Upper School (7-12)

Mrs. Jean Gutsche

History (7th & 8th) | Civics

Jean Gutsche earned a B.A. degree in education and psychology from Wake Forest University. After teaching in the local public school system, she earned a master’s degree at Wake Forest. The Gutsches lived in California for 5 years then relocated to Sarasota in 1995. Mrs. Gutsche home schooled her two children and began teaching history and Constitution at local home school cooperatives. Her interests are teaching wonderful TCA students, running and hiking, reading about history, and traveling with Mr. G. to places far and wide to see where great historical events happened.

Mr. Alexander Vanston

History (9th), Military Studies, Survival & Civility

Major Vanston retired from the Marine Corps with over 24 years of service both as an officer and enlisted. Some of the highlights of his career were serving as a US Embassy Guard, Civil Affairs Officer, and POW/MIA Recovery Team Leader. Maj Vanston taught in Florida public schools for five years before moving to TCA in 2022. He met his wife Jennifer while stationed in Sri Lanka in 1994, they have two children Ceylon and Nathan. After retiring from the Marine Corps in 2016 his family settled in Sarasota. His greatest enjoyment is international travel with his family.

Mr. Dominic Stevens

History (10th-12th)

Mr. Stevens was born in London, England and joined TCA after moving to Florida with his wife, Kate, in 2017. He graduated from Goldsmith’s, University of London with a BA Honors Degree in History, and later received a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education in History from the University of Chichester. Mr. Stevens is also a qualified soccer coach and coaches TCA’s Middle and High school soccer team. Mr. Stevens loves teaching children and bringing the pages of history to life! Outside of teaching, his interests include soccer, playing the drums, reading, watching movies, going on vacations, studying history and spending time with his wife and two young daughters, Chloe and Lucy

Mrs. Amy Olsen

Literature & Composition (7th) Language Arts Department Head

Amy Olsen has taught Latin and Language Arts in classical schools and co-ops in Texas, New Jersey, and Florida for many years. Born and raised in Massachusetts, she holds her BA in music from Wheaton College and her M.Ed. degree in English Education from Liberty University. When not teaching at TCA, Amy, a classically-trained singer, helps her husband with his music ministry in Sarasota. Amy and her husband Glen have three grown children and one adorable baby grandson.

Mr. Austin Hayes

Composition & Rhetoric

Mrs. Rachel Borg

Literature (8th)

Rachel Borg graduated from Crown College with a BS in Christian Studies and English. Rachel spent time in Indonesia supporting the formation of the first Indonesian Classical School, and invested eleven years of her life classically homeschooling her children. Rachel is happily married to her amazing husband, Michael, and thankful to be the mother of five incredible children. She loves reading books, engaging in intentional conversation, and playing the piano. Her favorite hobbies include spending time with her family, hiking mountains in Montana, camping in the wilderness, and finding beauty in the mundanities of life.

Mrs. Shannon Mitchell

Literature 9th & 12th, Mythology & Folklore, The Inklings, Luddite Club

Shannon Mitchell is a wife and the mother of two sons. She is a lifelong reader who, after years of staying home with her young children, ultimately fulfilled that passion for literature and writing by going back to school to pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature at the University of Central Florida. She comes to TCA after five years at a public middle school. She anxiously looks forward to reading great works of literature with her students while teaching them the skills to write creatively and persuasively.

Mr. Mathew Kepler

College Math, Geometry, Physics, & Wilderness Survival

Mr. Kepler was drawn to TCA after 17 years in private industry where he was a consultant, project manager and project analyst. With a BS from Pennsylvania State University, he is passionate about the sciences and has a love for education and his country’s heritage. He and his wife of 13 years have two girls attending TCA. In his free time, Mathew enjoys making home repairs, being outdoors, and practicing martial arts.

Ms. Sonya Clark

Geometry | Geometry Honors

Coach Sonya Clark attended Asbury University for her bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. She also has a master’s degree in Secondary Education from Eastern Kentucky University. Coach Clark taught Physical Education and Health at Sayre School (PreK – 12th private school) in Lexington, KY for 15 years prior to coming to FL and TCA. She has coached soccer at the middle school and high school levels for many years. Ms. Clark has always loved math and has enjoyed teaching high school math for 8+ years.

Ms. Charlene Tillman

Algebra 1

Ms. Tillman is a native of Florida, growing up in Manatee County and now resides in Sarasota. She attended Stetson University in DeLand, Florida graduating in 1996 with a Bachelor of Music. Ms. Tillman also earned a Masters in Education from the University of Cincinnati in 2016. She has been teaching at TCA for the last 5 of her 15 years of teaching. Ms. Tillman taught 5th grade for her first 4 years at TCA and then moved to lower school music and upper school Wind Ensemble. She is currently working on building an instrumental music program at TCA for the development of aspiring musicians, and is also the aftercare director. Ms. Tillman enjoys spending time with her two children, reading with a great cup of coffee, playing the oboe, and attending local performing arts events.

Mr. Geoff McBride

Algebra 1

Geoff McBride has been in education for 18 years, holding a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in Education. He previously worked for the New York City Department of Education teaching at a residential treatment facility for troubled youth with a focus in Algebra, Special Education and Physical Education. Geoff also served as head Varsity basketball coach during his entire teaching tenure at Mercyfirst as well as an assistant on the Varsity basketball staff at St. John the Baptist High School in the CHSAA.

Geoff, his wife Aimee and four children Brandon 13, Gavin 11, Beckham 5 and Madelyn 3 relocated from Long Island, NY to Florida last August and have never been happier. They were thrilled to join the TCA community, especially after forming a deep appreciation for the classical education model. Geoff joined the TCA coaching staff as the assistant coach for middle school flag football team and as head coach for middle school basketball team. He thoroughly enjoyed coaching this past year at TCA.

Geoff is delighted to join the teaching staff for the 2022-2023 school year teaching Physical Education and Algebra at TCA. He is on staff for TCA’s inaugural varsity tackle football team, head coach for middle school flag football and middle school basketball teams. He looks forward to teaching/coaching this year.

Mr. Nathan Loomis

Algebra 2 | Mock Trial

Mr. Loomis graduated from the University of South Florida in 2005 with a degree in Finance and Management. He has always had a love for young people and, after several years in youth ministry, began teaching high school. He has now been teaching and tutoring students in Math, Science, and History since graduating from college, having taught in both traditional and online schools and running a thriving tutoring business. His amazing wife Jennifer is an English teacher and together they have 3 strapping sons, Aaron, Benjamin, and Matthew. In his free time, Nathan enjoys music and martial arts

Mr. Matt Moore

Culinary 1 & 2 | Photography | Pre-Calculus

Mr. Mark Gutsche

Economics | Film

Mark Gutsche comes to The Classical Academy after a career in public relations and corporate communications. After graduating from the University of Colorado, he was a reporter for three years before working for companies such as Del Monte, Nabisco and Tropicana. Mr. Gutsche’s last corporate position was vice president of communications with Johnson & Johnson. He has been married to Mrs. Gutsche, TCA history teacher, for 38 years. They have two amazing children. When not sharing the miracles of the free market with students, he loves playing guitar with several Christian bands and hiking with Mrs. G in the Idaho mountains.

Dr. Jessica Patella

Biology (Honors) and Honors Anatomy & Physiology

Dr. Patella is a Sarasota native. She majored in Exercise Physiology at Florida State University and graduated magna cum laude and with honors. Her honors research while at FSU, was based on lifestyle effects on glucose levels in women. After FSU, Dr. Patella moved to Arizona to continue her education at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, where she earned her degree as a Naturopathic Doctor and specialized in nutrition and homeopathic medicine. From there, she and her husband moved to North Carolina, where she started her practice and began teaching nutrition at the local community college. It was her experience at the community college that led her to fall in love with teaching. Eventually, she moved back to Sarasota and began her teaching career. Dr. Patella is passionate about the human body and is looking forward to sharing that passion with students at TCA. Outside of work, Dr. Patella enjoys spending time with her children and family, reading, running (Although very slowly!), going to the beach and traveling!

Mrs. Rachael Witherspoon

Science Department Chair | Chemistry

Rachael Witherspoon received her Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she majored in English, and her Masters of Business Administration from the University Nebraska - Omaha, with an emphasis in finance and management. Rachael is a mother of four who occasionally runs half marathons. She enjoys all things nerdy, traveling with her family, and ice cream. Rachael brings her well rounded knowledge of English, math, and science to TCA.

Mr. Bill Eppell

Astronomy | Earth Science (8th) | Marine Science

William was born and raised in New Jersey and lived there until he attended SUNY Maritime College in New York City. In 2018 he graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Marine Environmental Science and a Minor in Biology. Following graduation he worked as a Seasonal Instructor at MarineLab starting in spring 2019, and then a full time instructor starting in the fall of 2019. MarineLab is an education facility in the Florida Keys focused on hands on learning and biology based science. While working at MarineLab, William had experience teaching both classes and labs for grade levels between 5th and 12th grade. 2020 will be William's first year with TCA , and he is looking forward to the opportunity to teach students in the upcoming year.

Elizabeth Gillson

Literature & Comp (Upper School)

Andrea McSorley

Literature, Senior Thesis

Andrea graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a dual major in Pre-medicine and Theology. She continued on at Notre Dame to earn her Masters degree in Theology as part of the Echo Faith Formation Leadership Program. Andrea taught English and Business Communications for three and a half years at a college level trade school in Lunzu, Malawi. After this experience, she served as Formation Assistant for ten years to graduate students from Notre Dame coaching young adults in communal and professional skills and personal development. She is married to Mr. Spencer McSorley, also an instructor at TCA, and has four fun and energetic boys. Andrea loves any excuse to get outside, a great book with a warm drink, and conversations with good friends.

Rebecca Sirek

Logic (7th), Patriot Girls coach

Rebecca grew up near Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from Mount Union College with a Bachelor's degree in Middle Childhood Education. With a passion for dance and a love for working with children, Rebecca pursued a career coaching dance and cheer in both traditional school and private gym settings. She is a proud military wife to her husband, Keris, and has continued to volunteer in Sunday school classrooms wherever the Navy sent them. They have been married 17 years and have four children, all whom attend TCA. Rebecca is ecstatic to bring her coaching experience to TCA in starting the brand-new Patriot Girls dance and cheer team. And she is happy to join the upper school teaching staff.