Christian Teacher of the Year: Jan Tjomsland teaches students to do ‘work worthy of kings’

Mathematics has a worldview, according to high school teacher Jan Tjomsland.

She explained how numbers, shapes and measurements began as a study of philosophy, which used systematic concepts to interpret the world. Math, therefore, was not an independent field but instead a comprehensive order for all of life.

Modern education, however, often compartmentalizes subjects – math, history, literature, science – but these fields are much more interconnected in the real world, Tjomsland said.

The Ecclesial Schools Initiative in Oviedo, Florida, approaches education using this classical integration model because kids “naturally think that way,” she explained.

“As classical educators, we’re always trying to learn as many different things as we possibly can that we can integrate our subjects,” she told Heartlander News.

Her commitment and integrated approach is one reason she is one of 12 instructors awarded 2026 Christian Teacher of the Year honors by the Herzog Foundation, publisher of Heartlander News.

Tjomsland explained how she has her high school students write geometric proofs in persuasive essay style and hold roundtable debates, or “Socratic discussions,” to “practice civil discourse and listening well.” Her students also learn the philosophy behind various math models and discoveries.

This integral style mimics the way children think, she said. Human brains associate, compare and contrast to understand and apply concepts, reflecting a fundamental design of the Creator.

“How do you learn anything without acknowledging your Creator?” she asked. “And so, we’re looking for him, we’re searching him out, we’re trying to find out. It’s the glory of God to conceal things and the glory of kings is to search things out (Proverbs 25:2). So, we’re doing the work worthy of kings.”

Tjomsland said she opens each class by quoting Proverbs 22:9: “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”

She’s now in her fourth year at Ecclesial Schools, where she has taught math – pre-algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra II – to middle and high school students. She has 18 years in education and was also a trainer in the Navy, where she served as a U.S. Coast Guard commander, a search and rescue helicopter pilot and a designated Coast Guard aeronautical engineer.

When her youngest son was a sophomore in high school, Tjomsland heard about The Ecclesial Schools, which benefits from Florida’s Step Up Scholarship – a school choice program that gives parents funding to put toward the school of their choice. The program allows students who may have previously only been able to afford public education to attend private school.

“So, the mission of our school is to expand access to extraordinary education, and if you cannot afford a Christian education, then you can still come to our school,” Tjomsland said. “With that being this mission, I said that’s where I want to work when my son graduates. So, two years later, I shipped him off to college and applied to the ecclesial school.”

The model also uses local churches as the school’s campuses. The initiative hopes to offer five campuses, Tjomsland said, adding that the “goal is that your school and your church are in your neighborhood.”

The school launched its first campus, kindergarten through fifth grade, in 2019. This year, it has two campuses: first grade through seventh grade and first grade through 11th grade, Tjomsland said. A shuttle will take students between campuses to assist parents with only one drop-off and pickup location.

“So, our goal is to raise strong members of the body,” Tjomsland said. “Also, if you come to our school because you appreciate the fact that we are making it financially accessible, and you don’t have a church home, it means that we have one for you, because we’re right on a church campus.”

Tjomsland explained that the classical model parallels the method of education she learned at flight school: learn, repeat, learn, repeat, master.

She said her military background provided her with many exciting stories to share with her students but also many life lessons.

“I also have some stories about failing that are good for them to hear,” she said. “So, I will talk about getting back up and doing it again, and learning in layers, and being patient.”

The discipline of learning is applicable to all of life, not merely the concepts conquered, Tjomsland said.

“Why is it important to do the work worthy of kings?” she asked. “Because of the amazing responsibility that we were given, and so it’s incumbent upon you as an image bearer to steward everything that you were given, and that includes your brain.”

The Christian Teacher of the Year honor is part of the Herzog Foundation’s Excellence in Christian Education award series. Each of the 12 winners was invited to attend a special professional development and recognition event.