Our teachers come from a variety of backgrounds, but they all have one thing in common; a passion for encouraging children’s natural curiosities!
Mary Groeschen – Director of Wildflowers Academy
Director@wildflowersky.org
Mary Groeschen has called Kentucky home since moving to the Louisville area at age 13. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management, both from the University of Louisville. Before stepping into the world of parenting, Mary spent her professional career in the nonprofit world, focusing on event planning and volunteer coordination and developing a deep love of spreadsheets.
Mary has been homeschooling her three children since 2018. She loves cooking and baking, visiting new places, growing as many flowers as she can, and learning about history and the natural world along with her kids.
Mary believes that the programs offered through Kentuckiana Homeschool, Inc., including Wildflowers Academy, serve an important and unique role in the local homeschooling landscape. She is honored to support this vibrant, growing community and is excited to continue fostering meaningful learning experiences for both students and families.
Rachel Thompson – Kindergarten Teacher
Rachel Thompson was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and currently resides in Bullitt County with her husband and kids. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and taught public school for a brief period before her first child was born in 2014. Since then she’s been a stay-at-home parent to her 3 children. Rachel is a homebody through and through. She enjoys thrifting, iced coffee, and sunny days.
Rachel has always found joy learning alongside children, especially her own, so deciding to homeschool felt natural for their family. They are currently in their 5th year of learning at home, with no end in sight to their homeschooling adventure. Rachel feels incredibly grateful to have connected with Wildflowers Academy and to be back in a classroom environment more fitting to her personal teaching philosophy. She’s looking forward to instilling a love of learning in her students that she hopes will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Abigail Sledge – First Grade Teacher
Abigail Sledge has a passion for learning alongside her students. She grew up a Hoosier and went to IUS on the other side of the river, where she received her bachelor’s in Special Education. Abigail taught elementary for three years before joining Wildflowers Academy in 2022. This upcoming year will be her fourth year at Wildflowers. She now stays at home with her amazing children Alexander (2 years) and Anastasia (7 months).
Abigail loves exploring new places with her family. Abigail is an avid thrifter and is always on the lookout for a good thrift find. Reading aloud with her children is one of her favorite pastimes, her son’s current favorite is “Winnie-the-Pooh”. Abigail’s current learning project is gardening where she hopes to grow delicious fresh fruits and vegetables for her family. Abigail’s teaching philosophy is to guide student growth by showing them they are valuable and unique. Allowing them to learn in a safe environment and through interacting and sharing with their peers. Thus, giving them opportunities to grow as an individual and to develop a love for knowledge.
Second Grade Teacher
Carly McCallister – Third/Fourth Grade Teacher
Carly McCallister has called Louisville home for over 20 years, and adores the eclectic mix of opportunities this city has to offer. With a passion for learning and exploring, homeschool was a natural choice to enable her to continue learning alongside her children.
With a Culinary Arts degree, she spent many years in the service industry before leaving the field for more flexible and varied work opportunities to better support her family’s educational needs. Since then, she has become a registered Accessible Yoga teacher and leads regular adaptive classes. She has also had an instrumental part in the development and running of a summer camp with local nonprofit La Casita Center, providing kids with a fun, safe, culturally appropriate, and engaging experience for the past six years.
When not teaching in her various capacities, she enjoys hiking with her sweet and stubborn hound dog, baking bread, and filling her yard with native wildflowers.
Megan Stofer – Fourth/Fifth Grade Teacher
Megan Stofer is a transplant to the Kentuckiana area, although nearing on 15 years, she wonders just how much longer she can claim to be one. She was born and raised in central Indiana and attended IUPUI for a degree in elementary education with a specialty in k-12 special education. She taught for a decade between Indiana and Kentucky before giving birth to her oldest and deciding to stay home with him. Since that time she has held a plethora of positions both within and outside the scope of education, both at home and in public education settings. She has been homeschooling as well since the Spring of 2020.
Megan spends her time homeschooling, working in social media and website design, getting outside as often as possible and reading. Her personal goal this year is 100 books, and 200 books as a family. (Storygraph currently says we’re gonna beat out goals!). They plan to put out a big garden this year, camp and take lots of visits to Holiday World. Megan’s teaching philosophy centers around teaching students to learn HOW to learn, making everything possible – while building a strong foundation of lifelong skills that will allow them every opportunity in the future.
Audrey Littlepage – Middle School Science
Audrey Littlepage has worked in Arts and Education for the past 19 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from the University of Kentucky and has studied drawing and oil painting with the Art Student’s League of New York and The New York Studio School. Audrey has worked with middle school students at Interlochen Center for the Arts, K-12 students at Jefferson County Public Schools, and the K-8 students at Wildflower’s Academy.
In addition to teaching, Audrey practices art from her home studio and provides ongoing editorial and curatorial support for artists, galleries, and museums in the United States.
Typh Hainer Merwarth – Middle School Art
Making and teaching art has been a lifelong passion for Typh Hainer Merwarth. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Design from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning. During her 20s and 30s, she lived in both New York City and San Francisco, working in the fashion industry primarily as a CAD artist, designing flats and prints for apparel. Concurrently, Typh also served as the resident costume designer for the Looking for Lilith Theatre Company for 15 years.
After returning to Louisville following the birth of her daughter, Soleil, she went on to earn a Master of Arts in Art Education from the University of Louisville. Since then, Typh has taught art in a variety of educational settings, including public K–12 schools, private institutions, and international schools.
She can’t wait to share her knowledge with your children!
Caroline Snyder – Middle School Language Arts
Caroline Snyder moved back to Louisville in 2019 after being raised in Nashville, TN. She was homeschooled all the way from Pre-K to High School graduation, so she loves working with homeschooled students. She recently graduated with a Bachelor’s in Educational Studies and is now working on a Master’s in Educational Technology and Curriculum Design. She has also been teaching private music lessons in Louisville for the past 6 years.
Caroline is so excited to explore topics with both old and new students this year! She is proud to be part of a homeschool program that is inclusive and accepting to all students. A few of the most important things in her life are her husband, her dogs, and teaching. She looks forward to learning more of her students’ favorite things, too!
Katie Edwards – Program Coordinator
Katie Edwards was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. Her passion for working with kids began at a young age. After graduating high school, Katie became a gymnastics coach for girls ages 5 to 15. It was during this time that she discovered the lasting impact a supportive, positive role model can have in a child’s life.
Throughout her early 20s, Katie continued to work with children while earning her cosmetology license. She enjoyed a successful and creative career as a hairdresser until becoming a mother in 2013. Since then, her focus has shifted toward raising and educating her own family, and she has been homeschooling since 2018.
Katie finds joy in reading, spending time in nature, stargazing, and uplifting those around her. She is passionate about shaping future generations through knowledge, kindness, and connection. As a proud Wildflowers parent, she has seen firsthand the positive impact of the program on her own son and is thrilled to serve as Program Coordinator. Katie looks forward to supporting families, fostering community, and helping create a nurturing and enriching environment for all Wildflowers students.
Carrie Hembree Torres – Administrator & KHS Board President
Admin@kentuckianahomeschool.org
Carrie Hembree Torres grew up on a mountain in middle Tennessee. She attended Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and then the University of TN in Knoxville for graduate degrees in geography/geology with a concentration in environmental education. Carrie has worked as an education coordinator at several nature centers and an adjunct faculty member at a state university, served as an educator with programs for outdoor education, solid waste & recycling, and energy education programs, and led program development for multiple initiatives in environmental education and sustainability. She has been involved in several environmental nonprofit organizations and served in various positions including director, grant writer, and community organizer. Most recently, Carrie worked as a consultant for preschool environmental education implementation and helped design nature-based play spaces and outdoor classrooms. Carrie and her partner and daughter and their too-many cats came to Louisville from Nashville in 2019 and have enjoyed getting to know the area, aside from the formidable Ohio Valley allergy season. They have always homeschooled.