Tutors

Skip to main content

Sandy Armstrong

Sandy earned her BA in English and Philosophy before working as a PR specialist and publications supervisor for the county superintendent of schools, a junior high teacher, and a book, newspaper and magazine writer/editor. Since she finished homeschooling her children through high school, she has felt called to help other homeschoolers find their way through the maze of legalities and possibilities. She now supervises North Kern Christian School’s home study program, and serves on the board of Home Educators’ Resource Center, doing high school advising and private tutoring in the areas of writing and college test prep.

Diane Baker

Ms. Baker graduated with Regents High Honors at Jasper Central High School in New York, after which she studied Psychology, Intermediate French, and others, at Corning Community College. She has studied ASL at Bakersfield College, and pursued Bible Leadership coursework as well. She has taught every age group at churches since the age of 12, and has taught at HERC for several years. After homeschooling for 8 years, she recently graduated her youngest child with HERC.

Carla Müller

Carla home schooled three now-grown sons with the encouragement of her husband. She has taught with HERC for the past 17 years. Carla graduated from Cal State Northridge with a B.A. in Liberal Studies, a Multiple Subject credential and a Special Ed. credential. She also studied French 5 years stateside and received a certificate of completion from Eurocentre language school in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Love of reading and fine literature was engendered in Carla’s home as a child growing up and has continued her whole life. Carla has been studying/teaching philosophical worldviews for the past 18 years—beginning with her own children. It is her passion to provide young people with a clear understanding of why they believe and to enable them to defend their most reasonable of worldviews.

Bob Ross

Mr. Ross has a background strong in painting with all mediums, print making as etching, lithograph, screen printing and graphic design. His high level of computer expertise comprises a wide range of software such as CorelDRAW, Adobe Pagemaker, MS Office, Powerpoint, PhotoShop, as well as HTML design and digital photography. He has taught art in school settings, as well as doing graphics design work as a profession for over 30 years. He is committed to serving the Lord in all walks of life, and serves faithfully at his church.

Randy Cowart

Mr. Cowart graduated from UC Berkeley with a BS in Chemical Engineering. He has worked 38 years as a Control Systems Engineer, designing systems and specifying the instruments, valves, and computer equipment for various oil, chemical, and manufacturing companies. He committed his life to Christ at age 17. He and Darlene privately educated their son from K-12. Randy learned chess at age 11 and enjoys many strategy games. Randy has been interested in science and math from a very young age.

Holly Assi

Holly earned a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1997. She has had the privilege of homeschooling her three children full time for 15 years. Her oldest two graduated from HERC, one in 2020 and another just recently in 2021. Her youngest will be attending HERC this year as a High School Freshman. She has been dedicated to bring them up with the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) and is honored to serve in and be a part of the HERC community. She plans to take on the duties of the Library Director starting in the 2021/22 School Year.

Conway Lopez

Conway has been in the tree care service industry his entire life and has been selfemployed since 1986. He has an AA degree from Bakersfield College in welding and machine shop and is a Certified Arborist and a certified welder. He is also passionate about sports and loves to collect vintage cars, restore them, and attend car shows. He’s helped homeschool his four children since 2014, has been active serving on boards in various non-profit service organizations in town including the Tree Foundation of Kern and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

Jessica Salmeron

Jessica Salmeron Jessica holds a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Finance, Real Estate, and Law from Cal State Long Beach. She has home educated her children for four years and is loving the journey. She has worked in accounting, real estate, teaching kindergarten and Sunday school. She's had an amazing opportunity to teach ESL to students who live in China. She is thrilled to be part of the HERC community where she hopes to build wonderful relationships.

Jessica Grant

Jessica has been married for 15 years and is currently in her 4th year of homeschooling 4 beautiful daughters. Her husband is an elder at Grace Bible Church of Bakersfield where they have been thriving for nearly 7 years. Her family enjoys good food, serving at their church, making memories, and just being together. As a young woman Jessica was certified in Early Childhood Education, and studied Child Adolescence and Family Studies in college. She spent 3 years as a preschool teacher in the quaint little town of Taft and 3 more years running a co-op preschool in her own home. In all avenues of her life, she has always found herself teaching and surrounded by young children. She looks forward to serving at HERC in that same capacity.

Melanie Brake

Melanie holds a BA in English from Marietta College, an MA in English from the University of Louisiana—Lafayette, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Oklahoma City University. She has worked as an instructor at many levels—as a certified public school teacher in Texas, as an instructor of freshman English at the university level, and as a preschool Montessori assistant—but her most rewarding and challenging role has been as homeschool mom to her three children. Melanie is a passionate reader and writer, and she considers one of her most profound accomplishments to be instilling a love for both in her two sons and daughter. A native of New York, Melanie has called half a dozen states and twice as many cities home; however, she is pleased to have finally settled with her children and husband of twenty-six years in the unique beauty of Bakersfield.

Amber Assi

Amber graduated from Taft College with her first AA in Math & Science, May 2023. She has gone on to earn her AS in Biology and will be transferring to CSUB this Fall. She plans to get her BS in Biotechnology with a goal of working in a hospital lab as a Clinical Lab Scientist. She took her first biology course at HERC in eighth grade, and since then knew biology would be her field of study. She has helped teach both a chemistry class and biology class at HERC and enjoyed the opportunity to give back to the community that first taught her to fall in love with science.

James O'Hearn

James O'Hearn was homeschooled from K-12, attending HERC from the 7th grade onwards, before attending Biola University and gaining his BA in Journalism & Integrated Media with a minor in Biblical Studies. He has played the piano for the past 22 years, and taught it for the past 13, entering the Music Teachers Association of California's Certificate of Merit program and reaching the State Honors bar throughout his four years of high school. He enjoys playing piano for his church as well as for Stars Theatre here in town, and helping his three children gain the same spark of passion for music that he did alongside his incredible wife.

Preston Brittain

Preston Brittain earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Cal Berkeley in 1971. He has worked as a consulting engineer, both mechanical and civil engineering, in the oil and gas industry here in Bakersfield ever since. He enjoys helping others learn to maneuver in, (and even love), math and STEM. He has a grandson here at HERC who has been instrumental in drawing him into the robotics program. Robotics is a great place to exercise and grow students' mechanical and programming "muscles" in a very fun, team-building way---and most importantly, to encourage students to reflect Christ within their team and their community.

Rebecca Asi

Rebecca Asi is a homeschool graduate who is currently attending Boyce College, where she is pursuing an A.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies. She has been blessed with the opportunity to teach a Sunday school class for middle school girls at her church and she is thrilled to have the opportunity to teach a reading class at HERC, another subject she is passionate about. Though not a HERC student, Rebecca always enjoyed attending the HERC events her cousins were involved in, and is honored to now have the privilege to participate in the HERC community herself.

Beth Michal

Beth received her BA in Elementary Ed from ORU in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then returned to Bakersfield for her fifth year at CSUB, thereby earning her CA Teaching Credential. She taught the Stockdale Christian School from 1986 to 2023, originally as a fourth grade teacher. After her two sons were born, she was trained as an educational therapist through NILD and worked part time as an educational therapist for grades K-8 so she could spend more time at home raising her kids. She now enjoys babysitting her grandson. She looks forward to getting to know and love the her families as she offers enrichment in math classes.

Noelle Byrd

A former HERC graduate, Noelle Byrd has been ballroom dancing since she was 8 years old and it is her favorite exercise! She also enjoys spending time with her large family and friends, playing card games, doing photography and serving at her church. She has been a teacher's aide at Legacy Christian Academy for the past 2 years but is now working for her father’s business and excited to give back at HERC where she gained so much in the way of education, apologetics and friendship.

Copyright © HERC Bakersfield