Teachers

Mrs. 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.

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.

Ms. Menchaca earned her Bachelor’s degree in Educational Studies from Western Governor’s University along with a Child Care Management Certification. She knew she had always wanted to be a teacher ever since she was young and impacting young minds. She's been substitute teaching since 2019 for the public school system and God brought her to Ambleside. She enjoys serving at church on the worship team and children’s ministry, spending time with family, and exploring new and adventurous places with friends.

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.

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. Lewis stayed at UF for graduate school, researching the phytochemical and antioxidant properties of guava fruit for her thesis project, and earned her Master’s Degree in 2005.  Upon graduation, she worked as a food scientist for 6 years before leaving the food industry to start a family.  She then happily stayed home with her two children for the next 6 years.  She is passionate about science, education, and the Ambleside philosophy and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, reading, outdoor activities, cooking, and baking in her free time.

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!

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.

I studied elementary education in my native country, Chile, the place where I was born and raised. I‘ve been actively involved in Christian Children’s Ministries for more than 15 years, currently serving as an instructor for a teenager’s Pathfinder Club. I had the opportunity to teach a foreign language in community outreach programs. I have a passion for education and from the moment I learned about Ambleside’s educational philosophy, I was driven to be a part of its wonderful community.  I knew this was the school my three girls should attend. Listening to classical music, singing, spending time in nature, swimming, hiking, or kayaking with my family, are also my favorite free time activities.

In anything I can find beauty, I will find myself there. Thus, I find myself educating for education is to seek beauty inside the soul of men.

Mrs. 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.