Meet Our Team

Daniel Sweet has served as the pastor of Matthew Road Baptist Church for over twenty five years. Prior to receiving the call to the pastorate, Daniel worked as a consulting actuary with Watson Wyatt Worldwide, an international human resources consulting firm for ten years. Daniel holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Ouachita Baptist University, a masters degree in applied mathematics from Southern Methodist University, a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary and a Masters of Historic Theology also from Southwestern and an enrolled actuary. He and his wife, Kim, have two children, Austin and Michael who both graduated from Matthew Road Academy.

Having been with MRA since its inception, I have enjoyed watching God grow the academy and work through the lives of our students. My heart's desire is to foster an environment where Christ is weaved throughout each course and students can be challenged and held accountable in their walk with Christ and in their academics. As an IEW instructor for over 15 years, I have also had the privilege of working with hundreds of students. It is truly my joy to instill a love for writing in each child, lifting them up and encouraging them along the way. I am a proud mom to three MRA graduates.

God has written my story with many twists and turns, and I have been blessed to be led to MRA. I came on board with Matthew Road Academy in 2014. At that time I was blissfully unaware of how God was preparing me to take on a new role at this school. Esther 4:14 says it best “perhaps you have been brought here to this place for such a time as this.” During my time here I have been able to witness some amazing growth within the school and the students. When not at work I enjoy my time at home with my sweet husband, Nicholas, and two charming sons, Micheal and Eric, both boys have been apart of the MRA family. My greatest joy is getting to share God’s love & word.

I have four children that all attend Matthew Road Academy. I met my husband in 2006 while we were both students at the University of Texas at Arlington. After graduation, I went on to teach in Grand Prairie ISD until I had my first son and became a stay-at-home mom. I have been a follower of Jesus from a young age and it was very important for us to find a Christ-centered and family-centered school. We love our community at MRA! In our free time, our family loves being a part of our church, traveling, hiking, movie nights, and board games!

After 9 years of of my kids attending MRA, God had plans for our family to move out of state. Even though we are no longer in person, I have been blessed to continue to work remotely. I’m excited to see what God has in store for everyone at MRA!

I am a Mom to five kids, wife to my high school sweetheart, and follower of Christ. I am excited to be a part of the MRA family as a staff member starting this year. Our family was blessed to begin an educational partnership with MRA in 2015. Since then, two of our children have graduated from MRA, while two more are currently students. During our time here at MRA, we have consistently seen God work in and through the staff members and students. It has been an incredible gift to our family to be surrounded by teachers and families who love the Lord and encourage us in our walk with Him. I am thrilled to be a part of a team that seeks to know Christ and to make Him known!

I moved to Texas over 30 years ago, where I attended TCC and later UTA. I have spent over 30 years teaching in private schools and at TCC. In addition to my classroom experience, I taught for 30 years in TCC summer youth camps and STEM programs. I have also been actively involved in mentoring students through STEM opportunities. I co-chair a local chapter of TAME (Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering), an organization that serves students in grades 6–12 and encourages interest in math and science fields. Through this work, I have volunteered with various after-school programs and, in 2017, received a community partnership award from TCC. I have been at Matthew Road Academy since its first year in 2013, and I love being able to say I have taught multiple generations of students.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”~Philippians 4:13

I am excited to be a part of the Matthew Road Academy family - both as a parent and teacher. I graduated from Florida Southern with a B.A. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Spanish. I grew up in Chicago and have traveled for career, leisure, and mission work as well as resided in various places throughout the U.S. and Mexico. I moved to DFW and married my husband, David, in 2005. Blessed by inheriting two (now grown) children, my son was born in 2008 (a current senior at MRA), and recently our daughter gave us two beautiful grandchildren. We own and operate a telecommunications company in Arlington and when not busy growing the business, I enjoy traveling, sailing, cooking, reading, camping, and learning. We homeschooled our son beginning his 5th grade year and never looked back! Pairing up with MRA has been a blessing both as parent and teacher. I love to impart my love, knowledge, and first-hand experience of all things government and economics.

I have been teaching various subjects and age groups for over thirty-three years. I graduated from Texas Woman's University with a BS in Communication Sciences and Hearing Disorders, a certification in teaching deaf-ed and general-ed, pre-K through high school, and an MS in Deaf Education and Deaf Studies. Before starting a family, I was a certified American Sign Language interpreter for twelve years and taught deaf education for six years at Arlington and Irving ISD. Along with homeschooling my children for the last twenty years, I have taught and tutored writing, Latin, chemistry, and more in various homeschool co-ops. When not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband, Brad, and my five children, caring for my plant babies, and learning new languages. I am excited to continue teaching with MRA this year!

Christina is a dedicated member of the MRA community, serving as a study hall monitor and assisting with various office tasks as needed. She has three children currently attending MRA and one MRA alumni. Christina deeply values the school’s Christ-centered environment and close-knit community. Christina is passionate about supporting the students and staff and is grateful to be part of the MRA family.

As long as I can remember, I have loved being with and working with children and feel so blessed to continue in that role at MRA! I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Texas Christian University in 2000 with a B.S. in Elementary Education. My husband, Brad, and I have five incredible daughters: Ellie, Caroline, Sarah, Emma and Alison. I am passionate about students understanding that they are loved, seen and smarter than they realize - that God has wired our brains in all kinds of ways, but always exactly as He planned! Besides my family and the Lord, my great loves are reading, coffee, watching sports (especially TCU and UT!), learning new things, and being entertained by our 3 cats. What do I not love? The list is pretty short: Scary movies. Sharks. And cooking. But definitely sharks.

I have been teaching children in a variety of disciplines for over twenty-five years. I earned a B.A. in English and a MEd. in Curriculum and Instruction with an English emphasis. I also hold a Texas teaching certificate in all subject areas (grades Pre-K-8th) and English/Language Arts (grades 7th through 12th). I haves over twenty years of teaching experience in a variety of disciplines, mostly English, in public and private school settings, as well as homeschooling my two sons. I have taught middle school and high school English as well as college freshman composition with LeTourneau University. I have also been teaching ballet for close to thirty years. I am the wife of Joel and mother of Nick and Ethan, and I have been teaching at Matthew Road Academy since 2014. I currently enjoy teaching ballet, creative writing, and English

I am excited to be a part of the Matthew Road Academy family. I graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a BA in Physical Education in 1986 and taught the accredited course in Martial Arts at UTA for the next 25 years. In July of 2005 I married the love of my life. We are blessed with one son, Joshua, an awesome daughter in law, Lauren, and two beautiful grandchildren, Grayson & Kara. Together, Becky and I own and operate the Texas Black Belt Academy in Arlington, TX. I have trained in Taekwondo since 1981 and strive to use the training learned through the martial arts such as discipline, respect and indomitable spirit, in my everyday life. We are members of South Park Baptist Church in Fort Worth. The three main priorities in my life; God, Family and Country. One of my favorite verses is Gal 5:23-24. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

My husband, Shawn Money, and I have been married since 2000. We have seven beautiful children, Kaitlyn, Lauren, Caleb, Sophie, Bella, William, and Jacob. I have homeschooled from the time my eldest, Kaitlyn, was in Kindergarten in 2005. I work as a Realtor for Keller Williams, and I love i! I also love to teach! I love to teach! Stop Motion Animation is an elective that I have had the joy of teaching, and find the students enthusiasm contagious! Reading and writing short stories is also extremely exciting to share with teens, and there is no end to their imagination. Smart phone/device photography will also tap into students creativity, and I look forward to seeing the world through their eyes.

In 1991 I received a Bachelor of Music with teacher certification from UT Arlington. I have taught violin both traditional and Suzuki method since graduating college. I have taught beginning and intermediate orchestra in Arlington ISD and Ft Worth ISD. God made me a teacher and you can find me at church with the preschoolers telling stories of Jesus and singing. I am married to a wonderful man and have two great children. Our family was also privileged to foster children for five years. In addition to teaching I enjoy gardening and playing in the Pavane String Quartet for weddings and special occasions. Occasionally I play violin on the worship team at church.

Elizabeth is entering her second year as the Art Basics teacher at MRA, where she enjoys inspiring creativity and fostering a love for art in her students. She has a son who will graduate in 2026 and deeply values MRA’s Christ-centered environment and supportive community. Elizabeth is excited to continue sharing her passion for art and looks forward to another great year at MRA.

I am so blessed to be a part of the MRA family both as teacher and parent. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Midwestern State University. I am a teacher at MRA and also a virtual tutor to many from my home. I love that God has led me to teaching History - which truly is HIS story. I am also blessed to talk about how the Lord made us so intricately special in Health class, hone your students creative skills in art class, and open amazing books in Literature. In all of these courses, I love that I can point your student to what the Lord has done as I teach here at MRA.

I am a graduate of Texas A&M with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Spanish. After graduating from college, I taught for several years in the Texas public schools. Once my son was born, I knew it was time to stay home. I have home schooled my three children (Derek, Lauren, and Emma) from the start. In addition to MRA, I enjoy teaching on other platforms as well. My days are split between teaching and spending time with my family who maintains a busy schedule that keeps me on my toes.

Jennifer Sands will to be teaching Fitness classes at MRA. She has her degree in All-level Physical Education from University of Texas at Arlington. She has coached volleyball, softball, baseball, soccer, and basketball. She taught Stretch-N-Grow, which is fitness classes for pre-schoolers. Her favorite thing about P.E. growing up was the parachute, and it’s still her favorite.Jennifer has been married to her husband Chris for over 19 yrs. They have 4 boys. They lived in West Africa for almost a year doing missionary work. They have been homeschooling for more than 11 yrs now. She has a great love for teaching and exercise. Teaching fitness allows her to combine these two loves.

Michelle Valenzuela is a dedicated Science and Art teacher with a passion for helping students explore, create, and think critically. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Arlington and brings over a decade of experience teaching students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Mrs. Valenzuela is known for creating engaging, hands-on lessons that spark curiosity and make learning meaningful. She strives to build a classroom environment where students feel supported, challenged, and excited to learn, while encouraging creativity and a love of discovery. In her free time, she enjoys drinking coffee, reading, and traveling. She looks forward to partnering with students and families to make this a successful and inspiring school year.

Nina Wilhite attended Tarleton State University and Mountain View College, where she studied to be a teacher. She has been teaching since 2010. What we love most about Mrs Nina is her dedication to detail and willingness to raise the bar high, knowing her students can achieve academic excellence. When Nina is not teaching at MRA you can find her teaching kindergarten or with her husband. They have three amazing children, Michael, Amalie and Ethan. All 3 of them play competitive teamsports. Amalie dances ballet, tap & jazz! She looks forward to teaching her students about the world God created them.

I have two daughters that attend Matthew Road Academy. My husband, Nick, and I chose to send our children to MRA because of the excellent education that intentionally incorporates Christ throughout both the curriculum and the campus. As the admissions coordinator, I have the privilege of meeting new families and telling them why I love our school.