Meet the Team
Dedicated & Certified
Founder/CEO
Shalin Klein
Founding RISE Academy was a dream come true. While weighing the different educational options for my children within the last few years, I wanted to be able to have the best of both worlds. We wanted to have the opportunity to build an educational model that had the classroom environment with licensed teachers, while also having the flexibility of a schedule at home was our goal. And we did just that - we are so proud of the continued growth and success of RISE. God truly went before the creation and development of RISE Academy and His favor and provision continue to baffle me as we expand. While managing the business from afar, I look forward to continuing to watch RISE Academy become a beacon of light and love in the Manhattan community.
Administration Team
Catherine VonSeggern
Director of Administration
I’m a disciple of Christ, wife to my highschool sweetheart, mama to Oliver, Fletcher, Jasper and Aurora - as well as a baby in heaven. My husband and I are Wamego natives and Emporia State graduates. My husband serves in the Air Force all the while helping me raise my kids. I fill my time with family, education, spending time with friends and portrait photography. Over the last 10+ years I have worked with a wide variety of elementary-aged students and as my oldest got closer to "school age" we explored the idea of homeschooling. The Lord orchestrated a beautiful story that brought us to RISE and I am thrilled to come alongside families as an educator turned administrator and fellow hybrid-homeschool parent. My desire is to honor Christ by partnering with families in their own hybrid-homeschooling journey. RISE is encouraging our family as we homeschool and I have personally seen how it has grown to serve many in this area. We look forward to ministering to some of the awesome people He created, serving others well, sharing the redeeming grace of Jesus and equipping families to educate their children in a hybrid model.
Darbey Beam
Director of Education
I am incredibly humbled and grateful to be a part of RISE Academy! I am married to my best friend Skyler and we have three young children. We absolutely delight in our family and raising our children to know and follow the Lord. Born into a family of educators, the art of teaching and "training up a child in the way they should go" has always been my heart's desire. I eagerly completed my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at KSU (Go Cats!) and received my Master’s in Teacher Leadership shortly after. In my 7 years of teaching, I’ve taught Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd Grade. I stepped away from the classroom once my second child was born, prayerfully trusting that God had a beautiful plan for my future as both a mom and a teacher. He was so faithful! In the midst of those prayers, I was approached to help start "the first hybrid school in Manhattan", which has now evolved into RISE Academy! This model is truly the best of all my worlds colliding. It's a blessing to be able to homeschool and disciple my children while simultaneously using the gifts God has given me to serve and support teachers and families. Doing so in an environment where I can freely share my faith in Jesus is the cherry on top! It's a joy to plant seeds of faith, hope, and love in the hearts and minds of little ones and an honor to witness all that God is doing in the lives of many through this ministry. To Him be the glory!
Courtney Vincent
Campus Administrative Assistant
I am a follower of Jesus, a wife and mom of 3. Before kids I worked in tv news and before transitioning to education where I taught high school English and journalism. I lived my first 30 years in Louisiana before moving to Nebraska and now settling in Kansas. I feel blessed and excited to be a part of RISE Academy. My number one goal in life is to raise my kids to love the Lord. I believe RISE Academy's goal is the same. RISE will provide a unique opportunity where I will get to invest in my children's education as a homeschool teacher, while also providing them a high quality classroom education. To be able to help bring that to families in Manhattan is a gift that I am grateful to be a part of!
Valerie Starnes
Business Management
I am a lover of Jesus, lucky wife to Dane, proud mama to my four babies and am blessed to serve my community as a chiropractor. I specialize in prenatal and pediatric care at Nichols Chiropractic in Manhattan. When I'm not at work you can catch me getting coffee, perusing the aisles of Target or chasing my kids around outside.
I am elated to be part of the RISE Academy team because as the saying goes "It takes a village to raise a child" and this is exactly what RISE Academy is. It is a village of like minded people who have hearts for Jesus. RISE Academy gives me and my husband the opportunity to be fully engaged in our children's education with the support of amazing educators. The Lord has special things in store for the RISE community and I am excited to witness it all!
Morgan Rankin
Web Design
I am a Catholic lover of Jesus Christ, a proud wife to my cattle ranching husband, Ben, and the mother to a busy toddler and baby. I studied entrepreneurship at Kansas State and then went on to manage doggie daycares and own one! Through that I found my passion for marketing and web design. I was ecstatic to be a part of the RISE team as I saw the need for this incredible model for our Manhattan community, and a future educational option for my family down the road. I love that Christ will be taught in the classroom. I am excited to watch this continue to grow and be a witness to God's ultimate plan along side an incredible team here at RISE.
Education Team
Pamela Whitson
3/4 PreK Teacher
I am a Christian, a wife, a mother to 3 grown children and their spouses and a proud grammy to 3 grandchildren. I grew up in a small town in Illinois on the Mississippi River. I graduated with a BS in Special Education and earned a MS in Interdisciplinary Studies while teaching those first few years in an alternative high school and a drug and alcohol treatment facility for teens. We lived in Colorado for 12 years where I had the opportunity to run a home daycare for the first few years while our youngest was small. For 10 of the years, I worked as a Realtor part-time while teaching special education in the elementary school, and then eventually, teaching elementary students at a Christian homeschool co-op. We moved to Manhattan, KS in 2016 for a job opportunity for my husband. This move to Kansas allowed God to show me that I was a workaholic and people pleaser and needed to slow down and rely on Him for all things. Kansas has been a great place for us! As a family, we enjoy bowling and playing games. My personal hobby is painting sola wood flowers and putting together wedding florals. God has blessed us by having all of our children and grandchildren move from out of state to the Manhattan area just recently! This is something only God could have orchestrated and never did we think our kids would move to Kansas. While here in Manhattan, I have taught special education in a few elementary schools, have subbed at the Christian school and most recently have been enjoying 3-4 year olds at a local Christian preschool. I have always loved children of all ages and no matter how many times I have left the field of education, God has drawn me back in some arena. I am thrilled to be a part of this school so that I can openly share the love of Jesus with little ones and work alongside Jesus loving women!
Emma Pomeroy
3/4 PreK Aide
I am married to Kevin and a mom of two kids (Norva and Carson). I grew up on a farm in north central Kansas, but have spent my adult years in the Manhattan/Fort Riley area. I received a Bachelor's in Elementary Education and a Master's in Special Education, both from Kansas State University. After college, I taught for four years in special education. Since having our first child, I have been privileged to be a stay-at-home mom. I like to spend my time baking, reading, being outside, and just being with my children. I became a Christian in college, and love to spend time with my church community at Vintage Faith Church. I am so excited to be a part of RISE Academy!
Jocelyn Dunmire
4/5 PreK Teacher
The year I came to know Jesus as my savior was the same I became a teacher. It has always been
abundantly clear that the Lord loves children very deeply and my goal in teaching has always been to
rely on Him to guide my problem solving and point children to Him.
Growing up on a farm in Beattie, Kansas was a great life to be born into. After high school I graduated
from KSU with a BS in elementary education and a dual MS in Behavior Disorders and Learning
Disabilities. My husband Gary and I married while I was a KSU student. We have lived in Kansas for our
whole marriage, except for three years when we lived in California while he served in the Marine Corp.
I enjoyed teaching regular and special education students in public schools for many years before
pursuing my life-long goal of teaching kiddos about Jesus. I was fortunate enough that the leaders of my
church asked me to develop a Christian pre-school, daycare and after school/summer program. I retired
from public education and started the program we grew from the ground up to eventually being
licensed for 100 children. Since 2007 the program has been reaching & equipping children for Christ. In
February of 2022 I resigned when we moved to Manhattan to be closer to our two girls, sons-in- law and
six precious grandchildren.
When learning about the mission of RISE, I knew it was a great opportunity to feed into the lives of
children. I look forward to watching them grow in body, mind, and spirit. I consider it an honor and a
privilege to be teaching precious little ones at RISE.
Jacie Landrum
4/5 PreK Aide
I am a follower of Jesus, wife to my high school sweetheart, and a mom of 3! I've been blessed to be a stay at home mom as well as a homeschool mom. Last year, God opened the door for my husband to change career fields and move to Manhattan to be close to our family. I enjoy drinking coffee, working out, and spending time with family. I am excited and grateful to be a part of this squad at the RISE Academy. God is going to do amazing things this year!
Breah Butler
Kindergarten Teacher
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a wife and a mom to our sweet girl! We live on a 10 acre farm south of Manhattan and enjoy the simple, country life. I enjoy being with my family, hiking, puzzles, and baking.
I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Kansas State University and my Master’s in Special Education from Emporia State University. I have been in education for 10 years and during those years I enjoyed teaching students in special education, 1st grade and Kindergarten! I recently took a huge leap of faith and joined the RISE team! I am SO excited, honored, and blessed to be a part of RISE and help care for the precious babies and toddlers. God is so good!
Jennifer Monaco
1st Grade Teacher
If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach them well.
Romans 12:7. I am a follower of Christ and want to serve him.
I began my secondary education at Hutchinson Community College. I then went on to
graduate from Kansas State University where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in
Elementary Education. I also received my Master’s Degree in School Counseling K-12
from Fort Hays University. I have taught Kindergarten, 1 st grade, 2 nd grade and 3rd
grade. I have been teaching for 33 years, beginning my teaching career in Oberlin, KS
for the first 15 years. This is where I met my sweet husband, Thaniel. We will be
celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in September. We have two wonderful
children, Madison and Lawson. Our family moved to Manhattan in 2006 where I started
teaching 1 st grade at Amanda Arnold. Teaching children to read is one of the most
rewarding parts of my job, combining it with teaching God’s word will be an incredible
opportunity!
I will be retiring from USD#383 in May and after much prayer, God has revealed my
next chapter. I am thrilled be joining an amazing group of people at RISE! Teaching is
my passion and I cannot wait to see how God’s plan plays out!
Shaile Nordyke
2nd Grade Teacher
I am so excited and thankful to the Lord to be able to serve at RISE Academy! First and foremost, I love Jesus and am in awe of the good, good gifts he has given me. I am married to my highschool sweetheart, Ryan. We are from Southeast Colorado and are both K-State alumni, which is where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I taught both kindergarten and first grade in public schools. Together, we have moved many times, but God provided us the opportunity to move back to Manhattan in 2023, where we hope to stay. We both have a passion for the local community and feel called to raise our family here. We have a sweet 2.5 year old boy and another on the way! I have had the privilege of being a stay at home mom since the birth of our first, but have felt God’s calling to serve children and their families again. I’ve always known I wanted to be a teacher, but didn’t know I would feel so passionate about homeschooling our own children. Teaching at RISE allows me to combine my passions of motherhood and teaching into one. I look forward to joining the RISE community and watching God work in mighty ways!
Hope Reasoner
3rd Grade Teacher
I love the Lord with all my heart and He has given me a passion to teach students to love Him as well! I am so grateful to have grown up in a family that taught me what it means to follow the Lord from a very young age. I’m a Kansan born and raised. I studied Music Education for two years at Butler Community College where I got my associates degree. After that, I transferred to Kansas State University where I graduated with my bachelors in Elementary Education. Although I changed my major I’m still really passionate about including music into my classroom. It is such an incredibly affective tool for learning. Outside of teaching I love ministering to college students on campus and plan to continue serving in that way as well. I’m so excited to be apart of the RISE family. It is an incredible opportunity to not only teach your children core curriculum, but also guide them in what it means to be a disciple of Christ!
Alec Anderson
Staff Care Lead
Love to serve the Lord. Also love spending time with my family, baking, and playing or singing music. Wife and mom of 3 wild but precious boys. I grew up in Norton, Kansas, and am the oldest of 6 kids! From there attended HCC (Hutchinson Community College) where I did track for a a year and was a football secretary for a year. This is also where I met my amazing husband, Tyler - the first day I moved in! From there we attended KSU for another two years and got married in 2016. I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education. Tyler and I moved to Alta Vista following graduation and have been there since living the dream! He works at K-Construction, and I taught for 4 years (grades 1 and 3). Since 2021 I’ve gotten the privilege to stay home with my boys. Being apart of Rise has been an absolute dream and a HUGE answer to so many prayers for our family!
Sam Morehead
Staff Care Lead
I am a follower of Jesus, a wife, and a mama to 3 amazing kiddos (ages 1, 5, and 7). My passions are baking, raising my babes, and spending time with my family. I have been doing daycare for 12 years, so daycare is also a passion of mine. I am excited and blessed to be a part of RISE!