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.
JULIE SMITH
FRIDAY TEACHER
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
GIANNA RICH
Science / History
2ND GRADE
HALEY WARFIELD
3RD GRADE
RENEE KELSEY
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.
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
Update Comming Soon
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
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.
6TH-8TH SCIENCE
KIM HAYCOCK
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.
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
KIM KNOWLES
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
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
Our program at MLCS has an emphasis on performance-based education. We believe music is meant to be performed and enjoyed and children learn best when working together to perfect an artistic program to be shared. Our school presents two musicals during the school year which are student driven. From acting, choreography, singing, lighting, sound, and sets our students are trained to be active participants in each production.