OUR SCHOOL

Dr. Johnson is responsible for the entirety of GCCA's Academics. She has a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the College of Education at the University of South Florida. Her doctoral work focused on the use of primary sources and Socratic Seminars in the secondary classroom. Prior to her doctorate, Dr. Johnson earned a Masters in American and Ancient History from USF, a BA in both History and Religion from Palm Beach Atlantic University, and teaching certification from Saint Petersburg College. Her most memorable educational experience was during her undergraduate career when she spent a semester studying Medieval and Renaissance history and literature at Oxford University. Though she loves Florida and being an American, England is her home away from home. ​Dr. Johnson has 16 years of teaching experience and has taught almost every grade level from first grade through senior capstone courses at University of South Florida. She gained her years of experience teaching in public, private, and classical schools. She has also won awards for her teaching, as well as has been published in educational journals and presented at state and national education conferences. Prior to joining Gulf Coast Classical, she spent two years homeschooling her own children using the Memoria Press core curriculum while also teaching online.  Dr. Johnson teaches many courses in primary grades and upper school.   Her older children, Andrew (6th grade) and Katie (3rd grade), also attend Gulf Coast. She is thankful to be a part of what God is doing at Gulf Coast and is excited be a part of what she believes is the best model of education for all students—a classical Christian curriculum that emphasizes not only Latin and the great books of Western Civilization, but more importantly, the cultivating of wisdom and virtue.

Mr. Mack is responsible for GCCA's areas of Operations, Finance, Technology, Infrastructure, Compliance, Risk Management, and assists with Human Resources. Mr. Mack has his MBA in Advanced Finance from the University of South Florida, and his BS in Finance with a minor in Economics from the University of Florida. He is Credit Risk Certified (CRC) by the Risk Management Association and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) through the Association of Financial Professionals. Mr. Mack is currently working on his Executive Master of Accounting degree from Florida Atlantic University to meet the requirements for the CPA. Mr. Mack held multiple corporate banking positions over the last two decades. He provided cash flow and lending solutions that enabled his clients to improve margins, working capital, and ultimately the value of their company. He consulted with Owners, CEOs, CFOs, and Upper Management of companies across Tampa Bay and Southwest FL to learn about their business, assess risk in their organization, analyze their cash flows, and structure commercial loans that mitigate risks for the lender while providing optimal lending solutions for their organization's cash flow needs. He was responsible for building out the credit functions of publicly traded banks to ensure that best practices and industry standards were met. Mr. Mack developed and implemented structured credit training and education within the banking industry. In doing so, he taught formal credit training, credit policy and procedures, and other underwriting material to his teammates. Mr. Mack also recruited highly qualified and/or motivated staff and developed and implemented training for the onboarding processes, among many other banking initiatives. He worked with a diverse base of businesses in varying industries and brings years of knowledge and expertise that is applied to GCCA. He and his wife, Amy Mack, have two children. Mr. Mack is the Treasurer of Bethel Lutheran Church, helps coach youth sports, and loves to go fishing when he is not busy helping GCCA grow.

A love of teaching has always been in the heart of Mrs. Godwin. Her journey into the teaching profession began while fulfilling a volunteer requirement for an education course at the University of Florida. Mrs. Godwin’s talents were quickly noticed by the staff at the elementary school and her volunteer work turned into a part-time college job. She went on to earn a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary and exceptional student education from the University of West Florida. After graduating, Mrs. Godwin worked for five years instructing students with learning and behavioral disabilities at the elementary level. During her time as an exceptional student educator, she sponsored both the student council and the Kiwanis-Kids Club and volunteered to tutor struggling readers after school. As a lifelong animal lover, Mrs. Godwin was thrilled to be able to bring wildlife and conservation programs to the 4th and 5th grade students and to coordinate canine assisted therapy for her students. In addition, she also taught reading and English as a second language privately for four years. Parents value her enthusiasm, attention to detail, and patience. As a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, Mrs. Godwin believes in the importance of cultivating a love for words as it allows for a greater capacity to love God with all of one’s mind. She believes classical Christian education is the best and finds joy in teaching at Gulf Coast Classical Academy. When she is not teaching, she enjoys spending time with her family and dog, reading, taking courses at Hillsdale College and New Saint Andrews College, kayaking, and gardening.