UPPER SCHOOL

Stephanie was born in Alaska and as a teenager, moved with her family to Idaho, where she stayed for college and received her Bachelor of Science in Biology & Botany from Idaho State University. Later, she completed her Master’s in Science Teaching from Northern Arizona University. Stephanie moved to Prescott, her husband's hometown, in 2009. She has been teaching at Trinity since 2011, with a 5 year break to raise her children. Outside of the classroom, Stephanie loves to be outside gardening, running, paddleboarding/kayaking, hiking, hunting, and camping with her husband and children.

Karla has been teaching theater for over 25 years and has been an elementary and Jr High theater teacher since 1999.  At sixteen years old, while on a cross-country tour with American Baptist Youth from all over New England, she felt called by God to study theater and make it her life’s work. Karla earned her BA in Theater from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa and completed a summer course at the Abbey Theater in Dublin, Ireland.  She is the co-founder and artistic director of Laark Productions and has directed a dozen Shakespeare productions for that company as well as numerous plays for Franklin Phonetic School, Prescott Fine Arts Association, Blue Rose Theater, Prescott Christian Church, Arizona Classical Theater, Park View Middle School and Bradshaw Mountain High School. Her writing credits include many historical plays and children’s theater.  Mrs. Burkitt and her husband have three adult sons and one teenaged daughter.

Bryn is a music educator, composer, and musician in the Arizona Philharmonic, Prescott Pops Orchestra, and pit orchestra for Yavapai College theater productions.  She has a thriving private studio of violin and viola students, two of which are students at Trinity.  Bryn is thrilled to be creating an orchestra program at the upper school, to share her love of music and music-making with the students at Trinity.

Prior to moving to the Prescott area, Bryn had a private violin and viola studio and worked in worship planning for a large church in Seattle.  She studied viola at the Eastman School of Music, Music Pedagogy at Indiana University, and also has a master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State. Bryn and her husband Larry have two adult children and a daughter-in-law. 

Robert was born and raised in Southern California. After high school, he joined the US Army and recently retired after a blessed 20 year career. He received a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Liberty University. Post-military, Robert felt a calling to join Trinity to teach, coach, and mentor the next generation of Christ-following Americans. Robert and his wife, Nicole, are the proud parents of 4 children. He enjoys skydiving, golf, and spending time in the backyard with family and friends. 

Natalia was born and raised in Puerto Rico. There she did her bachelor's degree in Secondary Education emphasis in science and a minor in mathematics. She ran track and cross country for her alma mater (¡Adelante Pioneros!). Later on, Natalia completed her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has worked as a math teacher for more than seven years and tutored for various subjects during the years. She spends her free time exercising, reading, listening to music, or watching some TV. As a Spanish teacher she is excited to share her language and Latin culture with Trinity students.

Ken graduated from LIFE Pacific Bible College in San Dimas, California with a degree in both Pastoral Ministries and Bible. After college, he joined Liberty Christian School in Anderson, Indiana, where he served as both a teacher and a coach. Ken also pastored for over 20 years before joining the Trinity family in 2008.  During his time at Trinity, he has served in various roles in leadership and teaching.  Ken and his wife Cindy, have 5 children, 4 of whom have graduated from Trinity.

Zach is a 2017 alumnus of Trinity and graduate of Biola University, where he earned his bachelor’s in English Writing and became a perpetual member of the Torrey Honors College. He returned to Trinity after graduating and serves our school as a Bible, History and AP English teacher and developer of our Classical Teacher Training Institute. Zach is married to his high school sweetheart and has one young daughter.

Originally from Oregon, Jennifer and her family moved to Prescott in 2012. Having a love for art since childhood, Jennifer completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Economics, with a minor in Art. More recently, she completed two college certificates in graphic and website design. Jennifer has enjoyed working at Trinity as an art aide, classroom aide, and substitute teacher and is excited to instruct and encourage students in art while pointing them to the ultimate Artist and Creator. Jennifer enjoys doing crafts, spending time with family, nature, and horses.  Jennifer has two grown sons who are alumnus of Trinity. She is grateful to serve God at Trinity and be part of His Kingdom work here. 

Doug comes to Trinity with a BA in Ministry Leadership and an MA in Philosophy. He has had the opportunity to serve in various ways, including sharing the gospel with gang members in jails, providing crisis support to teen boys in a group home, and working with Muslim refugees. He has served as a pastor, professor, and mentor to college students and younger generations. Doug is excited to continue that work at Trinity, where he hopes to encourage students in their journeys of faith and learning. He married his wife Hanan in 2024 and they hope to start a family soon.

Liz has been teaching since 2001. She began her teaching career by teaching students who could not attend school due to illness. This very rewarding time in education lasted 17 years. When she married in 2014, Liz moved to San Diego where she taught for The Classical Academies for 6 years and enjoyed every minute of her time with her students. Deeply held convictions led Liz to seek employment outside of California in a Christian environment that would ensure that her religious convictions were celebrated. She has found that home at Trinity Christian School. 

Liz lives on 5 acres with her two grown children: Hannah and Jackson, her father, 18 chickens and her beloved dog, Daphne. Although she is a teacher, she is a mother first and will always love and instruct her students as if they were her very own.

Victoria is a 2018 alumnus of Trinity Christian School, having attended since
kindergarten through her senior year. She then stayed in the Prescott area to get her associate
degree from Yavapai College while being an assistant coach for the Lady Warriors highschool
basketball team for three seasons. Every summer was spent keeping in touch with Trinity
through their ministry with PICK where they would take kids to Colorado for a week to
experience Christ’s love and freedom. Once Victoria moved to Flagstaff to pursue her bachelor
degree in Political Science from Northern Arizona University, conversations began to arise about
teaching as her interest was piqued when she was a teaching assistant for the university. The
continued relationship post-graduating from Trinity made it obvious that this would be the place
she would return as God made a way for her to be of service.

Patrick was blessed to have been saved at a young age and raised by Christian parents. He received his bachelor's degree in History and Classics (emphasis in Latin) from the University of Mississippi. Afterwards he earned a Masters degree in History from the University of Tennessee where he studied Medieval Latin manuscripts, paleography, and the crusades.

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In 2016, Patrick moved to Prescott where he taught 6th-12th grade Latin for five years at a public charter school. In 2022, he switched to a career in web development where he worked primarily on tourism websites across the United States. Patrick is thrilled to be back in the classroom this year teaching Latin. Patrick and his wife, Tiffany, have three kids with one on the way

Chris came to follow Christ the summer following his freshman year of high school, and not long afterwards felt God’s calling into full time Christian ministry. He attended Wingate University, a small school in North Carolina, for his undergraduate work and graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in biblical languages. It was at this time that his best friend, Kelly, became his beloved wife. Since then, they have been blessed with three remarkable children: Madison, Karis and Ethan. After serving twelve years in pastoral ministry, Chris and Kelly felt God’s Spirit leading them to Arizona after a mission trip to Phoenix in the summer of 2011. Following God’s leading, they moved to Prescott in 2013. Chris has served at Trinity since 2014 and continues to be amazed at God’s work among the students at the school.

Angela grew up on a farm in rural Indiana. She received a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University in Animal Science. A couple of years later, she went to seminary to get a Master of Arts in Youth and Family Ministry from Grace Theological Seminary. Currently, she enjoys activities outdoors such as mountain biking, softball, disc golf and hiking to name just a few. Angela feels very privileged to be a part of the Trinity team and the opportunity to teach and invest in the lives of students. 

Heather, an Oregon native, felt a strong calling from God to move to Prescott with her family in 2023 and become part of Trinity Christian School.  She graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, focusing on Latin America. Her love for the Spanish language and culture was ignited during her time studying abroad in Ecuador.  She homeschooled her five kids for over four years and was part of a classical Christian co-op. This is where she was first introduced to the classical teaching method and has had a passion for it ever since.
 
Heather is married to her amazing husband, Anthony, and has 5 kids who all attend Trinity.  She loves hiking Thumb Butte, eating good food, and Jesus.  She looks forward to taking her students on an adventure into the world of Spanish here at Trinity.

Isaac grew up in China as part of a missionary family and graduated from an international school before moving to South Korea to attend Bible college and serve as a missionary. It was there that he met his future wife, Madison, an alumna of Trinity Christian School. In 2024, Isaac completed his B.S. in English and Writing, and moved to Arizona. There, he married his beautiful wife, Madison and to joined the faculty at Trinity Christian School. Isaac and his wife, Madison welcomed  their first child, Eleanor, to the world this summer and are enjoying every moment with her. Isaac  is grateful to be a part of Trinity’s team, learning from a wide range of godly mentors and leaders.

Chad earned his bachelor’s degree in Music Theory and Composition from Biola University, as well as a minor in Biblical Studies. He first joined the faculty of Trinity Christian school in 2007 and has taught many subjects over the years. Chad currently serves as the High School Department, assisting the Upper School Principal, supporting the teachers, and leading the High School Student Leadership Team. He also teaches high school Logic, Rhetoric, Senior Thesis, and Bible. Chad plays the piano and the guitar, enjoys construction work, and spending time with his wife and four sons.

In 2002, Nate graduated from Midland Lutheran College in Nebraska. When he finished his enlistment in the US Army, he and his wife, Shannon, moved to Arizona where he has served and taught in Prescott Valley for the past 20 years. In his free time he enjoys taking his family on camping, hiking and snowboarding trips. They love fishing and boating, as well as many summers spent on the baseball and softball fields. Nate and Shannon have raised 6 children and love to take them on all types of adventures together. His passion for teaching has blessed him with amazing opportunities to minister while coaching both football and basketball. Throughout the years he and his wife have diligently served the Lord in several youth ministry programs and are excited to continue to share and teach his word to the youth of Trinity Christian. 

As a former Classical homeschool mom of seven (five boys, two girls), Donna learned Latin later in life while teaching her own children and others in Classical co-ops and charter schools in California. For nearly five years, she taught Latin at Trinity Classical Academy in Valencia, CA, while serving on the Excellence Through Classics committee board. Donna is the Executive Director of Ascanius: The Youth Classics Institute awarding grants to Latin and Greek teachers and continues her involvement in Latin communities nationwide through ACCS and SCL. She holds a Bachelor's in English from UCLA, and a Master’s in Classics from Villanova University. She loves to teach Latin actively, applying both the skill of reading and grammar while students read, hear, speak, and think in Latin!

Rich came to follow Christ as an elementary school student and was blessed to grow up with two strong Christian parents.  He attended the University of California, Riverside, where he completed a B.A. in History, M.A. in History, and a secondary school teaching credential. Rich has been married to his wonderful wife Kellee for 33 years. They are blessed to have and in led in many areas as a high school history teacher, department chair, head varsity coach, athletic director, high school administrator, adjunct college professor, and state high school sports commissioner before moving to Arizona this June. Rich and Kellee are excited for what God has in store for them after following God’s calling to move to Arizona. 

Chad received his Bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministries from Southwestern College (now Arizona Christian University), after completing two years at the University of Arizona. He returned to college to become certified as a high school math teacher through Arizona State University (yes, U of A & ASU). Chad has taught at Trinity since 2007 and is a state certified secondary math teacher who teaches Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry, Precalculus and Calculus for Trinity. He also teaches high school Chemistry and Physics. He has been coaching varsity volleyball at Trinity for over 16 years and he has been the volleyball department head for the last decade. He loves to play a plethora of sports, such as volleyball, basketball, football, and softball. He also loves outdoor activities such as camping, water sports, and rock climbing. Spending time with his family, however, trumps the rest. He has been married to his wonderful wife, Melanie, for 26 years. Their two children are graduates of Trinity.

Holly has taught art at Trinity since 2014. She takes great joy in opening the minds of her students to the world of art and developing their abilities to create, enjoy and appreciate art.

Born and raised in Arizona, Christi graduated from Prescott High School. She then studied Bible Theology at the Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago. Through her service experiences at Moody, Christi soon saw the Lord encouraging her love of students and teaching. After graduation, she came back to Prescott where those desires to teach were again fueled as she worked in the classroom of the Yavapai County Juvenile Detention Center. She returned to school and received a post-bachelor's degree in secondary education emphasis in mathematics. Married to her college sweetheart, and blessed with four special daughters, Christi enjoys living life to the fullest as she embraces the beauty of God's creation.

Tom was born in Prescott and is a 1990 graduate of Prescott High School.  From there, he went on to get a Bachelor’s degree in Missionary Aviation from Moody Bible Institute. Following the Lord’s lead to join His work in Prescott, Tom came to work at Trinity in 2016. Tom is honored to serve the students of Trinity and partner with parents in helping students grow in awe of God’s work in the world as well as grow in their relationship with Christ. He and his wife Christi, have four daughters.