Support for Christian Parenting and Homeschooling
About Christie
Nice to meet you! I’m Christie, one half of The Savvy Educator. I’m a wife of more than twenty years and mom to three.
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I grew up in Florida with visions of an independent, career-oriented life in Europe, maybe involving a husband and kids someday. God smiled while I dreamed and pursued.
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The Europe idea never really worked out (thank goodness!). Instead, I married right after college and had my first child a couple years later. I assumed the brand new public elementary school a couple blocks away from our home would be just great for her. Though she was just a toddler, I started checking into it. Surprisingly, this turned out to be a closed door! “Hmmmm,” I thought. “I didn’t expect this, but it looks like we’ll be sending her to private school.” I started looking into this: another closed door!
Not having ever really considered homeschooling, my husband and I weren’t sure how these two closed doors were going to work out. Then we heard from our dear friend Robbin. She invited us to join a small group of people praying about starting a community school – a hybrid combining classroom teaching, homeschool, and a Christ-centered community. Next thing you know, we were board members and founders of this wonderful new community. Since then, I’ve been administrator, part-time home schooler, and sometimes classroom teacher at NorthBay. I’ve also been full-time high school homeschooler to my oldest child, and our two oldest completed their last two years of high school dual enrolled at our local community college.
It’s a privilege to share with you the blessings, wisdom, and encouragement I’ve received and gleaned from others over the past couple of decades on the non-traditional-education journey. I continue to learn every day – from my own children, those I teach, and the wonderful fellow “non-traditionals” in our community.
About Robbin
Hi. My name is Robbin. I married my college sweetheart, Philip, in 1989 and we have had the privilege to love and guide (to the best of our ability) two precious daughters.
When my eldest child was about two and a half, I started seeking guidance on a plan for her education. She would be at school for over six hours every day, and I wanted to select just the right place. I wanted a school that had strong academics and teachers who were warm but also in control of their classrooms and a school where my child’s character would be intentionally developed. In short, I wanted a school that valued everything my husband and I valued. It would not be enough for the school to just have these values as their stated mission, but it also needed to be what they consistently delivered. I knew it was a tall order.
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What came as the greatest surprise was when I felt I was supposed to stop looking for such a school, but instead to found one! I was certain I was not qualified for such an endeavor. However, with the grace of God, I have gotten to witness the leadership of our school successfully delivering to families what we desired for our own.
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I’m grateful for all the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege to work and partner with over the years, but I hold the school co-founder, and my dear friend Christie Dittmer, in the highest regard, and I’m thrilled to be taking the next step in our journey together as we make ourselves available to those who desire to learn from our experiences (both positive and not so positive) as home and professional educators.