Kim Ashby earned a BS in Nursing from The Catholic University of America and, when she worked outside the home, was a Certified Emergency Nurse with a special interest in trauma nursing. She lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and three sons. The Ashbys are in their tenth plus year home educating their children. They graduated their oldest son in May 2007. He is attending UNC Wilmington. Kim continues to home school her younger boys. Her oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in the public school system in the second grade. Her second son has cerebral palsy which has resulted in multiple/global developmental delays. Her youngest son has undiagnosed, mild auditory processing issues.

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Cheryl and Steve Chancelor, share a commitment to the education of all children. As career educators in the public school system they understand the challenges students, parents and teachers face to ensure all students receive the best education possible. Cheryl has worked with elementary students both as a classroom teacher and as a Reading Specialist. Steve teaches Advanced Placement courses at the High School level. The Chancelors' diverse experience coupled with their passion for student success provides a solid foundation that impacts the success of every student they work with from the Pre-Kindergarten level up to preparing for acceptance into College. Steve and Cheryl enjoy offering their unique perspective and experience to families through development of educational plans that best meet the individual needs of each student and providing the highest trained and qualified educators to the tutorial environment. The opportunity to support their community by working with teachers, parents and students on a more personal level has proven to be one of the best decisions they have made. "Every child should have the opportunity to overcome the educational struggles that they are faced with."

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Johnny grew up in Houston and there after receiving his graduate degree. He has spent time working with and serving families and children for over nine years, as a mentor, family therapist, substitute teacher, tutor. Johnny earned a B.S. in Political Science and Master of Divinity at Samuel D. Proctor School of Theology. He has spent most of his time working in the community as a role model and mentor and has worked as the Pastor of Community Life for over five years. Currently working as Teen Pastor there, Johnny has a heart for children and enjoys seeing them excel and reach their full potential.

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Cherrie Leggett Kilby graduated from Southwestern University with a BS in Education and has taught in elementary and middle school for over twenty years in the U.S., Taiwan, and Japan. In addition she has taught English as a Second Language in China. Cherrie pursued a Master's degree in Education with reading as her area of specialty. She continues to teach special needs students at the elementary level and also teaches reading at the local community college. Cherrie was a tutor for Creative Tutors when it was first founded and loved working with the families she met. She wanted to continue to make a difference and started working as an area manager in 2005.

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Try Walnuts to Improve Cholesterol
Walnuts are rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids and ellagic acid. Previous research has shown that the regular consumption of walnuts appears to improve cardiovascular function following high-fat meals.
In diabetics, who face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, walnuts also appear to improve cardiovascular function.
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A newly published clinical research trial, which appears in the “European Journal of Clinical Nutrition,” evaluated the effects of a walnut-supplemented diet on 87 adults with normal-to-high cholesterol levels in their blood.
This study used a “crossover” approach, in which all of the patient volunteers received walnut supplements for six months, and were then switched to a walnut-free diet for another six months. During this 12-month study, blood tests were performed at the beginning of the study, and then at four, six, 10, and 12 months into the study.
Because of the crossover design of this study, the researchers were able to directly compare the effects of walnut supplementation on body weight, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol), HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol), and fatty acids (triglycerides). Together, these compounds are referred to as lipids.
As has been observed in previous clinical studies of shorter duration, this study found that a six-month period of walnut supplementation resulted in significant reductions in total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. LDL levels were also reduced, although this finding just barely failed to reach statistical significance.
These favorable changes in blood lipid levels were found to be more pronounced in patients with elevated total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. (I should note that significant reductions in LDL blood levels have been observed in response to adding walnuts to the diet of patients with elevated LDL levels, in other studies.)
While statins, and other lipid-lowering drugs, have revolutionized the management of elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (and death due to cardiovascular disease), not all patients can tolerate these drugs.
As with all medications, these lipid-lowering drugs are not equally effective in all patients, and many patients will continue to have elevated LDL cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels despite taking lipid-lowering drugs.
Studies suggest that the addition of walnuts to one’s diet may be a useful adjunct in lowering elevated LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. As always, I encourage everyone to check with their doctor before making any significant alterations in their diet, especially if you have one or more chronic illnesses.

I have a gifted daughter who is now 6 years old and in the first grade. We knew something was different about her by the age of 2 because of the profound statements that she would say as well as her ability to read by the age of 3. If you are a parent of a gifted child, you will understand our panic with what to do with her! We were very worried about how we should proceed...challenging her enough but not putting pressure on her...giving her the information she wanted to devour but not expecting too much...helping her be well-rounded and socially adept but not holding her back. Should we do private school or public school? Were we and her preschool teachers crazy or was she really seriously gifted?

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I wanted to provide this resource for parents and their children. This will be an easy place for you to check and see how your child will score on the Exit Level TAKS Test for 11th and 12th grade students.

English Language Arts (ELA)

Writing Prompt

Social Studies

Social Studies [Glencoe]

Science

Mathematics