Faculty & Staff

Nick Plato has been with Chesterton Academy of the Valley since its conception in a coffee shop with friend and fellow Board Member, Mr. Rolando Moreno. Since his youth, he's dreamed of starting a school that would be part of the true renewal of culture. Nick has been teaching since 2002 at both public and private schools as a teacher, coach, and administrator. Nick is blessed with five children and his beautiful wife, Katie. He loves gardening, hobby beekeeping, reading, and playing board-games. He earned his M.S. in Education from Western Oregon University and holds an Oregon teaching license. He teaches Theology, Philosophy, Literature, and History.

plato.nicholas@chestertonwv.com

Katie Plato lives in Woodburn, Oregon with her husband Nick and five children. She received a B.S. in Elementary Education from Corban University and is passionate about education and the formation of the whole person through liturgy, prayer, reading, music, and the outdoors. After homeschooling for nearly 15 years, including starting and directing a Classical Conversations group, Katie has transferred her administrative skills to Chesterton and works as the Administrative Assistant. She is thankful that she can work alongside her husband, assisting in whatever is needed at Chesterton - from organizing the closet, paying the bills, and making sure the teachers have food on inservice days.

administration@chestertonwv.com

Mary Jo is not only our school secretary, greeting students as they come in the building each morning; she also volunteered her time as the secretary to the Board of Directors in the early years. She was born in Salem, Oregon, graduated from Sacred Heart Academy and completed her degree from Marylhurst College. She taught in the public school system in Portland and then Salem, quitting to get married and raise a family with her husband, Leonard, on a farm outside of Silverton. She has 10 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. In 2002, Mary Jo lost her husband and began volunteering at Marian Latin School and later at Holy Family Academy; we are lucky to have her support now at Chesterton Academy.

She plays the piano for Sunday Mass at Holy Rosary Church, a mission of St. Mary’s Mt. Angel. She is a member of the Widows of Prayer, a group that prays especially for Priests. For fun, Mary Jo enjoys spending time with her family, playing cards (a regular Sunday evening event), helping with the upkeep of the farm, under the watchful eye of son, John, doing counted cross stitch and knitting projects and hosting parties in their beautiful home on a hill overlooking the Willamette Valley.

attendance@chestertonwv.com

Fr. John Paul Le, O.S.B., was born in Garden City, KS and he is the son of Vietnamese immigrants, who came to the United States a few years after the Vietnam war. After two years in Kansas, Fr. John Paul's family moved to the Texas Gulf Coast where his parents shrimped. Just prior to entering the monastery, Fr. John Paul spent two years with the Salesians in East Timor and Texas. In 2008, he entered the monastery of Mount Angel Abbey and was ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood in 2015. Some of his current assignments include: Subprior, Abbot's Secretary, Oblate Director and Locksmith.

We are incredibly blessed to have Fr. John Paul serving as chaplain to our school.

Mrs. Rolfe is an Oregon native who enjoys hiking in the rain. She earned her undergraduate degree in History from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, and her Master's in Teaching from Seattle University. Mrs. Rolfe and her husband, Alex, have lived in Newberg, OR, for 25 years, where she homeschooled her four children and worked as a tutor for Classical Conversations. Her youngest daughter is now a senior at Chesterton Academy. This is Mrs. Rolfe's fifth year at Chesterton Academy. She teaches Literature, Math, Composition, and Debate. Mrs. Rolfe enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, reading, and spending time with her family.

rolfe.jessica@chestertonwv.com

Mr. Edmonds has been working at Chesterton Academy since the fall of 2019. He was raised on a small farm near Silverton, Oregon, and he and his wife, Kaitlynn, don't plan on leaving the area anytime soon. If you talk with Mr. Edmonds what becomes clear in a hurry is his passion for Truth. Mr. Edmonds is a life-long Catholic and is passionate about teaching at this Academy because he is able to share his love for Christ and His Church in each subject every day. Mr. Edmonds earned his teaching degree from Western Oregon University. He holds an Oregon teaching license and teaches Philosophy, Debate, History, Music, Chemistry & Physics.

edmonds.matthew@chestertonwv.com

Stephen Barker grew up in North Carolina and attended college in Southern California. After graduating from Thomas Aquinas College in 2004, he moved to the Pacific Northwest where he worked in the wine industry for over a decade. A visit to Rome in 2009 ended with a stop at the Basilica of Saint Cecilia where Stephen discerned a call to serve the Church through music. He has sung in various choirs and played the violin for countless liturgies since. He enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Samantha, hiking, playing guitar and violin, singing, and baking bread for friends. Mr. Barker is very excited to join Chesterton Academy of the Willamette Valley. He teaches Philosophy, History, Literature, Latin, and Music.

barker.stephen@chestertonwv.com

Mr. Lange began coaching upon graduation from high school and 20 years later is still passionate about the formation of the human person. “Man, though body and soul, is a unity” (CCC, 2289). He loves teaching the biomechanics of human movement and the skills necessary for lifelong health. Mr. Lange is a strong advocate for the Catholic Church's teaching on Faith and Science and is excited to bring his love of Astronomy and Physical Science to Chesterton Academy. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he manages the Chesterton Academy Ultimate Frisbee and Round-net Clubs. He resides in Salem with his four children. Mr. Lange enjoys studying the lives of the Saints, exploring the great Oregon outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

lange.brian@chestertonwv.com

Sara grew up on a farm outside of a small town in Southeast Kansas. Sara has studied at Kansas State University, at the University of Salamanca in Spain, and at the University of Dallas Braniff Graduate School where she specialized in Moral Theology and Marriage Theology. She has taught for thirteen years in a variety of schools: public, private, Catholic, ecumenical, home-school, and tutoring. Sara currently teaches Mathematics and Moral Theology at the Chesterton Academy of the Willamette Valley in Mount Angel, Oregon. She has a passion for classical, liberal arts education and is happy to be tackling the challenge of home-schooling her own children.

More than anything, Sara enjoys being present to her husband and children. Together, the Ricos manage to turn pretty much everything into a great adventure. The Rico family enjoys celebrating the liturgical year, spending time outdoors, reading great books, having good conversations, eating good food, and working towards bridging the false divide between Faith and Reason in modern culture. The Ricos also enjoy hanging out with monks - especially the Benedictines in Mt.Angel and the Cistercians near the University of Dallas in Texas.

Though being a wife, mother, and part-time high school teacher is a more-than-full-time job (and full-time ministry!), Sara loves taking the time to be a guest speaker for RCIA classes, other Catholic and ecumenical organizations, and for the Theology of the Body Evangelization Team (TOBET).

rico.sara@chestertonwv.com

Mrs. Sigur graduated from the University of Dallas in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and a Minor in Education. She began her teaching career at St. Paul’s Catholic School in Richardson, TX. After a year of teaching at the middle school level, Chelsea and her husband, Charlie, moved to Silverton, OR. Mrs. Sigur had missed the classical education setting and her home state. They welcomed their first child, Marianne, in 2020 and Mrs. Sigur joined Chesterton’s staff in the Fall of 2020. She teaches Philosophy, Theology, Biology, and Geometry & Trigonometry.

sigur.chelsea@chestertonwv.com

Dr Jahn has been a teacher at Chesterton Academy since the fall of 2023. She and her husband Steve have 3 children who all attend the school as well. Dr. Jahn earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at the University of Southern California. After a short career in the advertising world, changing interests led her to study science and veterinary medicine. She earned a DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) degree, as well as a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Minnesota. She worked as a small animal veterinarian and a medical research study director before the Lord led her to homeschool her kids through the 8th grade. Dr. Jahn enjoys teaching math, chemistry, and writing at Chesterton Academy. She especially loves spending her days with teens and helping them to see their infinite value, as well as the beauty and joy of a life lived for Christ.

jahn.kimberley@chestertonwv.com

Gabrielle Merritt lives in Mount Angel with her husband Terence and their five young daughters. She received her Bachelor of Arts from University of Dallas, and her Master of Arts in Teaching from Western Oregon University. After years of directing plays with the AAA Theatre in Corvallis, which she co-founded, she is glad to now be able to share her love of drama with Chesterton. Some of the plays she has brought to the Chesterton stage include: The Count of Monte Cristo, Sense and Sensibility, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie's Spider's Web, and the musical Mary Poppins. She spends the rest of her days homeschooling her fun-loving girls. Some of her favorite pastimes include working in her garden, attending vespers at the Benedictine Abbey, and reading poetry.

merritt.gabrielle@chestertonwv.com

Pam is a lifelong learner. She graduated from SUNY Stony Brook in Long Island, NY in 1998 with a history degree, but it was not until she started to homeschool her four children that she really began to love learning and the classical model. After her kids were grown, and having some free time on her hands, she began teaching Latin at Chesterton in the fall of 2024. In 2025 she became full-time humanities teacher. She and her husband, Mike, reside in Salem.

lee.pamela@chestertonwv.com

Mary Belleque grew up outside of Mt. Angel on a farm with her seven siblings. She and her husband Kurt have been married for 41 years and have six children. Their youngest daughter, Leah, was in the first graduating class at Chesterton Academy. Mary has a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Western Oregon State College. Mary has always had a creative side and loves dabbling in many methods of “art”. “Teaching art at Chesterton Academy brings so much joy and hope into my life”. Mary enjoys gardening, sewing, playing board games and spending time with her eight grandchildren.

mcbelleque@gmail.com

Melissa is a California native with a B.A. in Film & Video Production. She worked for about a decade in the entertainment industry until the Lord called her to Mount Angel. Her life was changed after an encounter at the abbey. She now resides in Mount Angel with her amazing husband, Matt, where she loves being outdoors, is involved with the oblate program for the Hispanic community, watching movies, hosting game nights, can't get enough Mario Party, and will go great lengths for a practical joke. Melissa is the secretary at her parish and her heart is at Chesterton where teaches Spanish and advises the yearbook.

hemshorn.melissa@chestertonwv.com

schneider.doug@chestertonwv.com