Mary Benson is a veteran teacher with 39 years of experience with middle school, high school and college level students. Mrs. Benson has a BA in Mathematics-Education from La Salle University and an MS in Mathematical Sciences from Eastern Kentucky University. She can tutor subjects from Algebra 1 & 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus 1,2,&3, Statistics, College Algebra, and more.
Retired AP, Honors, and IB English Teacher. After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in English literature, Terry attended Rutgers University where she earned a Masters degree. Thereafter, she taught in public schools in New Jersey, Tennessee, and Florida, as well as the private International School of Zug in Switzerland. Terry also taught test preparation skills for the Tennessee state test and the FCAT. Courses taught over her 29 year career include AP and IB Higher level English, Theory of Knowledge, Speech, Drama, and SAT/ACT/PSAT preparation. Terry also developed the curriculum for these courses. Terry’s children attended Rhodes College (physician), University of Tennessee (veterinarian), and Auburn (engineer).
Attorney and Freelance Writer. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science and Spanish, Renee attended Wayne State University School of Law. She then practiced health and tax law in Washington DC, before becoming in-house counsel for a non-profit organization. In her spare time, Renee writes for local magazines and newspapers and guides students in the essay writing process for college applications. She is actively involved in a myriad of community organizations, including having served on the Gulf Breeze City Council. Renee’s oldest daughter graduated from Wake Forest, her son graduated from Harvard and her youngest daughter graduated from Vanderbilt.
Tracy has a B.A. in History from Florida Atlantic University and a Master’s Degree in Instructional Design and Technology from American College of Education. Over her 15-year education career, Tracy has taught AP® World History, AP® Human Geography, AP® European History and AP® Macroeconomics. Tracy has been a College Board Certified Reader for AP® World History for the past 5 years, as well as a speaker and presenter at the Future of Education Technology National Conference. She currently teaches online with Florida Virtual School. Tracy also serves as a private tutor and workshop coordinator for AP® World History and AP® Human Geography with the Academic Center for Testing.
Katharine Edwards has a B.S. in Microbiology from Auburn University and a Master’s Degree in Biology from University of West Florida. She worked as an environmental specialist and made a career change to education. She has been teaching for the past twelve years at Gulf Breeze High School. She has taught a variety of science classes including Marine Science, Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology.
Lexi Foland is a student tutor from Pensacola Catholic High School. In past years, she has been invited to tutor for Khan Academy’s global SAT preparation program, Schoolhouse World, and is honorarily certified in teaching SAT English and Math. In competitions, she has been nationally recognized for her understanding of algebra I and II. Lexi is available to tutor algebra, geometry, precalculus, and SAT/ACT subjects.
Zachary graduated from the International Baccalaureate program at Pensacola High School. After graduating high school he attended The Georgia Institute of Technology where he studied Industrial Systems Engineering. After leaving college Zachary returned to Pensacola working at Avalex Technologies, Leapforce, and Gulf States Automation before pursuing a full time career in Education. He is currently employed as a Math and Science teacher at Creative Learning Academy. Zach has thousands of hours of tutoring experience through charitable organizations such as National Honor Society, Georgia Tech Peer Leaders, and Phi Sigma Pi as well as professional tutoring at the middle school, high school, and college level.
Mary Beth Hall has 16 years of teaching experience, with 13 years at Gulf Breeze High School, and three years at Holley-Navarre Middle. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Education earned from the University of Alabama and University of West Florida. She has taught AP World History, English, World History, Reading, and U.S. History. She is ESOL Certified, and has many years of experience working with ESL students. Her AP World History career pass rate is 75%, which is well above the national average of 56.2% and the Florida average of 48.9%. She has also been recognized by the state as a High Impact Teacher and is Best and Brightest Certified. She specializes in ACT/SAT/PSAT/FSA/FSA Retake preparation, and has 16 years of experience working with struggling readers, grades 6-12. Her FSA pass rates and learning gains, especially among FSA Retakes, are among the highest in the district and the state of Florida. Mary Beth’s children both attend Gulf Breeze High School.
Courtney Hill is a Gulf Breeze native and graduate of the University of Central Florida. She has taught all levels of English/Language Arts for 21 years, with the first 18 of those in Orlando. She was an AP Literature and Composition instructor for 8 years and is familiar with teaching online in a digital county. Ms. Hill currently teaches English at Navarre High School and is passionate about planning with students in preparing for their future.
Señora Holderman has a Master's in Spanish and 15 years experience teaching at the college level. She currently teaches at UWF. She studied in both Spain and Mexico. She tutors for AP exam preparation and any conversation or grammar help that students might need at any level of Spanish. Señora Holderman is passionate about languages and cultures and love to share that with students.
Euxie Laibe taught 10th Grade World History and College Advisory (prep class) for the two years in California. Euxie received a BA in Political Science and Environmental Sociology at Vanderbilt University. While teaching, she earned her Master of Education in Inspired Teaching and Learning from National University. As a teacher, Euxie taught students how to write Document Based Question essays (DBQs) and research papers. She also developed a curriculum around argumentation and public speaking. As an advisor, she taught students how to prepare for college by researching scholarships, developing oral presentations and practicing personal essay writing. Although her focus was social studies as a teacher, Euxie has experience tutoring for English, ACT prep (English, Reading and Science) and elementary math.
Jennifer Marshall heads the English Department at Pensacola Catholic High School and teaches, among other subjects, AP Language & Composition. She received her Bachelor's Degree from St. Louis University and her Master's Degree in English from Auburn University.
Tanya Mason teaches IB Senior and AP Junior English at Pensacola High School, where she instructs students in world literature and writing. She graduated from Meredith College with a B.A. in English in 1992 and spent a number of years working in the IT industry before returning to University of West Florida in 2009 to obtain her master’s degree in English with a specialization in Creative Writing. Afterward, she attended and graduated from University of Southern Mississippi in 2017 with a PhD in English and Creative Writing. During this time her short story, “Groundhogs,” was selected as a finalist for both the Charles Johnson Fiction Award and Reynolds Price Prize in Fiction; her work also has been published in the Women of Horror Anthology as well as The Troubadour. In her spare time, she likes to ride mountain bikes and exercise at the gym.
Lilian Mauney was born and raised in Paraguay and moved to the United States in 1998, so English is her second language. She has a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida and Associate in Arts Business from Pensacola State College. She is currently working at Coastline Christian Academy as a preschool teacher’s assistant and teaching Spanish to ages 3 - 5 years old. Lilian also has three years of previous experience teaching preschool children in New Orleans.
Richard Musca graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry and a minor in Computer Science. He was a member of the Honors Program and the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. He has been tutoring for 5 years and was a Teaching Assistant at UF for 3 semesters. Recently, he scored 97th percentile on the MCAT and he currently works as a Biological Scientist at the UF Diabetes Institute. Richard is able to tutor all math courses, biology, physics, chemistry, and computer science courses.
Nikki Myers has been teaching English at Gulf Breeze High School since 2006. She currently teaches English I Honors and AP Seminar. She is in charge of the new AP Capstone program at GBHS. She has a B.A. in English and History from Florida State University. She has been recognized by the state multiple times as a High Impact Teacher. Presently, Ms. Myers is working on earning her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from American College of Education.
National Board Certified Teacher, AP, Honors & IB Math Instructor. After graduating from the University of West Florida with a degree in Mathematics, Shauna attended Florida State University where she earned a Masters degree in Statistics. Recently retired, Shauna has over 30 years of experience teaching Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, Calculus and IB mathematics- all levels. She has years of experience working with students in test prep for ACT, SAT, AP and IB exams.
Amy Parker taught Advanced Placement United States History teacher at Gulf Breeze High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from The University of West Florida; the focus of her studies was political science, religious studies, and history with a minor in women’s studies. She also holds a master’s degree in American History and Government from Ashland University where she was awarded the Chairman’s Award for Outstanding Thesis. She has won multiple local, state, and national awards for innovation in the classroom and represents Florida as a James Madison Fellow.
Dylan Patterson is a Senior in Pensacola High School’s International Baccalaureate program. He has experience tutoring in math ranging from Algebra 1 to Precalculus. Additionally, he has achieved a 35 on the overall ACT, with a 36 on both Math and Science. Dylan hopes to major in Accounting and proceed to get his Juris Doctorate to be a corporate lawyer after completing college.
Mr. Phan taught (and tutors) AP Calculus A/B and B/C at Gulf Breeze High School for many years and will also tutor pre-calculus and algebra.
Kelly Ratté graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2013 with a Bachelor degree in English Literature and minors in both Mathematics and Education. After graduating, she obtained her 6-12 teaching certificates in English and Mathematics. Kelly taught both Language Arts and Mathematics for 6 years a Gulf Breeze Middle School. In 2019, she began teaching Algebra II, Precalculus, and IB Analysis and Approaches at Pensacola High School, and remained there for 3 years. In 2022, Kelly joined the team at Gulf Breeze High School, teaching Algebra II and AP Calculus AB and BC.
Lauren Skelton graduated from Louisiana Tech University in February of 2017 with a Bachelors in Mathematics Education. During that time, she taught math classes at the local high school as a substitute teacher and upon graduation she taught Algebra 1 Honors at Ruston High School. For the last three years, she has been at Gulf Breeze High School, teaching Algebra 1, Math for College Readiness, Algebra 2, Geometry, Geometry Honors, and Precalculus Honors and has experience working with students in test prep for ACT.
Paige Smith graduated as Valedictorian from Gulf Breeze High School. She is currently a junior at Georgia Institute of Technology, where she holds a 4.0 average and Faculty Honors. Paige is a Biomedical Engineering student and a member of the Society of Women Engineers as well as multiple extracurriculars, including astronomy and barbell club. She has tutored middle and high school math for several years, as she has revived perfect scores on math testing. Paige has a true love of math and sciences and enjoys helping younger students to grasp difficult concepts.
Science Instructor. Cherie Stephens has taught science for almost twenty-five years and is currently the Honors and IB Biology teacher in Pensacola High School’s International Baccalaureate program. She has a B.S. In Cellular and Molecular Biology and a Masters in Secondary School Science Education from Northwestern Illinois University and UWF. Prior to her teaching career, Ms. Stephens worked as a research assistant in an oceanographic institute as well as in the food chemistry industry.
Clint has a Bachelor's in History from Mercer University, a Master's in Education from Georgia College, and began his teaching career with multi-disabled students at the Georgia School for the Blind. He taught AP US History and AP Government, while serving as AP Coordinator at Rutland High School in Macon, Georgia. Upon moving to Pensacola, Clint taught IB Geography, AP Human Geography, and AP Government and Politics for 9 years in Pensacola High School's IB Program. He taught AP Government and AP Macroeconomics at Navarre High School. He currently is also a communications management graduate student at University of Southern California in the Annenberg School of Communication.
Some of our classes and workshops are taught by multiple teachers. Please check the class/workshop descriptions for the specific dates of the event for more information.
Career Coach. Maria is a graduate of Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor’s in liberal studies and a Master’s in Education with a specialization in Counseling and Guidance. She spent 12 years in the corporate world before returning to her counseling roots. She is a board certified life coach, board certified patient advocate, certified rehabilitation counselor, certified purpose clarity coach and a former master career counselor. She is passionate about helping others find their purpose so they can live their best life.