Sylvia Tostado – is a native of the Rio Grande Valley and is married to Joe. They have 3 children and 2 grandchildren. This is her 7^th year at Lifegate and the 5^th year to teach kindergarten. Sylvia attended St. Phillip’s College and is in the process of obtaining her degree from Criswell College. She is a member of Primera Iglesia Bautista in New Braunfels. She also serves as Hispanic Women’s Missionary Union President.

Feve Cantu – is the teacher for 2^nd grade. This is her 9^th year at Lifegate. She graduated from Wayland Baptist University. Her husband, Gilbert, is pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in New Braunfels. They have been married for 27 years and are parents of four sons and two daughters-in-law. Their first grandchild arrived in December 2002.

Jennifer Hines – was born and raised in San Antonio, graduated from Texas Lutheran College magna cum laude in Elementary Education with a specialization in Kinesiology in 1990 and has taught at Lifegate for 20 years. This year she is teaching 3^rd and 4^th grade plus K-4 PE. Jennifer is also on the education committee. She and her husband Will have two children, Beau is in 6^th grade and Cody is in 2^nd at Lifegate.

Gayle Ricketts – has been part of Lifegate for 15 years and is a Teacher’s Aide for second & third and fourth grades. She is a member of Kingsbury Baptist Church and has been the wife of Cecil Ricketts for 22 years. They have been blessed with three wonderful children: Sandra and Brian are both graduates of Lifegate and Dennis is in 4^th grade.

Carrie Kraft – is the teacher for 5^th grade. She was born in Kansas City, Kansas, but grew up in Texas. She graduated from Canyon High School in New Braunfels where she met and married her husband, Jeff. Carrie began her teacher training in 1988, but put it on hold to have children. She went back and graduated from Southwest Texas State University cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in education specializing in reading. They have three children at Lifegate, Meagan in 6^th, Sam in 5^th and Paige in 2^nd.

Don Lippe – is the teacher for sixth grade. He is married to Penny and they have two daughters: Erin and Keri. His hometown is Crawford, Texas (“Bush” Country). Don received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas Lutheran and has taught for 36 years. He plays the keyboard at Hillcrest Church where he also teaches a Bible class. Don likes traveling and antiquing.

John Rabon – grew up in Fort Stockton, Texas. He attended Howard Payne University in Brownwood. He has been teaching for 31 years in public school. This year he will teach PE to grades 5-12, coach junior high boys and girls basketball and all levels of track and will also teach Texas History and Government and Economics.

Grace Batey – attended Texas Lutheran and Southwest Texas State and received a bachelor of science in elementary education with a major in math. She taught 32 years in the public school system of which 31 were in Seguin. Here at Lifegate she teaches pre-algebra to the middle school students.

Tina Lee – is our principal and is teaching 7^th and 8^th grade English. She has an Associate Degree in Mortuary Science from San Antonio College, Bachelor of Arts from Our Lady of the Lake University and a Masters of Education from Southwest Texas State. She taught mangement (accounting and computers) along with medical technology at San Antonio College. Mrs. Lee also taught first grade and fifth through eighth at Southeast Christian Academy, including all the basic subjects. She is married to Pastor Elfreddie Lee, Jr. and they have three grown children – 2 daughters and a son.

Bob Odom – will be teaching high school Understanding the Times this year and also directing the high school choir. He has been the pastor at Lifegate Church for 22 years. Bob graduated from Asbury College and received his master’s degree from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He has been married to Cindy for 32 years and they have two daughters.

Rhonda Dracoulis – is married to Kenny, they have two daughters – Konni and Kendra. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a BS in Animal Science. She lives in Stockdale and is very active in the horse industry – breeding, training and competing. She is a member of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and competes in numerous rodeos throughout the year. Rhonda will be teaching Biology, Life Science, World Geography and Speech. She is looking forward to the challenges and rewards that will come throughout the year.

Laura Smith – was born in Romania and has been in the United States for three years. She is the proud mother of a beautiful baby girl named Bella. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English language and literature and Romanian language and literature from a Romanian university. She speaks four languages and will be teaching Latin, Spanish II and English to 9^th-12^th graders. She is working on her Master’s degree.

George Kucera – was born in the Czech Republic and was a Catholic priest until May of 1999 when he was born again. He received his MA in Intercultural Studies from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon and his PhD from Palacky University. He can communicate in Russian, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Czech and English. He translates texts from Latin and Greek. George is a professional violinist and will teach Advanced Math, Physics, Junior High Bible and Latin.

Kathy Taddy – was born and raised in Seguin. She graduated from Texas Lutheran with a BA in Secondary Education with specialization in Math and German. She has taught for 11 years with the last 5 being here at Lifegate. She is married to John Taddy, our athletic director. Kathy will be teaching Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II. She is also the advisor for the Yearbook.

Mary Gates – is our librarian, PACE supervisor. She was born and raised in Lyford, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. She has been at Lifegate for 9 years. She is married to Dick and they have three children, Lori, Stephen and Tim all graduates of LCS.

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Cindy Odom – is the receptionist and “gate keeper” at LCS. She has been a part of the school from its beginning. She is married to Bob and has been a pastor’s wife for the past 33 years and is the mother of two daughters: Evangeline is a kindergarten teacher at Harvest Academy in Houston and Rose is a senior at Asbury College in Kentucky. She loves being a pastor’s wife and mother and enjoys being at Lifegate. Cindy loves working with children and seeing them grow. She is convicted about helping your children be all they can be in the Lord.

Beth Baitz – is secretary/bookkeeper, etc. for Lifegate Church and school. She was here at the beginning of LCS and after 15 years in the printing business, the Lord allowed her to return to LCS. Beth was born and raised in Vermont but came to Texas a year after high school. She has been married to Tim, a native Texan, for 18 years.

Sandy Turner – is in charge of morning and after-school care. She is also our fulltime custodian and has all lunch duties. This is her sixth year at LCS. She is married to Robert and is the mother of two children: a daughter 21 and a son 12. Sandy is looking forward to being a grandmother in February.

Stephanie Langenberg – is the Varsity Volleyball and Basketball Coach. She attends Texas Lutheran and will graduate in May 2003 with a BS in Kinesiology. She was born and raised in Boerne.

Jennifer Cooper – is the cheerleading sponsor. She is married to Gary and they have two sons. She attended Texas A&M in Kingsville and is currently attending TLU majoring in English and History – target graduation is May 2003.

Langston Williams, Jr. – is the Varsity Boys Basketball coach. He is married and has three sons. He has a BS from Wayland Baptist University and a M.Ed in School Administration from Trinity University. Coach Williams has been doctoral student since 1997 at Incarnate Word.