Our Story

Our school began over 25 years ago as a traditional, small K-12 private school with a focus on individual attention to students. The original owners were bringing up their own children and the children of friends, and the school was built on this foundation of parent-oriented education, very individually focused.

In the last year, we have recognized a change in the landscape of education, and a growing need for both diverse as well as virtual education for tomorrow’s children.

To meet this need, we have formed the Arts and Education Collaborative. We are part-homeschool center, part co-operative education center. Our programs have developed out of our goals in education for our own children. As parents and educators we are passionate about children learning in ways that help them to not only become educated, but to truly follow their passion through education in subjects that they are drawn to instinctively, rather than dogmatically.

We aim to facilitate that balance of old school educational standards and a new, emerging world dominated by creativity, technology and human interaction of all kinds.

More than anything, we believe in our children as tomorrow’s leaders in all walks of life. Our responsibility is to help you guide them to meet whatever amazing path they choose to improve tomorrow’s world.

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Our Team

Andrea Butterworth

Founder

Hi I'm Andrea! I am an artist, traveler, wife and mother of 3. One of my passions in life is to not only discover and enjoy beauty in the world, but to help others experience it as well.
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Wanting my own children to be provided the best education possible, I was motivated to redefine education and create something unique.
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Drawing from my personal creativity and global cultural experiences, I understood that there is more to education than just learning the everyday core subjects. I wanted to prioritize exposure to new ideas and provide learners the opportunity to explore all areas of interest. It’s so important to let children explore, find new solutions and follow their own path of discovery because that leads to a passion for life-long learning.
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My goal for Arts-n-Ed is to combine primary subject content with expanded topics of interest, adventure and curiosity. In turn, I hope to inspire an “out of the box” generation who can think for themselves and create new solutions for today's problems. I see how it’s positively affected my family and I can’t wait to see it in yours!

Shanel Ranzenbach

Founder/Teacher

Hey! I’m Shanel and I am so excited for what Arts-n-Ed is doing! I have been teaching kids for over 10 years now and have more fun with it as time goes on.
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Originally from Buffalo, NY, I moved to Philadelphia, PA where I obtained my degree in Music Performance. Along the way, I’ve toured internationally, recorded and performed across the country. I absolutely love music and am excited that I get to share that aspect of my life with my students.
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As an educator, my focus is on the social-emotional growth of the individual learner as well as their academic success. I’ve worked with educational non-profits, public charter schools and private learning centers. I love to implement positive character training alongside project based learning for a holistic approach to a subject or topic. Learning should be fun, engaging and challenging. My personal goal is to help students build the skills and passion needed to become not only life-long learners but amazing human beings!

Aaron Ranzenbach

Founder/Teacher

Hello! I’m Aaron.
I am a kid at heart, who loves education and music. I have been fortunate enough to build my career on these two passions. I graduated from the University of Valley Forge with a degree in education in 2011.
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I went on to start my first teaching business, a music lesson startup in New York. When I had more music opportunities arise in Los Angeles I took my business online and began teaching remotely. This is where I first saw the benefits for online education.⠀⠀
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6 years ago, I started working as an educator at Fair Oaks Academy. I discovered an education program that I saw so much success in. Students were independent learners with a strong foundation in reading and math. This program needed to be accessible to everyone, so our team adapted it for online learning. We decided to add a strong emphasis on the arts as well. Students should have every opportunity to explore their interests, plus it makes learning fun!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Working to build Arts-n-Ed through this process has been so fulfilling. I love seeing children grow in academics and in the arts. I love hanging out with kids and having fun with school. Students in our program are capable learners who go on to discover for themselves and never stop learning, just like our staff!

Cassandra Liu

Teacher

Cassandra Liu is a full time performer and teacher of language, culture, and the arts. In addition to performing Polynesian dance and running a Chinese lion dance team, she enjoys teaching Mandarin Chinese to children and entertaining them with her various performance skills.
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Cassandra aims to make learning a fun and engaging experience, and lucky learners may even catch her performing a quick fire show to keep things interesting!

Crystal Fabos

Teacher

Crystal Fabos is an accomplished artist who combines her refined skill with her passion for education into teaching the basics of drawing and technical skill through the lens of history.
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Having stopped pursuing art as a child due to frustration, Crystal is intentional about fostering an atmosphere where learners are encouraged to turn their “mistakes” into something beautiful. Learners are often excited about the use of varied mediums ranging from pastels to watercolors to clay.
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She helps each learner to build grit, strive for excellence and take on new challenges with zest and optimism. In her art classes and in private art lessons, learners of any age grow in confidence and embrace their creativity!