Our team
When one is fulfilling God's calling, a job will never feel like 'work' but it will be a place to exercise natural talents and gifts. Our lead teachers, director, and employees feel that their position at Enlighten Christian Academy is the channel used by God to pour love, joy, and wisdom into our community's youth. Through a daily walk of glorifying God in all we do, our team strives to provide the best educational experience possible for each student!
'Ms. Brooke'
Kindergarten & FIRST GRADE LEARNING GUIDE
Brooke's learning philosophy is to engage students in experiences they will never forget in order to truly learn new topics. She loves first graders because they are excited and ready to learn new things. She can't wait to incorporate games and fun activities into each day's lessons.
After completing grades K-12 at Denbigh Baptist Christian School while serving as Class President for five years and maintaining a GPA of 4.2, Brooke graduated in 2023 with honors. Since then, she previously worked at DBCS in various forms as a teacher, a substitute for classes such as music and art, and she even has found energy to arrive before school and stay after school as an extended care worker. With her advanced academic skills, she often provided additional tutoring with middle school math and English students. When not in the school, she can be found leading her church in worship on either vocals or keyboard. She also loves youth so much that she volunteers as a youth group leader and Vacation Bible School leader in her spare time!
At Enlighten Christian Academy, Brooke will lead the academic core classes every morning with our students. In the afternoons, she will be maintaining her 4.0 GPA at Liberty University Online as a junior pursuing Elementary Education. Fun facts about Brooke: she loves playing tennis and she also has a twin sister! We are excited to have Brooke join us with her unlimited supply of energy!
'Dr. Y'
second and third grade learning guide
Dr. Yilmaz' learning philosophy is that she and the students learn together, and they will be co-learners in an environment where curiosity and creativity is encouraged.
Dr. Yilmaz was also taught in a Christian setting and she values the opportunity to incorporate her faith into her daily life. Her love for learning started at the young age of 5 years old. Even before she started official school, she would ask her older brother to bring her extra homework because she loved it so much. Later, she describes herself as 'addicted to learning', which led her to obtain her B.S in Home Economics (Hunter College), M.S. of Counseling (Long Island University), Ed. D in Education (National Louis University), M.A. in Educational Leadership (Regent University), and M.A. in Journalism (Regent University). She was also certified as a Reading Specialist in 2012 (Longwood University). She has been teaching elementary and middle school students since 2000, mainly in public schools from Chicago, IL to Essex and Richmond, VA. She also owned her own successful private tutoring business. Most recently, she taught 3rd grade at Greenwood Christian Academy from 2023-24. Although Dr. Y has an extensive resume, one would never suspect it due to her humble, gentle, and Christlike attitude. She depends on the Holy Spirit to guide her with Godly wisdom as she seeks to make each student feel valued and loved.
Fun Facts about Dr. Y: even though she stands at only about 5'2", she was a leader in high school both academically and on the basketball court. She was offered a basketball scholarship to Ohio State University, but she turned it down so she could stay close to home and attend college in New York!
'Mrs. Eileen'
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Mrs. Eileen attended public schools growing up in Delaware. She wants to help children such as she had been, especially those who are intimidated by large class sizes and feeling lost because the teachers may not teach in a way that make sense to them. She attended Delaware State College on a full scholarship where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with her BS in Elementary Education. She taught special education for 4 years; however, she felt a lack of support from administrators and left the teaching arena to pursue a career as a dental assistant. After 26 years in dentistry, Mrs. Eileen became a Dental Assisting Instructor at Carrington College where she could combine her love of teaching with her love of dentistry.
Mrs. Eileen is excited to fulfill her dream of making school a place where kids feel safe and are fully engaged in learning and exploring their world.
She is also very involved with her church, volunteering in the children's ministry, leading ladies Bible study, supervising the church cleaning crew, and helping with every project she can.
Fun fact: Mrs. Eileen has an adorable pug named Pugsley who is the best cuddler, and 2 black cats named Pepe and Pipsqueak.
'Mrs. Julie'
ASSISTANT TEACHER
Mrs. Julie has experience supporting kids of all abilities, both personally and professionally. She has served as a substitute teacher at Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School since 2023. She loves the rewarding experience of developing relationships with the students and teachers. While substitute teaching, she taught and supported a variety of students within the general education and special education settings. In addition to her professional experience, she is a wonderful mom to 13-year-old triplets: Ryan, Andrew and Nadia. Her daughter, Nadia, was born with Down Syndrome, which is a genetic condition that affects her learning and speech. Through this journey, she learned a multitude of strategies that helped her daughter and she is now even better equipped to help others who may struggle with traditional methods of learning.
Mrs. Julie also stays active serving in her church's children's ministry as a Sunday School teacher. Some other hobbies she enjoys include traveling, exercising, the outdoors, music, and dance. She is most excited about uncovering how each child learns best and developing their natural talents at Enlighten Christian Academy!
Fun Fact: She makes the best gluten-free brownies in the world and has perfected sourdough bread and other recipes in the kitchen!
Enlighten Christian Academy
Where learning is fun!
EnlightenChristianAcademy@gmail.com
Located in Williamsburg, VA
804-263-7845
© 2025. All rights reserved.
NONDISCRIMINATION STATEMENT: The corporation and any school operated by it shall admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of the school. It shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.