She competed and performed in Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden, winning the 2009 World Choir Championships in South Korea. While with this choir, Hilary employed her knowledge of Latin frequently due to the extensive amount of Latin music the choir sang, even translating texts for concert programs and CD texts. She was a member of the third graduating class of the Highlands Latin School and returned to HLS this past year as the Assistant Choral Director. Hilary has a Church choir and teaches piano lessons to local homeschooling families. Recently married, her husband gave her a great name for a Latin teacher, Mrs. Cesare.
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Mr. Taylor Worley
After teaching 6th grade at Highlands Latin School during the 2004-5 school year, Mr. Worley and his wife Anna moved to Durham, England so that he could pursue a PhD in Theology from Durham University. Since returning from the UK, Mr. Worley has been able to make quite a bit of progress on his thesis and expects to finish in another year. He plans to lecture in theology and contribute broadly in the area of theology and the arts. His teaching interests consist of theology, philosophy, and art/cultural history in general. He is committed to providing a classical, Christian education for his children and to enhancing the growth of learning for many families through the online academy.