Our teachers, staff, and board members have a passion for life, learning, children, the Kingdom of God, family, books, nature, music, relationships, truth, and beauty.
Teachers

Melissa Charske
Kindergarten Teacher, Physical Conditioning Teacher
BS, Education, Health Sciences, MS, Education , Health Sciences University of Dayton mcharske@amblesideocala.comMrs. Charske graduated with her undergraduate degree in Health, Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education in 1996 and then continued on to pursue a Masters in Education in 2002 from the University of Dayton. She began her thirteen year long professional teaching career at Kettering City Schools in 1997. She taught Health, Physical Education and coached Track and Field for four years before she took a short break to care for their first son. Once returning back to the teaching profession she enjoyed four more years teaching for Kettering Schools at the middle school level. She ended her last five years of teaching at Southdale Elementary School. After their family of seven moved to Florida, she taught one year for Marion County before stepping into her beloved position, teaching Kindergarten and Physical Education for Ambleside. She has been married to her husband for over 22 years and has five beautiful children, ranging from college to fifth grade. She enjoys many activities: relaxing at the beach, exercise classes at One Hot Yoga, traveling with her husband, and spending time with family and friends. She loves being active in her church community.

Kelli Lacefield
First Grade Teacher, 3rd-5th Grammar
BS Child Psychology, minor in Social Welfare,University of North Florida klacefield@amblesideocala.comMs. Lacefield began her journey at Ambleside as a student in January of 2007. She was part of Ambleside's very first 8th grade graduating class. Ms. Lacefield attended the University of North Florida and graduated with a degree in Child Psychology. Her last few semesters in Jacksonville she worked as a teacher's assistant at a local Catholic school. It was there that she found her love for children and teaching. She is excited to live, learn, teach, and continue her journey as part of the Ambleside community. Ms. Lacefield has a cat, Molly, and enjoys being with family and friends, running, reading, and cooking.

Courtney Works
Second Grade Teacher, High School Counselor
BS Psychology, University of Florida cworks@amblesideocala.comMrs. 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.

Cayce Miller
K-2nd Instructional Team Leader
BA, MA, Early Childhood Education, University of FloridaMrs. Miller moved to Ocala after graduating and marrying her husband, Michael. While finishing her Masters degree, she met Ken and Shari Ausley and made a connection between For the Children’s Sake and their newly formed Ambleside School. She taught for five years (First and Third grade) before staying home with sons born in 2014 and 2019. She is passionate about connecting and serving moms, spending time at the lake, playing games with her family and traveling.

Beth LaValley
Third Grade Teacher
BA Human Services, minor in Psychology, Geneva College beth@amblesideocala.comMrs. LaValley heard about Ambleside through her husband’s family and from her step-daughter attending the school. She has a heart for helping children and growing them in the knowledge of who Jesus is and also enjoys building relationships with people. She loves spending time with her family, eating dark chocolate, and drinking coffee.

Valarie Lacefield
Fourth Grade Teacher, 3rd - 5th Instructional Team Leader
BA Education of the Speech & Hearing Handicapped, MS Speech & Language Pathology SUNY-Fredonia vlace@amblesideocala.com
Shawna Schultz
Fifth Grade Teacher
BS Elementary Education, University of Central Florida sschultz@amblesideocala.comMrs. Schultz earned her BS in Elementary Education, endorsements in Reading K-12, and E.S.O.L. certification from the University of Central Florida. After meeting her husband early in high school and wanting a family of her own some day, Mrs. Schultz knew she wanted her life's work to focus around children. She has spent the majority of the past 12 years teaching and helping children grow. It's her passion and joy watching children learn, and learning from them. While taking some time away from the classroom to raise her own young children, Troy and Falyn, she came across Ambleside. God drew her here, it was a perfect fit for their family. Mrs. Schultz enjoys serving at her church, hunting with her husband, having family movie nights in her back yard, and raising their children to love and serve God.

Clay Walkup
Sixth Grade Teacher
BA Biblical and Theological Studies, Covenant College; M. Div. Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando cwalkup@amblesideocala.comMr. 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.

Carli Phillips
Seventh Grade Teacher, Algebra II
BA, Business Administration, Florida Institute of Technology; ADN Nursing, Midlands Technical College cphillips@amblesideocala.comFollower of Christ, wife to Josh, and mom to Lyric, Jacob, Justin, and Kody, Mrs. Phillips grew up in Illinois and moved to Florida after graduating nursing school in 2004. After completing her business degree and working as a registered nurse for several years, she chose to begin a family with Mr. Phillips and stay home with their children. She went on to homeschool her three youngest children where she learned of Charlotte Mason and a living education. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are active in their church community where, through God's divine strategy, they were introduced to Ambleside School of Ocala. Their three youngest children are now attending Ambleside (the oldest is off to college), and Mrs. Phillips knows it is a gift from the Lord to have the opportunity to teach and love the students in her class.

Kristy Gibboney
Eighth Grade Teacher, Middle School Instructional Team Leader
BS Psychology, University of Central Florida kgibboney@amblesideocala.comMrs. 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 and as the Board President for The Pearl Project.

Greta Owens
Director of Administration
BA Sociology, Education Minor, University of Florida gowens@amblesideocala.comMrs. Owens graduated from The University of Florida in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Education. She and her husband, Shane have been together since 1999 and together they have three children. She grew up in Miami, FL and is the oldest of six. Mrs. Owens can be trusted to explain any variations on our weather, and to point out any and all birds on campus! You'll hear her infectious laugh if you're within a mile of campus!

Natalie Barnes
Kindergarten Teacher Assistant
AA History, College of Central Florida
Jenna Stark
First Grade Teacher Assistant, Ambleside Afternoons
Ms. Stark has lived in Ocala her entire life. Though she loves spending summers in North Carolina working at summer camp, she has continued to gain a greater appreciation for the city of Ocala. Through working with children in various ways and settings for most of her life, Ms. Stark discovered the immense joy found in teaching. She also delights in learning from children about the beautiful way our Heavenly Father sees us and sees it as an incredible responsibility to be able to help shape how children see themselves. Ms. Stark was able to connect with families through working at Grace Episcopal VPK and feels both privileged and blessed to now be apart of the incredible family that is Ambleside. Ms. Stark loves experiencing God’s creation through hiking through the mountains, kayaking, swimming, and road-tripping.

Neali Lacefield
Second Grade Teacher Assistant, Art Teacher for K-4th grade
Ms. Lacefield joins our staff as an Ambleside alumni. She first attended Ambleside as a student in 1st grade until she graduated 8th grade in 2014. Her love for the children and people of this community has inspired her to continue her education. She currently attends the College of Central Florida majoring in Special Education. Ms. Lacefield has lead worship at Live Oak Community Fellowship for 6 years. She enjoys outdoor activities, yoga, and spending time with friends!

Joshua Head
Music Teacher
BA Vocal Performance, Liberty UniversityMr. 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 five 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.

Meagan Miles
Middle School Music Teacher
Ms. Miles has always had an enormous love and passion for music. She has studied music for 18 years with 3 of those years being at the College of Central Florida where she studied Music Theory, Sight Singing, Ear Training, Music Literacy, Composition and Performance. Her love of performing started at age 15 when she performed in New York City in the production “Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings”. This experience helped her sing and play in cities and places like New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa, and Disney World. She has also played in marching band, wind symphony, jazz band and drum corps. Performance was her main passion until 5 years ago when she was offered a teaching position at Grace School of the Arts in Ocala. This job changed her heart from wanting to perform, to instead desiring to teach and inspire children with music and the word of God at the same time. She was introduced to Ambleside in 2017 and began assistant-teaching Middle School Choir. She now directs this choir as well as our High School music program.

Hilary Ovalle
Spanish Teacher, Art Teacher for 5th-8th grade
Mrs. Ovalle and her husband were thrilled by their discovery of the Ambleside community while researching methods of education. After enrolling her two daughters, she joined our staff as our Elementary and Middle School Spanish teacher! She considers herself blessed to partake in our children's education and strives to engage their language-learning skills. When she is not planning what to teach, she is planning how to have fun in nurture groups through her role as a Trust-Based Relational Intervention Practitioner. Her heart longs for all children (and adults) to know how precious they are, especially those who have had or are going through trauma. On her time off she enjoys being in nature with her family, worshipping, creating, reading, and being a catalyst for positive change!

John Allsopp
Middle and High School Drama Teacher
BA Communication Studies, Florida State UniversityA native Ocalan, John has been a working actor in Los Angeles, California for the last thirty years and has accumulated over twenty five film and television credits. He appeared in more than twenty national commercials and performed in over sixty stage productions during his time there. He has been the proud member of an award winning Christian theatre company in the heart of Hollywood for most of those years, serving on their board of directors, production committee and public relations committee as well as performing on stage in musicals, classics, contemporary plays and world premiere new works. He is happy to be back home again with his dog, Blue, and cat, Ernest T. Bass, and is thrilled to be working at Ambleside.

Amber Martin
Math Teacher, Librarian, Instructional Team Leader for K-12 Math
BS Business, Liberty UniversityMrs. Martin earned her BS in Business from Liberty University, with minors in New Testament Greek and Communication. She enjoyed a career in marketing before making the shift to becoming a stay-at-home mom. While her children were small, Mrs. Martin and her husband began a photography business, mainly serving clients in Marion and Alachua county, which they still enjoy today. She has three children at Ambleside - two in middle school and one in high school. When her oldest was in 2nd grade, Mrs. Martin began volunteering in our library. She continued in that capacity for six years before joining as a staff member. Her hobbies include reading, baking, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Barbara Butler
Algebra I Honors Teacher
BS Education, SUC Oneonta; MA Education and Reading, SUC Oneonta; Ed.S Education Leadership, University of Florida.Mrs. Butler and her husband Del both grew up on dairy farms in Central Upstate New York. She loves learners and learning. When not in the classroom, she loves outdoor sports, such as horseback riding, skating, biking, hiking, volleyball, and playing baseball—since they are from the home of baseball—Cooperstown. After receiving her Master’s Degree, Mrs. Butler moved to Florida in 1983 where she taught in the Marion County Public School System for 30 years. She has served as an adjunct professor at the College of Central Florida since in 1989. Mrs. Butler holds a Florida Teaching Certificate in multiple areas from elementary education all the way up to twelfth-grade math. She and her husband have been married for over 30 years and have raised six children—three boys and three girls. They also have six grandchildren, including Kaitlin who is a student at Ambleside. Mrs. Butler enjoys singing, playing the guitar, researching, reading and board games when indoors. So far her youngest student has been a four-year-old learning guitar and her oldest student has been an 86-year-old, learning to read her Bible.

Dorothy Dersch
Part-time Teacher, ASI Board Member
AA Nursing, Anderson UniversityMrs. Dersch received her Associate Degree in Nursing in 1986, soon after marriage to her high school sweetheart. After a 10 year career in cardiac critical care, she transitioned home to educate their growing family. She embraced homeschooling her children through their elementary years with a passion that they have opportunity to love the act of learning. Their family joined our Ambleside community in 2011 when their youngest child was adopted internationally. Four of her children have attended Ambleside and Mrs. Dersch has spent countless hours on our campus as a volunteer. She loves our community well through nurturing our flower beds, encouraging others in the world’s best and hardest job of parenting, overseeing our Shakespeare costumes and being willing to serve where needed with a joy-filled heart. Dorothy Dersch is an ASI Board Member.

Ria Shew
Ambleside Afternoons
Ambleside Afternoons