About Me

My students call me Ms. Joan. I’m an educator, evaluator, and curriculum writer with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Education specializing in neuroscience and trauma.

I’ve been homeschooling and unschooling my own children since 2011, across eight different states. That experience gives me a real, lived understanding of how education can look outside of a traditional system and still be deeply effective. I am well versed in Colorado homeschool law and a member of HSLDA, which allows me to provide evaluations that are both legally sound and genuinely supportive to families.

I offer homeschool evaluations in Colorado that are thorough, gentle, and non judgmental. My goal is not to add pressure, but to reflect your child’s growth clearly and encourage you in the work you are already doing.

My graduate research led to my book, Pausing to Care: The Importance of Emotional Regulation in Children’s Ministry. Through this work, I partner with churches and Christian schools to help them build trauma informed environments where children are able to feel safe, regulated, and ready to learn.

In addition, I write curriculum grounded in neuroscience and real world application. My work blends strong academics with an understanding of how the brain learns best, making education more meaningful and lasting for students.

Everything I do is built around one core idea. When children feel safe and understood, they are far more capable of learning than we often expect.

I am available for tutoring in core subjects like reading, writing, and math and I lead nature study photography groups around the greater Colorado Springs, CO area.