SCOPE's Scripture
Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Helpful Resources
Speaker Biographies
Dennie Booth
Dennie and her husband, George began their homeschooling journey back in 1997. They completed this trek with the graduation of their son in 2010 who is finishing his first year of college. Almost immediately, she became actively involved in the local SCOPE Chat Group, serving as a Chat Group leader for two years. In addition, she has served as the SCOPE Project Fair Coordinator for two years, been part of the SCOPE Homeschool Conference Committee since 2008, and is currently serving on the SCOPE Board as the chairman. Her passion has been and continues to be to mentor and encourage other homeschooling moms providing workshops covering a variety of topics from How to Begin, Planning Out the School Year, Teaching Science, and Teaching High School.
Marilee Nicoll Coots
Marilee and her husband, Calvin, educated their daughters at home for 11 years. While searching for ways to address learning and attention needs in their home school, they were introduced to the neurodevelopment approach and utilized it to improve the way their children could learn.
Marilee has been certified and in private practice since 1995. She has received advanced training in Neurodevelopment, Samonas Sound Therapy, Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson’s Oral Motor Therapy, and Rhythmic Movement Training. She is one of the founders of the International Christian Association of Neurodevelopmentalists, ICAN. She is currently certified by that organization and serves as its secretary.
Her clients include children and adults with chromosome disorders, developmental delays, sensory issues, auditory processing disorders, attention deficits and learning disabilities. Most of her clients are being educated at home. Website link: http://www.help-with-learning.com
Gwen Devereux
Gwen is a full-time homemaker, teacher and mother of five children who has been privately educating her children for nearly two decades. A native of Northern California, Gwen graduated from Nevada Union High School in Grass Valley. After spending a year living in Germany as a foreign exchange student, Gwen became fluent in German and French.
Upon her return to the United States, Gwen majored in General Engineering and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from California State University, Sacramento. As a young woman with an engineering degree, Gwen was recruited by a number of aerospace firms. Prior to starting a family, Gwen spent five years working for GenCorp’s Aerojet General and the Rockwell Corporation (Rocketdyne). Gwen’s expertise is in rocket engines and propulsion. She has worked on a number of classified and top secret projects, as well as the liquid and solid fuel rockets used by NASA in the Space Shuttle program.
For the past 25 years, Gwen has been married to her husband, Stan. Their two oldest children have already graduated from high school and are currently enrolled in college earning high marks in all of their courses. Gwen has been an been a member and advocate for SCOPE since 1995. In addition to serving on the SCOPE Board, Gwen has been a chat group leader since 2003. In June 2010, Gwen was named Administrator of a Private School Program, the American Christian Academy (South Area Extension Campus). Gwen is active in her church community and is committed to assisting other families learn how to educate their children at home.
Deanne “Deedee” Eldridge
DeeDee and her husband, Don, have been teaching at home, obeying the mandate from the Lord set forth in Deuteronomy 6, since their first child was born over 22 years ago. She has a passion for learning that has grown out of doing so right along with her children, and she seizes every opportunity to encourage others in the exciting journey of home education. Mrs. Eldridge has been a teacher of the Word for over twenty five years and has a zeal for the Lord and a love for His people, especially those in the homeeducating community. She shares out of a desire to help every parent discover how to make learning fun and stress-free, emphasizing the balance between spiritual and academic training.
Mrs. Eldridge is in the process of writing 3 books; one tentatively titled “Hebrew Versus Greek Education – a Study in Thought and Contrast” looks at the striking difference between the biblical training the heart and the secular teaching the mind, and adapting and writing her own original scripts. Deedee was a leader in SCOPE for 12 years, and is now focusing more on expanding her local theatre company, which began 10 years ago teaching privately home-educated students the craft of theatre from a Biblical world view. Deedee and Don, along with her four blessings (2 now graduated) reside in Folsom, California, where they also pastor a local congregation.
Martha Falk
As a Rotary International foreign exchange student, Martha spent a year in Bolivia, South America learning Spanish through immersion. Returning from that adventure, she studied Spanish and biology, receiving bachelor’s degrees in both fields from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. She has been employed by school districts to work with children in their bilingual programs and she has served in a Spanish speaking population counseling women and teaching nutrition classes. Utilizing her experience and wanting to teach her children Spanish, she has written a Spanish curriculum for elementary age children. SCOPE has played a significant role in her 18 year home schooling journey and she has successfully graduated four sons. She now teaches Spanish with The Potter’s School, an online school, Christian organizations, as well as, high school Spanish 1 & 2 classes in her home.
Elizabeth FitzGerald, M.S.
Elizabeth is a Christian wife and mother, has over 24 years experience working in education. She is a credentialed Special Day Class teacher and a former Speech and Language Pathologist. She and her husband David have been home schooling their 3 children for 13 years. Liz has taught a number of home school writing classes and serves as an educational consultant to the home school community. As an Endorsed Seminar Trainer for 16 years, Liz conducts seminars for home educators in the use of Spell to Write and Read. She provides ongoing support for users of the program through an internet support group, personal consultation, and with her blog and web site. She authored the book Cursive First: An Introduction to Cursive Penmanship. She holds classes for junior high girls in the area of personal purity.
Kendra Fletcher
Kendra is the homeschooling mother of eight, ages 18 down to 3. She has never known what it means to homeschool without the presence of preschoolers, and loves to encourage other moms beginning their homeschool journeys with little ones underfoot. Her website and blog can be found at www.preschoolersandpeace.com
Bradford Hansen-Smith
The first part of my life was as a sculptor. Thirty years ago in taking a geometry course about the work of Buckminster Fuller I began to question our understanding and use of patterns and the process of spatial formation and transformation. I spent ten years exploring traditional geometry and the patterns of movement and change receiving three US Patents on transformational movement systems. Realizing the circle is whole, which is not the image we draw, and that all other shapes and forms are only parts of the circle, I began to fold circles. Everything we know about patterns, geometry, mathematics, the arts and many other areas that have to do with pattern formation can be demonstrated and taught by simply and directly folding the circle. For twenty years I have been folding circles exploring the patterns and the process of formation. During this time I have been teaching folding circles to students and teachers, in both geometry and art, from the primary grade through college level, have written seven books and produced a DVD about folding the circle.
Jeff Myers (Keynote Speaker)
In the last 20 years Jeff Myers has become one of the most respected authorities on youth leadership development, having trained millions of young adults in the art of cultureshaping leadership. His Secrets of World Changers, Secrets of Great Communicators and Secrets of Everyday Leaders courses have helped tens of thousands of students discover their God-given design, overcome fear in order to communicate the truth with confidence, and lead in a way that restores purpose amidst an aimless generation. As a speaker, Dr. Myers weaves together biblical insight, penetrating social commentary, fascinating research, and hilarious personal stories to motivate and challenge listeners. His inspiring presentations have delighted audiences of teachers, business leaders, parents, and young adults for more than 15 years, renewing their enthusiasm for passing the baton of godly faithfulness to the next generation.
Jennifer Pepito
Jennifer is the homeschooling mother of seven children and happy wife to Scott. She is a contributor to the book, Homeschooling Methods as well as a contributor to various homeschool publications including Home School Enrichment. In late 2008 they returned from Mexico where her husband served for with an orphanage and they helped promote homeschooling. Jennifer enjoys speaking to moms about keeping their eyes on Jesus as they run with endurance the race of life.
Nathan Pierce
Nathan was homeschooled kindergarten through high school and received a B.A. in Political Studies from The Master's College in Santa Clarita, California. Early on, while homeschooling through high school, he decided he wanted to cut firewood for a living. God had other plans. A back injury led Nathan to realize God’s call on his life to pursue a college degree and a career in politics. Nathan now works full-time for Family Protection Ministries where he began as an intern in 2002. He assists Jim Davis of FPM, as a legislative liaison for private homeschooling and speaks at conferences to both homeschool parents and teens. He and his wife Betsy were married in 2004 and have three children. They are involved in their church, and plan to homeschool their own children. `Nathan has worked full-time to protect private homeschooling in California since 2004.
Mike Riggs
Mike, and his wife Carolyn, graduated their two children from home school and have six grandchildren. Their son is a college graduate and he and his wife have one child. Their daughter is the mother of four who are also being homeschooled. Mike and Carolyn are co-founders of Lamp & Quill International, a devotional Bible curriculum, and coauthors of The Trojan Horse in Christian Education. Their focus is based on years of service to children and their families through Sunday schools, Christian school teaching and as the church Director of Christian Education. Carolyn has been credentialed or certified in several states. Mike and Carolyn met while Mike was in college, and they were participating in a college discipleship ministry. Both Mike and Carolyn have focused on helping individuals grow in the Lord and teaching families how to pass on a godly inheritance to their children.
Jennifer Steward
Jennifer openly shares from the heart pearls she has gleaned during her 24+ year homeschooling adventure! She is an author, speaker, teacher, wife, mother of 8 and grandmother of 7! Jennifer has encouraged, inspired, and instructed hundreds of parents nationwide with her popular workshops with an emphasis toward interactive learning using living books and notebooks! She is an expert on The Unit Study method and her enthusiasm for joy filled teaching is contagious! Jennifer is one of The HISTerical Sisters – home educating sisters who teach history in a fun and interactive format via the The Great Homeschool History Tour. www.unitstudies.com Steward Ship (888) 4R-UNITS
Michelle Warmuth
Michelle lives in the California foothills with her Husband, Brandon and their 7 children. They are amateur farmers that love to be outside in Gods creation. They have home educated for 5 years and look forward to many more years of learning along side of their children. Michelle serves along side with her husband as the Commanders at their local Awana Club. She also is a 4H poultry leader and volunteers with Samaritans Purse for Operation Christmas Child. She loves to scrapbook, sew, create and read.
Roxanne Weber
Roxanne is a mother of two adult children and two wild and wooly adolescent homeschool boys. Known for her passion for Jesus and her fierce obedience to Him, she has a practical way of communicating God’s message of mercy and hope in a friendly, casual style. Roxanne lives with her family in the Santa Cruz Mountains and, with her husband, Vince, serves on the Christian Home Educators of CA Regional Advisory Board.
Mike Winther
Mike has a passion to teach the biblical principles of government and economics: principles that were known by many of our founding fathers, but unfortunately were forgotten a generation later. Mike holds a degree in political science from the University of Idaho. He has worked as a professional campaign consultant in Washington and California. He is the President of the Institute For Principle Studies, a Christian “think tank” dedicated to researching and teaching foundational principles of government, economics and history. A frequent speaker at conferences and conventions, Mike and his wife Mary are parents of three home schooled children. Together they coach the Modesto Debate Club which trains high school students in logic, research, public speaking and Christian world-view.