Donald Beam

Chief Education Officer / Social Studies Teacher

As a husband to a wonderful and beautiful wife and father of two awesome boys, life is great! Being an educator has made the journey that I’m on that much better!

My educational experience covers 16 years with a prominent K-12 public charter school in Texas to include 4 years as a Middle and High School Mathematics teacher, 2 years as an Engagement Coordinator, and 10 years as a Dean of Students. The classroom experience has been very enjoyable! I firmly believe that relationships are not only conducive to learning, but a requirement. By building rapport through cordiality and establishing respect between the teacher and student, it enables understanding of the roles between them. I found it easy to build rapport with all my students, and keep that connection, which allowed for trust from my students that the lessons I was offering were worth their time, energy and good effort. Unfortunately, the additional workload expectations (that traditional public education requires of its teachers) took away time and energy that could have been much better spent focusing on my students.

The years I have spent in Administration have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and a well rounded perspective as to what works well (and what does not) in educating our youth. I am eager to see the full benefits of the pedagogy that I have developed be beneficial to the fullest extent as I lead Lonestar Homeschool Academy Teachers and implement this in our classrooms.

Travis McBride

Chief Operations Officer / Science Teacher

I taught in the public school system for 10 years. I majored in special education, with a specialty in behavioral studies and science. Throughout my career, I have taught all subjects in self-contained behavior classrooms, resource classrooms, and high school mathematics classrooms. Year after year, I kept questioning why the schools were forcing so many obscure topics on the students; I called them “filler topics”. Finally, I had enough of the curriculum and politics in the schools, and decided to leave the public school system for good! It has been such a relief and I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to share my knowledge with the families of Lonestar Homeschool Academy, and help them grow into the people they choose to be; not what the school system wants them to be.

Michelle Andes, M.S.

English Teacher

Michelle is a dedicated and passionate educator with over 16 years of classroom and online teaching experience. Her diverse background in teaching includes everything from elementary school, high school, and college-level courses. She holds a master’s degree in psychology and is passionate about helping all students achieve their full potential. She is constantly seeking new and innovative ways to engage students and inspire a love of learning. Michelle is known for her patience and ability to motivate students to achieve their academic and personal goals.

Ashlee Deduijtsche

Math Teacher

Ashlee has a bachelor’s degree from Northern Michigan University in Marketing and received her master’s in education from Arizona State University. She has been teaching since 2014 after making the transition away from the business world. Her background in business has allowed her to develop deeper relationships with her students, understanding that without those relationships and trust students may not be as connected to the material and therefore struggle to apply concepts.

Ashlee has spent the majority of her teaching career in the middle school math classroom and says the best part of teaching math is the satisfaction she gets from helping students improve their math skills and seeing the ah-ha moments from her students. She is known for her ability to connect with students on a personal level, offering a listening ear and fostering a supportive classroom environment.

As a former student who disliked math herself, she is always seeking new ways help students reach their full potential and feel confident in their math abilities. Math doesn’t have to be just rote memorization but can be a hands-on interactive experience that truly applies math to real life.

Ashlee and her husband have been married for 16 years, they have 3 kids, William (5), Henry (3), and Alice (1).