Ashley Smith

Early Childhood Education I Handwriting

Ashley Smith is the founder of LH Tutoring, LLC. A Lake Highlands native, Ashley is a 1999 graduate of Lake Highlands High School. She is also a Texas A&M Class of 2003 graduate with B.S. in Early Childhood Education. After college, she returned to the Dallas area and taught at a local Lake Highlands elementary school. She also began in-home tutoring with students from St. Patrick’s Catholic School.  To further her experience, she took a first grade teaching position with Carrollton Farmer’s Branch ISD, in 2007, where she spent the next 5 years.  In 2012, Ashley left the classroom to start a private tutoring business.  During this time, she also worked part time for Frisco ISD as a small group pull out teacher for students at risk of failing the state test (STAAR).  She and her husband made their was back to Lake Highlands in 2014 after purchasing their first home here. Closing her first company that served the Castle Hills neighborhood in Lewisville ISD, Ashley immediately started tutoring here in Lake Highlands.  Out of this growth and expansion, LH Tutoring was born!  LH Tutoring now strives to handpick the best teachers to serve the families in the Dallas area through tutoring and test prep services.  Ashley’s main area of focus is handwriting and fine motor skills holding several certifications from Handwriting Without Tears.

Sarah Denton

Early Childhood Education

Sarah is a graduate of the University of Alabama.  For 8 years, she taught pre-k and first grade at Hexter Elementary in DISD.  She was awarded the Dallas Independent School District AC teacher of the year award.  From 2014-2018, Sarah was a freelance writer for Scholastic, a nationally acclaimed education resource for teaching professionals, as well as, a well- known children’s book company. Currently, she teaches English as a Second Language for VIPKid, an organization that serves Chinese students desiring to become fluent in English.  Sarah is excited to bring her extensive experience and expertise to your home through one on one tutoring sessions.

Nancy Maines

Early Childhood Education

Nancy holds a B.S. in Education from Stephen F. Austin University. For 30 years, Nancy served as a Kindergarten teacher for Hallsville Independent School District located near Longview. While teaching, Nancy also received an early childhood endorsement with an emphasis on Reading and English. After retirement, Nancy moved to the Metroplex to be near her grandchildren. At the same time, she became a substitute teacher for both Coppell and Richardson ISD. She prides herself in her ability to assess students individually and to build superior educational plans allowing children to reach their greatest academic potential. She loves serving students in the in-home setting. LH Tutoring is thrilled to have such an experienced and successful team member.

Kristen Elizondo

Educational Diagnostician

Early Childhood

Special Education

Kristen has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Concordia University in Chicago. She also has a Masters in Special Education, with a Certification as an Educational Diagnostician, from the University of North Texas. She holds certifications from the Boards of Education in both Texas and Illinois. From 2012-2018, she was a preschool teacher at Zion Lutheran School in Dallas and then also served as the Early Childhood Director from 2017-2019. Kristen transitioned into public education in the fall of 2019 and taught Kindergarten at Trinity Basin Preparatory 10 St. Campus for two years. Currently, Kristen serves as the District Special Education Dyslexia Coach for Trinity Basin Preparatory. This role includes overseeing implementation of dyslexia services, providing district training on identification of dyslexia and dyslexia accommodations, and identifying students with dyslexia by administering and interpreting diagnostic tests. Kristen says getting to know the different personalities of the young children she works with is her favorite thing about teaching. She is a gifted educator and loves helping young minds achieve their very best.

Kiara Denholm

Elementary Education

Kiara is a dynamite educator with over 10 years of hands-on learning in the classroom.  She is a graduate of Concordia University in Chicago.  From 2011 to May of 2019, Kiara served as a 4th grade teacher at St. Paul Lutheran School in Peachtree Georgia.  In August of 2019, she began teaching 4th grade at Our Redeemer Lutheran School here in Dallas.  Kiara considers her ability to observe and evaluate students as one of her greatest strengths.  She loves helping individual students meet their educational needs. Kiara is also savvy with social media.  She has served on church educator conferences, and school social media teams.

Ashlee Thrash

Elementary + Special Education

Ashlee received a bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from the University of Kansas in 2009 as well as a Masters in Special Education from Kansas in 2010. Her background includes working as a behavioral analyst therapist for Teach Me in Carrollton, Texas. After this, she became a special education resource teacher in Richardson ISD. She then worked as a teacher for Dallas ISD from 2015 to 2019. While working for DISD, she received the honor of distinguished teacher. In her last year working in DISD, she taught in a kindergarten collaborative classroom helping students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and partnering with a kindergarten team to implement modifications and accommodations to assist students.