Kony Araya

Kony Araya

Grade 4 Teacher, Upper Elementary & Middle School Afterschool

Education: B.S. - Music Education, Pensacola Christian College
M.Ed. - Leadership in Education, Gordon College

Kony was born and raised in Lima, Peru. She later moved to New Jersey at the age of 13 with her family and has lived there since. Kony has been attending and serving at Madison Avenue Baptist Church for over 20 years. Her love for serving and volunteering has no boundaries. She has assisted missionaries in Peru and Paraguay and is currently part of a non-profit that helps teenagers in Mexico.

Kony has been serving as a Christian school teacher for 15 years and absolutely loves it. 4th grade has been her specialty along with teaching music. Outside of the classroom, Kony loves to participate in outdoor activities such as going on hikes.

Kony and her husband have been happily married since 2021, along with their sweet pup Chewy, they live in the north jersey area where they both serve their local church and community.

Morgan Malone

Elementary School Office Manager, Director of Extended Day Programs

EC Start Date: 2022

Education: B.S. - Psychology, SIU Edwardsville

Morgan was born and raised in central Illinois before moving to New Jersey in March of 2021. She spent her undergraduate studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, in the St. Louis metro area, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Educational Data Analysis. She currently resides in New Milford. In Morgan’s free time, she finds herself baking, coaching soccer, going on runs, and spending a large amount of time working in the garden at Cornerstone Christian Church in Wyckoff. Morgan is excited to be a part of the Eastern Christian community!

Bryanne Makus

Preschool Paraprofessional & Elementary School Afterschool Director

EC Start Date: 2022

Education: B.S. - Elementary Education, Cairn University
M.A. - Applied Behavior Analysis, Cairn University

Bryanne has always enjoyed helping others and is excited to be a part of the Eastern Christian School community. She is passionate about helping students grow and reach their potential. When she is not working she enjoys reading (especially fantasy novels!), playing the piano, going to events with her GAP group at Grace Church in Ridgewood, and hanging out with her friends and family.

Nate Ottens

Grades 5-6 Social Studies Teacher, Upper Elementary & Middle School Afterschool

EC Start Date: 2022

Education: AA - Liberal Arts, Sussex County Community College
BA - Secondary Education & Bible, Cairn University

Nate is recently and joyfully married to his wife Melissa. They are living in Hamburg, NJ and attending Sparta Evangelical Free Church where they have served leading Bible studies. Nate was a student at Eastern Christian School growing up until he and his family moved to Sussex County where they continue to live. Nate is passionate about the Bible and appreciates how well it connects to History. He enjoys teaching Biblical truth in hopes that it will inspire his students to seek the Lord fervently wherever He has them go. Apart from education, Nate enjoys exercising, boardgames and fellowshipping.