Meet The Tutors

I am thrilled to be back at PLA! I love teaching, I love ALL children and PLA has been a blessing in my life and my family's. 

I was born in Fairfax, VA and grew up in Chantilly, VA. I've also lived in Texas before moving to Smyrna, TN 16 years ago. 

Kelsie Sims lives in Smyrna, TN with her husband, Ryan Sims (Worship Leader at Parkway Baptist Church) and 3 children: Griffin, Clark, and Kelaiah. Kelsie has worked in the healthcare field since 2011, both in clinical and logistics services. She currently works as a project manager/facilitator at Cardinal Health. Kelsie has a Pharmacology degree and a Bachelors degree in Psychology with an emphasis on Applied Behavioral Analysis from Capella University.

My family was blessed to be part of PLA many years ago, and I am looking forward to returning this year as a tutor!

I am a native of middle Tennessee and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from TSU in Nashville.

Poem has been teaching in the arts for four years now. She loves to perform, sing, and dance just as much as she enjoys teaching the next generation how to express themselves in the same way! In her free time, Poem loves to cook, do karaoke with friends, and exercise both body and mind. She hopes that the main value her students take away from her class is the importance of whimsy. Because life is too short to not give your all, and too valuable to lose your imagination throughout it!

I was born in Lafayette, TN and lived in Red Boiling Springs for 13 years. My family moved to Nashville in 1963 and I graduated from Donelson High School in 1968. I attended George Peabody College for Teachers and earned a BS in Mathematics in 1972.

I taught in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools for 40 years. My first 19 years were spent at Wright Middle School ...

 I am excited return as the K/1 tutor for the 3rd year! I love children, and look forward to all the fun and learning that is in store!   I am a wife, mother, foster mom, and home educator. I have over 15 years of teaching experience across a variety of subjects, including the Hebrew language! I have a B.A. in History and Biblical Literature, and a M.A. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I have lived in Jerusalem, England and now back in the USA.  

I am extremely excited to be returning to PLA for the upcoming school year. This will be my fifth year to be involved with this awesome organization and I enjoy it more and more each year. I have been actively involved in drama and theatre for approximately 30 years. In that time I have had the opportunity to not only act, but also direct, write, design and build sets, and run tech for various productions.

My name is Ruth Meyer. I have been married 31 years to my college sweet heart, Karl.  I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Science In the field of Psychology from Williams Baptist University in Walnut Ridge, AR. We have 7 children, 2 adult biological children and 5 adopted. I have been homeschooling the 5 younger children for the last 4 years. I am thrilled to join the tutoring team at PLA. I love pouring into children and making learning fun!

I am really looking forward to a new and exciting school year! This will be my 13th year to have one or both of my children enrolled in PLA, and my second year as a board member and tutor. My husband, Adam, and I have been married 20 years, and are parents to 2 teenagers, a boy and a girl. We attend church at Rural Hill Church of Christ, where we have been actively involved in both the children’s ministry and the youth group ministry for over 20 years. I have a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Western Kentucky University and a master’s in Criminology/Psychology from MTSU. Before becoming a stay at home mom and then homeschool mom, I provided counseling to children and their parents, who had experienced a traumatic event in their lives. 

I really enjoy being around children, and helping to nurture them to become the wonderful people God created them to be.

We will have so much fun learning and using our creativity in the Lego Bible class this year.

Colton is excited to teach Physical Science for PLA. He and his wife Joanna have been married for 10 years on August 30th and have three children Abby, Hannah, and Owen. He has been a part of the pastoral staff at Parkway Baptist Church for 11 years and currently serves as the Associate Pastor. 

Colton was born and raised in Middle Tennessee and from an early age felt the draw to dig deep into the Bible and draw near to God. In the summer of his senior year in high school he came to trust in Christ as his Lord and Savior while at youth camp.

Hi! My name is Karie Ramirez! I am from California and recently relocated to Tennessee with my husband Norvin and our two children, Kenny and Ruby. I love the Spanish language and am blessed to be able to teach it to PLA students. I am also the new bookkeeper and look forward to helping in any way I can!

After my dad passed away when I was 24, I moved to a new town to be closer to my mom’s side of the family. I started attending a church and quickly grew a heart for full time missions. In 2012, I moved permanently to Central America to work with YWAM and serve as a missionary. 

Hello! My name  is Laura Motok and I'm pleased to be going into my 7th year at PLA.  I have taught Science classes to middle school and elementary during my time at PLA.  I am wife to Jim for almost 39 years and mom to many homeschool graduates.  I am a graduate of Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) and a current member of Parkway Baptist Church.  

Larissa Reed has served as Administrator and lead teacher for the Creative Clash visual art camp for Carpe Artista since its inception in 2011. She has taught art classes in drawing, acrylic, pastel and watercolor for Carpe since 2011.

She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Belmont University with a minor in Art, studying Photography, Painting, Drawing, 2D design and 3D design with emphasis on sculpture.

My name is Jessica Sauer, and I am excited to return to the PLA team again this year!  I have been an educator for 17 years, and the majority of those years were spent teaching at another tutorial school for homeschool students in Nashville.  

Most of my teaching experience has been with middle school and high school English/Literature.  I have also taught Journalism, College Readiness, ACT prep, Wilson Reading Program, S.P.I.R.E., and Creative Writing. 

Ryan Sims is the current Music Minister at Parkway Baptist Church (PLA Home church) and has lived in Tennessee with his wife, Kelsie (PLA tutor) and 3 children: Griffin, Clark, and Kelaiah. 

Originally from Laurel, MS, Ryan was classically trained in piano and violin at a young age. He has a bachelor's degree in Digital Entertainment.
Ryan is currently finishing his Master of Divinity in Biblical Worship from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.