Brett Bowers
Director and High School Coordinator
Brett is a home-schooling father of three and has teaching, tutoring, and administration experience in public, private, and home education programs. In his "free time", Brett enjoys hiking, camping, skiing, and just about anything that gets him into the mountains.
Education: BS (Computer Science and English Literature) and M.Ed. (Curriculum and Instruction)
brett(at)thee.ca
Bob Milligan
General Manager
Bob has been serving home school families here in Alberta and here at thee for 18 years as general manager and so much more. Starting in 1994, Bob has seen thee grow from 150 students to over 1,000 students and has seen home schooling grow, mature, and strengthen over the years. Bob is thee's link to its past while being the guide to its future. Bob enjoys hunting with his son and grandsons (sometimes they even get out of the truck!).
bob(at)thee.ca
Debbie Smith
Family Services Coordinator
Biographical sketch coming soon.
office(at)thee.ca
Brenda Acheson
Facilitator
Brenda Acheson has home schooled her four sons since 1993. With the older two now graduated, she is helping her youngest two through junior high and high school. Before having her own children, she taught kids with learning problems in public and private schools. These experiences, along with tutoring, led her to an increased interest in home schooling as an option for families who want to “do school” according to their own priorities and learning styles. She loves to see students discover and pursue their individual passions--this can happen so easily in a home school environment. Her hobbies include music, reading, swimming, and walking in nearby Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary.
brendaa(at)thee.ca
Cindy Dextraze
Facilitator
Cindy taught elementary school for 7 years before the birth of her son. Being a "stay at home mom" gradually morphed into being a "homeschooling mom." She spent 13 years homeschooling her son (Kindergarten to grade 12) and her niece (grade 2 to grade 12). She has been a facilitator with thee for 7 years. Now that both her son and her niece have graduated, Cindy has a LOT of spare time on her hands. She fills this with reading, writing, tutoring (see our thee+ tutoring program), and some volunteer work.
Education: B.Ed. (Elementary Education) from the University of Alberta with emphasis on Early Childhood Education and Language Arts
cindyd(at)thee.ca
Aarin Gillespie
Facilitator
Aarin is a home school graduate born and raised in Northern AB. She fell in love with teaching and began her education career in 1993 as a preschool EA. After grade 12 she went on to complete her Reading Therapy certificate through Potentials Learning Systems and then on to Canadian University College in Lacombe, Alberta. Aarin graduated cum laude from Union College, Nebraska, CUC Campus in 2005; she specialized in Elementary Education and received many bursaries and academic awards during her time there.
After teaching in public and private school sectors for several years, she returned to the world of home schooling as a facilitator for thee. Aarin believes learning is an exciting part of life, and she facilitates with energy and passion in hopes that she can pass that joy on to others. Providing reading therapy for kids and adults as well as substitute teaching keep Aarin busy during the year. She and her husband Myles live in central Alberta where they run a youth ministry and spend any free time they can remodeling homes, creating music, hiking in the mountains, and organizing canoeing expeditions.
Education: B.Ed. (Elementary Education); certified reading therapist for the Potentials Learning Systems program
aaring(at)thee.ca
Marie Kiist
Facilitator
Marie was a public school teacher for 3 years before she became a parent and decided to stay home with her family. She then discovered homeschooling and started her home schooling journey by teaching her 2 boys at home with the aid of her very wonderful husband. Both her boys have since graduated from home schooling, yet Marie still remains as a home school facilitator and thee+ tutor. She has been a home school facilitator since 1998 and has continued to be a substitute teacher to keep her eye on what goes on in public schools. She started team teaching/tutoring high school English and Social classes in 2009, and these have been very rewarding for her. She enjoys life on the farm with her husband, and in some of her spare time she plays the baritone saxophone with the Flat Iron Jazz band in Lacombe.
Education: B.Ed. (Elementary Education) from the University of Alberta
mariek(at)thee.ca
Eleanor Mitchell
Facilitator
Eleanor Mitchell retired from public school after seven years of teaching to be at home with her children. She and her husband home educated their two children, during which time she realized quality education includes more than just academics. Eleanor has been a facilitator with thee since 1996, and she particularly enjoys working with families using non-traditional learning styles. In her spare time, she pursues various hands-on projects, classical guitar studies, and traveling.
Favourite Quotes:
Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death; Imagination is more important than knowledge; It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.
--Albert Einstein
In ancient times, the purpose of education was for children to be near the finest adults possible to absorb their wisdom, their values, and the way they dealt with feelings and relationships. Should it not be so today?
--Sally L. Smith (No Easy Answers: The Learning Disabled Child at Home and at School)
eleanorm(at)thee.ca
Kathy Put
Facilitator
Kathy and her husband Peter have been home educating for more than twenty years. Two of their children have completed university degrees, studying at MacEwan College, Ambrose University College, and the University of Calgary. Another is currently studying at the University of Alberta. The youngest is still home schooling and in her seventh year of a traditional home education program. She enjoys encouraging families to find the home education path that suits their children's needs. In her spare time, she spins and knits. Currently Kathy owns three spinning wheels and too much wool.
Education: B. Ed. (Secondary Education) from the University of Regina with a major in English
kathyp(at)thee.ca
Elise Twa
Facilitator
Elise Twa, and her husband Stephen, who is a chemistry instructor at NAIT, homeschooled their four children from kindergarten to high school levels. As Elise and Stephen look back on their homeschooling journey, they have great joy in seeing the close family relationships and the strong moral compass that their children now have as a guide. Having been a facilitator with The Home Education Exchange since 1995, Elise seeks to be an encourager and a resource to other families who have decided to educate their children at home and be the primary caretakers, protectors, nurturers, trainers, and teachers of their children.
Prior to having her children, Elise, who has a strong background in language development, taught children who are deaf, as well as hearing children of deaf parents. In addition, while in West Africa, she taught a language-oriented preschool program and a French language course at a secondary school.
Education: B.A. (Psychology and Linguistics), B.Ed. (Elementary, Junior High, and Special Education), and a graduate diploma in Early Childhood Education; American Sign Language (ASL) Levels 1 & 2 from Grant MacEwan
eliset(at)thee.ca
Jill Wiesinger
Facilitator
Although I worked in a private Christian school for four years before having children of my own, the most memorable years of my life have been those of parenting and homeschooling my two children, who are now young adults. Since that time, and for the past number of years, I have had the privilege of working as a facilitator with thee. This role has allowed me the wonderful opportunity to pursue my passion of supporting and encouraging homeschool parents in their challenging task of training, shaping, and preparing their children for life. I look forward to my home visits, and I am so inspired and grateful to be able to meet face to face with the parents and their exceptional children.
jillw(at)thee.ca
Debbie Zepick
Facilitator
After teaching public school for eight years, Debbie Zepick "retired" to homeschool her two sons. She has been a homeschool facilitator for almost twenty years now and also loves to direct the Central Alberta Homeschool Choir and to produce musicals with homeschooled high school students. While guiding her own sons through high school, Debbie began to develop high school tutorial groups around her kitchen table. This has gradually expanded to include students via video conferencing, and Debbie is excited that thee+ will now provide even more opportunities for high school students. She has recorded a number of cds of original Christian music and also loves to share that part of her life with others. Please visit www.debbiezepick.com to learn more about Debbie's passion for sharing and communicating God's love through singing and worship.
Education: B.Ed. (Elementary Education) from the University of Alberta; Royal Conservatory of Toronto Associateship in Piano Performance
debbiez(at)thee.ca
