A PROFESSIONAL CHRISTIAN FACULTY TEAM
KINDERGARTEN
AMANDA ATKINS
I am so excited to be the lead Teacher for the Kinder position here at MLCS.
My husband Dan and I have four children who have or are currently attending MLCS. Dan and I met in high school and got married while at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where both of us completed our bachelor’s degrees in preparation to be teachers.
I previously served as a part-time science teacher here, but I have been in homeschooling mode for the past 2 1/2 years. However, I am excited to be teaching your littles the love of the Lord while teaching them the basic foundation to their education.
1ST GRADE
AMBER KARPUS
As a cute little kindergartner I said, “When I grow up, I’m going to be a teacher.” I followed my dreams and goals, and here I am teaching at an amazing Christian school. After graduating from Sonora High School, I went to Columbia College and earned my AA in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Child Development. I transferred to CSU Stanislaus, graduating in 2006 with a BA in Liberal Studies and a concentration in child development. Finally, I completed my credential through an online program called CalState TEACH through CSU Fresno.
While attending Columbia College I met my husband, Paul Karpus. We have two amazing children, Tyler and Kaylee, plus pigs, lots of chickens, a dog and a cat. Our children are very involved in sports, which puts us on the playing field every weekend cheering them on! I was born and raised in Tuolumne County and represent five generations here. So, it is with great joy that I live, teach, and help to raise our children in this small community
I have experience teaching 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th grade students. I was hired to teach at MLCS in 2016 and have been joyfully teaching 1st grade the whole time. I love teaching my students about God while also teaching them how read and write. It warms my heart to see how much the children learn and grow during their 1st grade school year, and I feel blessed beyond measure to be a teacher at this amazing school
2ND GRADE
HALEY WARFIELD
3RD GRADE
CHARA REVORD
I was born and raised in Tuolumne County surrounded by good friends, a solid church family, and the constant reminders of God’s handiwork in nature around me. My very first volunteer education job, at the ripe old age of 4, was teaching my younger sister Charity to read. She claims I taught her in self-defense to keep her from pestering me for just one more story. Whether it was self-defense or a heart for teaching, it has become my passion and my profession.
For my own education, I attended MLCS Kindergarten through part of 4th grade and then began homeschooling which continued through high school. High school was a mixture of homeschooling and Mother Lode Christian, including Mrs. Baer’s famous chemistry class. I attended Simpson University in Redding and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts and a double major in Diversified Liberal Arts and History plus minors in Bible and English. I obtained my CA CLEAR teaching credential from Chapman University, attending classes on their campus in Modesto, while completing my student teaching in kindergarten and 6th grade classrooms.
I have taught primarily 2nd and 3rd grade in classrooms in Patterson, at Columbia Elementary, in Dallas Texas and in several one room schoolhouse settings while also working with homeschool families through a local charter school. As an educator for the past 20+ years, I have taught in public, private, charter and homeschool settings.
My husband Jim and I live in Sonora along with my three children quite near my childhood home. As a parent, my children have been in private, public, charter and homeschool settings for their education.
I am thankful for the wide variety of educational experiences I have had as a student, parent, and educator. I feel this gives me keen insight into education, supporting our children as learners and young people building relationships. I am thrilled to be working with the amazing team of teachers and staff at Mother Lode Christian and rejoice in the precious children that God entrusted into our care each day.
4TH GRADE
DESIREE FEDERMAN
Teaching at Motherlode Christian School has been one of my biggest blessings in life. I started as a substitute teacher and Discipleship teacher to the seventh and eighth grade girls. What better way than to answer God’s calling than to teach the children about His love.
I graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in Social Work and began my Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling in 2022. I have been a substitute teacher in Tuolumne County for over 5 years and have gratefully called Mother Lode Christian home now. I love living here in the Sierra and enjoying the outdoors with my children and many animals.
JENNIE RADONICH
I am grateful that the Lord has led me to teach at MLCS, and am excited to join this devoted team. Originally from San Jose, I attended Valley Christian School from K-8, and know firsthand the importance of laying the foundation of faith through a Christ-centered education. I was raised in the Bay Area before earning a BS in Business Administration from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. During this time, I served in youth ministry at church, working with both junior high and high school students. Soon after graduating, I accepted a teaching position at Pacific West Christian Academy in Gilroy, where I taught 7-9th grade math, along with other subjects. I met and married my husband, and we are now partners in crime, raising our three sons. In 2012 we moved our young family to the mountains. Prior to enrolling our children at MLCS, we homeschooled our boys for 4 years while serving on the Cornerstone Christian board, and opened our home to foster care for a season.
I now find myself back in the classroom! I love the energy that comes from interacting and problem solving in class. I consider it a great responsibility and privilege to build relationships and teach these middle years that can often be awkward to navigate. I believe that a teacher with a lot of love and a good sense of humor can spark learning and demonstrate to students that they can do hard things. I strive to be that, and look forward to a great year ahead.
5TH GRADE
KAREN McDANIEL
I am so excited to be the 5th grade teacher here at Mother Lode Christian. Each and every child is a gift from God and being able to encourage their academic and spiritual growth is a delight to my soul.
I graduated from CSU Stanislaus with a degree in Business Administration in 2007 and started off my career in business management. When we moved back to Sonora, my husband and I started our family, and I took time off work to raise our children. As my children grew older, I began to seek a new direction for the path of my career and felt drawn to serve in education. For several years, I served as a substitute teacher throughout the county, allowing me to get my feet wet with teaching all grades and see the variety of methods and settings in the public system. I also began enrolling in additional college courses to sharpen my skills as an educator. It was not until I began subbing at Mother Lode Christian School that I knew God was doing something here that went far beyond the public system. My heart was drawn to remain at MLCS in whatever capacity God asked of me. So, it was with great joy that I accepted the position of full-time teacher in the 5th grade classroom in Fall of this year.
My husband and I were both raised in the Central Valley but are thrilled to be back in the beautiful mountains of Tuolumne County. It has been a blessing to return back to the place that we both love so much. We have three amazing children that all attend MLCS, and we love being a part of this community. I am excited to start this journey with you and can’t wait to see what the future will bring.
6TH GRADE
THOMAS HIGGINS
I am very excited to be coming back to Mother Lode Christian after all these years. I grew up in Tuolumne County and attended MLCS from kindergarten through twelfth grade. My father taught here for over twenty years, so I am grateful for the opportunity to follow in his footsteps. As I think of the challenges and opportunities facing this generation, I am even more proud to be joining the team at MLCS, providing a Christian education for the families of our community.
My educational background is in church history and social science, and I hold degrees from Simpson University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Edinburgh University. Before coming to Mother Lode, I taught at Soulsbyville Elementary School for five years.
7TH GRADE
TANJA JOHNSON
I graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a B.A. in Psychology but realized soon afterward that teaching was what I really wanted to do. After obtaining my certification through Fresno State, I enjoyed teaching at the elementary level before taking a leave of absence to homeschool my own kids.
As my boys progressed through middle and high school, I remained heavily involved in teaching classes to their peers in various educational settings. I loved coming alongside and engaging with students at each stage of their mental, emotional, and spiritual development.
It has been my privilege to join the staff at Mother Lode Christian School, and I am thrilled to be working with 7th graders this year! “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord….it is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24
8TH GRADE
LAURA BRINEGAR
My name is Laura Brinegar and I have the privilege of teaching Jr. High at MLCS. I graduated from The University of the Pacific and completed my credential with a major in Education and a minor in Music. As a the mother of ten I chose to home school for the years after college which provided me with a unique opportunity to teach all grades and see my students develop year to year.
I have been involved at MLCS on and off for 23 years as a teacher or parent. God called me to teach Jr. High 7 years ago and I have absolutely loved teaching these young men and women. They are funny, creative, talented, interesting, and intelligent young people with an energy and excitement that is wonderful to witness.
We have travelled across the country to Washington D.C., climbed mountains to study glaciers and rocks, and dissected every specimen we could get our hands on. Every day I am challenged and inspired by their love of learning and their willingness to try new things. Learning to succeed, and sometimes fail, but to always learn in the process.
AD / PE K-8TH
DONNIE WRIGHT
- Athletic Director
- Athletics / P.E.
I have coached and officiated multiple sports at the elementary and high school levels for the past 26 years. My most important goal has always been to allow children to enjoy a fun, safe and structured environment to learn more about themselves and God’s glory through exercise and sports. Mother Lode Christian School gives children this opportunity, through God’s glory, to build knowledge and experience through team sports and physical fitness.
RESOURCE SPECIALIST
NICOLE SIUDZINSKI
I am so excited and grateful to be working as the Resource Specialist this year at Mother Lode Christian School.
I was born and raised in San Jose, CA where I became a Christian in middle school and started working with children with autism in high school. I went on to get my BA in psychology at CSU Long Beach and continued working with children with autism while in school and up until I had my own children. My husband, Mark, and I got married a year or so after graduating and had our two children about 5 years later. After our first was born, I stayed home to raise and homeschool our children, while serving at our church on Sunday mornings in Sunday school and attending CBS (Community Bible Study).
I have loved this time with my family but started to feel called to serve more outside of our home again. This last year I have been serving as the children and youth director for CBS and have seen God’s goodness and provision through this. I am looking forward to this coming year and what God has in store. God is so good, and I see Him working at Motherlode Christian and our family is excited to be a part of this journey.
K-8TH ART
JANNET MARTINEZ
- 8th Grade Spanish
I am both honored and excited to be teaching at MLCS! Sharing with others my love of teaching, learning, the outdoors, being physically active, and “all things Jesus,” is what I love to do and how I roll.
My first year of teaching was at St. Abrahams Classical Christian Academy in Aptos where I fully enjoyed the opportunity to serve as a substitute and was delighted when asked to teach a session of wood shop. In that class I incorporated my affinity for physical activity by teaching students how to build their own version of an Indo Board. They not only learned the technical skills required to produce the boards but also walked away with a tool to help build balance and strength.
I’ve participated in track, softball, dance, gymnastics, and co-ed all-star cheerleading and found that being active was a positive outlet for my seemingly endless energy at the time. As an adult, I’ve maintained an active lifestyle while perusing my many interests outdoors. Basically, it’s rare that I’m not moving! Must be why my favorite verse is Joshua 1:9.
I have been married to my best friend, Calvin, for over 14 years and our wonderfully energetic daughter, Summer, attends MLCS. I grew up in Sunnyvale and Morgan Hill and lived throughout Northern California and Hawaii. We’ve called Mi Wuk home since 2020. Together, our family enjoys camping, hiking and exploring new trails, snowboarding, wakeboarding, visiting family throughout the country, remodeling our home (ok maybe that’s just me), working on our sustainable garden at home and creating new recipes using our veggies.
K-8TH PERFORMING ARTS
K-8TH PERFORMING ARTS
I am beyond excited to be a member of the teaching staff at MLCS this year! I have been an educator for 14 years and loved every minute of working with students to foster a love of learning and a heart for the Lord. Even though I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a teacher, the theater has always been like a second home. Throughout my childhood, there wasn’t a stage I was afraid of and as I grew up, I used the gifts God gave me to help students fall in love with the arts.
I lived in Sonora during my preschool and kindergarten years and attended MLCS. My family moved back to the Bay Area and after high school, I graduated from California State University East Bay with my Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Then in 2010, I married my amazing husband, Mike and we had our beautiful daughter, Lyla, in 2011.
After earning my teaching credential, I taught at various private and public schools in the Bay Area and then had the opportunity to become a Performing Arts Director at a christian school and combined my love for the arts and education. After having my second child, Jameson, God was calling me back to the classroom to spend more time with my husband and my growing family. I taught middle school English and fell in love with teaching writing and working with middle school students.
I loved teaching middle school, but God was calling our family to move out of the Bay Area, so he placed a very familiar location on my heart, Sonora. We have lived here for about five years and have been so blessed by the Lord to live in such a beautiful place. I taught in a public school, teaching middle school English Language Arts, and graduated with my Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis on Educational Technology from Concordia University. Again, the Lord placed another big change on my heart; to teach at my Kindergarten alma mater, Motherlode Christian School.
I’m thankful to the Lord for opening the door to work at this incredible school. With over a decade of teaching experience and a heart for the performing arts, I am excited to bring my passions together to create the greatest experience for our students. Psalm 30:11
BAND
SARAH BANKS
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” Psalms 37:4. Teaching the love and joy for music is one of my favorite things to do. Being raised around a musical family, my love for the arts began young. Starting my own journey in 4th grade and continuing through high school where I had the opportunity for competitive marching band, parade band and winter drumline, I realized music was forever a part of my life; it was my connection with my Lord and Savior. Throughout college the love of music continued to grow as I studied music right alongside my teaching classes. I have had a passion for the arts and truly am so thankful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to share that love and passion with others.
My family is so thankful to call this mountain town home, my husband and I have been abundantly blessed with two outstanding children. If I’m not teaching, you might find me in the garden, working on the yard, walking, or spending the day by the lake. Apart from music, being outside is one of my favorite places to be. So here we go, let’s take a journey and find that joy in music together!