Dr.
Kuni Beasley, founder of the Gateway Preparatory School, has a BS from Texas
Christian University, an MBA from Oklahoma City University, a Doctor of Ministries
from Tyndale Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. He attended the
Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, graduating at 16 with a full college
scholarship. Dr. Beasley has served on the faculty of Northwood University (Business
& Government), LeTourneau University (Business Management), University of Texas-Arlington
(Public Administration), and Dallas Baptist University (Political Science). Dr.
Beasley started the Gateway Program in 1996 with seven students meeting in a rented
Sunday school room at the First Baptist Church in Duncanville, Texas. By 1997,
Gateway had two more schools in Arlington and Bedford, and by 1998, Gateway had
nine schools in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and Waco with almost 700 students. In
2001, Gateway began to convert to the internet and the last conventional site
closed in 2003. In 2002, Gateway began to establish network schools to support
homeschool families and establish resident sites using the Gateway Program to
support students coming out of public and private school. Read
full bio...
Mr.
Howard Berg, co-founder of Gateway, is recognized as the world's fastest reader
thanks to the cutting edge accelerated learning techniques he developed that turn
information overload into information assets. Respected internationally for his
contribution to the learning process, he is listed in the 1990 Guinness Book of
World Records for reading more than 25,000 words per minute and writing more than
100 words per minute. Mr. Berg is a graduate of S.U.N.Y., Binghamton. Using the
same strategies used by Gateway students, this biology major completed a four-year
Psychology program in one year. His graduate studies at several New York City
colleges focused on the psychology of reading. Howard taught for 10 years for
New York City's inner city schools, and witnessed first
hand how the failure to learn basic study skills was crippling the learning
potential of our nation's children. Read full bio...
Mrs.
Debbie Elder, Executive Director of Gateway, is a graduate of Carleton University,
Ottawa, Canada and a former police officer with the Ottawa City Police Force.
She then moved to Calgary, Alberta where she was a youth worker in charge of the
disciplinary unit of a secure custody facility for young offenders. Within this
organization she was promoted to the position of Labor Relations Coordinator responsible
for mediating between staff, management, and the union. Mrs. Elder left this position
to work as an educator with the John Howard Society, teaching high school law
and an Introduction to Canadian Law course at the University of Calgary. After
the birth of her first child, she decided to open her home to troubled teens and
was voted the Therapeutic Foster Parent of the year in 1993. Upon her arrival
in Houston, Mrs. Elder worked as a preschool teacher and ran her own Behavior
Management Consultant business helping teens, families, and Corporate America
by providing training in Leadership and Interpersonal Communication skills. As
a professional educator and speaker, Mrs. Elder traveled the nation training teachers
and parents in motivation techniques and success strategies. She remained a tutor
and Success Coach for elementary through college age students until January 2004
when she joined the Gateway team. Presently, Mrs. Elder operates a house school
and oversees the operations of four additional schools in the Houston area. She
is a mentor for numerous students across the country and a member of the Gateway
Corporate team.
Mrs.
Camille Rodriquez, Program Manager for South East Texas and
Louisiana and Assistant Dean for Academics, is a graduate of the
University of Texas where she attended on a full scholarship and
majored in Radio-Television-Film. While there, she was a member
of the Golden Key National Honor Society. After receiving her
bachelor's degree, she worked in radio, writing commercials and
public service announcements, as well as in television in Austin,
Texas. In 1989, she and her husband moved to the Houston area
where she became a substitute teacher in the public schools. Familiar
with the strengths and weaknesses of the public schools and originally
"just an experiment," Mrs. Rodriquez became involved in homeschooling
when her first child was three years old. This involvement developed
into a passion for seeing the "light bulb turn on" as her children
learned and grew in their studies. She continued homeschooling
all four of her children and successfully graduated her oldest
child from high school at sixteen with nine hours of college work
already completed. She served on the steering committee, including
the office of President, of local homeschooling support groups
in both the Houston area and in Sewanee, Tennessee while living
there during her husband's seminary training. She has served as
Christian Education Director and Children's Ministries Coordinator
in her churches and facilitates women's Bible studies. Mrs. Rodriquez
also spent two years in private school instruction, but left that
work in 2005 to become a member of the Gateway program. Currently,
Mrs. Rodriquez operates one of the Gateway satellite schools and
is a mentor in the Gateway program working directly with students
using the Gateway curriculum in their homes.
Mrs.
Nancy Terry, North Texas & Oklahoma Regional Program
Manager and Gateway Preparatory School Mathematics Coordinator,
is a certified mathematics and journalism teacher who has 14 years
of educational experience in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska. Her teaching
experience includes a broad range of students; from both private
and public secondary schools, gifted and talented programs, home
school, and adult mathematics training. The vast majority of Nancy’s
teaching experience has been focused upon extensive diagnostics
and individualized program development. A recipient of regional
merit and mathematics & science scholarships, Nancy earned
an Associate of Arts in Journalism from Odessa College, Odessa,
Texas, a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education from
Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas and a Master
of Education in Instructional Technology from American Intercontinental
University, Chicago, Illinois. The focal point of her instructional
technology degree is developing online distance learning programs.
Nancy’s association with Gateway goes back nine years when she
met Dr. Beasley and enrolled her ten year old son, Stephen, in
the Gateway Programme. After becoming aware of Nancy’s educational
experience, Dr. Beasley appointed her as Regional Director over
five individual Gateway Programme sites and since has became a
mentor, fellow educator and friend. Mrs. Terry is an experienced
leader, organizer and trainer in the Gateway organization.
Rev.
Richard Boeck makes his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he lives with his
wife, Susan, a Lutheran school teacher in the central city, and two of their seven
children. Rev. Boeck has a B.A. from Concordia Senior College, Ft. Wayne, Indiana
(Liberal Arts), a Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft.
Wayne, Indiana (Systematic Theology), and a Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.)
in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.
He is currently pursuing Ph.D. studies. Rev. Boeck served as a pastoral intern
in the Panama Canal Zone and has been a parish pastor in Montana, North Dakota,
Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. He retired in 2004 from the United States Naval
Reserve having served for 27 years as a chaplain, including shipboard, hospital,
and Construction Battalion, and recruit training duty with the Marine Corps during
7 years of active duty and mobilization for Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Chaplain
Boeck was the Commanding Officer of 3rd MEFREL 322, a Third Marine Expeditionary
Force Chaplains' Unit as well as holding other Supervisory Chaplain billets. Rev.
Boeck was the Founder and first President of Lutheran Urban Mission Initiative,
Inc., which he founded in order to develop a new approach to Christian education
and Gospel outreach to our nation's central cities. Rev. Boeck is the author and
publisher of "Today's Devotion"
published six days a week and distributed via email or available online at the
"Today's Devotion" link .
Mrs.
Rebecca Turner graduated with a B.A. in Biblical Education
from Columbia International University in Columbia, SC, and went
on to earn a M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology at Georgia State University
in Atlanta, GA. Mrs. Turner then worked in a private counseling
practice conducting individual, marriage and family counseling
in the Atlanta area. After moving to Ft. Myers, FL, Mrs. Turner
became an elementary guidance counselor where she administered
placement testing for the gifted program, conducted classroom
instruction on personality development, interpersonal skills,
learning enhancement and conflict resolution. She later directed
the elementary, middle and high school guidance program of a large
private school in the Atlanta area. As director of this program
she developed the college advisement program, administered the
school-wide standardized testing, implemented the school's first
college fairs, networked with college admission departments and
facilitated the student college application process. She was also
a testing consultant for Riverside Publishing where she administered
the WISC-R across all age groups to assist in developing national
norms. Mrs. Turner has been homeschooling since 1995, and from
2001 to 2006 was the president of the largest homeschool support
group in West Atlanta. Mrs. Turner joined the Gateway team in
April of 2005 and became a Gateway mentor in January 2006.
Mr.
Shawn Vicknair is the owner of Gateway America, a Gateway
satellite school. He brings ten years experience of teaching martial
arts and two years experience in an academic setting, including
working in Special Education, to his Gateway program. Shawn graduated
in 2001 from Southeastern Louisiana University Hammond with a
BS in Criminal Justice. He believes that patience and the right
tools and motivation can overcome learning setbacks. His martial
arts' training and teaching philosophy contribute to a personal
and professional belief of discipline and self-confidence. This
teaching philosophy, including effective communication of expectations
and respect for his students, combined with his belief that learning
should be about the academic, social, and physical development
of the student, has led hundreds of students to a broader, healthier
lifestyle of learning and growth. In this setting, Mr. Vicknair
incorporates the Gateway curriculum and his teaching objectives
into a cohesive and dynamic Gateway program in Sugar Land, Texas.
Ms.
Caroline Hamed is a graduate of the University of Houston
where she majored in Health Fitness with a minor in Mathematics
and French. Caroline has student taught at a number of public
schools in the Houston area, before becoming a mentor at Gateway
Preparatory School. Ms. Hamed is an avid martial artist of 12
years and continues to teach martial art classes at night. Currently,
Ms. Caroline Hamed is the operations manager of Gateway America,
one of Gateway’s satellite schools and is a mentor in the Gateway
program working directly with students using the Gateway curriculum.
Ms. Caroline Hamed uses her experience as a martial arts instructor
and her knowledge in Education to help provide Gateway America
a first class learning environment.
Mrs.
Sarah Cours is a certified Earth/Life Science and Vocational
Home Economics teacher who has 24 years experience teaching in
Texas. Her teaching experience includes a broad range of students
in public middle and secondary schools with several year elementary
experiences as a substitute teacher, including gifted and talented
programs, pre-AP programs, and co-teaching with Special Education,
teaching mainstreamed students with special needs. Sarah earned
an Associate of Arts in Education, graduating as a member of Phi
Beta Kappa, from Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas, and a Bachelor
of Science degree in Secondary Education and Vocational Home Economics
from Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. She also has graduate
work in biology, geology and education from University of Houston
at Clear Lake City, with some additional work from University
of Houston, main campus, Rice University, and Texas A & M
University. Sarah was on the committee that developed the middle
school science curriculum for Pearland Independent School District;
her specific contribution was developing hands-on laboratory investigations,
writing learning activities, and developing chapter and standardized
tests. Other experiences that Sarah brings to this program is
that of serving as a Harris County deputy County Clerk, an EMT
with Pearland Emergency Medical Service and serving on the Emergency
Response Team in her schools. Sarah retired from the public school
classroom in 2005 leaving the position of Science Department Chairperson.
She was very excited to join the Gateway program as the site facilitator
for the Gateway satellite site, Reflex Preparatory School, in
Pearland for the last year and currently completing her Mentor
training.
