Meet Our Staff

Headmaster – Jeff Johnston

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Brock University, Jeff worked for a short time as a youth pastor. Feeling the call to serve young people as a classroom teacher, he moved from his home in Canada to Grand Rapids, MI, to pursue teacher certification from Cornerstone University, where he was recognized as Student Teacher of the Year. He began his teaching career by opening a home school cooperative then later joined with National Heritage Academies as a middle school instructor. He continued teaching in Greensboro after marrying Laura, a native of North Carolina. In 2004, Jeff accepted the position of Assistant Principal at Greensboro Academy, while working to complete his master’s in educational leadership/curriculum and instruction from Calvin College. Through the years of moving from student to instructor to administrator, Jeff’s passion for classical, Christian education deepened. The Christian Education Society of Mebane, Inc. was born out of his vision as he shared it with other local parents through monthly meetings beginning in 2004. Years of prayers were answered when Bradford Academy opened its doors in 2008.

Jeff and Laura are parents to four children, all of whom attend, or have graduated from, Bradford. Jeff’s service as a Sunday school teacher combined with his school teaching has afforded him opportunities to teach students from age three through twelfth grade. Though a full-time administrator, Jeff still endeavors to find avenues of teaching and interacting with students by leading all-school Forum each week and teaching an IST (Intensive Short Term) class to upper school students.

Executive Assistant – Laura Johnston

A native of Mebane, NC, Laura Johnston had the privilege of growing up the middle of three children and daughter of loving, Christian parents.  She and Jeff were married in 1999, shortly after she graduated from UNC-Greensboro.  They have four children, all of whom attend (or have graduated from) Bradford.  After years of serving as a regular volunteer, Laura gladly joined the staff officially in 2014. She is thankful for each opportunity afforded her to interact with students and parents on a personal level. She counts it an immense privilege to work alongside her husband, Jeff, and to see her children benefiting from the influence of exceptional teachers and education for the glory of God!

In her downtime, Laura enjoys running, hiking, vacationing in the mountains, and serving her church family.

Parent Ambassador – Amy Fairchild

In addition to teaching rhetoric-level art, Amy works as the school’s Parent Ambassador by connecting future Bradford Academy families to needed resources, conducting tours, and introducing them to other Bradford Academy families.

To reach Amy, please call 919-563-9001 or schedule a tour.

College Counselor – Mandy Crotts

Mandy Crotts joins a long line of teachers and educators in her family. She received her college degree from King University, Bristol, TN. Over the years she has taught numerous subjects both in schools and as a home educator.  Currently, she serves as the rhetoric school’s college counselor.  Additionally, she teaches literature in the rhetoric school and math in the logic and rhetoric school. Added to her responsibilities are the titles tennis coach and assistant basketball coach.

Athletic Director – Nathaniel Johnston

Nathaniel Johnston was raised in Graham, NC before moving to Raleigh where he earned an undergraduate degree in history and a commission in the army national guard while at NC State University.

For the past eight years, Coach Johnston worked at Thales Academy, a private classical school in Rolesville. During that time, his teaching responsibilities focused on American history, Ancient history and physical education. He coached fifteen boys’ and girls’ teams in multiple sports. For six years he served as the school’s athletic director.

LOWER SCHOOL (K – 5th Grade)

Lower School Dean – Ellen Mitchell

Ellen Mitchell graduated from Davidson College with a degree in religion and worked with Young Life ministry. She and her husband, Brent, have six children, whom they homeschooled for 15 years. Part of that journey included being introduced to classical education through Classical Conversations, where she taught 5th and 6th graders. The next chapter brought them to Bradford with her two youngest children in 2011. It has been a joy to see the benefits of Bradford’s classical education from having taught Kindergarten, then 3rd grade and finally from the vantage point of being Dean of Students for the Lower School.

Though her youngest two have now graduated from Bradford, she still enjoys cheering on the Archer athletic teams. She is an active member of Mebane Bible Church. Spare moments are spent reading, fellowshipping with others, and enjoying her adult children and grandchildren whenever they are in town.

TK 5-Day Teacher – Fallon Grubb

Fallon Grubb was raised here in the great town of Mebane, NC as the youngest of 3 children. Fallon joined the Bradford Academy team as an assistant in our TK program in 2018 and became the 5 day TK teacher in 2019. She is a member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church and serves as the coordinator for the children’s ministry at church. Her desire is to help even the youngest students grow in truth and create a love of learning. She is married to her husband Zach and has a wonderful daughter, Ashlyn, who attends Bradford Academy.

In her spare time, she enjoys reading, cooking with her daughter, and spending time with friends and family.

TK 3-Day Teacher – Claudia Weber

Claudia Weber serves as a teacher’s assistant in the TK Program. She has an undergraduate degree in business administration from Universidad APEC, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. For 13 years she homeschooled her 4 children from kindergarten to 6th grade. She thoroughly enjoyed her experience and time with her children during those formative years. Now she works with our TK kids and loves her work and seeing the kids grow in maturity and academically!

TK Assistant – Dawn Amador

Dawn Amador and her husband Joe have been married for 27 years.. They have lived here in North Carolina for 3 years. She homeschooled their two grown daughters from 4th to 12th grade. Dawn and Joe enjoy spending time with family and are current members of Grace Reformed Baptist. 

Dawn graduated from high school with a diploma in Practical Nursing. She enjoys doing puzzles and has started quilting. She is super excited to be the teacher’s assistant for the TK3 program here at Bradford Academy and to see what our Big God has in store for all the young children. 

TK Assistant – Kim Byrd

Kindergarten Instructor – Barbara Rivera

Barbara was born and raised in upstate New York. She received her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a double major in political science and history. She has over 20 years’ experience teaching Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, and was a director and teacher of the Awana program which focuses on teaching children the Bible and Bible memory. She enjoys reading, especially in history and theology, but her greatest passion is serving others in the name of Christ. Barbara has been actively involved in various mercy ministries both locally and internationally. She has been teaching at Bradford since 2015.

Kindergarten Instructor – Victoria Burdeshaw

First Grade Instructor – Amber Smith

Amber Smith discovered her love of teaching in high school where she earned her preschool teaching assistant certification while working at Head Start and volunteering in a 2nd grade classroom. After high school she earned her preschool teaching and administration certification. She worked as a nanny and preschool teacher. After moving to Tennessee, she worked as an assistant to the recovery pastor at her church. She also created the children’s recovery ministry and helped other churches set up their children’s recovery ministries. She has led VBS ministries, church youth groups, camps, and local short term mission trips over the last 25 years. Amber and her husband Kyle loved their time as foster parents for teenagers. Amber graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Interdisciplinary Studies and an Associate of Arts in Education. She has a professional educator’s license for the state of North Carolina. She worked in the public school system for 7 years before coming to Bradford Academy. She is grateful that God has placed her at a school that shares her Christian values and world view!

In her spare time Amber enjoys camping and hiking in the mountains with her husband Kyle and their dog Annie. She also enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, spending time with friends, and visiting family out of state.

First Grade Instructor – Rachel Cantaffa

Originally from Burlington, North Carolina, Rachel Cantaffa is excited to be a part of the Bradford Academy team as a first-grade teacher. Her educational journey began at Liberty University, followed by a rewarding career in the Marine Corps as an aviation electrician at Cherry Point Air Station. After her military service, she pursued her passion for education, and has worked as both a teacher and a school counselor.

She is married to her husband, Zachary, and together they have three wonderful children: a five-year-old, an almost three-year-old, and a one-and-a-half-year-old. She is dedicated to fostering a positive and engaging learning environment for her students and is thrilled to contribute to their growth and development here at Bradford Academy.

Second Grade Instructor – Dona Hedgecock

Although she was raised in a small town in central Indiana, Dona Hedgecock spent her summers visiting family in North Carolina and moved here in 1985. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1989 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and has worked over twenty-five years as an educator and school administrator in public and private schools, including seventeen years at a classical, Christian school in Greensboro. She joined Bradford in 2022 and loves teaching in the Lower School where she can share her love of learning, reading, and God’s Word with young students. She is a member of Covenant Fellowship ARP Church in Summerfield and has five children, the youngest of whom is a Bradford high schooler. In addition to teaching, Ms. Hedgecock enjoys talking to her children, cooking for and spending time with friends and family, driving scenic back roads, and curling up with a book on Sunday afternoons.

Second Grade Instructor – Donna Eng

Donna Eng joined the Bradford teaching staff in January 2023.  She was born in Kansas and spent many years moving around the country and internationally before settling in Elon, North Carolina with her family.  She has a wide range of experiences in teaching from volunteering in the church nursery and children’s church to teaching K-4 at the Okinawa Christian School when her Navy husband was stationed in Japan.  She has been married to her husband, Ed, for 40 years and the Lord has blessed them with 10 children (now ages 25 to 37). She devoted 30 years to homeschooling them through high school and is delighted to now get to help educate the next generation.

She enjoys spending time with her five grandchildren, baking, and reading to discover God’s ways of staying healthy through diet, essential oils, and lifestyle.

Second Grade Assistant – Avonlea Johnston

Avonlea Johnston grew up here in Mebane. She attended Bradford Academy since the start of the school in 2008 and was part of the first graduating class. She moved to Louisville, Kentucky to go to Boyce College where she majored in Elementary Education, with an emphasis in Classics. She is coming back to Bradford to teach 7th and 8th grade Latin as well as 5th grade starting January. She is so excited to come back to Bradford as part of the staff and give back to the students what she learned and grew to love through her time as a Bradford student. She is thankful for the opportunity to share the Gospel and her love for the Lord with her students. In her free time, Avonlea likes to read, watch soccer or basketball, hang out with friends and family and go on walks. She is a member of Grace Reformed Baptist Church.

Third Grade Instructor – Lyndsey Meredith

Lyndsey Meredith, as part of a military family, grew up living in different locations throughout her childhood including North Dakota, England, Maryland, and Ohio. At the age of 17, she graduated from high school, joined the Ohio Air National Guard, and enrolled at Bowling Green State University and completed an Undergraduate and Master’s Degree in Communication Studies. While in the military, she worked as a Chaplain Assistant and received several distinctions and decorations including the Air Reserve Meritorious Service Medal. Lyndsey also served as a Crisis Action Team Member at the National Guard Bureau in Washington, DC.

Third Grade Instructor – Wilhelmina Clark

As a native of Pittsboro, NC, Wilhelmina Clark had the privilege of growing up the oldest daughter of loving, Christian parents.  She graduated from Appalachian State University, with her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, K-6. She and her husband Aaron welcomed their first child, Amelia, in 2021.   She taught various grades both in public and private Christian school for ten years before God placed her at Bradford. She counts it all joy that she gets to spend the day with the exceptional students here at the school.

In her downtime, Wilhelmina enjoys hiking, vacationing in the mountains, drawing, singing and serving her church family.

Fourth Grade Instructor – Aimee McDorman

Growing up in southeast Pennsylvania, Aimee McDorman was often involved in leading youth ministry at her church. A summer missions trip to Kenya as an undergrad confirmed her desire to pursue education in service to the Lord. After graduating with a degree in elementary education, she joined a University Press and worked closely to develop a reading curriculum for elementary teachers and students. After marriage, her love of teaching led her to homeschool her 5 children using the classical model, before joining the Bradford Academy family in 2018. Her passion for teaching is evidenced by a love for her students. She wants them to see God’s beauty in the world, and to grow in knowledge and wisdom. At Bradford, she also manages the yearbook student staff, assists with girl’s basketball and soccer, and often photographs school life! She has been married to her husband, Rob, for 21 years, and together they love to travel, read, spend time with family, and serve at their local church.

Fourth Grade Assistant – Sam Rankin

Originally from South Africa, Sam Rankin spent the last nine years in Cape Town before her family’s recent move to the United States. In a journey guided by faith, they found their new home in Mebane, North Carolina, and were drawn to Bradford Academy while searching for a reformed Baptist Church in the Raleigh-Durham area. Sam is blessed to have her two children attending Bradford Academy and feels privileged to serve at the school, witnessing firsthand the transformative power of a God-centered, classical education on young minds and lives.

Outside of work, she has a passion for the outdoors and looks forward to exploring North Carolina and beyond as her family settles into their new surroundings.

Lower School Music and PE, Upper School Band – Grace Bennington

Grace Bennington grew up in Durham, North Carolina. She fell in love with Alamance County when she attended Elon University in 1999. Grace received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Flute Performance from Elon in 2003. She taught middle school and high school band at three schools in Chatham County before accepting a job as the band director at Woodlawn Middle School in Mebane, NC in 2005. She left Woodlawn in 2018 with the birth of her twins to stay home and raise her three children. Grace attends Berea Baptist Church and serves as the Children’s ministry coordinator. She and her husband, Patrick, fell in love with Bradford Academy and the Classical Christian School model while looking for a school for their oldest child to attend. All three children will attend Bradford soon. Grace loves working with children and is excited to teach at a school where she can share both her love of the Lord and her love for music with her students.

Grace enjoys raising and playing with her three children; gathering with family and friends; playing her flute and teaching lessons, and helping others discover and reach their purpose.

UPPER SCHOOL

Upper School Dean – David Smith

Dr. David Smith has been married to his wife, Tracy, for 30 years and they are the parents of three young adults: Gresham (23), who is in the United States Army, Isaac (20), who loves playing baseball and Katherine (19), who loves weight-lifting. David is also pastor of Covenant Fellowship Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Summerfield, NC. He has been ordained since 1995 and pastored churches in Missouri, North Carolina, Indiana and Pennsylvania, and served on numerous presbytery and denominational committees. He has taught and coached at the high school level (cross country, track and wrestling) in Christian schools in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. He is currently an adjunct professor with Erskine Seminary. His M. Div. is from Covenant Seminary and Ph.D. is in historical theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His doctoral dissertation on B. B. Warfield was published in the Evangelical Theological Society’s Monograph Series and he is co-author with Ronald E. Hoch of Old School, New Clothes: The Cultural Blindness of Christian Education (Wipf & Stock). He is a co-editor and co-author with Kevin DeYoung, Paul Helseth and a number of other scholars of the forthcoming book New Perspectives on Old Princeton, which is set to be published in the fall of 2024. David enjoys spending time with his family engaging in good conversations, playing board games, watching movies and going to sporting events.

Upper School Office – Sarah Thrasher

Sarah Thrasher‘s degree is from NC State University, in computer science with a minor in linguistics. She has been a Bradford mom since the beginning in 2008. She joined the office staff in 2021 and began working at the upper campus in 2022. She is happy to support the school community by managing data, planning fundraisers and events, helping with music and technology needs, and seeking to use whatever resources and opportunities God provides. 

Fifth Grade Instructor – Amanda Kromhout

Amanda Kromhout is originally from northeast Tennessee, graduated from Grove City College in Pennsylvania as an English major and history minor, and now is glad to be part of the Bradford Academy team teaching fifth grade. She wanted to teach because she loves both learning and students!  She is thankful to be teaching at a classical Christian school where she can share with her students the same love of learning blended with a love for the Lord that many of her teachers and professors have shared with her throughout the years. Amanda has been teaching at Bradford since 2012.

In her spare time, she loves doing calligraphy, hiking, reading, traveling, being outdoors, and cooking for friends and family alongside her husband, Brenden.

Fifth Grade Instructor – Logan LaTour

Logan LaTour was raised in North Carolina and finished a degree in history and education in the spring. Her passion for discipleship, the Word of God and educating the younger generation has brought her to Bradford. She has been married for 2 years to her husband, Caleb. They live in Liberty, NC with their Aussiedoodle, Maverick. She enjoys learning about history and visiting significant historical sites. She enjoys writing and cooking for her friends and family. She is an active member of her local church and enjoys teaching Sunday School, leading the teen girls small group, and participating in other discipleship ministries. She is excited to begin her teaching career here at Bradford.

Sixth Grade Instructor – Rachel Stevenson

Rachel Stevenson received her BA in Spanish with an emphasis on TESOL from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Upon graduating in 2012, she taught second grade at Bradford Academy from 2012 to 2017. She then moved back to Ohio where she spent the next 18 months working at the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy as part of a team hired to develop an ESL program to support international Pharm.D. students. During that time she returned to WSU to earn her MA TESOL degree, which she completed in 2020. She then spent the next two years working for the Clark County ESC as an ESL tutor to K-12 students and as an advisor to teachers and administrators for the schools in that district. Rachel is thankful and excited to have the opportunity to return to Mebane and to be a part of the Bradford team again.

Upper School Chorus – Sarah Johnston

Raised in Southeastern Michigan, Sarah Johnston was surrounded by music at home, church, and school. She attended Eastern Michigan University studying piano as well as earning a degree in Music Education. The next several years were spent giving private lessons and teaching band at Thales Academy before stepping away for a season to care for a growing family. In her return to teaching, she is overjoyed to be able to teach students music through singing and share with them the blessing that comes along with it.

Logic School Humanities – Nathan Wright

Rev. Dr. Nathan Wright grew up in Lebanon, Ohio.  Amidst childhood hospitalizations, he met the Lord Jesus through the faithful witness of his family and local church. He attended Montreat College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and, after serving for a time in pastoral ministry, earned his Ph.D. in Homiletics from the London School of Theology (U.K.).  He has been published by Baker Academic and The Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society.

Nathan has dedicated his professional life to teaching in the Church and Christian academy.  Nathan enjoys writing and reading (especially at Filament Coffee, downtown), cooking with his three children, and renovating dilapidated homes.  He and his family have attended All Saints Anglican Church in Durham since they moved to Mebane in 2016.

Logic School Art and Rhetoric School Spanish – Charity Palmer

Charity Palmer teaches logic school art and rhetoric school Spanish at Bradford Academy. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Spanish Education with a minor in art from Appalachian State University. Having taught previously at a middle school in Durham, she is grateful to have been at Bradford since 2018. She and her husband, Bradford middle and high school teacher, Jason Palmer, have four beautiful daughters. Three are current students at Bradford Academy and the fourth will begin soon. Charity and her family attend Mebane Bible Church where they are thankful for the focus on strong Biblical teaching.

Gathering with friends and family, spending time reading, creating works of art, and playing with her sweet girls are among some of her favorite things.

Logic – Bryan Crotts

Bryan is a native of Burlington, North Carolina. He attended Ms. Bolden’s Playschool, Burlington Christian Academy, Turrentine Middle School and is a 1995 graduate of Walter Williams High School. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Bible and Religion in 1999 from King College, Bristol, Tennessee. In 2003, he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is an ordained minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) and serves as Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Burlington. His wife, Mandy, teaches at Bradford and two of his children are high school students involved in clubs and athletics. Go Archers!

Rhetoric and Literature – Callie Oldham

Callie Oldham grew up in Hendersonville, NC, but most recently comes from Savannah, GA. She teaches rhetoric and literature in the upper school. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA, as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching in Secondary English Education from the University of Georgia. Before coming to Bradford, Ms. Oldham had 4 years of teaching experience in various school settings. Her favorite books to teach involve knights and chivalry, and Dante’s Inferno.

Outside of Bradford, Ms. Oldham loves knitting, reading, cooking, and the coffee shops in downtown Mebane.

Math and Physics – Lori Byrd

Lori Byrd is a part-time math and physics instructor at Bradford Academy. She holds a B.S. in mathematics and physics from Roanoke College. Lori spent two years teaching math and science at a Virginia high school and six years teaching math to underprivileged students through a federal program, Upward Bound. After several years homeschooling her four children, she began teaching at Bradford in 2016. She and her husband, Stephen, serve together at Grace Reformed Baptist Church where Stephen is a lay elder. A special focus is their ministry to young adults in college/early career. Lori’s current hobbies include spending time with her young adult children and their spouses, cooking, DIY home projects, and being an “adopted mom” to college students.

 Chemistry Instructor –  Kenneth Duke James, Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. James is an entrepreneur and consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. A founder of two companies, he is an inventor of four drug candidates (including the FDA-approved drug Rezzayo^TM) and one repurposed drug that have been out-licensed or sold to other companies for further clinical development. Prior to his work in pharmaceutical discovery and development, his studies took him to places such as the Galapagos Islands and the rain forests of Costa Rica studying the ecology of those regions. Kenneth received his B.S. from Furman University with a double major in chemistry and biology. He also received a doctorate in organic chemistry from Indiana University, working in the field of molecular evolution supported through NASA’s exobiology program. Kenneth worked as a visiting scientist at Albert Ludwig’s Universitaet (Freiburg, Germany) supported by a grant from NATO. He concluded his academic training with post-doctoral research at Duke University. He has 20 U.S. patents, over 100 foreign patents, and approximately 50 scientific publications.

Kenneth is a deacon of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, where he also serves as treasurer.

Science and Math – Johannah Frueh

Johannah Frueh is originally from upstate New York. She earned her Bachelor’s of Science from Grove City College with degrees in biology and secondary education. After living for a short time in her husband’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, she and her husband, Eric, relocated to North Carolina in 2006, where Johannah began her teaching career. She taught middle school science at Eno River Academy (formerly Orange Charter School). Since 2013, she has homeschooled her three children, Molly, Ian, and Zeke, joining the Bradford Academy staff as a part-time science instructor in 2017. She is excited to expand her role in the upper school science and math classes as her children become students at Bradford Academy. She is passionate about teaching and loves the opportunity math and science teaching provides for cultivating a love for the order, beauty, and complexity of God’s creation in her students.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, cooking, camping, and exploring all that North Carolina has to offer. She is a member of Mebane Bible Church, where she serves on the children’s curriculum development team.

Bible Survey – Stephen Byrd

Stephen Byrd spent his childhood in Ohio and then Virginia. He received degrees from Liberty University, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia and earned a Ph.D. in special education. For ten years, he was an elementary and special education teacher in Christian and public schools in Virginia. Currently, Stephen is an associate professor at Elon preparing college student teachers to work with children with special needs. Stephen was ordained as one of the pastors at Grace Reformed Baptist Church in April of 2012. His ministry responsibilities involve college ministry, pulpit supply, counseling, and event planning. Stephen is a Bible Survey teacher for Bradford Academy 10th grade students. He is married to Lori, who teaches math and science at Bradford. They have four young adult children.

Visual Art – Amy Fairchild

Amy began teaching rhetoric-level art at Bradford Academy as a part-time adjunct instructor in 2016. It was through her love of Christ and desire for students to develop a Christian worldview that led her to accept the position at the school. Her enjoyment of art history and desire to create beauty has instilled a passion to continue learning and developing her own knowledge of art. She finds the debates and discussions she leads during art class push her to a constant pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty in all areas of life. Additionally, Amy works as the school’s Parent Ambassador by connecting future Bradford Academy families to needed resources, conducting tours, and introducing them to other Bradford Academy families. She is also the women’s basketball head coach for the Archers and serves on several school committees. She married Tony in 1998 and the Lord blessed their marriage with three children. Their oldest son was one of the students that formed the first Kindergarten class at Bradford Academy in 2008. She and her husband have joyfully been members at Grace Reformed Baptist Church since the beginning of their marriage. After their church, they consider Bradford Academy one of the greatest influences for good in their lives and one of the richest blessings for their family.

Bradford PLUS

After-School Program Director – Jennifer Gowl

Jennifer Gowl joined the Bradford team in 2018 as Director of Bradford Plus. She specialized in classical faith-based education while homeschooling her son from 2008 – 2017. Jennifer is active in her church, Mebane Bible Church. When not at Bradford or Mebane Bible Church, she can be found enjoying family time. Focused on her faith and service opportunities, she loves to work with children and values finding ways to support her co-workers. Jennifer’s family has long-standing ties with the Mebane community and she looks forward to being involved with our Bradford families. She is enthusiastic to direct Mom’s Helper and Bradford Plus and help our families with after-school care.