Life Science

Danielle Bartko

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Danielle Bartko is an experienced Math and Science teacher, and Orthodox Church Cantor and Choir Director. She taught in public schools and a Montessori based Orthodox private school. She has served the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese as a Cantor and Choir Director, and the Orthodox Church in America as a Choir Director. She spent countless summers at Camp Nazareth, first as a camper, and later as a counselor and chant teacher.

She holds degrees in Biology and Music from Lafayette College, and Secondary Teacher Certification from DeSales University. She has taught grades 5-12, and currently homeschools her children. She has experience in a variety of teaching methods, and has taught students with diverse academic needs. She is a lifelong learner, and has enjoyed growing and changing as an educator over the years. Her goal is to inspire her students to become lifelong learners as well.

Her Liturgical music education comes from a variety of coursework in Orthodox Music and Choral Directing. She has taken classes through Christ the Saviour Seminary and the OCA Liturgical Music Department, and independent study with Very Rev. Protopresbyter Michael Rosco and Professors Paul Hilko, George Hanas, Andrew Talarovich, and Jerry Jumba. Whenever she travels and visits a church, she will sneak into the choir loft, wait for an invitation to sing with the choir, and then ask for copies of good music to keep as a souvenir.

She grew up in New Jersey, but now lives in Pittsburgh PA with her husband and two young daughters. When she is not homeschooling her children or teaching classes, she enjoys gardening, jigsaw puzzles, SRS Iconography classes, visiting with friends and family, and going to the beach.

Danielle Shillingstad Adams

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Danielle (Dani) Adams, a graduate of Hillsdale College, holds a BS in Biochemistry and a minor in Jazz Music. Mrs. Adams has worked in various educational vocations for 13 years. She has also served as the vice-president of multiple Navy adjacent non-profit organizations during her time as an active-duty military spouse.
For the last 2 years she has worked in brick-and-mortar schools in Hampton Roads both as a teacher and curriculum director and helped to found a local classical school in Portsmouth, Virginia. She currently resides in Norfolk, Virginia with her husband, 4 children, 7 chickens, and dog named Arleigh Bark. A member of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) since 2016, Dani serves on the vestry of her local Anglican parish, St. Alban's, and has been an active member of the parish since its founding 2 years ago.
As an educator, Dani seeks to orient students toward the divine testimony God gives us through both nature and number, and prepare students to think critically about the nature of Truth. In the words of Kate Comstock- ""perhaps, half the falsehood in the world is due to a lack of power to detect truth and express it."" She desires to give her students both empirical knowledge and an understanding of the epistemology behind it. Her guiding principal as a scientist and educator comes from the words of St. Augustine: “Fides quaerens intellectum,” faith seeking understanding.