Head of School
Shelley is a 6th generation Texan, and graduated from The University of Texas with a BA in Sociology and a minor in History. She has a graduate certificate of Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Shelley and her husband, Clayton, have been involved in church leadership and spiritual development since 1996, and equipping leaders has been an integral part of their lives.
Shelley’s original passion of tying history, culture and biblical worldview together to help students see it as a story has shaped the identity and individuality of KCA. She has been involved in teaching and writing curriculum since 2004, focusing on the belief that works of literature, culture, and history, when coupled with Christian principles and critical thinking, can bring ideas and wisdom to life, and she has brought that experience to the KCA campus.
In the past, she has taught all levels of History and Bible in classical settings, and is a founding board member of Katy Classical Academy. Her role at KCA, as Head of School, is to come alongside parents and partner with them to form a life-giving community that will enrich student learning and provide tools for an ongoing love of learning. Her goal and prayer is create an atmosphere that allows for parental engagement and student leadership.
Administrator, Team Lead for Logic
Brenda is a graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising. After a successful business career, Brenda was called to be a full time Mom and then later to homeschool her three children. Prior to founding KCA with Shelley Mills, she held numerous active roles in a variety of Katy area homeschool associations and educational cooperatives, in many instances as a founder or initiating leader.
Brenda’s love of numbers and organization translates to the world of Classical Education as a love of Logic, which extends into Math and the Sciences as well. Rational, logical thought and problem solving, as encouraged via Mathematics and the Sciences, is the foundation of Classical Education. It is logic that allows students to consider thoughtfully the ideas they encounter when studying classical history and literature, and leads them to formulate their own ideas and opinions about the classics and in turn their own worldview.
All three of her children have graduated from Katy Classical Academy. Her fondest memories of the homeschool days will always include family read-alouds and debates around the dinner table about various historical events.
When she isn’t at KCA, Brenda can be found walking her dogs, reading, checking out local coffee shops, or Kolkata, India where she has been leading mission teams since 2012, working with girls that have been rescued from human trafficking.
Director of Admissions
Mrs. Bonnie Azadan holds two bachelor’s degrees; Management Information Systems and Business Administration. Bonnie spent most of her career in Human Resources as a certified Human Resources Professional (SHRM-CP), working for a global financial corporation and a global engineering company. She left her career to raise her two daughters and realized the importance of Classical Christian education, leading her to the decision to homeschool and be a part of KCA. Bonnie found an appreciation for the classical model, becoming a part of the KCA administration team in 2014. She has served in different capacities, including staff support, administration, teaching, and admissions.
Bonnie has two God-fearing daughters; Samantha is entering Dialectic A and Alexandra entering Rhetoric 2. She loves to spend time with her family and her unusual and sweet dog Quincy. In her free time, she enjoys painting, walking, and reading.
Bonnie’s role at KCA is to attract like-minded families to the academy by directing admissions strategies and communicating within our community about what happens at KCA. She is an education administrator who oversee the recruitment, evaluation and admissions process for students who potentially want to join our program. She also serves as a history teacher for our Dialectic students.
Team Lead for Grammar History
Jessica Luna is passionate about Classical Education and the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. Her main objective in the classroom is to develop students’ character through the study of history while examining events through a moral lens.
Jessica began teaching history at KCA in 2015. It has been her joy to partner with parents in education. In addition, she is a KCA mom of three. One of her favorite aspects of KCA is that all of her children study the same history simultaneously. Outside of the classroom, Jessica enjoys reading, cooking, running, and spending time with her family.
Team Lead for Grammar English
Allison Crawley enjoyed being raised in the city of Katy, where she grew up at the First Baptist Church and graduated from Katy High School in 1998. In 2002, Allison earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Kinesiology and a teaching certificate for grades K-12 from Texas A&M University. Allison and her husband of 19 years, Andy, felt the desire to homeschool shortly after marriage, and they have been classically educating their three sons for the past eleven years.
Allison is very passionate about classical Christian education and regularly promotes the benefits of an education that lines up symbiotically with childhood brain development. While Allison achieved academic success in language arts throughout her education, it was not until she had the opportunity to study in a classical setting that she became truly passionate about English grammar, composition, vocabulary, and literature. Allison believes that every student’s academic success begins with a strong foundation and understanding of the concepts in the English language, and she derives immense joy from cultivating a deep love of the art of language in her students’ hearts and minds. She serves KCA by training up teachers in the Grammar English program to meet the needs of the students and equip parents as co-teachers.
When she is not teaching in a classroom setting, Allison enjoys serving in Student Ministries at her church home, Grace Fellowship. Allison and Andy serve together as coaches for the youth worship bands where they mentor and train up students who have a heart for worship of the most high God. In all things, Allison hopes to return the gifts the Lord has given her to further His kingdom and bring glory to His name.
Science Teacher - Grammar
Allison Hilbun is a graduate of Texas A&M University. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Masters of Education degree in School Counseling. She taught in the public school system for several years before she and her husband, Adam, started their family. She enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom for 7 years with their 3 children – Luke, Abigail, and Anna Kate.
Allison grew up attending a private Christian school and saw first-hand the benefits of a strong Christian education. After having kids, she and her husband knew they wanted their children in a school that would support and echo the God-centered values they were instilling in their children at home. This led them to KCA. As their oldest, Luke, began Kindergarten at KCA, Allison learned more about the classical model of education. She realized how well it aligned with a child’s brain development and quickly fell in love with this model of schooling. In the Grammar Science classrooms, Allison strives to create exciting, engaging hands-on learning experiences for her students. She loves to help them see how the intricacies of science reveal the glory and character of God.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, drinking coffee, taking her children to the park, and serving in the children’s ministry at her church.
Rhetoric English
Rachelle Pankey has been teaching at Katy Classical Academy for six years. Prior to joining KCA’s staff, she taught private English courses for home educated students in the Katy area. Rachelle and her husband of 30 years have home educated two children from kindergarten through high school, while living in New York, Georgia, and Texas.
Rachelle has held a permanent Texas state teaching certification for secondary English, Speech, Reading, and Journalism since graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990. In 2019, she completed a Master of Education in Literacy from Sam Houston State University.
At KCA she is a leader in the English program and teaches English courses for the KCA Rhetoric program. She also teaches dual-credit college English to KCA Rhetoric seniors. Rachelle developed the KCA Guided Research Project at KCA. This Senior Capstone Project is an exciting new opportunity for our graduating students to prepare for college and showcase the skills they have acquired throughout their years of education. Rachelle also created KCA’s Mock Trial Program.
Rachelle is currently pursuing a doctoral degree and hopes to complete the program in 2022. She is a strong promoter of classical education and believes in the principles and practices of this type of education. She hopes to continue to enhance the classical method by emphasizing critical thinking skills to help prepare students for university and for life. Her desire is to continue to teach at KCA after finishing her program.
In her free time, Rachelle serves at her church in the worship ministry, as a vocalist (and she plays the piano and the flute).