Mrs. Coker-Garcia earned a Master’s of Education degree with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction and a Bachelor’s of Journalism degree, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She also holds Texas lifetime teaching certificates for Secondary Social Studies and for Journalism.

Mrs. Coker-Garcia started her career teaching middle school history for HISD, where she served on the Site Based Decision Making Committee and chaired an innovative summer school program. After leaving the public schools she went to a private alternative school working with middle and high school students and their teachers as a learning specialist.

When her oldest daughter achieved school-age Mrs. Coker-Garcia committed to home schooling. Over the years she has been active in several support groups, organized many “outside” classes, set up hundreds of field trips, coached students participating in history fairs and the geography bee, sponsored a Gavel Club, taught at several co-ops and led two troops of home schooled Girl Scouts.

Mrs. Tamahara Floyd earned a Bachelors of Education degree from the University of Houston – Clear Lake. She also holds her Texas teaching certificate for Early childhood education through 4th grade. Mrs. Floyd started her career as a first grade teacher for Galena Park I.S.D. and then as the Art teacher for Kindergarten through fifth grade. After having her three boys she decided to homeschool and has been a homeschool parent/teacher for the last 10 years.

Over the years she has taught at various homeschool co-ops, been active as a volunteer pre-school teacher at the church she attends, provided tutoring services for children in her community and planned numerous field trips. Tamahara joins the staff as the new kindergarten teacher and is excited to share her passion for teaching and love of reading with her students.

Linda Hendrix holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering. She has taught math for HEP for 22 years. Mrs. Hendrix has had great success in preparing students for College Calculus. San Jacinto College has been very impressed with the students who come from the HEP classes. Currently, she is teachng Algebra 1/2, Algebra 2, Honors Advanced Mathematics, Honors Calculus, and Honors Physics. Mrs. Hendrix home schooled her three children, one of whom won the National Merit Scholarship in 2006. Her children were actively involved in CHSA Athletics. Her daughter graduated from Baylor Law School in 2015 as the #1 graduate. Her second daughter earned her doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2020.

Ms. Jasinski joins the HEP TX staff as the new art teacher and will teach Creativity in the Classical School. As a young child, Ms. Jasinski discovered her love for art, dance, and creative movement. As an adult, she continued her passon through teaching, sharing, and making a difference helping others discover and grow their talents. After 16 years of teaching in a local dance studio, Ms. Jasinski continued teaching art and creative movement at summer camps and in local outreach. She also taught in after school programs working with Pre-K through 12th grades and with special needs students. Ms. Jasinski studied art in college (TAMU) and continued to participate in classes and worshops taught by many professional artists learning techniques in various mediums including painting and drawing.

Ms. Jaskinski is also a certified Ageless Grace Educator teaching fitness for the body and the brain and has recently trained in their program 4 Ever Fit 4 Kidz. This program is designed to develop both physical and cognitive skills through the stimulation of neuroplasticity while being playful, spontaneous, and creative .

Recently inducted into the Texas Home School “Hall of Fame,” Joanne Juren has over forty years experience as an educator, with experience as both a teacher and administrator in public schools and college, and twenty-nine years as a home educator in the homeschooling community. Mrs. Juren has a B.A. in English/History Teacher Education, a M.Ed. in Educational Administration, and a Texas Professional Mid-Management (Principal’s) Certificate (18 doctoral hours). She is the founder and National Executive Director of Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society and the National Home School Science Honor Society, and owner of the HEP Bookstore and Home Education Partnership of Texas. She has served as a member of the San Jacinto College Honors Committee, and as an administrator at the college.

She was the first winner of the “Home School Best Pioneer” Award by the Calvert School in 2002 and is also a member of “Who’s Who of American High School Teachers.” The author of nine books, she is a popular speaker and has appeared on national television as an advocate of home schooling. She has been an active member of Sagemont Church since 1975 and was active in Boy Scouting for 15 years and served as a featured panelist in the BSA Training Video for Youth Protection. The Jurens have two sons, both who were homeschooled and today, one is a patent attorney and the other holds an MBA and a JD and works for their other company, Gilmore Global Instruments, Inc.. A world traveler, Mrs. Juren brings a wealth of knowledge, excitement, and experience to the classroom. In her spare time, she is Nana to the five most wonderful grandchildren in the world. Three attend classes at HEP TX.

Returning to teaching after a two-year break, Melissa Juren rejoins the HEP faculty to teach classical school computer science and accelerated math. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Houston, spent a year with NASA at Ellington Field completing a programming internship, and taught at HEP for nine years before taking a break to homeschool her three children full time. In addition to the classical school, Melissa has taught both middle school and high school classes including programming, web design, game design, graphic design, Microsoft Office, robotics, 3D animation, digital art, computer literacy, digital citizenship, typing, and the summer STEAM camps. Melissa also serves as the HEP Graduation Media Coordinator and is responsible for recording and editing student and parent speeches, creating student slideshows and parent videos, and designing the ceremony program booklet. Outside of teaching, she enjoys reading, horror movies, video games, karaoke, and travelling as much as possible.

KoKo Ma is a well known archer and is currently ranked #1 in the Texas Field & Archery Association and Regional Champion. He has competed against many Olympians and is currently aiming for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He also got invited to Taiwan in 2019 for the Olympic trials and trained with their national team for a year. With 14 years of shooting and 11+ years of coaching, he has students as young as 11 years old with multi-state and national titles under his guidance. And, he also coached HEP’s Delaney Elrod! She says that KoKo is awesome!

Mandy McDonald brings over twenty years of teaching experience to HEP as the Classical School Language Arts teacher. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in elementary education, she moved to Texas and taught first and second grades in Fort Bend ISD and CyFair ISD for numerous years. She left that educational setting when she followed her husband’s work to Moscow, Russia, for part of a year. While there, Mandy volunteered in an orphanage twice a week. She later worked for a private reading tutor and returned to the public schools teaching second grade in CCISD.

Mandy began homeschooling their three daughters 13 years ago. Since then, she taught at various co-ops, local classes, and at a hybrid program in the Clear Lake community. Over the years, she instructed individual and small group reading and writing classes out of her home. A trained reading interventionist in the Orton-Gillingham methodology for elementary-aged children, Mandy enjoys empowering students and partnering with parents in their homeschool journey.

Jessica Peterson is new to HEP and will teach 7th grade English. Mrs. Peterson holds a BA in English Literature and has previous experience as a special education aide and preschool teacher at her church. She also has 10 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector, and this fall will begin her 3rd year as a homeschool educator to her 3 children – Cadence (11), Milo (7), and Eloise (3). Jessica lives in Friendswood with her husband, who was also raised in a homeschool family and is a CPA with Peterson CPA Firm, their children, and their dog Miles. Mr. Peterson is a former HEPTX student. In her spare time, Mrs. Peterson enjoys reading, visiting museums, and playing games as a family. She also values community service and regularly volunteers with her kids at the Well on Masters Rd. in Manvel.

Cheryl Red teaches Algebra 1, Life Science, Honors/AP Chemistry 1 and 2, Honors/AP Biology 1, and Accelerated Math. Mrs. Red has a B.A. in Microbiology, a B.S. in Medical Technology, and a M.S. in Biology. She also serves as the Math/Science Chairperson for HEP. She has three children and homeschooled for thirteen years. She has taught science classes ranging from Physical Science to Chemistry for the last thirteen years to home schooled students in the Clear Lake area. Part of the HEP SAT Test Team, Mrs. Red teaches the math preparation for college entrance tests. Mrs. Red also serves as the Chairman of the Math and Science Department for HEP and is currently the chairman of the AP program at HEP TX.

With a love for history, a strong biblical background, and multiple experiences abroad, Sue Rothberg brings a unique set of experiences to the Journey Through Time program. An experienced Bible Studies teacher, she has 1 year of seminary and Precept training as part of her resume. She also teaches math and science in Classical School, “Chemistry and Physics” for sixth grade, Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, Marine Biology, Meteorology/Environmental Science, and Math. She has a BS in biochemistry, BS in meteorology, and a MSBA. She served in the USAF as a meteorology officer, manager of a clothing store, and has given private piano lessons for 15 years. A big history buff and a Sunday School Teacher of many years, her biblical background will be a huge plus for JTT. Her husband is on the pastoral staff of Sagemont church. Her three sons (one an attorney, one a HPD officer, one a real estate agent) were homeschooled and the oldest two were 2 of the first 4 students in HEP TX when it began.

Sarah Silva earned a Bachelor’s Degree of Education from the University of Houston- Clear Lake in 2011. Her previous Texas State Certifications were EC-6th Generalist and 4-8 Language Arts, so she has taught at many grade levels. She has taught in public and private school setting before deciding to homeschool her children in 2019. Though teaching reading is her passion, she has also enjoyed teaching electives like cooking, community service, and yearbook. She joined the HEP faculty in 2020 teaching Spanish in the classical school and Kindergarten in 2021. She joins the staff again this year teaching English 8 and Classical School World Geography. Sarah also serves as the Children’s Ministry Director for RESONATE Church in La Marque, TX alongside her husband Jeremy, the Discipleship Pastor. They share two children who attend HEP.

Mrs. Trejo was born and raised in West Texas and attended Abilene Christian University for her undergraduate degree. She holds a BA in Business Administration and has taught in PISD for many years in elementary and middle schools. As an accomplished math educator, Mrs. Trejo joins the HEP Faculty and will teach Math 8/7 and Consumer Math. She has also published an article in the Texas Council of Mathematics Teachers Journal, Mrs. Trejo brings an accomplished resume to HEP TX.

Her passion for teaching is rooted in growing people, because to her, “it’s more than teaching facts, teaching is about inspiring others to discover their purpose and potential.” That passion has driven her into educating and presenting professionally in her work experiences. She has been able to inspire diverse age groups and diverse backgrounds. As a result, I have become accustomed to designing creative and engaging ways to motivate children and adults into becoming lifelong learners.

She loves traveling, cooking, learning, serving and spending time with her church family. Her son will be a new student at HEP TX this year.

John Trojanowski took his first fencing classes in 1995 at the age of 38 at the Clear Lake Fencing Club. After a couple of years he began competing locally. In 2006 he took over his first coaching duties at the Galveston Fencing Club. From 2002 – 2021 he served as a referee at local, regional and national level tournaments.From 2012-2018 he served as chair of the Gulf Coast Division of USA Fencing, the national governing body for the sport. In 2014 began focusing on coaching, teaching fencing in the WAVE program (for gifted/talented students) for CCISD and for the REACH homeschool co-op.. A year later he added similar duties for Deer Park ISD’s G/T program, Big Red. By 2015 he was also teaching fencing classes for the respective Deer Park, League City and Alvin parks and recreation programs. In 2016 he added fencing coach duties at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal School in Nassau Bay. Most recently he did a one-year stint as fencing coach at the Joy School in Houston and began an elementary school after-school program with ACE/21st Century at Texas City ISD.

Bency Varghese holds a B.S. in Mathematics and a M.A. in Math Education (7-12) from Adelphi University in New York. She also holds a Texas teaching certificate for Math 8-12. She has taught Geometry and Algebra for Pearland ISD for several years. Mrs. Varghese currently teaches Algebra 2 for Trinity Classical School and will also teach Algebra 2 here at HEP this year.