Debra Arnold

Debra Arnold holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music education from West Chester University.  Ms. Arnold taught middle school general music and choir for two years in the Christina School District in Newark, Delaware before moving to the Owen J. Roberts School District in Pottstown, Pennsylvania as an elementary music specialist.  In addition to her teaching duties, Ms. Arnold served as the OJR Elementary Music Chairperson, developed and initiated the OJR Elementary District Chorus program, directed the OJR High School musical and was the director of the OJR High School show choir.  After 14 years of teaching in the district, Ms. Arnold moved with her young family to Southern Chester County, PA where they still live today.  She was most recently the supervising director of the University of Delaware Children’s Choir program through the UD Community Music School and she directed the UD Singin’ Hens which served singers in the community in grades 7-12.  While not in the classroom or on the conductor’s podium, Ms. Arnold continues to pursue her love of singing and musical theater.  She is also the very proud mom of Madison (age 15) and Megan (age 12) and loves supporting them as they discover and develop their own talents and passions.

Jessica Bunitsky

Jessica Bunitsky graduated from West Chester University with a dual degree in Political Science and Economics and has a law degree from Villanova. She was a prosecutor for the State of Delaware for several years, before marrying Mark Bunitsky (still a prosecutor with the State of Delaware), having three children, and becoming a homeschooler. Her oldest son graduated from the University of Delaware with a Civil Engineering degree; her middle daughter is pursuing an English degree at Neumann University; and her youngest is in the Mount Sophia Diploma program. Jessica has taught for 8 years at the Wednesday Co-Op in Newark, the various classes, including middle and high school writing, college-prep writing, American History, World History and Philosophy, Economics, and Civics. The Bunitskys are members of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Wilmington, Delaware, a parish founded in part by the Bunitsky family in the 1900s. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys bible study, studying the ancient Orthodox Christian faith, reading history books, sewing, gardening, and last but not least, keeping up with the news.

Gail Friedline – Office Staff

Gail Friedline is the fortunate wife of Harold Friedline for nearly 38 years.  Together they have 4 children and 7 grandchildren (so far).  She enjoys bookkeeping for the school as well as for her church, the Newark Church of Christ.  In her non-school time, she enjoys playing games with her grandchildren, visiting with family and friends, teaching Bible to students in her congregation, cooking, volunteering at the church’s campus ministry and local food pantry, reading, gardening, and hiking.

After earning a degree in accounting, Gail worked as a bookkeeper for 4 years until her first child was born.  Gail and her husband began homeschooling after seeing a notice about a meeting for homeschoolers.  They knew no homeschoolers, but read up on the subject and began home-educating in 1992.  In 1993 she formed a homeschool coop for 8th grade and younger students that she continued with until 2008 teaching a full range of classes.  After 21 years of homeschooling, she graduated all 4 of her children and continued teaching other children in her home.  Eventually, she began teaching at Mt. Sophia and then working in the office.  

Amei Geldreich

Amei (Amy) earned her Associate in Science degree in ASL Interpreting and her Associate in Art degree in Deaf Studies from Camden County College. She graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Communication, Theatre and English from The College of New Jersey. She holds National Interpreter Certification under the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and has been working as a private practice interpreter for more than 25 years. Her favorite things to interpret are music festivals, the Circus, medical appointments and religious events. Amei serves as a mentor for interpreting students as well as Deaf students. Amei and her husband Ryan have four children who were raised in the Deaf community. They graduated two home-educated students. For fun, Amei enjoys spending time with her family, boating and reading.

Will Hahn

Will Hahn has been teaching History for so long he can show the great people of the past using photos in his high school yearbook. He really enjoys talking to kids about long ago (you know, even before the Beatles), and has team-taught for several years at Mount Sophia, designing and playing Problem-Based Learning simulations for crucial moments in history. More recently, Will has been turned loose on unsuspecting students in the Writing 10 and 11 classes as well as in Literature, Philosophy of Utopia and Computer Literacy. Between teaching, Will sits at the entrance hall and practices looking serious. Will has a B.A. in Ancient History from Williams College and a M.A. in Medieval History from Fordham University. He enjoys writing and narrating epic fantasy tales of his own and other authors.

Marlo Hughes

Marlo Hughes has been teaching for over twenty years. She studied at the University of Delaware and received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education with a minor in Sign Language. Her passion for the language and for serving the deaf community later led to her pursuit and completion of an additional degree in Sign Language Interpretation from the Community College of Philadelphia. Many students have called her “teacher” over the years, including her own five children. She homeschooled all five from pre-k all the way through high school, celebrating each milestone and making lifelong homeschool friends along the way. As for Sign Language, Marlo loves to share what she has learned and chat with new and old friends any chance she gets. Her outgoing and joyful personality is contagious and sure to lift you up. Outside of school, you can find her making memories with her children and grandchildren, reading books, and enjoying the many other blessings God has given.

Stephanie Magargee

Stephanie graduated from Indiana University of PA in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Consumer Affairs and Fashion Merchandising, with a minor in business.  After taking a nutrition class her last semester in college, she realized her passion for nutrition. While working for the Internal Revenue Service as a revenue officer for six years, she completed her master’s degree in nutrition education from Immaculata College. She became a registered Dietitian and worked at Christiana Care for 18 years as a clinical dietitian. Her area of focus was medical intensive care, hemodialysis, and cancer care. Stephanie and her husband Dave have been married for 29 years and have seven children. All have been homeschooled. Stephanie has taught various classes at a homeschool co-op including anatomy and physiology, human development, writing and literature. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys Bible study, reading, hiking, biking and dreaming about being at the Outer Banks.

Christine Metzing

Christine Metzing is a medical doctor and the married mother of four beautiful children, all of whom have been homeschooled through high school and graduated from Mt. Sophia Academy.  A graduate of New York Medical College, Christine completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, where she specialized in internal medicine with a subspecialty in the social aspects of healthcare. She also received advanced training in the care of those with addictions. She served as the medical director of two homeless shelters and was an attending physician at the Daniel Leicht HIV/AIDS clinic in Manhattan. After working in private practice in Virginia for many years, she semi-retired from medical practice, making some exceptions, and entered the Delaware home-school world with her children. For most of those years, Christine was involved with co-ops,  eventually serving as an administrator of a large homeschool co-op where she taught various science, Spanish, and high school history courses. Also teaching at Mt. Sophia Academy for many years, she has taught various Bible classes along with college prep/advanced/honors-level chemistry and biology classes. Because of gratitude toward God for all that He has done for her through Christ, Christine loves to serve. She has volunteered as a Sunday School teacher, ladies Bible study leader, VBS leader, and as a youth/AWANA leader for many years. In the community, she has worked with Youth for Christ and the Boys and Girls Club. Christine has a passion for missions, evangelism, and discipleship which has led her to organize and lead annual medical/Christian mission trips, where she uses her medical skills and fluency in Spanish to spread the gospel and care for the people of La Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala. She loves MSA and teaching, especially the Bible, and she loves making difficult subjects easier to understand. 

Crisi Morris

Crisi Morris is living her dream. She is a homeschooling mama to 5 beautiful children, ranging from grade 1 to college freshman. She has been homeschooling since the beginning. She is also a part-time RN working in the Neuro Critical Care Unit. She is a graduate of Del Tech Community College and Immaculata University. She holds certifications for Critical Care, Stroke Care, Trauma Care, and Advance Life Support. She also does per diem work as a Nurse Expert for a Law Firm. Crisi has been married to her husband, Lee, for 20 years. She has been a Children’s Teacher at Community Bible Study for nine years, teaching children ages 2 to grade 6. She has taught in various co-op settings throughout the years. She loves project-based and hands-on learning. She does not believe in busy work. It is her desire for kids to love learning. Crisi has served on the Tri State Homeschool Inc board for many years, including six years as Secretary. She has led the Science Olympiad teams for many years. She continues coordinating activities such as Safety Night and History Wax Museum. In her free time, she enjoys watching her kids’ various activities and sports, adventuring outside, exploring new areas, the beach, hiking, and catching each sunrise and sunset she can. She is the ultimate chaos coordinator and loves to host people at her home for various parties and gatherings.

Nancy Petrucci

Nancy Petrucci has had a passion for teaching and helping others succeed throughout her life.  In 2011, she began homeschooling her son and teaching within the homeschool community; customizing curriculum to work with students’ individual learning styles and creating a positive educational experience. She loves to help students utilize their unique potential to achieve academic success.  Nancy’s son graduated from Mount Sophia Academy in 2019 and is pursuing a career as a Martial Arts Instructor.

Prior to homeschooling, Nancy’s teaching experience includes an accredited bible school and the local church community.  As a Ministerial Studies graduate of World Outreach Bible School, she created and taught accredited courses in regard to worship. Throughout her time as a worship minister at a local church, she mentored worship teams and taught at youth groups, conferences and local churches. Whether teaching adults or youth, Nancy’s greatest joy was seeing students discover God’s love for them and the good plans He has for their lives.

Nancy has been teaching Cinema as Literature Studies at Mount Sophia Academy since 2018 and enjoys discussing literary themes with a biblical perspective.

Nancy and her husband, Paul, are native Delawareans who have been married for over 30 years and continue to serve in their church. Their greatest joy is to spend time with their children. Whenever time allows, Nancy loves to go to the beach and explore historical sites within the tri-state area.

Julie Rainbow – Website Manager

Julie Rainbow graduated from Purdue University with a BA in Psychology in 1994. She married her husband, Dave, in the same year. They have five children, three of whom have been homeschooled and graduated from MSA. They have lived in Indiana, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Florida, and Pennsylvania. They have had the pleasure and experience of homeschooling in Maryland, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Julie worked as a Branch Manager for Household Finance Corporation, Regional Marking Director for National Real Estate Information Services, and National Marketing Director for Transcontinental Title. Later, she became President and National Marketing Director of her own company, Title Options, Inc. 

Julie homeschooled her children since 2010. She has been a part of MSA since 2016. She was an active swim team mom, website and social media manager, and regular volunteer at MSA. She joined the MSA Board of Directors in January of 2022. 

Ira Rodrigues

Born and raised in Brazil, Ira Rodrigues has been involved in choral life for over twenty consecutive years. Irailda has enjoyed teaching voice and choir to high school kids and considers it a privilege to be able to add to the formation of young lives. Dr. Rodrigues holds a B.A. in Church Music (emphasis on High School Choir Education) from the Seminário Teológico Batista do Norte do Brasil (Recife, Brazil), a M.A. in Music (Vocal Performance) from Campbellsville University (KY), and a DMA in Vocal Performance from the University of Kentucky (KY).

Georgeanna Singley

Georgeanna Singley earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University. After graduating, she launched her career at Air Products and Chemicals as a process engineer. When she and her husband, Steve, welcomed their first child, Georgeanna transitioned to part-time work, allowing her to balance her professional life with raising a family. This shift marked the beginning of a 24-year journey dedicated to homeschooling her children while continuing her engineering career. Today, Georgeanna and Steve are proud parents of five children, all of whom have been homeschooled. Their eldest is a University of Delaware graduate, two are current UD students (with one set to graduate in May), and their youngest two attend MSA. Georgeanna is excited to embark on a new journey, sharing her expertise by teaching physical science and Python programming. This opportunity allows her to blend her technical background with her passion for education, inspiring a new generation of learners. In her spare time, Georgeanna enjoys a variety of hobbies, including experimenting with recipes in the kitchen, volunteering at her church, reading, crafting, playing chess, and solving crossword puzzles.

Michael Thress

Mike Thress is the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Bear, Delaware. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Valparaiso University (Indiana) in Classics (Latin and Greek) and a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He is the father of four children and enjoys playing music (piano and guitar), running, and hiking in his spare time. Mike has enjoyed being a part of the MSA community as a parent since 2013. He is co-teaching Biblical Fundamentals with Dan Varnell.

Barbara Varnell – Academic Adviser

Barbara Varnell is the junior and senior academic advisor for Mount Sophia Academy. She holds a B.S. M.S. and Ph.D. from Penn State University in Polymer Science and a Masters in Biblical Study from International Seminary. Her loves are reading and learning and she has a passion for working with young people and helping them use the gifts and talents God has given them to make a difference in the world.

Barbara teaches Honors Calculus I and II, Honors Statistics, Honors Discrete Math/Linear Algebra, Honors Chemistry II, and Writing 12 (technical writing). She is also the coach for the MSA Rhetoric Team since 2003 and has a passion for both helping students overcome their fear of public speaking and helping those with a natural gifting improve their abilities.

Barbara originally was a double major in polymer science and music at Penn State but decided that at some point she needed to graduate and never completed her music degree but still loves her involvement in music. While she enjoys every class she teaches, when she is having a stressful school day her calculus class is her “happy place”.

Barbara began homeschooling her oldest daughter in 1993 and graduated her youngest in 2014. Her oldest is a computer engineering professor, her middle daughter is an equine veterinarian and her youngest is in graduate school for developmental psychology, just confirming that each and every one of our children are unique individuals.