Val has lived in the Puget Sound area her
entire life. After graduating from Western Washington State College, now
Western Washington University, in 1973 with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Education, she began and ended her public school teaching career at
Showalter Junior High School in the South Central School District in
Tukwila, Washington. For eight years she taught 7th and 8th grade math and
English.
In 1983 when her daughter, Alison, was born, she “retired” to be
a full-time mother at home, a decision she has never regretted. Val first
heard about homeschooling when Alison was about 18 months old. She knew no
one personally who was homeschooling, but after much reading (the few books
that there were!), prayer, and discussions with John, her Boeing employed
husband, it was decided that at age 3 1/2, when all her friends were going
off the pre-school, Alison would remain at home with her mother and baby
brother. During Stephen’s afternoon nap time, Alison and Mom would do
“pretty school”, Alison’s name for pre-school, together, and their learning
together as a family began. Val’s homeschooling career began in 1986 and
officially continued through June of 2002 when Stephen completed his
sophomore year of high school.
Besides homeschooling her two children, Val was involved in the REACHEast
support group in Bellevue before moving to her present home in Enumclaw. In
1993 she and another homeschooling mother began the Enumclaw chapter of
Homeschoolers’ Support Association, and she was chair for four years. Val
has also been involved with the Washington Homeschool Organization in
various capacities. She has served on the board, has been a volunteer
coordinator, has returned phone calls and emails, and has served as the
Region 7 South contact for five years.
For three years in the later mid-90’s Val had a homeschooling “school” in
her house, Neuwaukum Academy. She “taught” other homeschooled children, ages
eight through twelve, along with Alison and Stephen, three days a week.
Besides being a rewarding and unique experience, she had lots of fun with
her “students.”
Val started her homeschool standardized testing career with Debbie Bragonier
in the early 1990’s. (Please see the “History of HTS").
In 1994 she began offering non-test assessments to homeschoolers in the
Enumclaw area and would average about 25 assessments per year by word of
mouth. She has so enjoyed meeting both the parents and the children while
providing this valuable service to homeschooling families over the past 10
years.
Currently, Val is experiencing the empty nest syndrome. Alison is serving
God in missions in Latin America and Stephen is in his second semester of a
two year Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program at Washington
State University.
However, in spite of fewer mouths to feed, less laundry to do, and many
hours of time to herself, Val’s life is busy. Living on five acres leaves
one with never a dull moment. She and her husband enjoy working in their
small orchard, planting and harvesting from their vegetable gardens, and
taking care of their animals, which includes newborn lambs every spring.
They are also enjoying being part of a missions-focused small group at their
church, as well as being involved with missionaries and mission agencies
worldwide.
Homeschooling remains a very important part of Val’s life as she continues
offering tutoring and consulting to homeschool families,
volunteering her time with WHO, and operating Homeschool Test Service.
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