Our (Amazing!) Faculty & Staff

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Director

 Kevin Bailey brings valuable experience from his time at the Ambrose School (a classical school) and Valley

Life Community Church in Meridian, Idaho. As a humanities teacher and pastor, Mr. Bailey is

also looking forward to teaching high school Bible, history, and literature.

Lauren Bailey will be teaching Level 2 Writing and Rhetoric.

Both the Baileys have a strong connection to Alaska, having grown up in the Fairbanks area.

They are parents to two children: Eleanor, aged 5, and Tobias, aged 2.5. Their family loves the

outdoors, and both Kevin and Lauren are avid runners.

Upper School Humanities & Science

Jerry Strait grew up on a farm in the Missouri Ozarks listening to Johnny Horton singing “North to Alaska,” reading Jack London, and dreaming of faraway wilderness places. In 1984, he secured a seasonal job in Soldotna with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that turned into a thirty-five-year-long outdoors adventure. 

Meanwhile, in the off-season from Fish and Game, Jerry traveled doing foreign missionary work (India, New Zealand, and Ukraine) and attending college and university in Missouri and Texas. He holds four degrees: an Associate of Arts in General Studies with an emphasis in journalism, a Bachelor of Arts in History, a Bachelor of Science in Biblical and Related Studies, and a Masters in Christian Ministry with a Christian Education focus.

Jerry and Violetta are blessed with two wonderful daughters: Vitalia and Aleysa.

Jerry is excited at the opportunity to teach at Kenai Classical. This year he has taught HS Bible, Alaska Biodiversity, Alaska History, JH Humanities, and Alaska Outdoor Studies.

 4th-6th Elementary

Karen Stam fulfilled a life-long dream in August of 2022 with a move to Alaska. She grew up in the PNW but always enjoyed visits from her grandpa from Kodiak and his tales of the North. Her passion was reignited a couple of years ago after some friends moved to Nikiski, and she had the opportunity to visit for two summers. After teaching 3rd-5th grade for the past few years at a classical Christian school in southern Arizona, Karen ventured way north and lives with her two cats, a life-sized skeleton named Jeremy, and a ton (literally) of books.

Karen came to appreciate classical education when she was homeschooling her son and has developed that passion ever since. She is furthering her personal education as a full-time student at Liberty University and loves to share her love of reading, grammar, history, and Jesus with the next generation of students. 

When she is not at Kenai Classical, Karen enjoys reading, working at a local youth outreach, BBC British mysteries, playing her guitar and singing, and of course, doing all of the wonderful outdoor things that Alaska has to offer.

Office Manger

Becky Craven grew up in a pastor's family in Michigan.  She moved to Alaska in 1996 with her husband, Jon Craven. For 15 years she served as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at Higher Ground Baptist Bible Camp in Sterling, AK where her husband was Director. In 2016 God moved the Cravens to Soldotna to serve at Soldotna Baptist Church full time. 

God has blessed Jon and Becky with 9 children and 1 grandchild.  Becky has been a homeschool mom for over 20 years. In her free time she loves to read, bake, and hike. 

Upper School Writing & Math  

Vitalia Strait was born and raised in Kenai, AK, but spent a lot of time also growing up in Ukraine, her mother’s home country. She recently earned her BA in English from Colorado Christian University, where she also worked in the Writing Center. Next year, she intends to pursue her MA in creative writing, with the hope of becoming a professional writer and college professor. She has had some works published in various journals, such as The Trouvaille Review and Poetry Potion. Needless to say, words take up most of her time, both for work and pleasure.

This is her fourth year teaching at Kenai Classical.  She is thrilled to help KC students improve their writing skills and foster a love of learning!

Upper School Math & Advising  

Anna Lattin is a native Texan who married an Oregonian, and together they continued north to settle in Soldotna, Alaska.  Anna and Jason have four children, one recent Kenai Classical graduate and three currently attending. 

  Anna grew up in a Christian home and had the blessing of knowing the Lord personally at a young age. As a child, Anna was certainly a book worm and continues to love learning. But her greatest joy is seeing the Good News of Jesus Christ changing hearts and lives whether in the classroom or anywhere else in the world. 

   Graduating from medical school in 2004, Anna's professional training is as a physician, but after taking early retirement (to "just" be mom), she cherishes her second career as a teacher at Kenai Classical.  Anna and Jason want to see Kenai Classical be a vibrant educational option for this community and a blessing that reaches the world.

2nd - 3rd Elementary 

 Lydia is wife to Fred and mother of 5 boys. She has been serving with her husband as missionaries with MARC, in Soldotna, since 2020.

Lydia, originally from Pennsylvania, grew up as a pastor's daughter and chose to place her faith in Jesus as an adolescent. The Lord has proven both His mighty strength and His sense of humor throughout Lydia's and Fred's parenting years by blessing them with micro-preemie triplets and by, then, calling their family into full-time ministry a few short years after they caught their breath. If asked, they are happy to recount survival stories of God's mercies from their NICU months and their time in missionary aviation training, as well as a myriad of poop stories, from the early years.

After homeschooling her children for a number of years, Lydia found Kenai Classical, and classical Christian education, to be a great provision from the Lord for their family. Having served on the Board, she now puts her elementary education degree to good use and is most excited to share the goodness and beauty of Jesus Christ with young souls, and to apply God's transcending Truth across the subjects.

Latin 1 and 2

 Jack grew up in the Washington, DC area, but his family moved to Kentucky when he was eight, and have lived there ever since. Jack has nearly completed his BA in Liberal Arts and Culture from New Saint Andrews College, and hopes to attend law school after graduating. 

He has taken Latin since the 4th grade, and is going into his third year of teaching. Jack has enjoyed reading original Latin works by Caesar, Ovid, Virgil, Apuleius, Phaedrus, and Lactantius. His desire is that all of his students will be able to read them someday too!

When Jack is not teaching Latin, he loves to watch baseball and soccer games, do crossword puzzles, and binge Wodehouse audiobooks. 

Music

  Alaska-born and raised, Callie has a passion for music and keeping it alive on the Kenai Peninsula. Callie has been teaching private music lessons since 2021 and is excited to share her love of music with Kenai Classical's students! 

When not teaching, she enjoys making watercolor paints, writing books, and playing in the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. Both she and her husband are IDEA Homeschool alumni and local business owners. 

K-5 - 1st Elementary

   Sherry and her husband, Larry, have spent their lives investing in the community through education and Christian ministry. Sherry spent her career as a teacher and retired from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. Sherry has years of experience with Saxon math and a phonics-based reading program that employs the Orton-Gillingham method. She looks forward to building a solid foundation for life-long learning with these young students.

Most importantly, Sherry treasures teaching her students to love Jesus and the truth of Scripture. 

1 Timothy 4:8
...for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.