Music Teacher

Ms. Julia is in her second year of teaching music at TCA. She teaches Pre-k through 6th grade. Ms. Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from Central Washington University. She has taught private piano for over 10 years. Ms. Julia has a love for teaching, passing on her passion for music to her students in a way that motivates them.

Russian Teacher

This is Mrs Golub’s second year at TCA, teaching 1st-4th grades traditional Russian classes. Over the past 9 years she has been teaching Russian in the local Russian/Ukrainian school. Mrs Golub holds a nursing diploma in Russia. She enjoys preparing Russian lessons, singing, swimming, and spend time with family and friends.

Russian Teacher

Mrs. Kulakova has been a Russian teacher at TCA for the last 3,5 years. She has a Master’s of Russian language and literature and B.A. of English language from Moscow State University. Mrs. Kulakova loves children with all her heart likes to show them all the beauty of Slavic languages and culture and spend with kids in and out the school. She enjoys reading, swimming and riding the horse, spending time with her family. She strongly believes that each kid is God’s creature and is worthy of love.

PE Teacher/Facilities Manager

Mr D is in his third year teaching PE and coaching here at TCA. He has been happily married for 16 years and has six kids. Physical education is his passion and he loves teaching it. Mr D has done multiple Marathon races, triathlons, and other cycling events. He especially loves playing and coaching volleyball and basketball.

Pre-K Teacher

Ms. Taisa is a preschool teacher and helps in enrichment program. This is her 2nd year at TCA. She loves to travel and spend time with family.

Pre-K Teacher

Mrs. Nadezhda has been with TCA for the past 8 years as a preschool teacher. She has been working with children of various ages for over 35 years. Mrs Nadezhda received her degree in early childhood education from Bates. She is married and has 4 children. Mrs. Nadezhda has been with TCA for the past 9 years as a preschool teacher. She has been working with children of various ages for over thirty years. Mrs Nadezhda received her degree in early childhood education from Bates. She is married and has 4 children.

Kindergarten Teacher

This will be Mrs. Wendland’s 8th year in the TCA Kindergarten program. She has
B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Toccoa Falls Bible College, Georgia, USA. She likes to play with her cats everyday and cheer on the Seahawks in football on the weekends.

Kindergarten Teacher

Miss Nila is a first year kindergarten teacher at TCA and has history of teaching preschool and serving in children’s ministry. Miss Nila loves exploring new coffee shops and baking desserts.

Kindergarten Teacher

Ms.Lena will be the Kindergarten teacher this year at the South Campus. This will be her 5th year at Tacoma Christian Academy. Ms.Lena has a passion for mission work and she especially enjoys working with children, and being able to plant the seed of the Word of God in their hearts. In her free time, she loves going on mission trips, traveling, spending time with her family and friends, and drinking good coffee.

Kindergarten Assistant

Ms.Annya has been working at TCA for 6 years, this year she is a TA for k4 with Ms. Taisa. Ms. Annya was homeschooled and loves to be outdoors.

Kindergarten Assistant

This is Mrs. Irina’s 7th year working at TCA, she received her Associate degree in early childhood. She always loves working with Mrs. Nadezda.

1st Grade Teacher

This is Mrs Malysheva’s second year at TCA as a primary teacher. She has a B.A. in Education, Russian Language and Literature, specializing in Russian as a foreign language. Mrs Malysheva is a pastor’s wife and a mother of 5 children. She loves music and singing as an instrument of worship, and enjoys teaching young kids.

1st Grade Teacher

Mrs Ada is a first grade teacher and this is her 3rd year at TCA. She has an AA in nursing from TCC. Mrs Ada is happily married to Vitalie and has 3 children attending TCA. Together with her family she enjoys exploring God’s creation, especially all kinds of bugs and birds that are in her neighborhood. She loves to serve others; singing, painting and morning coffee are must-haves in her life.

2nd Grade Teacher

Mrs. Adriana Zhukova is a second grade teacher and this is her 5th year with Tacoma Christian Academy. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix and previously taught fifth grade and kindergarten for TCA. Mrs. Adriana together with her husband enjoys exploring the outdoors with their three boys . She enjoys cooking and baking.

2nd Grade Teacher

Ms. Natalie teaches 2nd Grade and this is her second year at TCA. She has a B.A. from Central Washington University. She loves good coffee, being outside, rainy days, reading, learning new things, and snuggling with her wiener dog, Rosalie.

3rd grade Teacher

This is Ms. Iyall’s 3rd year at TCA. She is a 3rd grade homeroom teacher. Ms. Iyall holds a BA in psychology with a minor in education from the University of Washington. Ms. Iyall has done many long term and short term mission trips all over Eastern Europe. She has a lot of experience working with English Language Learners from the US to Eastern Europe. She loves teaching children, swimming, going to the gym, reading and being in fellowship with Christian peers. She is looking forward to see how God impacts everyone at TCA this year.

3rd Grade Teacher

This is Mrs Hamilton’s 7th year at TCA. She is a 3rd grade homeroom teacher. Mrs Hamilton holds a B.A. in Christian Education from Jackson College of Ministries and a B.A. in Elementary and Special Education from Western Governors University. She has been married for 10 years and has 4 kids- all who attend TCA. In Mrs Hamilton’s very rare spare time she enjoys reading and going to visit family in the south.

4th Grade Teacher

This is Mrs. Mukomol’s 6th year at TCA. She is the 4th grade homeroom teacher. Mrs Mukomol holds a B.A. in Elementary and Early childhood education. She enjoys singing, reading, traveling, and hiking. Tea and cheese are Mrs. Mukomol’s favorite foods.

4th Grade Teacher

Mrs. Levcenco – This is Mrs Levcenco’s 5th year at TCA. She is currently a 4th grade homeroom teacher. Mrs. Levcenco has an A.A. in Elementary Education and a B.A. from UW. She likes spending time with family, hiking, coffee and chocolate.

5th Grade Homeroom/Events Coordinator

Ms. Deshkin occasionally substituted before being hired as a 5th grade homeroom teacher; she has now been with TCA full time for 3 years. Teaching is Miss Deshkin’s passion in ministry. Her knowledge from her B.A. in Healthcare Leadership from UW and a B.A. in Theology from Slavic Bible College help her strategically serve the students and families at TCA. Outside of school, you will find Miss Deshkin always singing, serving on mission trips, and organizing family events.

5th Grade Homeroom

This is Mr Scolnic’s 2nd year at TCA. He is a 3rd grade homeroom teacher and a tech support specialist. Mr Scolnic holds a B.A. from UW in Global/Spanish Studies. He likes to read, play tennis when he has free time–none in the last 15 years! He is happily married and has three children- 2 who attend TCA. As a parent, Mr Scolnic is grateful that his children have consistency in their education at home and at school.

6th Grade Homeroom/Russian Teacher

This is Mrs. Romanov’s 14th year at TCA. She is the homeroom teacher for 6th grade. Mrs. Romanov has a Masters Degree in philology and a Masters in theology. She oversees the Russian program here at TCA and will teach Traditional Russian for the elementary and secondary departments. Some of her hobbies include reading, singing, and traveling; yet most of all, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family. One of her favorite verses is Psalms 37:3, “Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.”

6th Grade Teacher

Joyce Jones is a Washington State native, born and raised in Ephrata Washington. She has an undergraduate degree in vocal performance in music and a master’s degree in secondary education. In her spare time she loves to hike, garden, bike ride, and swim laps. She always has a pair of binoculars close at hand (to look at birds). Joyce has four married children and 15 grandchildren. Her favorite Bible verse is II Corinthians 5:21.

7th Grade Assistant/Science Teacher

7th Grade Homeroom Teacher

Ms. Claire has returned to TCA for her 7th year. She earned her B.A. in English literature and secondary education from the College of Idaho and has taught grades 1-12 in three other Christian schools before coming here. She is teaching part-time this year– seventh grade world history and sixth grade science, as well as tutoring after school. Ms. Claire loves her good friends, music, reading and dark chocolate. In addition to seeing all of her students develop a life-long love of reading and learning, Ms. Claire hopes to see them grow in lives of service to Christ.

8th Grade Homeroom/Math Teacher

Mrs. Powers is the 8th grade homeroom teacher and this is her second year teaching mathematics and science. She enjoys helping students discover that math can be both fun and practical, and that science is a gateway into understanding God’s amazing creativity. Mrs Powers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Global Studies from Azusa Pacific University, and a Master’s degree in Education from Lesley University. She has been happily married to her husband, Matt, for four years. In her free time, Mrs. Powers likes to read, run, and play tennis.

9th Grade Homeroom/Bible Teacher

This is Mr. Levchenko’s 9th year at TCA as a 9th grade homeroom teacher and secondary Bible and Russian teacher. Mr Levchenko is the school Pastor and has a Master’s in Theology. He also holds a degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture.He has been married to his wonderful wife, Valentina, and has four children, Sergey, Aleksandr, Nataly and Olga. Mr Levchenko likes reading books to my grandaughters Katherine and Sashenka, photography and traveling.

10th Grade Homeroom/History Teacher

This is Mr Whetsel’s third year at TCA. He teaches history and Language Arts and is the homeroom teacher for 10th grade. He holds a Master’s Degree from Westminster Seminary, California and a Bachelor of Arts in Education. Mr Whetsel has been married for five years, and his hobbies are books and coffee.