About Us

Faculty & Staff

Tasha Oard

Kindergarten
Mrs. Oard is in her fifth year of teaching at Petra Academy. She has completed college credits toward an elementary education degree and attends the Logos Summer Teachers' Training at the annual ACCS conference. Mrs. Oard and her husband David have three children, all of them at Petra: Jeremiah (grade 7), Jacob (grade 5), and Elena (grade 3). The oldest of eleven children and the mother of three, Mrs. Oard is very comfortable and confident around children. She also has taught several years in AWANA programs and Vacation Bible School. If family and school don't keep Tasha busy enough, she also loves to read, exercise and cook.

Jean Snyder

First Grade
This is Mrs. Snyder's fourth year teaching at Petra. Jean holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Jean and her husband Bob have three children, including a math teacher in Virginia, a mom of Jean and Bob's first grandchild, and a recent graduate of Montana State University. Mrs. Snyder is an experienced homeschool mom having taught her own children through grade 8. She also is in her eleventh year of teaching a mid-week Creation Class to third and fourth graders at her church. Jean enjoys horseback riding, camping, gardening, hiking, and reading.

Susan Dresser

Second Grade
This is Miss Dresser's third year at Petra after completing her Bachelor of Science degree through the distance learning program of Excelsior College, Albany, New York. Susan's major field of undergraduate study was in history. Susan is a product of an excellent homeschool education in Stevensville, Montana, where she grew up as the eldest of five girls. One of her sisters is with her in Bozeman studying at Montana Bible College. Extra-curricular passions of Miss Dresser include reading, music, and walking.

Emily Grasser

Third Grade
Mrs. Grasser returns to teach at Petra Academy for her third year. Emily graduated from Feather River College, Quincy, California, and holds Associate of Science degrees in Equine Science and Liberal Arts. Emily is married to Ralston Grasser. Her “other interests” include training horses, hiking, reading, and camping.

Jennifer Mann

Fourth Grade
Mrs. Mann, (just recently married, congratulations!) is in her third year teaching at Petra Academy. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Crown College, St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. Jennifer is from Frenchtown, Montana, where her family still resides. Before coming to Petra, Jennifer completed student teaching in Minnesota, and substitute taught in California while completing a nine-month basketball coaching internship. Mrs. Mann stays active in and out of school with interests in hiking, biking, reading, swimming, pottery, fishing, and camping.

Mark Christofferson

Fifth Grade
Mr. Christofferson joined the teaching staff at Petra Academy last year with fifteen years of teaching experience, including eleven years at Heritage Christian School, Bozeman, two years at a Christian school in Taiwan, and another two years at a public high school. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in English Teaching with a minor in History from Montana State University. Mark and his wife Tammy have two children, Eli and Emily. Mr. Christofferson's other interests include music (singing, guitar, and trumpet), hunting, bird-dog training, cycling, the informal study of the Chinese language, and story-telling.

Sarah McClaflin

Sixth Grade
This is Mrs. McClaflin's second year teaching at Petra, but she is no stranger here: her husband, Shane, taught secondary history and literature at Petra from 1998 to 2002. Sarah and Shane have four children: Ellie, the eldest, is a fourth-grader, Nathanial is a first grader, and Abigail is in kindergarten at Petra; Samuel is still at home. Mrs. McClaflin has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baldwin-Wallace College where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She has teaching experience both in homeschool and teaching music in private, public, and homeschool-cooperative settings. Sarah and Shane own an outfitting business, “Sunrise Pack Station,” that specializes in educational and flyfishing-multi-day-horseback trips into the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park (see http://www.sunrisepackstation.com).

Beverly Oard

Elementary Latin
Mrs. Oard is in her fifth year at Petra Academy. She studied English and Elementary Education at Seattle University, Washington. Beverly and her husband David have four children and nine grandchildren. Besides teaching Latin at Petra, Mrs. Oard has taught Sunday School at her church. Her extra-curricular activities include editing both children and adult books and writing children's books.

Courtney Mosher

History, Old Testament, Pre-Algebra, Drama (Secondary)
This is Miss Mosher's second year with us at Petra Academy. She is a recent graduate of Rocky Mountain College, Billings, Montana, from where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History Education with a minor in Political Science Education. The predilections of Courtney's Colorado-based family go some way to explain her game-for-anything attitude: bull-riding, carpentry, toy-selling, flying, acting! Miss Mosher spends her summers traveling as a volunteer archaeologist. She has participated in “a dig” in Bethsaida, Israel, and another in Medaba, Jordan. She appeared on the cover of Biblical Archaeology in 2005 holding an Iron Age II clay bead. Her other interests include reading, “flintknapping” (i.e. making stone tools), woodworking, and “hiking fourteeners” (Colorado lingo for climbing the Colorado peaks that are 14,000 feet and higher).

Sheryl Vine

Secondary Latin, Seventh-grade English
This is Mrs. Vine's fourth year at Petra Academy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, in English, from The Master's College, Santa Clarita, California. She also had the opportunity of studying for a semester at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England, and took an additional semester's intensive Latin course at The Master's College. Sheryl is married to Cody Vine. Sheryl also coaches a number of our girls who play on the Gallatin Valley Christian Homeschool varsity or junior varsity volleyball teams. Sheryl's interests are eclectic: history, hiking, wildflowers, floral design, and Milton.

Jeff Knapp

Secondary Sciences: Earth Science, Physical Science, Biology Physics; New Testament
Mr. Knapp attended and graduated from Concordia College, Seward, Nebraska. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with majors in Biology and Health. Jeff and his wife, Anneli, have two sons, Kris and Isaac. Isaac is a third-grader at Petra. This is Mr. Knapp's second year at Petra, but he has had over six years teaching experience, primarily in Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah, where he taught at Lutheran schools.

Gregg Valeriano

Biblical Interpretation, Logic, Apologetics
This is Mr. Valeriano's seventh year teaching at Petra Academy. Mr. Valeriano earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern Bible College, a Master of Arts from Wheaton College Graduate School, and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. From 1998 to 2000, Gregg taught at L'Abri Fellowship in Huémoz, Switzerland. Mr. Valeriano splits his days between Petra and Montana State University where he teaches philosophy classes as an adjunct instructor. Gregg's extra-curricular interests include reading, flyfishing, snowboarding, and mountain biking.

Bryan Meyers

Rhetoric, Civics/Political Philosophy, English, Logic
This is Mr. Meyers' third year at Petra Academy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History of Political Philosophy, with a minor in Philosophy. Bryan and his wife Monica have three boys (Israel, David, and Joseph), and a girl (Sophia Joy). A true son of Chicago, Bryan is a connoisseur of all things Chicago: The University of Chicago, 16-inch softball, hot dogs, Carl Sandburg, but most of all, his beloved Cubbies and their beloved “Friendly Confines.” Bryan also enjoys perusing used book stores, eating artisan breads, playing Scrabble with his wife, reading Robert Louis Stevenson to his boys, hiking with his family, and playing soccer with anyone who dares!

Sam Koenen

Academic Dean
Rhetoric, English, and Calculus
Mr. Koenen also serves as our academic dean reviewing our school's curriculum and working closely with teachers to develop Petra's curriculum, as well as conducting weekly teacher training. A veteran teacher at Petra, this is Sam's ninth year here. Mr. Koenen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Montana State University, Bozeman, where he was named Outstanding Senior English Student in 2002. Sam and his wife, Catherine, have one son (Tjabe) and one daughter (Margaret Anne). Besides teaching at Petra Academy, Mr. Koenen lectures on worldview at a local church and teaches various humanities subjects in adult education forums. Sam's extra-curricular interests include natural history (especially ornithology), cooking, hiking, hunting, and fishing.

Todd Hicks

Headmaster
This is his second year at Petra. Todd previously taught and administered at Montana's other classical Christian academy (Mission Valley Christian Academy, Polson) for ten years. Todd and his wife also worked in a children's home and school in the Palestinian West Bank city of Ramallah for over a decade. Mr. Hicks earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature, at Wheaton College, Illinois, and a Master of Arts degree in English, at the University of Montana, Missoula. Todd and his wife, Ghada, have four children (three in college and one at Petra). Besides reading, Mr. Hicks enjoys outdoor work, theater, music, team sports, and tennis.

Karen DeGroot

Administrative Assistant
This is Mrs. DeGroot's third year helping Petra Academy keep its office in order. Karen and her husband Tad have three daughters, the eldest a recent alumna now in college and the younger two still at Petra. Karen's other work experiences include work as a travel agent, an office assistant in the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC), church office secretary, a homeschool mom, and a “sports mom”, very involved in the local homeschool sports program. She is also active with her church and GEMS girls' program. Karen was born and raised right here in the Gallatin Valley. Karen enjoys crocheting, sewing, crafting, baking, cooking, reading, camping, hiking and boating.

Belinda Ervin

Administrative Assistant
Although Karen and Belinda have been involved with Petra longer as parents, this is also Belinda's third year of helping in our office. Belinda holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies/Early Childhood Education from Colorado State University. Belinda and her husband Eric have three children, the youngest two at Petra and the eldest married with two daughters. Belinda has also worked as a probation officer and as a house-parent in a home for abused children. Belinda's chief concern is growing her children—and herself—in the love of the Lord. She enjoys hiking, skiing, and reading when she gets the chance.