Meet our Teachers
Trust Our Experienced Educators
Here are just a few of the regular education, special education, and other teachers you'll get to know at Agora Cyber Charter School.
Betty Allen is a second-year virtual school teacher. After eight years of home schooling and four years of facilitating her children's cyber education, she taught fifth and sixth grades for a year at another Pennsylvania cyber school. In addition to her work with Agora, Betty serves as a homeschool evaluator and test administrator. She holds a BS degree in elementary education from Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, and plans to complete her master's degree in teaching and curriculum with a reading specialist certificate through Penn State next year.
Carol Bryan is a Pennsylvania-certified teacher with 14 years of teaching experience, 10 of which have been in Philadelphia. For the past four years, she taught all grades in a virtual setting utilizing the K12 curriculum. Carol earned her BS degree in education from West Chester University, and has completed graduate courses in literacy and teacher leadership. Her future plans include earning middle school certification in math and a graduate degree in education.
Shannon Clune has four years experience using the K12 virtual school curriculum. Her other teaching experience was in third and fifth grade classrooms. She has worked at an Adult Literacy Center and at Kids Peace. During the summer, Shannon volunteers in various local educational activities including Camp Ability, a camp for special needs children and their families. She received her BS degree in elementary education and special education from Kutztown University in Kutztown, PA.
Rebecca Cooper is a Pennsylvania-certified teacher with 15 years of teaching experience. She taught fourth grade at Washington Crossing Christian School in Bucks County, PA, from 1991 to 1994, and worked as a private teacher, providing learning support in the areas of reading and writing for children in elementary and middle school. Most recently, Rebecca worked as a middle school teacher in a virtual setting using the K12 curriculum. She earned her BS degree from Kutztown University and plans to pursue a MA degree in education with a specialization in curriculum and instruction.
Amber Cross has been an educator for six years. For three of those years she taught in a virtual education setting using the K12 curriculum. She has developed programs in public speaking, character education, and arts integration in both private and public schools. In virtual education, she has developed community building events, provided enrichment opportunities for students, and raised arts awareness and understanding. She has worked as a private music instructor of voice and piano for 10 years. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Valley Forge Christian College with a BS degree in elementary education, and is Pennsylvania certified in elementary education for grades K-6. Amber earned her master's degree in education, curriculum and technology through the University of Phoenix Online.
Denise Curry has experience teaching in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms. Most recently, she was an elementary teacher in a virtual setting utilizing the K12 curriculum. Prior to this teaching experience, she was a kindergarten teacher for three years at Saint Mary's School in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Other education experiences include directing a daycare/ learning center, substitute teaching in local school districts, teaching eighth grade students in a Higher Achievement Program, and working at several summer camps. Denise has a BS degree in elementary and early childhood education from East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg, PA.
Kathryn Curry starts her first year with Agora Cyber Charter School. She has had experience teaching in a variety of grade levels, both in the classroom and the virtual environment. She has taught students in pre-K and kindergarten, as well as first, second, and fourth grades. For the past three years, Kathryn worked as an elementary teacher in a virtual setting utilizing the K12 curriculum. She is dual-degreed in elementary education and early childhood education from Bloomsburg University, and is certified in elementary education by the state of Pennsylvania.
Kelli DiVito comes to Agora with six years of teaching experience. Five of those six years was spent teaching seventh and eighth grade algebra, pre-algebra, and general math courses in the public school system. She most recently taught Title One middle school math in a virtual setting. Kelli received a secondary math teaching certification from Immaculata College, and a masters in educational development and strategies from Wilkes University. She has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. Prior to teaching, she worked as a research and development engineer.
Allison Dracha starts her third year as a virtual educator working with the K12 curriculum, serving as a math specialist for middle school and parent involvement coordinator for Title 1. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in middle-level mathematics. Before working in a cyber school, Allison was employed for several years at a brick-and-mortar, inner-city, public middle school, working with at-risk and ESL students.
Holly Fiore comes to Agora with three years of virtual teaching experience utilizing the K12 curriculum. She has worked with children of various ages since 1992 in private day and public schools. The bulk of her experience lies with K-4 students, and her favorite aspect of teaching is assisting students and families in building a lifelong love for reading. Holly earned her BS in elementary education with a specialization in mental and physical impairment from West Virginia University. She is certified to teach in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and hopes to begin working on a master's degree next year.
Lori Funk began her teaching career in 1992 as a classroom teacher for students in grades K-2. She has been a virtual teacher since 2001, supporting students in grades K-8, and was one of the first teachers in the country to help K12 build a virtual school model. Prior to her virtual teaching experiences, she taught students in grades K-2 at one of the very first charter schools in New Jersey. She has directed a summer migrant education program, privately tutored homeschooled students, and directed several high school color guard programs. She graduated with a BS degree in early childhood education with elementary certification from West Chester University, and recently completed a graduate program at Walden University, earning a MA degree in education with specialization in integrating technology in the classroom.
Michelle Goodman comes to Agora with seven years of teaching experience. For the last two years she has worked in the virtual setting teaching students in grades K-4. Before that, she taught first and second grade in the Muhlenberg School District. It was during that time that she became involved in writing curriculum and creating new procedures to monitor student progress and assessment. Michelle has tutored students from the elementary through high school level, taught computer classes to staff, and directed a computer learning course for children through the Association of the Learning Disabled. She graduated from Alvernia College earning BS degrees in both early childhood and elementary education. She has a master's degree in elementary education from Kutztown University.
Erin Howe graduated summa cum laude from West Chester University in 2000 with a BS degree in elementary education. She spent four years teaching sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math and language arts at Downingtown Middle School. She is currently working towards her graduate degree in educational development and strategies from Wilkes-Barre University. Erin is Pennsylvania-certified in elementary education, middle school language arts, and middle school math. This is her second year as a virtual educator and her first year at Agora.
Michelle Johnson graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She has over 10 years experience teaching elementary and middle school students. Michelle has taught in the virtual classroom for the past year and is very familiar with the K12 Inc. curriculum.
Denise Rost is entering her fifth year of teaching in the virtual school setting and her tenth year total in the field of education. Her teaching experience spans preschool through college, and she participated in the implementation of an emergent literacy program. Her most recent experience was utilizing the K12 curriculum to support middle school students. Denise earned a BS degree in education from Shippensburg University and is nearing completion of a master's degree in curriculum and instruction.
Amy Rupp comes to Agora Cyber Charter School with seven years of teaching experience. She taught for five years in brick-and-mortar schools in Kentucky and Virginia, as well as virtually in Pennsylvania for two years. She loves interacting with students, whether it's in person or online. Amy is certified in elementary and middle school math.
Aimee Saunders has been teaching history to students in grades 7-12 for the past seven years. After graduation from West Chester University she began teaching at Collegium Charter School in West Chester, where she later served as chair of the History Department. In addition to teaching, Mrs. Saunders has directed a dozen theatrical productions and served as Director of the Collegium Dramatic Society. Mrs. Saunders has been teaching in a virtual environment since August of 2005. Mrs. Saunders continues to work on enhancing her knowledge in her beloved subject of history through graduate courses including several taken at Cambridge University in England during the summer of 2004. In addition, she is currently pursuing her masters of education degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She is thrilled to be a part of Agora Cyber Charter School and looks forward to passing on her love for history to her students.
Alyson Scheib comes to Agora with eight years experience teaching in public and private schools. She was the science coordinator for a K-8 school in Maryland and facilitated science fair programs in both Maryland and Pennsylvania. Alyson has spent the past three years working in cyber education using the K12 curriculum. During that time, she taught middle school science, coordinated school-wide science fairs, and was a master teacher for standardized testing and evaluation. Alyson earned a BS degree in secondary education and an equivalent BS degree in behavioral science from York College of Pennsylvania. She is certified to teach general science in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Eric Scheib comes to Agora with three years experience teaching in a cyber school using the K12 curriculum, during which time he served as a lead teacher for two years. Prior to teaching virtually, Eric taught students in grades 6-12 for five years in a traditional, brick-and-mortar school. He has taught in both private and public schools, chaired a social studies department, and worked for two years as a high school coordinator for ITT Technical Institute. Eric received a BA degree in secondary education social studies from York College of Pennsylvania and holds a Pennsylvania teaching certificate in secondary social studies.
Julie Schumacher is a Pennsylvania-certified teacher with a total of 13 years in education, including four years in cyber schools. Her public school teaching experience includes students in grades K-3 in the Downingtown Area School District and grades K-5 at a K12 virtual school. She has held administrative positions as an elementary master teacher, where she implemented school-wide programs and projects for the elementary school principal. Julie has participated in K12 national training in the areas of teacher leadership and development, as well as student achievement, curriculum, and assessment. She earned her BS degree in elementary education with a concentration in early childhood from Millersville University. Julie completed a master's degree with high honors at Eastern University with a reading specialist certification.
- Anonymous survey respondent