Teacher Bios
In love with teaching since 1995
Amy Bell
Even though Amy began as a music instructor, her favorite teaching moments always occurred during her writing classes. She began teaching creative writing in 2011 and has been offering it ever since. In the years following, she began offering a few other writing classes as she saw the need arise within her local homeschool community. Amy is a prolific writer in addition to being a teacher of writing.
Between 2011 and 2014, Amy Lee Bell wrote for Homeschool Enrichment Magazine, a bi-monthly publication. In addition to "Dad's Work Is Never Done" (2011, reprinted in 2015) and "Asking Questions, Analyzing Answers" (2011), she wrote "Once Upon a Homeschool" (2011–2014), a regular article featuring a different famous home scholar in each publication. Later, she was asked to co-write the column "News Notes" (2012-2014), which contained homeschool news and commentary. On her personal blog (Full Circle Homeschooling), she has written extensively on many subjects, primarily homeschooling and religion.
Amy has always been a hard worker, and will do everything in her power to deliver an individualized quality education. If that means diving deep into unfamiliar territory or staying up until midnight to research reading comprehension methods for a single student's needs, that's exactly what she'll do. She considers every learning experience an opportunity, and hopes that her students will feel the same way.
Her goal is to fill educational gaps for as many people as possible. She is a good communicator, and this allows her to reach her students at whatever level they find themselves. Amy always strives to continue her education so she can offer her very best to all of her students at all times.
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Elizabeth Pierce
Elizabeth Pierce grew up as both a homeschool student and an IEW student with Crescenza Studio. She has volunteered extensively for homeschool groups, working as a club secretary, project leader, choir pianist, and even assistant director and costume designer for a homeschool theater group.
Writing is one of her favorite pastimes. According to Andrew Pudewa, she is “one of those crazy people” because she writes not only out of necessity, but also purely for fun. Elizabeth is currently in the process of writing her own book series, and can often be seen carting around a notebook in case she has a sudden flash of inspiration and needs something to write on.
Though Elizabeth’s roles as a teacher are often not situated within the “typical” classroom (such as the time she was a backstage manager for a homeschool puppet club), she enjoys encouraging others to learn everything they can and do their best in whatever role they fill.
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Megan Haring
Megan's passion for writing can be traced back to when she was a kid, when she spent significant time writing creatively and rewriting classics imaginatively. Learning from Amy Bell’s early writing classes as well as IEW’s classes fashioned this love even further! During middle school, Megan took a single year of grammar from Miss Amy and quickly became the most advanced grammar student that she had ever taught.
A teacher at heart, Megan has long served children in her community by teaching karate and swimming lessons. When Megan started teaching Fix-It Grammar through Crescenza Studio, Miss Amy soon discovered that Megan’s grammar-teaching skills were just as fine as her grammar-learning skills.
Megan’s devotion is to teach grammar and writing in an atmosphere designed to reduce stress and create enjoyment! As a creative writing and grammar teacher, she specializes in establishing a fun learning environment that cultivates a new relish for writing while nurturing the seeds of knowledge.
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Kaylee Taylor
Kaylee Taylor is the eldest of five children and has greatly enjoyed being a student of Miss Amy’s. She has found IEW immensely helpful and is excited to have the opportunity to teach the concepts that she has so greatly benefited from.
She loves theater whether it be in the spotlight, backstage working crew, or painting set. Kaylee is heavily involved in the local homeschool community and thoroughly enjoys the music program she is enrolled in where she plays several instruments and sings in the choir. Another one of her numerous passions includes riding horses, which she has done for all her life and hopes to continue to pursue in the future.
Kaylee aspires to create an environment in her classes where children can thrive, and writing can be fun and enjoyable for everyone. She has always had a passion for helping others and is hoping that through teaching she can achieve that goal! She is extremely excited for whatever this new season of teaching may bring and can’t wait to meet all her students!
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Kate Michel
Kate Michel is the instructor for the evening Multisensory Creative Writing class. She has been working with children since she was a teenager. As such, she has experience teaching both one-on-one and in classroom settings as well as experience working with students that have a variety of special needs. Her philosophy on life also applies to her educational beliefs. "The most important thing I can do is care. My job is to show love to everyone, especially those who have a hard time loving themselves. I am a firm believer in growth mindset and want to help students to have their best chance at success. My goal is for every student to develop a love of learning that will last a lifetime. I believe there's empowerment through knowledge."
Kate is very experienced in working with both adults and children alike. She is currently a certified substitute teacher at Lucy Wortham James Elementary School in addition to her work for Crescenza Studio. In regards to her own education, Kate has her Associates Degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis on music. Kate is currently a senior at Southeast Missouri State University pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Music Education. Other notable areas of experience include volunteering at the Bourbon, Missouri public library as well as at the local elementary school. While still a teenager, Kate helped her mother run her local church's AWANA program. As a former student through Crescenza Studio, she has experienced the very classes she now teaches.
Kate also has a large amount of experience in regards to working with students that have special needs. When subbing, Kate is often called to work in the special education resource room. While there, she has worked with a variety of disabilities and disorders, both physical and mental. She is most adept at working with children that have autism spectrum disorder. Kate always strives to ensure that every student is seen as an equal, no matter their needs.
With all of her teaching experience, Kate is well equipped to adapt to students' needs throughout the classes she teaches. By teaching the evening class, she hopes to assist homeschool, private school, and public school students alike. She looks forward to meeting each student and helping them to grow academically.
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Jesse Bell
Jesse Bell is a cornerstone of Crescenza Studio, serving in a multitude of indispensable roles that make him an invaluable asset to the team.
One of Jesse's key roles is that of an executive assistant. His meticulous attention to detail shines as he carefully reads, and either approves or improves emails, newsletters, and other communications.
In times of technical crises, Jesse dons the hat of the studio’s only IT expert. When the proverbial sky is falling, Jesse is the one we can always rely on to swoop in and save the day.
Beyond his administrative and IT responsibilities, Jesse is a part-time teacher, imparting knowledge in both mathematics, reading, grammar, and writing. His enthusiasm and know-how, not to mention his practical application to real-world skills, enrich our students' learning experiences, making complex concepts more accessible, engaging, and relevant.
Jesse's support extends even to the times when Miss Amy teaches out of town. He takes on the role of a reliable travel companion and assistant, handling equipment logistics and collecting payments from students.
In summary, Jesse Bell's dedication, expertise, and unwavering support make him a linchpin of our studio. We are fortunate to have him as a partner in our mission to provide top-quality education to our students.
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Kimberly Hawkins
Kimberly Hawkins is our dedicated virtual assistant, who plays a crucial role in the efficient operations of Crescenza Studio. She manages a variety of tasks, making sure that everything runs smoothly. One of her key responsibilities is handling the grading process for student papers. She meticulously goes through the provided checklist, which serves as a rubric, to check that every element is accounted for. This attention to detail ensures that each student's work is fairly and comprehensively assessed. She then returns the papers to the students, providing either a grade or further instructions, promoting growth and understanding among our participants.
Besides her crucial work at Crescenza Studio, she leads a multifaceted life. She is the mother of three beautiful, independent children, each with their own unique personality. At her day job, she is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), where she brings her caring and compassionate nature to the field of healthcare. Inspired by her children, Kim is also a talented photographer. Her creative spirit shines through her photography, capturing moments and memories with a unique and artistic perspective. You can explore her photography portfolio on her website: https://kimmyscaptures.wixsite.com/mysite
Kim is the backbone of our administrative support, ensuring that our classes at Crescenza Studio run seamlessly. We're grateful to have such a talented individual on our team.
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Founder's Notes
I sincerely hope that our services are beneficial to you. We are constantly looking for new ways to pass along a love for learning! Let me know if you have any questions or special requests. Teaching is my all-time favorite thing to do!