Facilitators
Alberta Education requires two assessments per year by a certificated teacher in the employ of your school board. WISDOM's policy for our facilitators is to hire certificated teachers who also home school their own children. Your facilitator is there to help you reach your goals in educating your children, while at the same time satisfying government requirements.
Click on Read more on each one to view the full bio, as well as access phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Michele has been married to Mike since 1985 (30 years and counting) and has come to WISDOM with an array of family life experiences given the children with which they have been blessed.
Their home schooling adventure began in 1994, having 'bumped' into some home schooling families both at church and in the community. An introductory meeting at a Homeschooling presentation ignited their openness to embarking on the adventure. Upon moving to Lamont, 40 minutes east of Edmonton, the Barters slipped quietly into town and began to homeschool their 4 children. Michele was thrilled (most of the time) to be able to have her children home with her.
Joan Bishop has been a WISDOM facilitator since 2011. She feels very privileged to meet with home schooling families, coming alongside parents with support and encouragement. She is a strong homeschooling advocate who firmly believes that this is the way to raise children from within close, caring families. She believes that educating children within family is of God's ancient paths; the way of the past that works.
Paul and I have been married for 23 years and we have 9 children: Julie (22), Rolland (20), Danielle (18), Natalie (16), Mario (13), Adam (11), Kateri (9), John Paul (6), and Rose (3). We began homeschooling in 1999 and have cherished every moment on the journey. We began homeschooling so we could have the freedom to pass on our beliefs and values to our children. We felt that homeschooling was the best way to do so, because we would simply have more time with them. Homeschooling has been everything we hoped it would be and more. God is so good! Thankfully, our journey is not over and we have many more adventures yet to be had with our younger children. Recently we moved to the farm in Westlock and my husband is now a full-time farmer, enabling him to be even more involved in homeschooling and family life.
Randy has served with WISDOM for the past eighteen years. Randy and Catie are now empty nesters with special privileges: getting to lick the beaters yourself, have dessert any night of the week, sleep in until any hour of the day and have pie for breakfast! For the past 29 years near Edson, Randy and Catie have raised and educated their four children, Nathan, Joshua, Esther and Reuben, who are now all flapping their wings.
Troy is a former Anglican who became a Catholic in the summer of 2005 after being instructed in the faith by the Fathers of the Toronto Oratory. The majority of his career was spent in Edmonton where in addition to his constant involvement in church music, he was the Artistic Director of the community choral programme Cantemus Canada and Principal Conductor of the orchestra Ludemus - Classical Garage Band. In 2010 Troy received the Excellence in Catholic Teaching Award from the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association for his teaching in Catholic Schools. Previous to his becoming the Director of Music at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and Programme Director of the Holy House of Our Lady & St. John, he was the Chaplain and Head of Religious Studies at J.H. Picard Catholic School in Edmonton. The Lamoureuxs are dedicated homeschoolers and reside in Airdrie.
Mark began as a facilitator with WISDOM in 1998. He has journeyed with so many beautiful families in the years since. He and his wife, Lorena, have four children. They live with their two youngest children, Tamara and Daniel, in the beautiful lake community of Sundance in Calgary. They enjoy the many activities of both rural and urban life. They are blessed to have their two older children and their spouses living nearby. Sarah and her husband Ben live in Red Deer. Scott and his wife Mariela live in Calgary.
Simon grew up in rural Alberta, and was home schooled from kindergarden through grade 12. He attended California's Thomas Aquinas College in 2005, and came home to Alberta with a BA and his wife, Nicole. He continued his education at Concordia in Edmonton, receiving his B.Ed in 2011. After that, he taught jr. high with the separate school in Cold Lake for several years before joining the WISDOM team as facilitator in Summer of 2014. He continues to make time for his many hobbies that include music, sailing, BBQing, photography and many outdoor pursuits. Simon and Nicole have three daughters and a son.
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
– St. Catherine of Siena
Home education has allowed Nicole to do just that, and prepared her for the journey that God wants to lead her on. Nicole Painchaud grew up in Central Alberta. She was home schooled with WISDOM Home Schooling from birth to grade 12 and if she could have continued home schooling through university, she would have done that too. After graduating, Nicole completed a Certificate in Canadian Youth Ministry Studies, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music and a Bachelor of Elementary Education Degree. Nicole has taught private piano lessons, served a year with Pure Witness Ministries, worked as a Team Member at Our Lady of Victory Camp, and worked as a Youth Ministry Coordinator. She has spent the last year teaching K-4 Elementary Music in Sherwood Park and is very excited to begin her journey with the WISDOM family. She enjoys playing piano, writing, gardening, reading about the lives of the saints and teachings of the church, being involved in family/youth ministry within her church community, and enjoys the peacefulness of country life (including the simplicity and hard but very rewarding work).
Sue and her husband Dean have been married more than 30 years, and have four sons - Josh, Ben, Jesse, and David - whom they educated at home through high school and beyond. Sue loved the time spent at home as a family, learning and growing together. The kitchen table became the center of numerous discussions, debates, questions, and discoveries. “Why?” was always encouraged and truth was mined from readings, studies, conversations, and more questions.
Our family began on July 29, 1983, when Daniel and I were married. Today we serve our Lord in Lac La Biche, Alberta. God has given us 5 treasures to nurture. Our three daughters are happily married (to former home educators) and our grandchildren have started coming! Our two sons are pursuing their careers.
Diane and I met in high school and were married in 1981 in Calgary. Before our children were born, Diane taught English and French in senior and junior high school. I was formerly a Financial Analyst, then made a career change and became a high school Physics and Chemistry teacher. I was blessed to be offered a position with WISDOM in the fall of 1997 and am now in my 18th year of facilitating. Diane and I have also volunteered together in our church in the marriage preparation ministry for many years.
My wife, Joyce, and I have been blessed with six children, all of whom are grown and gone from home. We are thrilled to now have grandchildren on their home education journey and to walk alongside the second generation of home educators!
Since 1992, Glenn has held variety of positions within the educational field along with working extensively within the home school community as a homeschooling facilitator with WISDOM. He seeks to serve home school families by encouraging them in their capacity to form their children and achieve the goals that have been placed on their minds and hearts.
He and his wife have always home schooled their children and upon completion of their oldest child’s high schooling at home in 2015, they found multiple post-secondary options available to her. The success Glenn and his wife have found in preparing their children for a future after home schooling only serves to strengthen their conviction that home schooling has been one of their best decisions they have ever made for their family.
Paul and his wife Mary have been married more than 30 years, have seven children, and have been home educating for over 20 years. Home education is a commitment to a different path of life. The family loves Socratic discussion because it is not just a form of education but a part of daily life – during tea times, during meal times, while driving to an event or a fiddle lesson. As Mary says, "we have a deep commitment to classical education. It is a part of our life." Mary recalls first considering home schooling: "We noticed how whole and how good and how holy home schooled children were. Home schooling families spent time together and grew together as a family. We wanted that!"
