welcome

Zeyuan graduated from New York Institute of Technology in June 2015 with a degree in Electrical Computer Engineering. Two years later, in June 2017 he graduated from New York University with a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering .

 Zeyuan is a founding board member of Hawthorne Academy. In addition to his role as chief operating officer he also is the Science and Information Communicating Technology Director, and runs our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) club.  

Hello, my name is Barbara Berwick and I am blessed to be working at Hawthorne Academy, currently as a teacher and nurse. I have worked as a registered nurse for many years, both in Arizona and New Hampshire, where I’ve served in diverse environments ranging from Native American health care, to specialized rehab, to school nursing and to home health care/hospice.

In addition to my nursing career, I’ve also spent 25 years a teacher, homeschooling all three of my children and now working at Hawthorne. 

I am privileged to combine my teaching and nursing experience here at Hawthorne Academy. My greatest desire in life is to be faithful to my Lord Jesus Christ and to do His will.  And I know God has great things in store for our school! 

Hello, my name is David Matteson and I recently have had the privilege of being called to serve at Hawthorne Academy as its Principal. I graduated Summa Cum Laude as a History Major from Southern New Hampshire University with a concentration in American History. After serving as Hawthorne Academy's History teacher, I was inspired to continue to develop a school that prepared students for future academic endeavors. My goal is to provide a well rounded education and environment that is enriching, challenging, and loving for our students. In doing so, we can mold life-long learners who promote the Kingdom of Christ.  

My passion is in U.S. history and I believe that it is important to protect our American traditions and ideals. This can only be achieved through education and the preservation of the framework set forth by our founding fathers, and the Herculean task God placed before them. I believe that all people can appreciate and understand the freedoms we hold so dearly by studying our past. “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people…. they are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” – Thomas Jefferson

Dr. Peggy LaBrosse, began her formal teaching career in 1976 and has

contributed to a variety of public and private settings, including traditional and

alternative schools. While strongly focused on academic content, her first concern has

always been the physical, emotional, social and spiritual safety and well-being of her

students. This stems from her experience that lack of a safe and secure environment - 

whether at home, in their social lives or in the classroom - adds to students’ cognitive

load, reducing their capacity to take in and retain new learning. Operating under the

rubric “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” Peggy

develops a classroom environment of respect and care. She makes her expectations of

the students and what they can expect from her clear from the outset, all the while

giving them freedom with responsibility.

Drawing on an arsenal of instructional strategies that includes curriculum design,

literacy coaching and assessment methods, Peggy passionately delivers subject matter

in various ways, addressing the needs of different learning styles - from the visual and

auditory to the tactile and kinesthetic. This approach encourages students to engage in

the subject matter through “big ideas” and essential questions, rather than relying on

rote memorization, by learning how to learn. This came as a result of her doctoral

program, which radically transformed her teaching practice from one centered on

standard content to one centered on understanding alternative conceptions and how to

dispel misconceptions in science.