People

Mrs. Charske has been married to her husband for over 18 years and has five children. She enjoys many activities: rollerblading, weight lifting, relaxing at the beach, reading, exercise classes at the YMCA, traveling with my husband, hiking in the mountains and especially snow skiing in the mountains. Steamboat Springs, Colorado is her favorite place to snow ski. As a family, she really enjoys sitting down for a family meal and sharing "highs" and "lows" of the day. She loves being a part of her woman's group who study God's word and pray regularly.

Mrs. Works is married with both children attending Ambleside.  Before starting a family she was actively involved in theater, both on stage and behind the scenes.  Although she enjoyed performing, she decided she did not want it to be her life’s work.  She changed her major and received her Bachelors of Science for Psychology from the University of Florida. She enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with her family. She can still be seen performing, whether she is on stage or not.

Mrs. Gibboney loves connecting with people, especially young adults. Her heart is to help them grow in healthy relationship with one another and God. She and her husband, John love the Florida Gators and their fur child, Gabby. Mrs. Gibboney is proud to serve on the board of directors of The Arnette House.

Mr. Walkup was ordained as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America in 2010 and has served in Youth and Family ministries throughout the southeast since 2005. He and his wife, Rhoda, have two lovely daughters. The Walkups were introduced to Ambleside and Charlotte Mason through family and friends as their oldest daughter approached school age. Mr. Walkup enjoys running, reading, coffee, music, and playing games with his girls.

Dr. Sandgren received his PhD in Ancient Mediterranean Religions from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill; and an earlier MTh from Duke Divinity School. He authored two books:Shadow of God: Stories from Early Judaism;Vines Intertwined: A History of Jews and Christians from the Babylonian Exile to the Advent of Islam. For relaxation he bikes, kayaks, scuba dives in caves, on wrecks, and reefs. He also loves to visit wilderness areas such as the Sinai desert, the Yukon Territory, and Death Valley.

Mr. Head builds a creative community at Ambleside, centered around joy-filled, Christ-exalting singing. He’s served at Ambleside for seven years, bringing a passion for corporate worship to our mornings. He teaches composer study for 3rd-8th grades in addition to elementary music each week. Primarily a family man, Mr. Head draws much inspiration from his wife and three kids, as well as from the students on campus. When he isn’t teaching, Mr. Head is usually working on the next musical instrument on his list to learn.

Mrs. Lewis is originally from Ocala and has lived here most of her life. She has an AA degree from CFCC and has been artistically creative from an early age. She was introduced to the Charlotte Mason method three years ago when her 2 youngest grandchildren began attending Ambleside. She has always believed art was a very important part of any child's education so voluntarily taught elementary art in a local Christian school where her youngest son attended. She also taught middle school math classes at the same school. She enjoys crafting, reading, biking, swimming and kayaking as well as any other outdoor activity. She also loves spending time with her grandchildren. She and her husband are semi-retired and travel to Charlotte NC as often as possible to visit their son and daughter-in-law.They also enjoy refurbishing houses. She considers it an honor to work with such amazing teachers and staff at Ambleside.

Mrs. Lacefield has been part of the Ambleside community since January 2007. She passionately embraced Ambleside philosophy, working with founders, Ken & Shari Ausley in the early years to share this education and grow our community. Aside from teaching Kindergarten, Second and Third Grade, she served as a Board Member and Head of School. She holds a BA in Education of the Speech & Hearing Handicapped as well as an MS in Speech & Language Pathology from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia. This background, and Arrowsmith Certification, equips her for her role as a teacher in the Arrowsmith Program.This program supports students with specific learning difficulties by identifying and strengthening cognitive capacities. She also coordinates our Title 1 program in relationship with Marion County Public Schools. Mrs. Lacefield considers herself a life-long learner and therefore has many interests. Mrs. Lacefield and her husband, Jerry, have three daughters, the youngest of whom is in eighth grade at Ambleside.

Ms. Clarkson moved from New York to Florida in 2011 to attend UF and it was there that she was exposed to the Gospel for the first time. She is passionate about sharing stories and desires to use both her love for photography and background in journalism to show people that not only are they are worthy of being fully known and fully loved, but also that their story matters. After taking time off from school to volunteer with children in Swaziland, and then later in Nepal, Ms. Clarkson graduated in 2016. Months later she attended her first chapel service while staying with an Ambleside family and immediately knew there was something incredibly different about the school. After spending the spring of 2017 volunteering in fifth grade, she quickly fell in love with the philosophy and atmosphere of the school and is both excited and honored to teach at Ambleside.