Marissa Miller
Karisa Buckles
Monica Ritchie
Taryn Annesley
7th and 8th Grade Teacher
Taryn is originally from Norman, Oklahoma. She attended OU where she studied Public Relations. She and her husband, Tim, moved to the Cedar Valley in 2011. They have 5 children who have always been homeschooled. She is so excited to be a part of this growing and thriving community and hopes to instill wonder and joy in her students.
Taryn is a self-proclaimed plant addict who loves any kind of yard work, being outside as much as possible, flower arranging, hiking, watching movies, hand embroidery, and thrift shopping.
Alyssa Miller
5th and 6th Grade Teacher
Alyssa has always had a passion for the Charlotte Mason method and has used her principles in her own home for the past 12 years of homeschooling her children. She has enjoyed her years of homeschooling her 5 children and is thrilled about joining the TOGA community and sharing her passion for inspiring independent thinkers and lifelong learners.
Alyssa and her supportive husband Brian have been married for 20 years. She enjoys gardening and being outside with her family. As a native of Minnesota she has an affinity for swimming and lake life! Alyssa was an art major in college and has continued to use those skills personally and with her children!
Amy Swalve
3rd and 4th Grade Teacher
From a young age, Amy knew she wanted to be a teacher and a stay at home mom. Never did she imagine she could do both at the same time. After earning a degree in Elementary Education, she went on to teach preschool and direct a school-age childcare program, and later opened her own preschool. Amy and her husband Randy made the decision to homeschool their children when their oldest was entering kindergarten. They thought they would just give it a try, but found they loved it. The last of their 6 children graduated in May 2022. During her 24 years of homeschooling, Amy has taught a wide variety of classes in many different co-op settings that ranged from preschool to high school, from fun electives to core classes.
Amy’s hobbies are traveling, kayaking, crafty projects, and scrapbooking. She loves to spend time with family and thoroughly enjoys being a Grandma!!
Board Member
Karisa is a founding member of TOGA and serves on our board. Karisa majored in secondary education with endorsements in American and World History and minored in Environmental Science at Drake University, where she also played soccer all four years. She taught for 10 years as a Logic and Rhetoric level teacher at a classical Christian school and has been homeschooling her own children for 7 years. She discovered Charlotte Mason while teaching in the classroom and has implemented her principles for years.
Karisa loves reading, spending time with my family, hiking, drawing and crafting, gardening, soccer, and her golden doodle Ruby.
Administrator
Marissa is a founding member of TOGA and is the Director of Education helping in the daily operation and administration of the classroom days.
Marissa worked at Lampost Theater and operated a Pilates Studio before homeschooling her four children. Having discovered a love for the Charlotte Mason method, she has immersed herself in understanding this style of learning, implementing these ideas in a co-op and finally in the creation of TOGA. She is excited to get to know the students and support the teachers and families as they work together to provide a life-giving education.
Marissa enjoys gardening, house projects, decorating and family time.
High School Teacher
Monica grew up in the Cedar Valley living most of her childhood in Evansdale. Her education at public school caused her to long for a more compelling and immersive way to learn. Worksheets, timed tests, and flashcards frustrated her because she didn’t have time to reason things out before the card was changed or the timed test was over.
When she started homeschooling her own 3 kids she realized that she was using many of the principles of a Charlotte Mason education by incorporating living books, exploring nature, and letting each child pursue their own crafts and experiments.
Monica enjoys collecting rocks and fossils, thrifting, creating all kinds of art and curling up with her 2 cats and a good book.
Becky DeFord
1st and 2nd Grade Teacher
Becky is the mom of 4 beautiful daughters and a wife and homemaker for her husband Colin.
She moved away from Iowa during the completion of her husband’s degree and military service. Having moved back and regained some of their balance in the last 6 years, she hopes to make more connections and relationships encouraging each other forward in our education journey with a Charlotte Mason emphasis.
Bonnie McCoskey
Kindergarten Teacher
Bonnie has a bachelor’s degree in human development and Family Studies with an emphasis in Early Childhood from Iowa State University, and a master’s in special education from Northwest Missouri State University. She has taught in many settings including the Missouri State School for the deaf, district autism programs, early childhood special education programs, as well as various homeschool co-ops. Most recently she was the Awana Director for her church in Illinois, and the Treasurer for her homeschool co-op.
Bonnie and her husband Taylor have been married for 15 years and have four children. They recently moved to the Cedar Valley from central Illinois, and all four McCoskey children are excited to attend TOGA this Fall. Bonnie enjoys reading, spending time exploring the outdoors with her family, birdwatching, and is working on her green thumb.
Cheryl Aguilar
High School Science Teacher
Cheryl and Alberto (Beto) live in Waterloo with their four kids, Lina, James, Ana, and Thomas. Lina and James are finished with homeschooling and Ana will be a Junior at WCS. Thomas will be a 9th grader at TOGA. Cheryl enjoys gardening, soap making, and crocheting for fun hobbies. She also likes to read- mostly books that point me to Jesus and His creation.
"We enjoy learning and can't wait to get the next school year underway. As I learn more of the Charlotte Mason style, I love the joy it fosters.
Alana Sankey
Board Member
Alana is a founding member of TOGA and serves as our board treasurer.
Alana and her husband Brian have been married for 30 years and have 8 children. She has a degree in Human Services from Upper Iowa University and worked as a manager and Business Analyst before she began homeschooling their children. Their family recently started their 14th year of homeschooling and will be graduating their fourth child this year.
Alana has taught a variety of classes in co-op settings and was a board member for several years of a local co-op. She enthusiastically jumped in when asked to be a founding board member of The Olive Grove Academy because she felt that the Cedar Valley needed more options for homeschooling families. Two of the Sankey children will attend TOGA this year and are excited for this learning experience..
In her free time Alana likes to read, paint, play Mario Kart with her kids, plan renovations for their old house, and listen to ‘80s music.
Kayla Berg
Board Member
Kayla is a founding member of TOGA and serves as a board member and bookkeeper.
Kayla started researching different educational philosophies when her children were babies and felt like Charlotte Mason was a wonderful fit for her family. She has spent years submerging herself in the writings and methods of Charlotte Mason, and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to TOGA.
Kayla recently moved to the area from Minnesota where she was involved in a thriving CM community. Her desire to see our community experience the richness of a Charlotte Mason education inspired her to help start The Olive Grove Academy.
Kayla studied counseling in college and has worked as a freelance artist. She loves nature, exploring, knitting, and reading old books.
Kim Murray
Choir Teacher
Kim Murray is the owner of Dreamers’ Studio in Waterloo where she teaches piano and voice lessons to both children and adults. Kim has enjoyed directing various types of choirs, leading worship teams, coaching musicians, and serving in multiple ministry settings in sacred spaces for over twenty years. Last year, Miss Kim enjoyed developing the choir program for TOGA and is looking forward to working on new repertoire with returning and new students.
Kim has been married to her husband Austin for almost 19 years. They have an 11 year old son, Oliver, who shares the same passion for music as his mom.
Janna Thompson
Spanish Teacher
Once an aspiring secondary English and Spanish teacher, Janna met her husband, Ben, at Wartburg College. After a couple of ed classes, she quickly turned in her education banner for a degree in communications and Spanish. Homeschool wasn’t even on their radar, but God has a hilarious sense of humor and led Ben and Janna to start home educating their oldest son, who just graduated this spring, when he was entering kindergarten. They have since followed suit with their three other kids who all will be gleefully bopping around TOGA this year.
While technology makes her sweaty, she enjoys proofreading newspapers and silently correcting your grammar. She considers vacuuming therapy, loves strong coffee and building a beautiful charcuterie board. Free time is a joke, but she loves hanging with her hubs of nearly 22 years while watching and capturing her four very active kids through the lens of a camera.