MR. JIM MUELLER - SCIENCE
“Science Jim” Mueller has a B.A. from Lake Forest College and an M.S. from Aurora University. He has worked as an environmental educator from 1989 to 1994. The following eight years he worked at a small children’s science museum in Carbondale, Illinois, six of those years as the executive director. In 2002, Jim began developing and teaching a Physics curriculum specifically for homeschoolers. As his popularity as a science teacher grew, he began developing and teaching courses in other sciences. Currently he teaches Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Earth Science. He is renowned for his sense of humor and the fun he brings to his classes.
MRS. JEN MUELLER - ELA AND HISTORY
Jen Mueller received her B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Cortland and her teaching certification from Antioch University in New England. She has also received certification as a Phono-Graphix reading therapist. Jen began teaching in 1999 at Pine Hill Waldorf School in Wilton, NH, where she took a class from first though third grade. From 2002 to 2010, she taught both first and fourth grade at The Well School in Peterborough, NH. During this time she also served as the school-wide curriculum designer as well as a mentor teacher. Jen left the cold Northeast in 2010 to take a class from fifth thought eighth grade at Emerson Waldorf School in Chapel Hill. Since co-founding Caerus Academy in 2014, she has been happily teaching homeschoolers English and History. In addition to a passion for teaching, Jen has a lifelong interest in theater. Her theatrical credits include thirty years of producing, directing, and acting on stage.
Mr. ROB RICH - MATHEMATICS
Rob Rich received his B.A. in Anthropology from Dartmouth College, and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University. He taught math at the Dover-Sherborn High School outside Boston, and then served as the lead math teacher at the Emerson Waldorf High School in Chapel Hill from 2003 to 2019, where he was instrumental in constructing the High School’s math curriculum. In between those teaching stints he worked for Honeywell Corporation’s Space Systems Division, designing, fabricating, and testing high precision deployment and positioning devices for spacecraft. He was the Responsible Engineer for the electro-mechanical actuators that deployed the International Space Station’s solar arrays. At the start of class he sometimes shares stories of his travels and misadventures, including his hitchhiking trip from Paris to the Arctic Circle. He is a kayaker and a singer.
Rob Rich received his B.A. in Anthropology from Dartmouth College, and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University. He taught math at the Dover-Sherborn High School outside Boston, and then served as the lead math teacher at the Emerson Waldorf High School in Chapel Hill from 2003 to 2019, where he was instrumental in constructing the High School’s math curriculum. In between those teaching stints he worked for Honeywell Corporation’s Space Systems Division, designing, fabricating, and testing high precision deployment and positioning devices for spacecraft. He was the Responsible Engineer for the electro-mechanical actuators that deployed the International Space Station’s solar arrays. At the start of class he sometimes shares stories of his travels and misadventures, including his hitchhiking trip from Paris to the Arctic Circle. He is a kayaker and a singer.