Nichole Antomettei
Pre-K (Thursdays)
Dionne Chang
3 – 5 Science
Miss Dionne is a native Floridian. She has been married to her husband, Weylu, for 19 years. They have three children (14, 17, and 18) and one fur baby, BAMA. They have been homeschooling for nine years and last year celebrated their first graduate. Dionne joined LAF’s amazing team of facilitators in 2018. She holds an Associate of Arts degree with a focus on Early Elementary Education from Manatee Community College. Dionne is an active member of Bayside Community Church, serving in the cafe.
Brittany Davidson
3 – 5 Art (Thursdays)
Brittany, known as Ms. Brit, has lived in North Port, Florida since 1996. She lives with and homeschools with her husband, three kids, seven cats, and two pups. She has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from USF with a focus in Arts Integration. Besides visual arts, she also enjoys teaching performing arts and is a dance and musical theater teacher at a local dance studio. In her free time, she likes to hang out with her bible study girls and attend Awaken Church in Port Charlotte.
Jessica Falde
3 – 5 Literature
Stephanie Frick
Stephanie grew up in Bradenton after moving here from Dallas, Texas. She received her
Bachelor’s of Arts degree in History from the University of South Florida. She and her
husband Josh have been married 22 years and have four children — Madilyn, Sam,
Jonah, and Emily. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys reading and working in her
garden.
Meghan Garfield
Meghan loves education and is a strong believer in the empowerment of learning at all ages. She views education as a gift that should never be taken for granted and should always be pursued to its fullest potential. Meghan moved to Florida to complete her undergrad at USF. She then taught middle school in Sarasota while obtaining a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Tampa. Following grad school, Meghan moved into educational publishing and content development where she continues work as an instructional designer. As a wife and mom of three kiddos (5 months, 3, and 6), Meghan is so fortunate to homeschool her family and soak in all of the precious time while they are young. The ability to be a part of and guide their individual learning paths is an incredible gift. She looks forward to bringing her energy and love of learning to the LAF classroom!
Soon Sim Hakes
K – 3 Art, Thursdays
Sim grew up in Malaysia and came to the U.S. to attend college. Since Malaysia is a multicultural country, she is fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Malay. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Sim has been with Learning and Families for the past eight years. She has three girls, ages 7, 10, and 12, and has been homeschooling all of them since they were in Kindergarten. She is passionate about homeschooling and especially loves the flexibility and freedom it offers. Growing up, Sim enjoyed art and being creative. When she was in middle school, one of her works of art was turned into a school mural. She enjoys teaching the K – 3 Art!
Kristin Henry
K – 3 Countries & Culture (Thursdays)
Kristin is a born-and-raised Florida Cracker! Kristin and her husband of 17 years welcomed a beautiful baby girl into their family in 2016. They knew early on that God was calling them to the homeschool life. After their daughter completed VPK at a preparatory school, they joined LAF. The family has really enjoyed being a part of this community. This is their 3rd year with LAF. Kristin’s favorite parts of homeschooling are how excited her daughter gets when she learns something new and bringing everything back to God and His amazing creation!
Ryane Magill
activities. When not teaching, Mrs. Ryane spends a lot of time with her family and friends. She is usually outside at the beach or the pool because she loves to be in the sun and by the water. She also loves to walk, ride bikes, and dance. When she’s not outside, she is most likely reading or cooking for a crowd. Mrs. Ryane is excited to learn more about each of her
students as they spend the year learning and growing together.
Jessica Ponzar
Self-Contained Kindergarten (Thursdays)
Jessica is a wife and mom to two children (8 and 12) and one 15-year-old fur baby. She and her husband of 14 years grew up together in Missouri, where they met in preschool. Jessica graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree from Missouri Baptist University, where she also studied education and management for her undergrad. She enjoys spending time with her family while playing sports or enjoying nature; hiking, paddle boarding, playing at one of the many Florida parks most Fridays or relaxing at the beach. Jessica’s excited to share her love of learning with her students.
Jamie Sciesinski
K – 3 Science
Jamie Sciensinski has been a part of Learning and Families since 2019. She was born and raised in Florida, graduated from Riverview High School in 2000, and went on to get her cosmetology license in 2001. Jamie married her best friend Tom Sciesinski in 2004, and they had their first daughter Tyler in 2006. Being raised in a Christian home, Jamie was not content with public school and started homeschooling Tyler after her 2nd-grade year. She has continued to do so while working part-time. Jamie had her second daughter Hazel in 2014. Thanks to the help of her parents and her teaching, she has been blessed to keep them both homeschooled. Jamie opened her own salon in 2018. Her interests include animals, sports photography, homesteading, djing at ballgames, and basically anything crafty. She can never tire of learning anything biblically. She spends lots of time watching her two favorite girls, Tyler and Hazel playing softball.
Crystal Yannucciello
K – 3 Art,Tuesdays
Crystal graduated from Southeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2001. A few months later, she married her husband Jeff. She taught 1st and 2nd grade for four years, and during that time, she moved from Tennessee to Florida. She has been teaching at LAF for 12 years and teaching art for the majority of that time. She is mom to five children: Macayla, Mariah, Joshua, Andrew, and Elizabeth. She enjoys teaching, homeschooling, being with her family, doing art, reading books, camping, kayaking, and playing board games.
