Our (Amazing!) Faculty & Staff

Sherry Nauta

K-5 - 1st Elementary

Sherry Nauta 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.

Karen Stam

Sherry Nauta

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.

Callie McLay

Sherry Nauta

Callie McLay

Elementary Music

Alaska-born and raised, Callie McLay 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.

Kenai Classical admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.