Faculty

Administration

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Mr. Nathan Colestock

Head of School

Mr. Colestock became Valor's Head of School in 2026, after teaching upper school humanities here the year before. He is also a pastor at Christ the King Church in Stillwater. He holds a B.S. in Biblical Exposition and Exegesis from Emmaus Bible College and an M.Div. from Bethlehem College and Seminary.

The charge he has set himself is the same in the classroom as in the pulpit: to make disciples who glorify God in all of life by knowing, feeding, leading, and protecting. A school is not a detour from his pastoral work, but one of its instruments.

Mr. Colestock and his wife, Maddie, have four children and live in Stillwater. Outside of school he loves quiet mornings, long walks, buttery popcorn, and good stand-up comedy.

Mr. Jake Thompson

Academic Dean & Secondary Humanities

Mr. Thompson teaches Humanities in grades 9–12 and serves as Valor's Academic Dean. He joined the school in 2024 and holds a B.A. in Theology and Biblical Studies from Bethlehem College & Seminary.

He loves classical Christian education because it formed him first as a student. Through an education in the Great Books, he became passionate about the academic and moral life, and its relation to the spiritual life. He regards teaching as a God-given vocation and counts it a gift to participate in it.

Mr. Thompson and his wife, Kacey, have one daughter, and are members of The North Church in Mounds View. Outside of school he loves to make speciality coffee, read, plays sports, and hike.

Mrs. Jackie Thorne

Dean of Students

Jackie Thorne serves as Valor's Dean of Students and teaches Latin. She joined the school in 2024 and holds a B.A. in Theological Studies and an M.A. in Exegesis and Theology.

She loves teaching the liberal arts, and watches for the moment a student's soul turns to see its Maker in what He’s made. Hugh of St. Victor held that the arts exist to restore in us the divine likeness that had been disfigured. She loves that Valor's education shapes heart and mind together by teaching the proper ordering of the affections: first a love for the Lord, and then a love for everything true, good, and beautiful.

She and her husband, Nate, have six children and are members of Bethlehem Baptist Church. She is happiest with a cup of coffee and a stack of books.

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Mrs. Powell

Kindergarten

Mrs. Powell teaches Kindergarten. She joined Valor in 2026 after twelve years in education, most recently as an educational assistant in Kindergarten and first grade at St. Croix Preparatory Academy.

What drew her was the chance to work in a Christian environment, alongside colleagues who hold the same convictions she does. She looks forward most to teaching the youngest students about Jesus, and to showing them how much he is part of everything they learn and do.

Mrs. Powell and her husband, Tim, have four children, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren. They are members of St. Lucas Community Church in Lake Elmo, and she spends her time outside of school with her family.

Mrs. Carey

Grade 1

Mrs. Carey teaches first grade. She joined Valor in 2024 after roughly a decade in the classroom, most recently as a first grade teacher at St. Croix Prep Academy, and holds a bachelor's degree in Education.

She arrived as a parent before she arrived as a teacher. Her family was looking for a classical Christian education for a soon-to-be kindergartener and found Valor. She loves that every subject is taught from a Christian worldview.

Mrs. Carey and her husband, Adam, have two children and are members of Christ Bible Church in Roseville. Outside of school she enjoys family time, walks, baking, and reading.

Mrs. Olsen

Grade 2

Mrs. Olsen teaches second grade. She joined Valor in 2023 with six years of teaching behind her — in a public middle school, in an English classroom in Hanoi, and in a Classical Conversations community. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University.

What she values most in the classical tradition is its attention to the whole person, and its insistence on memorization and recitation. Underneath it sits a simple conviction: Christ is King of all of life, and there is nowhere a child can go where he is not already present.

Mrs. Olsen and her husband, Ben, have six children and are members of Beacon of Hope Church in East St. Paul. She gardens — for the labor, the slow allegorical growth, and a harvest the whole family enjoys.

Mrs. Kienholz

Grades 3 & 4

Mrs. Kienholz teaches third and fourth grade. She joined Valor in 2026 and holds a degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

She came to Valor first as a parent, drawn by the faithful community it offered her children, and wanted a hand in the education they were receiving. She is thankful for what the school has meant to her own family, and counts it an honor to join the faculty this year.

Mrs. Kienholz and her husband, Joseph, have three children and are members of Christ Bible Church in Roseville. Her time outside of school belongs to her family.

Mrs. Secord

Grade 5

Mrs. Secord teaches fifth grade. She joined Valor in 2024.

She and her husband came wanting a part in building back up what the culture has burned down. She is convinced that Christian education is a large share of how Christian culture and community get built at all. It is hard work, but she loves the daily labor of lovingly educating and enculturating the next generation in Christ.

Mrs. Secord and her husband, Levi, have four children and are members of Christ Bible Church in Roseville. Outside of school she enjoys hot drinks, swimming, hiking, and time with her family.

Ms. Hayton

Grade 6

Ms. Hayton teaches sixth grade. She joined Valor in 2026, straight from Bethel University, where she earned a degree in Communication Arts and Literature Education with a minor in Education Policy. She holds a Minnesota teaching license in 5–12 English Language Arts.

She was classically taught herself, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, and loved learning in a place that treated the formation of the mind and the heart as one task. Studying the humanities and the art of teaching in college left her wanting to teach not merely at a classical school, but at a Christian one.

Ms. Hayton is a member of The Heights Church in Saint Paul, the second oldest of eight children, and enjoys devotional poetry.

Mr. Reid Williamson

Middle School Latin and Humanities

Mr. Williamson teaches Latin, logic, and humanities in the middle school. He joined Valor in 2026 with six years of teaching behind him, at Covenant Classical Academy, M.H.G. Preparatory Academy, and Trinity College of Louisville. He holds a degree from Armstrong State University and an M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is completing a Th.M. at Bethlehem College and Seminary.

He has watched the Lord use a classical and Christian education to shape students into strong leaders and faithful believers. He believes our nation needs more young people with a moral backbone, biblical convictions, and an unshakable joy in God.

Mr. Williamson and his wife, Karina, have two children and are members of Cornerstone Community Church in Burnsville. He plays and listens to improvisational jazz drums.

Mrs. Lindsey Gabrielson

Upper School Math and Science

Mrs. Gabrielson teaches math and science in grades 7–12. She joined Valor in 2024 and holds a degree from Bethel College and a Bible Certificate from the University of Northwestern, St. Paul.

She regards education as one of the front lines of the spiritual war Christians face. She had wanted to start or teach at a school since she was a teenager, and Valor has been the Lord's answer to that hope. What she loves in the classical Christian tradition is the weight it puts on virtue, and the way it gathers every subject under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Mrs. Gabrielson and her husband, Curtis, have two children and are members of Beacon of Hope in St. Paul.

Mr. Miller

Music and Math

Mr. Miller directs choir across every grade and teaches fourth grade math. He joined Valor in 2026 after six years of teaching, at Northern Virginia Community College and Agape Christi Academy. He holds a B.A. in Music and English Literature from Union University and an M.A. in English Literature from George Mason University.

He is passionate about the glory and beauty of classical music, of literature, and of storytelling in all its forms, and intensely committed to passing on the truth, beauty, and goodness of God's creation to the next generation.

Mr. Miller is a member of Westview Church in Crystal. He is uncle to ten nieces and nephews, and spends his time outside of school reading and podcasting.

Our Faculty