Kolbe Academy's Staff

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Kolbe Academy's Staff
Curriculum Development Support
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President Emeritus

Brian Muth

Position: President Emeritus of Kolbe Academy Home School, Principal of Kolbe Academy and Trinity Prep

Brian Muth’s roots at Kolbe Academy go deep. His parents are one of the founding couples of Kolbe. They helped start Kolbe in 1980 because of the moral and educational degradation at the public schools and, yes, even the parochial schools. Over his vigorous protests (but with his eventual acceptance), he attended Grades 7-12 at Kolbe. In the first year at Kolbe, there were a whopping eight students. There were two students in his graduating class—prom was really boring. It was great telling people that he graduated first in his class, though, until they inevitably asked “Out of how many?”

Brian graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Dallas with a B.A. in Politics. He also met and married his wife, Deana, at UD. After college, he dabbled with law school and then got down to the business of supporting his family. He and his wife (and the ever-growing ranks of their children—they’re up to eight now) lived in Southern California and in the Dallas area. While in Southern California, Brian received his M.B.A. with an emphasis in Marketing from the University of Southern California. He has held a variety of positions over time, from Paralegal with a leading pharmaceutical company to Director of Marketing for the premier legal publisher in the country.

With a variety of experiences that would prove helpful and feeling God’s call, Brian and his family relocated to Napa in 2003 to direct the efforts at Kolbe, both the day school and the home school program. Currently, his efforts are mainly involved with the newly merged Kolbe Academy & Trinity Prep Day School.

Director

Mary Rowles

Position: Director

Responsibilities: Director of Kolbe Academy

Mary Rowles has been with Kolbe Academy Home School since the program’s inception. She has contributed to the growth and development of the home school program over the years as home school manager (2002 – 2004), head of academic advising (2004-2007), registrar (1996-1999, 2005-2008) and now as director. Mary’s creativity and artistic capabilities have distinguished her as the official graphic designer for most of Kolbe Academy’s Study Guides, Answer Keys, Catalogs, and Newsletters. Mary’s current responsibilities include day-to-day management of Kolbe's operations, graphic design, and academic advising.

Mary and her husband, Chuck, have been married for 25 years. They have ten children, 6 boys and 4 girls, and so far, are the proud grandparents of four granddaughters. Mary has home schooled several of her children off and on over the last 20 years, three of whom have mild to moderate learning disabilities. All of her children have attended Kolbe Academy’s Day School during years that she was not home schooling, and her six oldest have graduated from Kolbe thus far.

Advisor Manager

Everett Buyarski
Position: Manager of Academic Advising
Responsibilities: Academic Advising, Curriculum Development, Enhanced Evaluation Service

Everett was born and raised in Southeast Alaska, aka “God’s Country.” He studied Philosophy at Gonzaga University (Go Zags!), and spent two years in the seminary before discerning he wasn’t called to the priesthood. He is married to his beautiful wife Melissa, also a Kolbe Home School employee, and has two sons, Nathaniel and Aaron.

Before joining Kolbe Academy Home School, Everett worked as a high school teacher in math, science and computer literacy at a small private Catholic school in Cottonwood, Idaho, and also spent time in the insurance industry working for Aflac.

Everett is known for being long-winded related to subjects he loves, including baseball, ultimate frisbee (which he played competitively in college), philosophy, theology, poker and anything involving Alaska.

Academic Advising Department

Dianne Muth

Position: Academic Advisor for Grades 1-6Responsibilities: Curriculum Development, Academic Advising

Dianne Muth and her husband, Jerry, are one of the three founding couples of Kolbe Academy. Dianne taught grades 1 through 4 for many years at Kolbe Academy’s Day school and could always humbly assert that most of her students read, comprehended, wrote and did math at least one full level above their grade. After 20 years of teaching, she served as principal of Kolbe Academy’s Day School until 2003 when she “retired” to become a full time volunteer academic advisor for the Home School program.

As an early proponent of the need to focus on phonics, Mrs. Muth wrote the Ignatius Speaks and Writes English program used in Kolbe Academy Home School’s program for first and second grade, and is currently working on the third grade edition. She has also authored the Kolbe Academy guides to the Catholic National Reader and was instrumental in preparing the daily lesson plans for the majority of subjects in Kolbe’s grade school program.

Dianne and Jerry enjoy traveling in their spare time, and use this passion to help Kolbe out by representing at many home school conferences in the spring. She and her husband have successfully reared 10 children, the youngest three of whom all graduated from Kolbe’s Day school. They have 41 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren.

Megan LengyelPosition: Academic Advisor for Math and ScienceResponsibilities: Curriculum Development, Academic Advising, Forum Administration

Megan Lengyel is a mid-westerner at heart. Although she was born in Chicago, she grew up in St. Louis most of her life where she attended St. Peter’s Catholic School in Kirkwood, MO, and Cor Jesu Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in St. Louis, MO. She is the eldest of 4 girls and 1 boy.

Megan continued her education at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX, where she graduated cum laude with her B.S. in Physics in 2001. While in school, she spent a semester in Italy where she began to learn the Italian language as a hobby. Megan took a year off between undergraduate and graduate school to work for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Physics Lab Demonstration Group in Cambridge, MA. The following year, she resumed her studies at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK, where she received her M.S. in Meteorology in 2004, doing her thesis research on lightning. She also assisted in the development of a Meteorological Measurements Lab course, giving her unique experience in curriculum development at the collegiate level.

Megan met her husband while storm chasing in the summer of 2000. They were married in January of 2004 and moved to California where Megan began her work with Kolbe Academy in June of 2004. Since then, she and her husband have relocated to Atlanta, GA, where Megan continues to work remotely for Kolbe primarily as their math and science advisor. Her and her husband now have two boys.

Marita VargasPosition: Academic Advisor for Middle School and High SchoolResponsibilities: Academic Advising, Enhanced Evaluation Service, Curriculum Development

Marita Vargas has taught English at the Junior and Senior High levels as well as ESL (English as a Second Language). She has a B.A. in English from Biola University and is a certified High School teacher. She also holds a certificate in Story Development from the University of Washington as her great love is writing instruction. A convert to the Catholic Faith, she credits the writings of G.K. Chesterton with her conversion. She has worked part time as a book and drama reviewer and columnist. She would remind people to never discount the power of the written word to effect conversion, and hopes that Kolbe students will become great communicators of the Catholic faith.

Mike Pace

Position: Academic Advisor for grade school and high school

Responsibilities: Academic Advising, Enhanced Evaluation Service, Curriculum Development

Mike Pace joined the home school staff as a full time advisor in the summer of 2008. He is a graduate of San Francisco State, class of 1980. Mike taught at Kolbe Academy’s Day school for 6 years including its combined 5^th/6^th grade class, 7^th, 8^th, and high school math, and high school biology. He took a 2 year hiatus when teaching at Kolbe Academy to home school one of his three children. Mike is a convert to Catholicism who credits his love of reading Chesterton and Belloc for his conversion.

Melissa Buyarski
Position: Head of Special Needs Department, Academic Advisor for Elementary Education
Responsibilities: Academic Advising, Curriculum Development

Melissa is the oldest of three children. Her family currently lives in Denver, CO, where she attended Mullen High School. She graduated cum laude from Gonzaga with her B.Ed. in Special Education, and has worked toward a Masters degree in Behavioral Analysis and a Reading endorsement. She is certified to teach Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education and Special Education.

Melissa is a full-time stay at home mother for Nathaniel Paul, and part-time Academic Advisor. Before coming to Kolbe, she taught a 1^st/2^nd combo class at a small private Catholic school in Cottonwood, Idaho.

Jacinta Scheetz
Position: Academic Advisor for High School
Responsibilities: Academic Advising, Enhanced Evaluation Service

Jacinta grew up in the beautiful state of Colorado where her parents homeschooled her along with her three siblings. After high school, she attended Christendom College, graduating in 2004 with a B.A. in history. She spent the following three years working for Seton Home Study as a grader in Virginia. There she developed a love and passion for Catholic education. Having a bit of a pioneer spirit, she decided to try something she had never done in a place she had never been, so she moved to the West Coast and taught for two years at Kolbe Academy's day school. Now she is back to the homeschooling realm and is enjoying helping Kolbe's homeschooling families.

lauraristine Laura Sciacca
Position: Academic Advisor for High School
Responsibilities: Academic Advising, Registrar, Enhanced Evaluation Service
Laura grew up in Kalispell, Montana, the fifth of seven children. She was a home school student from 3^rd grade through high school and graduated from Ave Maria University- Florida with a B.A. in Theology. In the Spring of 2006, she left Florida to teach the 5^th/6^th grade at Trinity Grammar & Prep in Napa, CA. After a year of teaching, she became Trinity’s Administrative Assistant/Registrar for two years. Laura joined Kolbe Academy Home School in the spring of 2010 and recently married her husband in Napa.

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