Compass Community

Monica has been married to her husband Scott for 15 years and they have 3 children, two of whom attend Compass.  Their family is active in their church where Monica also leads a discipleship group called Moms Connect.  She served with her husband as a missionary in Haiti for 2 years and loves to share her enthusiasm for global missions with students.  She also has a passion for adoption as God grew their family by two amazing children through the adoption process! 

She previously served as the Director of Children’s Ministry at Hardin Baptist Church in Hardin, KY, and has teaching experience in both public and private schools.  She earned her undergraduate degree in Music Education K-12 from Murray State University in Murray, KY.  She teaches private clarinet lessons in her home studio in Winterville.  Monica is currently pursuing Level 1 certification as a trainer with Equipping Minds, a cognitive therapy program, based in Frankfort, KY.  

Monica enjoys being outside, camping, music, and laughing at daily life with her crazy, fun kids!

Joshua Hartgrove teaches Beginner and Intermediate Level Group Guitar with Compass Community. His teaching combines sixteen years of experience as a music educator with a life-long passion for the guitar. He taught band, orchestra, percussion and guitar in public school settings in Alabama and Arizona, working with students from 6th grade through undergraduate. Joshua holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, summa cum laude, from Samford University (2001) and a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting, with honors, from Northern Arizona University (2008).

Joshua developed his philosophy and curriculum for group guitar instruction while teaching 60 guitar students per year and serving as Performing Arts Department Chair at a large high school in Phoenix, Arizona. He started guitar at age 14 and strives in his teaching to serve that curiosity-fueled desire he experienced when first inspired to take up the six-string. He presented his approach in a professional development clinic at the Arizona Music Educators Association annual conference in 2015, entitled, So I Have To Teach Guitar, Now What?

Joshua currently works in church administration at Athens First United Methodist Church, serving as Assistant to the Executive Pastor. The Hartgroves are a Compass Community family: Nancy teaches general music and piano classes, and Anna (9) and Liam (7) are in their second year of classes. They look forward to welcoming their third child in March of 2019.

He explains and demonstrates the skills and techniques students will learn in his class in this video: https://youtu.be/pnf8XfeQd4M

Nanette is a local and prolific artist whose work is colorful and intense.  She continually pushes her boundaries, creates works that are dynamic and alive, and strives to overturn fresh perspectives.  She has recently delivered her art into God's hands, which has opened up her art to new and interesting expressions with all manner of mediums.  Her work may be found on Facebook, Instagram and her website, http://www.nanetteheckler.com.  She has collectors all over the country and in England and Canada.

 Nanette is a formal trial attorney.  She has been a lobbyist to the US Congress, a lawyer for the Nevada Legislature and has won moot court competitions.  She earned her law degree from Washington and Lee University and her BA in political science from the University of Nevada-Reno.  She has edited a novel, has worked as a news reporter, and has been an editor of a Sunday newspaper supplement.

Nanette has been a homeschooling mom and a teacher to homeschoolers for 16 years.  She has been teaching at Compass since its inception.  She has taught Bible studies in churches and courses in community colleges.

Nanette has been homeschooling her children for 16 years.  

Contact Nanette at nanuart (at) aol.com

Tara earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Hospitality from the College of Charleston. As a former event planner, now travel concierge, Tara is excited to bring her love of planning and creating memorable events to the classes she teaches at Compass!

Tara and her husband, Chris, have a love for travel and have lived all over the U.S. from Charleston, SC to Park City, UT. Five years ago they decided to settle down in Athens where they could raise their children in a supportive homeschool community. Tara has enjoyed homeschooling her 9-year-old and 7-year-old since the beginning of their school career and cannot wait to see where this journey leads them!

In her spare time Tara enjoys spending time with her family, planning events for Athens Homeschool Edventurers, and volunteering with her children at Sweet Olive Farm.

Sherri Michelle learned to sign in her freshman year of high school.  She made a deaf friend who taught her sign language.

She has earned a BA in American Sign Language and Interpreting for the Deaf from Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee. She has worked as a freelance interpreter for the deaf as well as an educational interpreter in public schools in Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina.

Sherri Michelle is married to David Mills, pastor of Beech Haven Baptist Church. She is the mother of four children.

Rebekah Nunez grew up in Lawrenceville, GA, where she was homeschooled all the way through high school. She attended Georgia College & State University, where she earned her B.A. in Spanish and Master of Arts in Teaching. Rebekah has spent time in Spain & Mexico, where she developed her love of Spanish language and culture. She enjoys bringing Hispanic culture into the classroom, from making the best guacamole to celebrating birthdays with cascarones (confetti eggs) to making piñatas. Rebekah taught high school Spanish for six years before teaching at Compass. She lives in Athens with her husband Alex, son Kendrick (3), daughter Darcy (1), and orange tail-less cat, Murray. She attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church with her family and enjoys cooking, hiking, and watching Star Trek. .

Contact Rebekah at rebekah.c.nunez (at) gmail.com

Erin Steele is a homeschooling mama of three kids and wife to Brian. They live in Winterville with two crazy dogs and nine crazier chickens. A native Georgian from Lilburn, Erin graduated from the University of Georgia in 2008 with a B.A. in Spanish. She taught Spanish at Tucker High School for two years post college. After the birth of her first son, Caleb, Erin began working for Parkview High School Young Life, a high school ministry aimed at reaching students with the love of Jesus. She also trained to become a birth doula, and continues that work, as she is passionate about supporting families through the journey of pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

The Steeles have a passion for travel and have visited many countries in South America, Africa, and the Middle East, including a three-month stint at mission's school in Mozambique in 2015. It was after this trip that the Steele family relocated to Athens in the summer of 2016, and they've been enjoying the amazing community and all it has to offer ever since.

Contact Erin at ejeffre1 @ gmail.com

Tiena Thacker is a homeschooling mom to four amazing children, a wife, and the Children and Youth Director at her church. Her passions in life include loving and serving the Lord, her family, and working with children and teens.  She has been working with children for 30 years as a teacher, day care worker and owner, and in children, youth and family ministries. She has a B.A. in Elementary Education from Central Washington University and worked as a Head Start teacher in Colorado before moving to Georgia 22 years ago. She sees is as a blessing to have the privilege of being with her children every day, to be the one that leads and guides not only their education but their character as well. In her  “spare” time, she enjoys being creative, baking, singing in the church praise band and being outdoors.

This will be her third year teaching at Compass, and she absolutely loves teaching at Compass! She looks forward to working with your children this year as they create, learn, think, problem-solve, discuss, explore, laugh and just have fun!