Administration and Teachers
Summit Academy selects teachers who embody the school's mission, who have a vision for teaching children the truth of God's Word, and who have a commitment to academic excellence. All of our educators bring a wealth of teaching experience to their classrooms. Listed below are our confirmed teachers for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Administrator and Teacher: Mrs. Carol Fulkerson brings a depth and breadth of experience to Summit Academy. She has taught for more than 30 years at the elementary school level, in addition to her teaching experience in both middle school and high school. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. Mrs. Fulkerson completed post-graduate specialized training in learning styles and instructional techniques for students with reading difficulties and has served as a reading specialist in the public school system. She has also taught at several of southwest Ohio's most renowned Christian schools, including Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. She has been a professional curriculum writer, a private tutor, and she homeschooled all 4 of her children for some portion of their academic training. Mrs. Fulkerson brings her previous experience as a Christian school principal to her role as Summit Academy's principal. In the classroom, Mrs. Fulkerson's instruction is engaging, effective, hands-on, and fun! Her passion is to teach students how the truth of God's Word lines up with academic knowledge. She leads Summit Academy's extracurricular Bible Quiz team, which took 1st place at the World Bible Quiz International tournament in Chicago, IL.
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Academic Advisor: Dr. Kristin Bird received a Fine and Performing Arts undergraduate degree from Chatham University, where she focused on both music and biology. Her Master's degree in Teaching is from the University of Pittsburgh, with a concentration in Elementary Education. She completed her dissertation on Parental Involvement in online Christian schools for her PhD in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership. She has also taught Elementary Teacher Ed courses at God’s Bible School and College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she served as the Elementary Education Program Coordinator and Student Teacher Supervisor for 11 years. She also spent 10 years as the Principal for Sevenstar Academy (online Christian school) before joining the Renewanation team in July 2017 where she helps to start new Christian schools and revitalize existing struggling schools. She also serves as the Education Specialist for Twelve Stones Christian Academy, a new Christian school in Northern Kentucky (2nd year) which is co-sponsored by Answers in Genesis and in partnership with Renewanation. Dr. Bird also supports BJU Press as a speaker, teacher mentor, and a strong voice for the cause of biblical worldview education. She is very happy to partner with Summit Academy to help the school grow and prosper in her role as Co-Administrator.
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Teacher: Ms. Willisa Redford is loved in the Harrison community and has taught at Summit for 6 years. She served as Children’s Pastor at Legacy Christian Church for 13 years. Ms. Redford has also been a public school teacher in the Mt. Healthy School District, teaching a special education class for grades 4-6. She received the "Teacher of the Year" award in her second year of teaching. She has served as a private academic tutor, and has homeschooled three of her own children from kindergarten through 7th grade. Ms. Redford holds a Master’s degree in Literacy, a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education. She is also a Certified Reading Specialist and an Intervention Specialist. Ms. Redford's love for children and commitment to excellence shines through all her work, and she is a true blessing to Summit Academy.
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Teacher: Ms. Minta Berry joined Summit Academy in 2024 after serving in West Africa for many years. In Africa, Minta taught and was the business manager of a international Christian school in Accra, Ghana. She also taught three missionary kids who lived in several West African countries. Prior to serving in Africa, Minta was the Editorial Director and partner in a curriculum development and production company for more than 20 years. She holds her MBA from Xavier University.
Minta is excited to continue teaching middle school and high school students at Summit Academy. She especially loves seeing students discover ways to develop and use their God-given talents and giftings. |
Teacher: Mr. Gary "Neal" Bowling has been a teacher at Summit Academy for five years. I currently teach high school and junior high classes. I have an Associate's degree in Accounting from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. My wife and I worked as Youth Pastors at our church for 20 years. We have always felt called to work with young people. We are currently the Associate Pastors at our church.
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Teacher: Mrs. Amanda Fudge has been teaching and serving as the school nurse at Summit Academy since 2021. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati. Throughout her nursing career, she has enjoyed many teaching roles including teaching patients and families about health care, precepting new nurses, teaching community health classes to children and adults with developmental disabilities, and teaching childbirth education classes at Good Samaritan Hospital. Her passion for teaching extends to the classroom! She is always grateful for the opportunity to invest in the growth and development of each student in her classes and readily available to help with any illness or injury that may arise.
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Teacher: Olivia Pyo joined Summit Academy in 2024 after graduating from Cedarville University with a bachelor's degree in Primary Education. She is passionate about creating a warm, engaging, and supportive learning environment where young learners can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
Olivia was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She now lives in Greenhills, Ohio with her husband. She loves animals, hiking, and art. One of her favorite parts of teaching is being able to create fun art projects with her students. She enjoys seeing her students worship God throughout the day through their actions and words. She is so glad to be able to share God's word freely with students while provide a top-notch education. |