Meet Our Administrators and Teachers
Mrs. Baca
Speech & Debate with NCFCA/Humble Articulators
Tiffany Baca graduated from The Master’s College in 2002 with a degree in biology, specializing in pre-medicine. After deciding not to go into debt to attend medical school, she worked in the corporate world as an educator and earned many specializations and awards. In 2006, she retired after the birth of her oldest son.
Mrs. Baca (rhymes with ‘gotcha’) has 14 years experience as a homeschool mom and administrator of education for her 7 male children. She and her husband, Brian, attend Northeast Houston Baptist Church and reside in Humble, TX. Humble Articulators was founded by the Baca family in 2022 as a branch of NCFCA.
Education & Experience:
Graduated from The Master’s College in 2002 with a degree in biology, specializing in pre-medicine.
Mrs. Buford
Middle School English; English 1; English 2; English 3/4; Bible
Stephanie Buford has over 30 years of teaching experience in both the private and public sector. She has taught high school geography, middle school Language Arts and history, and fourth grade comprehensive subjects. During her years in public school, she was a team leader, mentor teacher, curriculum writer/developer, and Department Chair. She has also coached cheerleading and dance.
In addition to homeschooling her two daughters the last 12 years, Stephanie writes Bible curriculum and teaches women’s Bible study weekly. She is passionate about God’s Word and loves studying the Bible.
Stepahine lives in Kingwood with her husband of almost 30 years, her two daughters, mother and Yorkie named Habersham.
Education:
BA English, Psychology, Dance, University of Houston
Teacher Certification and Reading Specialist, Sam Houston State University
Gifted and Talented Certified, Region VI
Professional Experience:
New Caney, ISD
Northeast Christian Academy
Mrs. Duhon
TSC Campus Director
Crystal Duhon was born and raised in Texas. She met her husband of 20 years in college and together they have a total of six children ranging in age from 13-21. The Duhon family attends Woodridge Baptist Church in Kingwood where Crystal works regularly in the Friend’s Ministry, WBC’s special needs class.
Crystal has been homeschooling for 14 years. She has worked as a Master’s Class tutor and an Essentials tutor for Classical Conversations and has also served in/led several ministries for many years.
Crystal enjoys working with elementary and teenage students. She loves to challenge them and celebrate as they rise to the occasion. Her class atmosphere will be one of high expectations, team work, respect, and an emphasis on having a great time while working hard.
Education & Experience:
Associates of Arts, Lon Morris Junior College
Mrs. Eddy
Honors Biology; Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Astronomy
Mrs. Peggy Eddy is the outstanding science teacher at The Scholars Connection. With over 43 years of professional teaching experience, Mrs. Eddy is a master in her craft. She is an exciting educator who loves what she does and shares her excitement with her students.
Mrs. Eddy was born and raised in Rochester New York, but moved to Michigan to attend college. She met her husband of 50 years when they played opposite rolls in a college musical. They moved to Kingwood in 2003 and Mrs. Eddy retired from teaching at Aldine ISD in 2013. Her love for her craft and students brought her back into the classroom, and we are overjoyed to have Mrs. Peggy Eddy as our science teacher for another year at The Scholars Connection.
Education:
B.A. in Education and minor in music, Alma College Of Liberal Arts in Michigan
M.A. in Education, Central Michigan University
Professional Experience:
Taught in Michigan ISD
Taught in San Antonio ISD
Taught in Aldine ISD
Teacher liaison with The Space Foundation in Colorado Springs
G.R.A.C.E. Master teacher (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) at Nasa
Teacher and Presenter at The Texas Space Grant Consortium
Honors and Awards:
Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers 2005-2006
Schell Excellence in Mentoring Award from Texas Regional Collaborative 2010
Mrs. Harris
TSC Campus Coordinator
Tarah Harris is the new Campus Coordinator for The Scholars Connection. She is happily married to her husband, Adam Harris, of 16 years, and they have 3 boys ages 14, 13 and 8. Tarah has continually homeschooled her boys for 9 years.
During her years at home with the boys, she has faithfully served in various ministries at church. From coordinating Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Sunday School to planning Women’s Ministry events.
Tarah possesses an abundance of organization skills. Almost 6 years ago, along with other families in their church, her family planted Emmanuel Baptist Church in New Caney, Texas. She currently serves on the worship team as a vocalist as well as an event coordinator and Bible study teacher on the Women’s Ministry team.
Tarah values pursuit in holiness and growth in Godliness. In addition, she treasures Christ-centered education, and we know she will be an asset to our team at The Scholars Connection.
Education & Experience:
Bachelor’s Elementary Education from Sam Houston State University
Previous instructor with Humble ISD
Mrs. Maldonado
Middle School Math; Pre-Algebra; Algebra 1; Algebra 2; Geometry
Rachel Maldonado was born and raised in Mexico where she studied, worked, and met her husband. She has been happily married for 21 years, and blessed with 3 boys. She moved to Houston 15 years ago due to her husband’s job.
Mrs. Maldonado grew in a Christian family, knew and loved Jesus since her childhood, and her family attends Northeast Houston Baptist Church where she has served in the Children’s Ministry in different ways, as well as in the Mission field sharing the Gospel to families in the Northeast Houston Community Center for over 7 years.
Before she moved to Houston to dedicate completely to her family, she worked as a Process Engineer for a R&D lab at a Petrochemical Industry for 4 years, as a Chemist Specialist in New Products Development for 3 years, and as a Chemistry Professor and Polymer Lab Coordinator at a Private University.
She has homeschooled her youngest for 5 years and is very happy to have the opportunity to serve the homeschool community through teaching Math at The Scholars Connection.
Education & Experience:
B.S. in Chemical Engineering
M.S. in Chemical Engineering
Specialist in Polymers
Adam Millican
Athletics
Adam played basketball for 13 years which led him to fall in love with the sport and fitness in general. Throughout the years he has studied and learned various methods on becoming a better athlete, even eventually teaching himself how to dunk a basketball. Now it is his passion to help others achieve their fitness goals. Adam is a personal trainer who specializes in strength training and athletic performance. He says, “I look forward to helping anyone willing to put in the work!
Mrs. Moore
American Sign Language
Mrs. Moore shares this personal story, “There are no Deaf in our family. I have loved sign language since I was about 3 years old. We had a neighbor who was Deaf, and I was able to understand him and was fascinated by his world. We moved from Pasadena where no Deaf lived near me, but my parents kept me interested in the language. I married my husband 7 years later, met a Deaf girl, and my husband encouraged me to take classes to further my knowledge.
I started my career in Humble ISD. There I worked for 20 years and then moved on to Lonestar College where I taught sign language, Deaf culture, and Deaf community. I also interpreted for the Deaf employees, students and other Deaf people who came into the school.
I retired from Lonestar and taught interpreting on the side. I currently interpret sermons on Sunday mornings at Woodridge Baptist Church. I can’t wait to get started teaching at The Scholars Connection!”
Mrs. Peck
Spanish 1: Spanish 2; Life Management; Bible
Patty Peck has lived in many places: Germany, Colorado, California, Louisiana and now Texas for the last 12 years. She and her husband of 31 years, Sam, are members of the Kingwood Church of Christ, where Patty has helped in the youth, ladies’ and children’s ministries for many years. She was blessed to stay home and raise their two beautiful adult children, Sandra and Christian. Patty is a native Spanish speaker and is very excited for the opportunity to share her language with the students at TSC.
Education & Experience:
Bachelor of Science, from UHD, in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a minor in Spanish.
Mrs. Saidler
Art
J.J. Saidler will be joining our staff for the 2023-2024 school year as an Art instructor.
She has 17+ years of professional teaching experience. J.J. is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her love of teaching
with the families of The Scholars Connection.
J.J. met her husband when they were both attending college at Texas A&M. They are a homeschooling family and have three children.
J.J. has a passion for working with students of all ages. She loves to spark their imaginations and encourage their creativity.
Education & Experience:
Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation Park & Tourism Sciences with a minor in Outdoor Education from Texas A&M University
Texas Teaching Certificate in EC-8
Certified Art Instructor with the Robert Garden School of Art
Mrs. Szynkarski
General Science; Physical Science; Government/Economics; FACTS; Texas History
Marcie Szynkarski trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, and attends a Bible church. Marcie is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and has worked several years as an attorney, as a CPA, and she taught at the university level at Saint Edwards University.
Mrs. Szynkarski stated, “My passion is teaching homeschool kids and I have taught homeschoolers, as well as my own, for over ten years. I am married to a wonderful man, Michael, who is a prosecutor for the City of Houston. I have two children who are both married. One is an eye surgeon, and the other is an occupational therapist.”
Education & Experience:
Bachelor Degree in Accounting from University of Wisconsin
Doctorate in Jurisprudence and Masters in business with concentration in Finance from the University of Houston
Mrs. Willetts
Geography; US History; World History
Ms. Willets is joining our staff for the 2023-2024 school year as Instructor in History. She will be teaching three different classes with TSC. Her passion is helping students learn the exciting stories behind the history we read in textbooks.
For the past nine years, the Willetts family has used a classical approach, which integrates liberal arts and sciences with logic and reasoning, for homeschooling their two children. Shelley has directed several levels of the Challenge Program with Classical Conversations and enjoys integrating several subjects in a single assignment.
Shelley and her family are active members at Crossroads Church in Kingwood where she helps lead the youth group. Her daughter plays bass guitar with the worship team, and her husband is the “go to” guy for all things DIY. Shelley loves working with high school students and helping prepare them for the real world, both mentally and spiritually. She believes it is critical to cultivate moral virtue through Biblical Truth and teach self-reliance and responsibility in order to produce Godly citizens capable of leading in our communities in the future.
Education and Experience:
Texas A&M – Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture
Houston ISD
Humble ISD
Classical Conversations
Shelley Willetts has nearly 25 years of teaching experience in both public school and homeschool programs. She has taught a variety of subjects including Texas History, American History, and World History.