Faculty Directory

Dr. Jonathan Day, Headmaster

Dr. Day devoted 15 years to being a professor of political science at Western Illinois University.  During that time, he served four years as the Director for the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Newman Center on campus, followed by seven years as a teacher and the Director of Academics for a classical K-12 School. While at the classical school, he helped to expand the school from a K-8 into a K-12 as they added one grade level per year. He now uses these experiences that God blessed him with to take on the task of helping to establish a new Classical High School in the Catholic Tradition in Vero Beach.

Both him and his wife are converts to the Catholic Church and raise their six children in the Faith. Four are homeschooled and two are attending Chesterton Academy.

  • Mr. Jacob Flaherty, Music and Humanities

    Jacob Flaherty is a Minnesota native and have lived there for most of my life. He has been married to Esther for fifteen years and are the parents to six wonderful children. He has been a choir director, organist, and teacher since a two-year discernment at St. John Vianney College Seminary. I have a B.A. in K-12 Vocal Music Education, with minors in Catholic Studies and Philosophy. He has prepared and directed Gregorian Chant and polyphony. He has taught Music Theory, Music History, given Piano Lessons, taught Theology, directed plays and musicals, coached baseball, led youth groups, and tried to follow the example of my favorite (and patron) Saint, St. John Bosco. He has a great love of History, Geography, poetry, and the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Ray Bradbury. He also enjoys composing hymns, motets, and Masses, and enjoy football, baseball, and learning about architecture. Finally, his favorite Scripture verses are Nehemiah 8:10 and John 17:3.

  • Ms. Kate Chenault, Humanities

    Kate Chenault is a graduate of classical Catholic homeschooling, where she learned the importance of literature, history, theology, and philosophy. She attended Walsh University, where she tutored in the humanities subjects while attending classes in history, art history, and philosophy. She received her B.A. in Museum Studies and Visual and Performing Arts in 2024. After graduating, she worked as a high school Latin teacher while also volunteering as a Pioneer/Patriot Unit Leader with the American Heritage Girls. She brings her background in the liberal arts, her passion for the humanities, and her experience teaching a variety of subjects to her role as Freshman Humanities Teacher at Chesterton Academy of Vero Beach. In her free time, she enjoys reading classic literature and singing in her church's choir.

  • Mr. Lars Emery, Math and Science

    Lars Emery grew up in Plant City, Florida. He earned his BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Florida (Go Bulls!), where he met his amazing wife in the Catholic Student Union. Prior to teaching, Mr. Emery had careers in real world science applications as an engineer at a chemical company and as a brewer of craft beer, connecting all three science domains - biology, chemistry, and physics. He is excited to teach math and science at the Chesterton Academy of Vero Beach.

    He and his wife love traveling together, and while they treasure their international adventures, he thinks that America is a wide country that he hasn't explored enough. To remedy this, they have taken on the challenge of visiting all 63 US National Parks (with eight visited to date). He also loves board games, with a particular affinity for strategy games. His confirmation saint is St. Sebastion, and he is proud to be the Faculty Advisor to House Ambrose.

  • Art Teacher

    Bio coming soon.