Faculty and Staff

Carmen graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from University of British Columbia in Vancouver before spending a year in Telluride, Colorado where she lived off the grid on 80 acres of land. She then moved back to Canada where she completed her Bachelor of Education at University of Calgary, with a special focus on experiential education for at-risk students. While completing her B.Ed, Carmen volunteered at the Calgary Young Offender Centre as a one-on-one mentor with incarcerated youth. She taught junior and senior high school social studies and sciences at Morley Community School, where she also coached the junior and senior high school girls’ volleyball teams, and participated in a YMCA youth exchange program taking students to Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. While teaching full-time on the Stoney Nakoda First Nations, Carmen completed her Masters in Education with a specialization in Teacher Leadership. Carmen conducted an action research project on gang awareness and prevention. Her capstone project was the development and implementation of a program for pregnant and parenting students. Carmen worked one on one and in small groups supporting teen parents as they worked to complete their high school education.

Carmen’s passion for alternative and experiential education dovetailed into homeschooling, once Carmen had her own children. As a parent to three children with ADHD and other exceptionalities, Carmen sought to create a learning approach and environment that would best meet the needs of her own children. Carmen finds that her children thrive with ample opportunities for outdoor exploration, play, sports and delight-directed learning. Her children also enjoy unit studies, where they can approach high-interest subjects through great books, hands-on activities and field trips.