Faculty & Staff

I joined Our Shepherd in the fall of 2025 after working 34 years in the public schools. My experience includes elementary and secondary, general and special education. My husband Bruce and I have three adult children and two rescued pups.

My husband and I are very happy to have found a home at Our Shepherd where they can live out their faith while sharing their love of our Lord Jesus Christ with the children of this beautiful school.

Hello! I'm excited to be serving in my second year as the secretary here at Our Shepherd. I look forward to supporting our students, parents, and staff to help make this a successful and joyful school year!

My husband and I have one son who also attends Our Shepherd, and we’re proud to be part of this wonderful school community. We also have the sweetest dog named Gracie.

As a family, we enjoy camping on weekends, playing games, and spending time with our family and friends. We are active members at Freedom Assembly of God in Mentor, where we love being involved in our church community.

Looking forward to a great year ahead!

My name is Leigh Wojkowski and I am a 1987 graduate of Bowling Green State University. I began teaching at Our Shepherd in 1989 and I’ve just completed my 35th year at our school. My experience includes teaching kindergarten for 31 years and second grade for 4 years. My passion is teaching the little ones in our school how to read and write and most importantly, to know of Jesus’ love for them. I live in Fairport Harbor with my dog, Daisy, and attend St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Painesville. I have two daughters and one son. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling to new places, walking/hiking, and reading.

Mrs. Jarrell has worked with our littlest learners for 20 years, and 11 of those years have been right here at Our Shepherd.

Hi, my name is Michelle Landon. I grew up in Painesville and graduated from Harvey High School before attending Baldwin Wallace University. I started teaching 1st grade at Our Shepherd in the fall of 2022. Prior to working at OSL, I taught preschool and Title 1. I currently reside in Kirtland with my husband and our two boys. We love to go camping, hiking, and swimming with our two dogs. I look forward to a wonderful school year!

I have a John Carroll University undergraduate degree in Communications and a Lake Erie College Graduate/Masters Early Childhood Teaching License with a concentration in Literacy.

I began my career at St. Mary Painesville and have taught both at the elementary and secondary level. I tutor specializing in ACT/SAT and college preparation. I think 2nd graders are amazing, and I'm thankful to be their teacher!

I love English riding and Dressage and spending time in nature walking, hiking and adventuring. I also work in Special Event Music Production in Talent Management.

Hi, my name is Kristin Miller. I have been teaching Third Grade at OSL since 1990. I was born and raised in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. GO BLUE! I am a graduate of Concordia University in Chicago. I am a member of Zion Lutheran Church. I have two children; Nate and Madelyn. I direct the K-2 and Grades 3-5 choirs. It is my joy to share the love and saving message of Jesus Christ in this special community of Our Shepherd Lutheran School.

I'm excited about starting my sixth year at OSLS as the 4th grade teacher. My wife, Jamie, and I have four children, three of whom attend Our Shepherd. I can't wait to share my love of Christ with the students of OSLS. It is my goal that my students understand that God loves them, I love them and maybe share a little about my love for Harry Potter and Star Wars.

My name is Mrs. Cynthia Holste. I am excited to be at Our Shepherd Lutheran School! This is the fourth Lutheran School that I have taught at in my life. I especially like teaching when I see that students are understanding something new to them. I have loved school since the first summer that my sister and I took new school books to each teacher's classroom in our little red wagon. I grew up in a small town in California, went to college at Concordia College (now Concordia University) in Seward, NE, and began my teaching career at Trinity Lutheran School in Springfield, IL.

I met my husband, Tim, at Concordia. My husband and I attend Zion Lutheran Church in Painesville where I also play the organ and accompany the choir. We have one teenage son who loves cars. I love to read books, scrapbook, and walk around Lake Erie. Fun Fact: when I was in high school I was able to work on the Pasadena Rose Parade floats.

I graduated from Concordia University Wisconsin in 1996 with my degree in K-6 Elementary Education and 6-9 Language Arts. I went on to get my certification from East Carolina University in K-12 Academically Gifted Education. I have been teaching for 25 years in both the public and Lutheran school setting. I have taught Kindergarten, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th as well as having been a school librarian. I came to Our Shepherd in 2013; I teach 6th grade homeroom and 6th-8th Language Arts. In my spare time I enjoy reading, laying in the warm sun, and traveling. I am married,have 3 grown children, and 1 furbaby.

Hello, my name is Matthew Cook. I am from Canton, Ohio, but I have lived in Kirtland since 2018. I graduated from Mckinley senior high school, during my time in high school I was captain of the wrestling team and a design editor for the school newspaper. After high school I attended Kent state university and earned a degree in middle childhood education. While in college I married my high school sweetheart and we now have two children together. Now I enjoy spending my free time with my family, hiking. Fishing, and camping.

am Jennifer Drake. I graduated from Concordia University - River Forest in 1992 with a degree in teaching grades 7-12 mathematics. I started teaching at Our Shepherd that same year. I am the 8th grade homeroom teacher and I teach 5-8 math and religion. I love teaching at a school where I can share my faith and love in Jesus Christ. I am the Athletic Director for OSL as well. I coach the boys’ 7th/8th grade basketball team.

My husband is retired from the United States Coast Guard and is currently working for the VFW. We love sports of almost any kind (I am a Detroit/Michigan fan and he is a Cleveland/Ohio State fan - interesting times at our house!) We enjoy camping and traveling in the summers. I am an avid scrapbooker. We are active members of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Painesville.

Hello! My name is Sarah Healan and I have grown up in Painesville and am a 2006 Harvey graduate. I attended Grace College and obtained a BS in Elementary Education in May 2010. I have been in the education field for about 15 years; in August 2021 I began teaching Computer and STEAM to our K-8 students. I am very passionate about inquiry-based learning and teaching students how to think critically to solve real world problems.

My husband and I like to spend time with our cavachon, Vienna, and our cat, Donut. We are members of Lakeside Baptist Church in Painesville where my father is the pastor.

I have had the privilege of serving God’s children for over twenty-five years. I started my ministry as a classroom teacher in one of our sister Lutheran schools. OSLS welcomed me in the role of remedial teacher in 2016. I have a Bachelors of Science in education from Cleveland State University. I completed my graduate work at Lake Erie college. I hold a K-12 Reading Endorsement and a K-12 Mild/Moderate Intervention Specialist license. I work with students who struggle in reading or who need specially designed instruction in a small group setting. My students are awesome! It is wonderful to have our daughter and her growing family living in the area. My husband and I are fortunate to be involved grandparents. In my free time I enjoy reading and gardening. We are active members of Bethel Lutheran Church in Willowick.

I was born and raised in Perry, Ohio. I have lived in Painesville for the past 30 years with my husband, Tim. I have three grown children and a sweet pup named Mabel. I love spending time with my family, reading, playing games and cards and enjoying the outdoors. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I am starting my third year as the OSL school nurse. Prior to coming to OSL I had 33 years of experience working in various nursing roles at Lake Hospital System and University Hospitals.

Hello! My name is Gretchen Silbaugh, or as some of the children know me, “the Lunch Lady”. I’ve been at Our Shepherd since 2021, and I feel very fortunate to be a member of the school staff. Prior to my employment at OSLS, I worked at Lakeland Community College in the Teaching Learning Center as an associate preschool/toddler teacher for 35 years. I have my Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education, and 40 years of experience working with young children.

I have two adult children, Sarah and Brett. I am a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Mentor, but when growing up my family and I attended Zion Lutheran Church. It is a comfort and pleasure to have this connection. I’m looking forward to a happy, healthy, and blessed school year for all.

I’m Mr. Zahursky or as some of the students call me, “Mr. Z”. I’m entering my 3rd year as band director and music teacher here at OSL. Though I never graduated college with a degree, I studied percussion and music at The Dana School School of Music at Youngstown State University for 5 quarters and spent another 3 semesters studying music composition with the late Paul Gothard right across the street at Lake Erie College before beginning an apprenticeship as a carpenter in 1990. I’m now a self employed carpenter of 34 years, I play in some local bands of various genres, teach music privately and, as the Lord would have it, have found a home here at Our Shepherd. I look forward to serving you and Our Heavenly Father in the years to come.

My name is Emily Barlow and I’m excited to be helping some of our youngest learners at Our Shepherd. I graduated from Concordia University- Ann Arbor and took a Call to Atonement Lutheran in Metairie. I spent 18 years at Atonement in a variety of positions, teaching 4th grade, Junior High Language Arts and Preschool.

I'm a Leader and Senior Support Specialist at EduTech, supporting schools in Northeast Ohio and New Jersey. My IT career began in high school and continued through my time at Lake Erie College, leading me to where I am today. Over the past three years at EduTech, I've earned my Associate's Degree in Information Technology while overseeing daily operations for our on-site technicians at eleven school districts. Including Our Shepherd Lutheran where I am the Associate Tech Director.

I am Pastor Kurt Ziemann. I was married in 1993 to Deb (Rudick) who grew up in Lansing, Michigan. Deb was diagnosed with gastric cancer in February - 2020. After battling bouts of flu, a heart infection, three strokes, and cancer, Deb entered her eternal rest in heaven on September 7, 2020. We were blessed with 27 years of marriage and five children, Zach, Katie, Jeremy, Timothy and Ezekiel (Zeke). You’ll see Zeke around fixing chrome books and computers.

These days I have found new joy in my life. I am engaged to be married on September 27 to Kimberly Shearer from Dublin, Ohio. She will be moving up here after we are married, so, you will certainly see her around.

I have served as Senior Pastor at Zion Lutheran for ten years. You will see me around school a lot because I love Our Shepherd. I was a middle and upper grade teacher for fourteen years before becoming a pastor. I also taught some high school classes and coached track and cross country too. My current teaching happiness is teaching religion to the first graders at OSL, leading chapel, and serving on the OSL school board.

I love to run and bird watch. You will often see me on the trails. I also published a children’s book called, The Tale of the Wumperback. The fifth grade usually reads it during the school year.