Instructors
Aimee Wilburn
Aimee Wilburn attended Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree. While in nursing school, Aimee was in the ROTC program at the University of California, Berkeley. Upon graduation, she was a commissioned officer and nurse in the United States Air Force. Aimee worked as a nurse for a total of 9 years, seven of those in the Air Force. During this time her love for teaching began. Educating patients was a part of her everyday work, but she also excelled in training new nurses and in developing staff educational opportunities. Aimee’s teaching started when she began homeschooling her own children. During this time, she tutored in Classical Conversations, taught second/third grade and developed training and curriculum at Gloria Deo Academy in Bulverde, and tutored children in her home. She now teaches Middle School at Grace Preparatory Academy. She has been involved in teaching students from K-8th grades for 9 years. Aimee’s passion is finding truth, goodness, and beauty in all things and creating an atmosphere for students to cultivate a lifelong love for learning.
Valerie Lietz
Mrs. Lietz received her bachelor’s degree in music education from Illinois State University. She is certified to teach grades K-12 and has 20+ years teaching experience at all levels. She has led both instrumental and vocal groups and continues to teach private lessons, as well as music theory. She has led student trips to Walt Disney World to learn Disney performance methods and to experience performing music in a professional environment. She seeks wonderful local performance opportunities for her students including pastor conferences, mayor’s prayer breakfasts, Rampage games, and Spurs games.
Erika Salas
Mrs. Salas received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Universidad de Montemorelos (Montemorelos, MX). She has a specialization in Educational Psychology and spent three years teaching bilingual education at Monterrey City School in Monterrey Mexico. She has extensive experience as a Spanish tutor working with all ages of children.
Dale Parish
Mr. Parish graduated from North Texas State University with a double major in political science and history. Prior to teaching, he was a supervisor at the Oaks Treatment Center of the Brown Schools in Austin, where he worked with ED adolescents. He then pursued a career in retail grocery management in the DFW metroplex. In 2002 he became certified as a Special Education teacher and worked with Special Needs children for the next 4 years. In 2006 he became certified in 8-12 history as well as social studies grades 4-8. He taught middle school history for the next 10 years. He retired from teaching public school in 2017. He has been a Cross Country coach since 2004, and presently leads the Grace Preparatory Running Knights cross country team. He is very much involved in church activities and volunteers at Church by the River ministry. He and his wife Rachel have a blended family of 10 children and 5 grandchildren. He is an Eagle Scout and an avid runner as well.
Jalynn O’Brien
Mrs. O’Brien received a Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in math from Texas A&M University and has a Texas teaching certificate. She taught in a Texas public school in the early 90s, but her best training comes from decades of marriage, raising six children who she homeschooled, and 28 years on the staff of the college ministry, Cru, at Texas State University. She loves games, watercolor, sewing, and bringing order and simplicity to places and processes. Math was always her favorite subject even though she did not, as a young student, feel that she was good at it. It’s the puzzling, problem solving, and logic that she loves. Regarding teaching, her goal is to seek ways to make a concept simple and relevant so that students can experience the “aha” of understanding.
Whitney Ramsey
Whitney Ramsey graduated in 2002 with a BS in History and Secondary Education certification from Lander University. Growing up in a military family she had the chance to live overseas for a dozen years. She’s convinced that her childhood overseas developed her love of history at a young age. Currently, she is working toward earning a Master’s in Education with a History emphasis through Liberty University.
Whitney has experience with both middle and high school history classes in public schools and has taught and coached speech and debate for middle school and high school students. Since
starting a family, she has homeschooled her own children at various times, taught in co-ops and at a private school, and participated in a University Model program. She is excited to be at Grace Prep.
Whitney has been married to her best friend for the past 20 years, and fully enjoys her busy life with her four children, two dogs of questionable intelligence, and two cats of somewhat greater intelligence.
Heather Casey
Shortly after graduating from Ozark Christian College, Heather Casey and her family moved to Ancona, Italy where they led a team of church planters for eleven years. She attended the Universita per Stranieri to study Italian, and her ministry included teaching English as a second language to both children and adults, teaching children’s church, hosting visitors from around the world, and raising her children. While living overseas, Heather furthered her education with NILD (National Institute for Learning Development) by completing the Level I course for Educational Therapy. Upon returning to the states, she taught kindergarten at ENAACT Family Academy, along with other elective classes, and was a tutor with Classical Conversations for several years. Heather and her husband Jason own and operate Hodell Window Covering. They have two adult children and two who are students at Grace Prep. Her hobbies include gardening, raising chickens, and restoring old and discarded items by breathing fresh life into them to create an even greater work of art.
Patty Benitez
Patty Benitez grew up in a migrant farm-working family, living in Florida during the school months and in Mexico the rest of the year. She attended Hillsborough Community College in Tampa and has an Associate Degree in Business Technologies from National Institute of Technologies. She has been homeschooling since 1999. Over the years she has been involved in leading and developing homeschool support groups. She has also had the opportunity to teach art both in co-op settings and private lessons. In 2020 she had the privilege of starting a homeschool program in the Comal County Crisis Center providing in-person classes for staff and shelter children who would have otherwise had to attend classes online due to COVID. Art has always been a huge part of her life. She took as many art classes as she could in high school and college. She has had the opportunity to design logos and t-shirts for several organizations and businesses. While in college, she was hired to produce a painting that would be awarded to Wendell N. Rollason, founder of Redlands Christian Migrant Association. Her artwork later became the cover for his biography titled A Life of Purpose.
Callie Smith
Callie Smith teaches Health/Etiquette and advises the Grace Prep Student Council. She and her husband Andy have 3 children: Atlie, Graylynn, and River. She loves being a mom and being involved in her kids' education. Callie attended East Tennessee State University and earned a degree in Interior Design. After college, she worked as an interior designer for several years and still dabbles in design for friends when needed. Continuing in the entrepreneurial spirit, Callie now owns a jewelry company which feeds her “creative side.” She also breeds Miniature Australian Labradoodles and loves having puppies in her home year-round. Callie loves the Lord and looks for ways to encourage and help others whom God puts in her path. She is thankful to be a part of such a wonderful school!
Karen Hopkins
Karen teaches two of the art classes at Grace Prep on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise and Sport Science and a minor in Art in 1990 and has enjoyed drawing and doing creative things since she was a little girl. She grew up in the Houston area near the NASA Johnson Space Center. When she was a junior in high school she won her school district's logo contest. Her winning design was made into a patch and flown on the Spacelab 3 Mission STS-51B of the space shuttle Challenger. Clear Creek ISD used her logo for almost 20 years. Karen came to Grace Prep in the fall of 2018. She has enjoyed her time teaching, growing, and promoting the art program here and, even more, getting to know the students and being a part of such an encouraging staff.
