Who are the thrasher raptors?

Director of Schools 

Co-Founder, Thrasher School House

Athena Hammond Thrasher is a Texas- and Idaho-certified special education teacher with over 13 years of classroom experience, as well as a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC). She earned her degree from West Texas A&M University and later completed the Music Therapy program at Sam Houston State University. Athena is also the founder of A Missing Peace Music Therapy, where she has served children and families with diverse learning needs. 

Throughout her career, Athena has worked extensively with students across the neurodiverse spectrum, including those with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and twice-exceptional (2E) profiles. Her professional experience includes both public and specialized private school settings, including serving students in programs designed specifically for gifted learners with additional learning differences. 

As both an educator and a mother of neurodivergent children, Athena brings a uniquely informed perspective to education—one that bridges professional training with lived experience. After years in traditional classroom environments, she began to recognize that many capable and creative students were not being served effectively by conventional educational models. This realization led her to pursue a different approach to learning.

 Through her work at Thrasher School House, Athena focuses on individualized instruction, relationship-based learning, and helping students discover purpose and meaning in their education. Her approach emphasizes building confidence, fostering curiosity, and supporting each student’s unique strengths, while maintaining high expectations for growth and achievement. 

Athena is committed to creating an environment where students are not only academically supported, but also encouraged to think independently, solve problems, and develop a lifelong love of learning.

Director of Educational Innovation & Trades Programs

 Co-Founder, Thrasher School House

Lance Thrasher brings a lifelong passion for teaching, real-world learning, and experiential education to Thrasher School House. His philosophy is simple: the best way to learn is to teach.

Raised in a home that regularly hosted foreign exchange students, Lance was exposed to diverse cultures from an early age. By eleven, he began traveling internationally, experiences that shaped his perspective and fostered a willingness to pursue opportunity and embrace new challenges.

At fifteen, Lance experienced the loss of his father to suicide, an event that shaped his understanding of resilience, mental health, and the importance of communication. These lessons continue to influence his approach to mentorship and student development.

He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management in 2006 and later moved to South Korea to teach English. During this time, he traveled extensively and visited five continents, with the goal of visiting all seven.

After returning to the United States, Lance worked as a substitute teacher before transitioning into Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). In 2020, he founded Lance Thrasher Consulting LLC, where he provides industrial inspection and training services focused on safety, precision, and reliability.

At Thrasher School House, Lance leads the development of hands-on learning and trade-based education, helping students connect academic concepts to real-world applications. He is committed to developing confidence, work ethics, and a broader understanding of the opportunities available to them.

 I am a child of God, a wife and a mother. I graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with my Bachelors in 2009. I am a Texas certified special education teacher, with many years' experience working with differently abled people in many different settings. 

My passion for working with the differently abled started long before that. When I was 9 years old I met my best friend who happened to have been born with cerebral palsy. He was only on this Earth for 2 more years. In that time he taught me more about compassion, acceptance and love than any other person I have ever come across. He taught me that everyone deserves to be loved for who they are not what they can offer! 

Helen Keller once said, "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched- they must be felt with the heart." My goal is to help those around me learn to feel the most beautiful things!  

The Original Raptors!