Randy had a very long and rewarding career in the classroom, teaching high school and college level math, including AP and IB Higher Level subjects.  He had several posts overseas and in the states throughout his teaching years. Now, Randy is mostly retired but still greatly enjoying working with students in a tutoring environment.

A few fun facts about Randy….he has been a DREAM Adaptive volunteer since 1999 and a Food Bank volunteer. After 18 years of living abroad & out of state, Randy is playing catch up on remodeling his 117 year old house in Whitefish (one of the few remaining originals). He sings with the Crown of the Continent Choir, hikes, bikes and enjoys Sprinter-camper adventures in and out of state with friends and his dear wife.

Education

Honors

•  Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education (national award 1993; state award 1998)

•  Chosen by students to be the keynote speaker in his 3-year Micronesian teaching post; chosen by students to be commencement speaker in his 9-year stint at the IB school he helped to start on Cape Cod.

Cara has been working in education since 2011 and has been exploring the Flathead Valley since 2013. Throughout her career, she has been passionate, curious, and open-minded. This has led to an exciting career as a SCUBA and oceanography instructor, an FVCC librarian, a global hiking and biking guide, an engineer/teacher for a 3D printing nonprofit, a high school science teacher, and now a tutor. Cara taught 9th grade biology and 11th/12th grade physics for three years. She also taught Algebra I and II at WHS as a long-term substitute. Through her guiding work, she spent several winters in South America, and in 2019 worked in Medellin, Colombia using 3D printers to create functional hand and arm prosthetics. Since returning to the Flathead in 2020, she was the Distribution Coordinator for the North Valley Food Bank, and a library tech and Makerspace instructor at FVCC. She now has two dogs and has no plans to leave the Valley. She loves to hike, bike, and backpack outside, and loves to 3D print, learn about technology, and care for her (over 100!) plants inside. She can also often be found out in the fields with a book–either identifying flowers or reading science fiction!

Education

Emily has been teaching 1st grade at Muldown Elementary School in Whitefish since 2017 and was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2018. Prior to that, she taught Kindergarten for one year and pre-k for ten years, also in Whitefish. She is on the board for the Flathead Association for the Education of Young Children. FAEYC is an organization of early childhood professionals working to solve issues that affect children and families around our valley. Emily was fortunate enough to do her student teaching in Toowoomba, Australia. This provided her with the opportunity to experience different kinds of students, colleagues and school communities. Emily loves working 1-on-1 with students and celebrating their successes. Emily was born and raised in Kalispell, and still calls the Flathead Valley home today. She enjoys doing many outdoor activities, such as hiking, fishing, camping, and snowshoeing with her husband and two sons. She also enjoys reading, puzzles, traveling and baking.

Education

Megan taught 1 year of K/1st special education and then transitioned to first grade. She has been teaching 1st grade since 2020. She loves teaching and learning alongside kids in different settings. Megan loves those “ah-ha” moments that smaller learning settings frequently allow. She has spent multiple years working in a literacy center, summer school, tutor centers and more. Megan loves being part of a system or program that continuously sets students up for fun and success. Megan received her Bachelors of Arts in Special Education from Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. She then earned her Masters of Sciences in Early Education from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. She continues to take advantage of professional development opportunities and trying new things that are relevant and positive in the education field.

Education

Lisa, a Whitefish resident for 16+ years, is in her eighth year as a para-educator at Muldown Elementary, having worked with students from Pre-K to fifth grade for the past 25+ years. She loves working with her students one-on-one in all subjects and always brings out the best in each student. She is highly organized and comes to each tutoring session prepared with mediums customized to the student’s needs. Lisa believes that the primary goal of tutoring is to help students to help themselves, guiding them to become independent learners. Her approach is to support and enhance what has been taught in the classroom, while encouraging independent learning and thinking, using a variety of instructional materials. In her spare time, Lisa can be found in her sunroom cross stitching numerous projects, designing cards using paint and pens, and hand writing letters with stationery she has created.

Education

Just this spring Brynn finished her Masters in Special Education from Montana State University Billings. She currently serves as the Special Education teacher/Program Leader of the Aspire program, an intensive behavior intervention program for students grades 6-12 at Linderman Education Center in Kalispell. Formerly an Academic Supervisor and Teacher at Rising Peak Academy, a residential treatment center for young men with substance abuse disorders just south of Columbia Falls. Additionally, she served as an English/AP Literature teacher, coach, and school play director at Columbia Falls and Shelby High Schools. Brynn has worked as a Credit Recovery Coach, Original Credit Teacher and consultant for Montana Digital Academy. Additionally, she possesses a Masters in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, as well as certificates from various technology training institutes throughout the Northwest. Brynn is passionate about how technology can support differentiated writing instruction, and offering students preparedness skills for their lives beyond K-12 education. She lives in Kalispell with her husband and two cats. Her hobbies/interests include: yoga/fitness, nutrition/cooking, gardening, reading, outdoor recreation, and socializing.

Education

Megan taught at Flathead High School for seven years, teaching courses including International Baccalaureate Biology, Chemistry, Standard Biology, and Earth Science. She was also an instructor and lead teacher for AP Environmental Science for Montana Digital Academy. Megan is currently taking a break from the traditional classroom to be home with her children. Tutoring has provided an outlet to share her love of science and learning with students around the valley.  She and her husband, who is also a teacher in Kalispell, live in Whitefish where they, in addition to teaching, run an adventure photography business. Their family loves everything outdoors and cherish the adventure available so close to home.

Education

Heidi grew up in Helena, MT and attended college at the University of Montana where she studied Spanish, Anthropology, Linguistics and Latin American studies. She later completed her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction through Montana State University. Heidi has studied abroad in Ecuador and Argentina, and she has worked for extended periods of time in both Ecuador and Costa Rica. She currently lives in Columbia Falls, Montana with her husband and three children ages 7, 10 and 15.

Heidi teaches kindergarten through sixth grade Spanish at West Glacier Elementary, adult Spanish classes at FVCC, and tutors for Flathead Valley Tutor and Prep. She is also involved with multiple language associations such as MALT (Montana Association of Language Teachers) and NNELL (National Network for Early Language Learners).

She loves learning and teaching languages and enjoys being a part of others’ learning experiences.

Education

Donna retired from a very rewarding career as a classroom teacher in special education as well as mainstream education in grades K-6th. She was also certified in Gifted & Talented education, as well as English as a Second Language, and worked with children in both groups.

Since moving to Whitefish in 2019, Donna has worked as a substitute teacher for both Whitefish and Columbia Falls School Districts. She loves working one-on-one and says there’s nothing better than seeing the light come on in a child’s eyes when you’ve helped guide them to learn something new. Donna received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with a minor in Special Education and graduated with honors from the University of North Texas.

She is also an active member of Soroptimist International of Whitefish, whose primary focus is lifting up women and girls to have a better life.

Donna enjoys taking road trips and exploring, but most of all loves spending time with her family and grandkids. They love to cook together, hike, take float trips, play family games and garden together in the summer.

Education

Ryan graduated with a degree in physics and astronomy in 2018. From there he spent two years in a PhD program at Montana State University and his undergraduate institution. Taking time off from school to work at the United States Patent Office, he decided to follow his passion for teaching. Ryan recently landed his first full time teaching position in the Valley and is super stoked!

Ryan enjoys teaching one-on-one and in classroom settings. When he’s not doing physics, he likes to spend time outdoors and with family and friends. He and his wife (a Kalispell native) have three children ages 8, 5, and 2 with a fourth one on the way!

Education

Jasmine was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in the Wenatchee Valley. Always fascinated by other cultures and languages, she studied Spanish at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. She then completed a C-BEST certification and became a multiple subject tutor at Sylvan Learning Center, specializing in Math and Spanish. In 2003 Jasmine began serving as Dean of Women and professor at Calvary Chapel Bible College (CCBC) in Murrieta, California before serving for a year in London, England, as a missionary. After returning to California, Jasmine taught for CCBC and various extension campuses throughout the U.S. and around the world. She also taught math and history classes for local homeschool cooperatives. After completing her Master’s Degree in History from Liberty University in 2021, she moved to Kalispell, Montana, where she most recently worked as a professor at Montana Christian College. Although she has spent many years working in a college setting, Jasmine has always enjoyed tutoring students of all ages and working to build their confidence and bring out the best in them academically. She is excited for the opportunity to serve students through Flathead Valley Tutor & Prep!

Education

Sherri was an elementary teacher in Columbia Falls for nearly 30 years. She loves to teach reading and help students find those books that get them excited about reading. She has a passion for writing and her story, “River Lessons”, was published in the Whitefish Review. Sherri enjoys working with young writers to find their own voice. Sherri also enjoys teaching math and sharing the strategies that increase comprehension. She is excited to work with students in a one-on-one setting. Sherri was awarded the Northwest Montana Reading Council Educator of the Year award in 2010 and again in 2024.

Sherri grew up in western Colorado and moved to Whitefish to be a ski bum (and then a teacher) right after college. When she is not tutoring, Sherri loves to explore the outdoors with her husband and dog on foot, bike, skis, paddleboard and raft. She has two sons who are in college at Montana State and University of Utah.

Education

During college, Holly participated in the America Reads and America Counts programs, in which she worked one-on-one with elementary students and helped them improve their reading or math skills. She found the experiences so rewarding that a future in teaching and education seemed like the perfect fit. Since then, almost all of her adult life has revolved around education. Holly is a licensed/certificated teacher in math and psychology, and she taught math and/or AP Psychology in a high school setting for about ten years. She enjoyed being able to share her love for both subjects with her students. Holly currently works as a substitute teacher in the Whitefish School District, and she also really enjoys tutoring students. She finds it so rewarding when a topic “clicks” for a student either in a classroom setting or during a tutoring session.

Holly is married, has a son, and loves spending time with her family. She enjoys reading, playing board/card games, spending time outdoors, and traveling (but she wishes she traveled more).

Education

Mark is the eighth of ten children born to teacher parents in Butte, Montana. He attended Butte Central
High school and later Montana Tech where he received a Bachelors of Science degree in mathematics.
To attain his certification to teach high school mathematics, he attended the University of Montana and
later earned a Masters degree in Computers in Education from Lesley College in Massachusetts.
Retiring in the spring of 2023, Mark completed 34 years of teaching secondary mathematics. He taught
a total of 31 years in Kalispell; 15 at Kalispell Junior High and 16 at Glacier High School. He has two adult
children who live outside of the Valley.

In the summer he likes to hike, bike, swim, sup, kayak, and garden. In the winter he likes to hike, ski, and
visit the gym. In both seasons he loves to practice Yoga. In his free time, he likes to volunteer with
DREAM, an adaptive recreation program that gets cognitively and physically impaired children and adults
out on the water or on the ski hill. Mark is currently working part-time as a paraeducator at Rankin
Elementary in Kalispell.

Education