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Who We Are
Who We Are
Barrington Area Home Schoolers of the Northwest Suburbs (BAHS) is a Christian organization that exists to create community among home educating families in the north and northwest suburban counties of Chicago (e.g. Lake, McHenry, Kane). For the past several years events have been centered in the Cary/Crystal Lake area. Yearly membership is around 100 families, and a typical event has between 5-15 families in attendance.
For more than 20 years our three pillars have been to foster relationships, provide activities, and inspire learning.
Today, community is at the heart of who we are. We believe homeschooling families are not meant to go on the journey alone and that humans are innately social creatures. We believe life is best lived together! We are a diverse group of families with various educational backgrounds, homeschooling philosophies, political views, and even faith walks.
We are not a co-op.
We are not a co-op.
We are an organization that provides the tools to connect and the insurance to cover group events we individually and collectively desire for our families. As a group we aim to offer a variety of social, educational, and service activities every year that are not only leadership led but also member led. Member involvement is critical to the success of our group. The leadership team is made up of volunteer positions, and it’s important to remember parents making up this team also home school their families full time. When all members pitch in to organize, lead, and support events we create an active, vibrant group with a wide range of events and opportunities to connect.
Our range of activities varies from year to year, but historically we aim to have:
a few large group events including a back to school ice cream social and year end picnic,
monthly meet ups for parents/moms,
a variety of "clubs" that meet monthly such as a teens group or middle school boys club
and member-led field trips and activities.
We put out a newsletter three times each year highlighting all these activities listed above. We also have an email group and private Facebook group that members can use for sharing homeschool relevant information.
To see a sample of a previous newsletter click here.
Although community is central to who we are, we recognize that it is not something that comes easily. Building community often requires awkward moments, vulnerability, repeatedly showing up, and commitment. Is it worth it? We believe 100% yes! Our Leadership Team not only exists to purchase insurance, maintain a website, and process membership applications, but we exist to make this building process as friendly, fun, and easy as possible. We recognize in this 21st century world that community has an ebb and flow to it. We are ok with that ebb and flow and use it to frame our vision – we try to never assume everyone knows each other and assume if you’re joining us you too are looking for more places to connect your family. Each year, each semester, we are only as strong as our members who choose to show up. We need your involvement in order to be the best version of us!
What does it mean to be a Christian organization?
What does it mean to be a Christian organization?
As a Christian organization we strive to love our neighbor as ourselves and love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We want others to know we are a Christian organization by how they feel when they are with us – specifically, that we are a place that embodies and exudes the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control).
If issues are to arise within our group, our Core Beliefs/Statement of Faith lays out the values that would be used to navigate and guide us through conflict. For that reason we ask all Leadership Team members to sign the Statement of Faith as something they confess to in their personal lives.
Being a Christian organization means we will not hide away from our Christian faith – God the Father, Jesus who is the hope and foundation of our salvation, and the Holy Spirit who is our helper remain central to who we are. Prayer and scripture will be shared within our group, and members should feel free to encourage each other in this way.
With all this being said, membership is open to all home educating families regardless of their personal beliefs. In order to join, families must be able to sign our membership agreement which states among other things that members will respect our Core Beliefs in all communications, events and actions.
We ask all families to review our Core Beliefs/Statement of Faith so they understand what we believe.
2025-2026 Leadership Team
2025-2026 Leadership Team
Leadership/Teens Coordinator
Alison Shouldice
Membership/Kids Tribe Coordinator
Lindsey Zver
Treasurer
Michelle Tyson
Middle School Boys Coordinator
Lesley Hill
Large Group Coordinator
Mandi Basgall
Moms Community Coordinator
Amanda Praytor
Communications Coordinator
Meredith Bach
Contact Us
Contact Us
For more information about our group, contact us at BarringtonAreaHomeschoolers@gmail.com.
Want to Join Us?
Want to Join Us?
We are always looking to grow our team to better serve our community! Current roles we would love to fill are Activities Coordinator and various assistant leadership roles. Reach out to a member of the leadership team (LT) or email us if you're interested!
LT requirements include having a heart for building community, the willingness to initiate events & regularly communicate details, sharing the Core Beliefs of BAHS & signing our statement of faith, and lastly attending approximately 5 planning meetings per year.
photo credits: women at computer by John Schnobrich on Unsplash; dad with kids by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash
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