The Faculty of Western Academy

Jeffrey P. Presberg, Headmaster, Teacher

Jeff was a member of the administrative council, head of the lower school, director of the summer programs, director of the school play, and an upper school literature teacher at The Heights School. He worked at The Heights for fifteen years, where he has taught classes in the middle school, lower school, upper school, coached middle school sports, and gained extensive administrative experience. He has a BA in Literature and Masters of Humanities from the University of Dallas.

Austin Hatch, Assistant Headmaster, Athletic Director, Teacher

Austin brings 14 years of teaching and coaching experience to Western Academy.  He studied English and played basketball at CUA as an undergraduate.  He then began his teaching and coaching career at St. John's College High School in Washington, DC working in the English department and serving as assistant coach on the varsity basketball team.  In the summers he earned an M.A. in the Liberal Arts in St. John's Great Books Program.  In 2004 he moved to The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland, where he taught eighth and tenth grade English, directed the senior thesis program, headed the lower school, and coached the varsity basketball team.

Christopher J. Carroll, Director of Admissions, Teacher

Chris serves Western Academy as Director of Admissions and is the fourth grade homeroom teacher. He was the Technical Sales Manager for Isothermal Protective Coatings, and spent two years as a youth Minister on the Iron Range in Northern Minnesota. He received a BA in Theology and Biology from St. Mary's College in Winona, Minnesota, and a Masters of Theology from the university of Dallas.

John Creech, Teacher

John Creech teaches Earth and Life Science as well as Math and Latin at Western Academy. He is also the Center for the American Idea's Academic Director and an attorney, licensed to practice law in Texas. John also has seven years experience in secondary education. Prior to practicing law, he taught English and Latin at St. Thomas High School and St. Pius X High School. Before joining the Center for the American Idea, John practiced law full-time, specializing in healthcare regulatory law and litigation. John received a BA in Philosophy with minor concentrations in English and Classics from the University of St. Thomas, completed doctoral coursework in Philosophy at Rice University and earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center.

Jason Hebert, Teacher and Coach

Jason is the 3rd grade homeroom teacher; he also teaches art, and coaches football and track at Western Academy. He was a lower school homeroom and art teacher at The Heights School. He taught high school art at Klein High School for four years before joining The Heights faculty in 2008. Prior to teaching, he played professional football (Chargers, Titans) during the 2002-2003 season. He received a B.A. in studio art from Rice university, where he accumulated multiple all-conference honors as a safety. He attended high school at Klein High School (Spring, TX).

Alex Hoff, Teacher

Alex graduated with a BA from the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. While attending UCLA he also studied Spanish in Madrid, Spain and worked for a feature film casting agency. After college he continued to work in the film and television industry, developing films and television programs at FOX, HBO, and The Weinstein Company in both Hollywood and New York City. He moved to Houston in 2007 and became a middle school English teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic School.In 2010 he joined the faculty at Western Academy as 5th grade homeroom teacher.

Doug Klatt, Teacher

Doug Klatt comes to Western Academy with 15 years of teaching experience in both public and private schools. He has taught Spanish, History and Music. He created a Spanish program for the entire K-8 student population at the Academy of Our Lady in Waukegan, Illinois before coming to Western Academy. He provided music lessons to individual students and directed the music for the masses as well. Before that, Doug taught Spanish at Glenbrook South High School for 7 years. He began his teaching career at Northridge Preparatory School in Niles, Illinois where he taught History for 3 years. Doug is also an accomplished musician and composer who has performed with numerous bands. He has taught private lessons in guitar, piano, voice and violin for the past 10 years. Doug graduated with a BA in History from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. He received a MA in History from the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City, Mexico where he was honored with being class valedictorian.

John E. Rocha, Sr., Director of Development, Teacher

John is the religion teacher, tutors fourth grade math, and teaches history, while serving as Director of Advancement at Western Academy. He has been involved in education in Houston since 1995. John taught at his alma mater, St. Thomas High School, for four and half years. From 1999 - 2009, John continued to work in education at the Center for the American Idea, both as Academic Director and as Director of Institutional Advancement. He has been an adjunct professor in the English Department at the University of St. Thomas since 2005, and has been teaching high school students at Children of the Holy House program since 2004. John is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in literature. He received a BA in Politics from the University of Dallas and a Masters of Liberal Arts from the University of St. Thomas.