Meet THEE’s Team
THEE Homeschooling Office Staff, September 2024
Brett B.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Brett homeschooled his three (now adult) children 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 or to the beach.
Education: BS (Computer Science and English Literature) and M.Ed. (Curriculum and Instruction)
Natasha H.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS and FUNDING MANAGER
Natasha has been with THEE homeschooling since 2014. Natasha is a homeschool graduate who lived in Alberta off and on as a child. After deciding to attend the King’s University, she stayed in Edmonton to raise her four children. As THEE’s Director, Natasha enjoys helping families navigate through their homeschool journey, whether it be in the finance department, high school questions, general home education information, or whatever is needed.
Education: BA (Psychology & Sociology)
Kristin M.
OFFICE MANAGER & REGISTRAR
Kristin joined THEE Homeschooling in September 2020. At THEE, Kristin is likely the person who will answer your phone call and who will help with all your funding, registration, PowerSchool, and PO questions.
Kristin is married and has two busy hockey boys. She was raised in Sherwood Park, and she and her husband are now raising their kids in the same community. In the summer, she and her family enjoy getting to the mountains as much as they can where they enjoy their days at the lake enjoying their boat. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys watching hockey and going bike riding. When she has some of that elusive, “spare time”, she enjoys reading mystery novels.
Christie
HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC ADVISOR (DIPLOMA & COURSE CREDITS) and REGISTRAR ASST.
Christie joined THEE Homeschooling as a facilitator many years ago, and she has now joined our office staff.
Christie is a home-schooling mom whose greatest joy has been raising her 4 boys. She has loved having the opportunity to intentionally invest in them by homeschooling them, while at the same time, getting to engage her passion for teaching. She is excited to be involved in encouraging and supporting other homeschooling families as she has the privilege of being a facilitator.
Christie enjoys good coffee, reading, cooking, and cheering her boys on at their soccer and football games.
Nadia
HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMIC ADVISOR (TRADITIONAL/NO ALBERTA ED COURSE CREDITS)
Nadia is one of our amazing facilitators and is also our academic advisor for homeschooling students who are following the traditional home education learning path which does not include Alberta Ed course credits. Nadia is a specialist in helping traditional homeschooling students prepare for a successful application to post-secondary studies.
FACILITATORS
Annual Training Day, August 2019
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Annual Training Day, September 7, 2022
Elise
FACILITATOR
Elise has always loved learning and working with children, so a career in teaching was the perfect fit. She attended The King’s University College in Edmonton, graduating in 2009. After having the opportunity to teach in the classroom in both Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Elise took some time off of work to be with her young family. When her oldest son was ready for kindergarten, Elise decided to “try” homeschooling for the year to see how things went. Along the way, she discovered just how rewarding it was to watch her own kids learn and to see their eyes “light up” with wonder whenever they discovered something new. She is passionate about working with other families as they also explore the wonder and excitement of teaching their children.
Aarin
FACILITATOR
Aarin is a home school graduate born and raised in Northern Alberta. She fell in love with teaching and began her education career in 1993 as a preschool EA. Over the years she has specialized in Elementary Education with an emphasis on reading therapy. After teaching in both the public and private school sectors she returned to the world of home schooling as a facilitator for THEE in 2009. Aarin believes that lifelong learning is an exciting part of life, and she facilitates with energy and passion as she passes that joy onto the families she works with. She and her husband Myles live in central Alberta and spend their free time remodeling homes, creating music, hiking, and mentoring youth and young adults.
Education: B.Ed. in Elementary Education; Certified Reading Therapist for the Potentials Learning Systems program
Ila
FACILITATOR
Since 1992, when our first child was born, we’ve been sold out about homeschooling and unschooling, not just as an educational choice, but as a way of life. Our four kids have absolutely thrived learning through their own interests and real-life adventures. Three of them entered university without traditional high school credits.
Beginning in 2012, we’ve been welcomed into homes as facilitators, supporting families in their individual education journeys. We are big believers in the power of parental choice and love celebrating each child’s unique giftedness and strengths with their parents. Working together as a couple, we have discovered, brings a unique dynamic to each facilitation visit.
When we’re not working, you can find us enjoying life, forever students who use the world as our classroom. We love connecting, learning, and sharing life’s ups and downs with everyone we meet.
Sara
FACILITATOR
Sara completed her Bachelor of Education degree in 2009 through the University of Alberta in the Teacher Education North program. Her teaching career started as a substitute teacher working from grade 1 to grade 10. Sara taught for 4 years at Harry Balfour school in Grande Prairie where she taught grades 4 to 8 during her time there. Sara has been homeschooling her 2 sons for 5 years in the Grande Prairie area and is so thankful that God has graciously allowed her the opportunity to be able to be with her family full-time. Sara enjoys the outdoors, hiking, gardening, nature and talking about the joys of homeschooling and the many benefits that it brings.
Nadia MACP, M. Ed., CCC
FACILITATOR
Tanya
FACILITATOR
From the time that Tanya was a little girl, the only thing she wanted to do was become a teacher.Her friends really “appreciated” playing school with her always being the teacher!After getting her Bachelor of Education degree in Edmonton, she and her husband started a family, and after a difficult Kindergarten year for the oldest they decided to homeschool for one year…4 children and 16 years of homeschooling later, they are done homeschooling….until the grand-babies arrive, that is!Their oldest son has his BSc. degree in Biology with a minor in Math and Chemistry, plus a BEd. degree and is currently teaching up north for his second year…and loves it!Their second son has his BSc in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies…and is currently at university getting his Education degree.Their only daughter has her BSc. in Biology and Chemistry, and is currently getting her Education degree.Their youngest son is currently working on his Science degree, and he plans to become a teacher…The love of teaching & science just might run in the family!
The summer of 2021 brought in more adventure to their lives! Tanya and her husband welcomed into their family two more children through marriage…a new son (in-law) and a new daughter (in-law) with the marriage of two of their children…and hopefully grandchildren in the years to come!
Tanya believes encouraging and supporting parents in the education of their children is important, and that each family and child’s educational journey is unique. She also believes that home education is a wonderful way to allow children to have success in learning and an amazing opportunity to learn and grow as a family while building strong relationships in a nurturing and loving environment.
Tanya is an Alberta certified teacher and has taught in public school as a teacher and a substitute teacher since 1994.She has taught every grade of students, to include first year college courses at Portage College in Lac La Biche.
Shannon
FACILITATOR
Shannon Knopp was homeschooled from kindergarten to 8th grade and then attended PACeS, an online school, to finish her high school. Shannon attended Burman University and graduated with a Bachelors of Education specializing in Elementary. She has taught for two years, online and in a multi-grade classroom. Shannon has always been passionate about homeschooling and is excited to be a facilitator to help families with their at home learning and be there to support and guide them in whichever way she can.
In Shannon’s free time, she enjoys farm animals, game nights, skating, gardening, walks, and watching sunsets and sunrises.
Education: B. Ed.
Lise
FACILITATOR
Lise taught in the public school system for 8 years. She is passionate about student learning and engagement. She loves to watch children burst with pride when they have achieved a challenging goal. Watching the wonder of a child and following their interests is one of her favourite things to experience. Lise taught Speech and Language Pre-K with the public school system before teaching grade one. After one year of teaching grade one, Lise started a family of her own. Her 2 little boys are 2 and 4. Lise is very excited about the prospects of homeschooling her own children in just a few short years. She is excited to learn as much as she can about homeschooling in order to best help the families she is working with as well as her own children.
Immie
FACILITATOR
Becky
FACILITATOR
Bonnie
FACILITATOR
Bonnie Ragan enjoyed teaching in the Elk Island School district for over twenty years, but she always wanted to homeschool her own two children. This never became a reality, but she now has the enjoyment of being part of all six of her grandchildren’s homeschooling journey and of the THEE families she works with 🙂
Bonnie has invested in developing youth leaders and teams much of her life, and she loves the opportunity for building strong families and for developing leadership skills that are tailored to a child’s gifting and interests. In addition to supporting her home educating THEE families, Bonnie works through her business, ULTIMATE U, to help people discover their strengths, understand others, and create thriving relationships.
Christine
FACILITATOR
Christine and her family jumped into homeschooling in 2008 when their four kids were already part-way through public school. She was seeking a way to customize each child’s education to his or her abilities and interests, as well as to focus on their family’s priorities, and home education has been a beautiful way to do that. She savoured the frequent field trips, fantastic read-alouds, and ample family time that the homeschooling lifestyle allows. Their local homeschool support group was an valued community for both Christine and her children since day one, and Christine has helped organize their sports program and co-op-style classes. With her own kids having grown out of homeschooling, she is excited to support other families and encourage them to enjoy the benefits of their own tailor-made version of home education. She still has the mummified chicken from the first year of learning at home as an enduring memento!
Jacquie
FACILITATOR
Jacquie and her husband have been homeschooling their 4 daughters with THEE since 2002. During this time, they have seen 2 graduate, and 2 are still at home striving toward that goal. Now with a little more time on her hands, Jacquie is excited to be in her role as home education facilitator and to have the opportunity to encourage and support others on their homeschool journey. Jacquie enjoys spending time with her daughters and their friends, reading, and volunteering with Pregnancy Care Centre.
Education: B. Ed. (Secondary Education); BJU Test Administrator
Heather
FACILITATOR
Heather taught in the public section for nine years before deciding to homeschool her four young children. At the time her oldest daughter was only six. While trying to learn strategies and techniques that worked for her family she felt the need for networking and support. Reaching out and trying to build networks with other young homeschooling families motivated her to become a facilitator for THEE. She believes that homeschooling is unique for every family and that being able to network and share ideas helps as families grow develop their homeschooling techniques and strategies. Heather is wanting to help build those networking bridges by offering curriculum based learning days open to all ages for children (and parents) to come together and learn and build relationships. In her spare time Heather and her family run a small hobby farm in northern Alberta and promote eating local farm direct food.
Kathy
FACILITATOR
Helping families to successfully navigate the homeschooling journey has been my passion for the last 15 years. I have been privileged to work with many families whose creativity, enthusiasm and dedication has truly inspired me to be a better person. This is my third year being a facilitator with THEE, and each day is a gift. I get to dialogue with families about their most precious gift, their children, and watch these parents be a catalyst for the educational growth of their families.
My 30 years of experience teaching students from Grade 1-12 has blessed me with knowledge of resources and strategies that I humbly share with parents. However, I have learned that the power is in the parents who support, nurture and empower the growth of their children. I am merely invited along as an as a fortunate observer and cheerleader. I feel lucky everyday to be invited to observe the dedication of my families to the education and progress of their children.
I look forward to working with any families who choose to homeschool with THEE.
Kristy
FACILITATOR
Bio to follow
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Christie
FACILITATOR
Christie is a home-schooling mom whose greatest joy has been raising her 4 boys. She has loved having the opportunity to intentionally invest in them by homeschooling them, while at the same time, getting to engage her passion for teaching. She is excited to be involved in encouraging and supporting other homeschooling families as she has the privilege of being a facilitator.
Christie enjoys good coffee, reading, cooking, and cheering her boys on at their soccer and football games.
Elise
FACILITATOR
Looking back on their homeschooling journey, Elise and her husband have great joy in seeing the close family relationships and the strong moral compass that their grown children now have. As a facilitator, Elise seeks to be an encourager and a resource to other families who have decided to educate their children at home. Prior to having her own children, Elise taught children who are deaf, as well as hearing children of deaf parents. Additionally, she taught a language-oriented preschool program and a French language course at a secondary school, in Africa.
Education: B.A., B.Ed., and Early Childhood Education graduate diploma; American Sign Language (ASL) advanced level.
Jill
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.
Education: B. Ed. from the University of Alberta in Elementary Education, and a Diploma in Early Childhood Services.
