So let's address the elephant in the room.  I mean, can a homeschool mom even run for office?  Here is the answer. . .YES!  Yes, she can.  

Do I believe that just anyone should run?  No.  No, I do not.  It is a divine calling and it is heavy.  I believe that a person not called to public service will buckle under the pressure of it.  We don't have time for that.  

We also don't have time for the "she doesn't have any kids in public school" debate.  Let me ask you something.  Do we have bus drivers, nurses, and teachers that homeschool their kids?  Yes, we do.  Do you feel like bus drivers drive any less careful because they don't have their own kids on the bus?  Or do you trust them to take your kids to and from school safely every day?  Do you think the nurses care any less for your kids because their own kids don't attend public school?  Do you buy the lie that teachers with homeschooled or private-schooled kids don't come in to work every day and give their absolute best because their own kids aren't there?  Of course, you don't!  They all do their job very well.  We have some of the best staff and teachers that any county could hope for.  

Soooooo. . .that dog won't hunt!  If you've been paying attention you have seen across the country that it is the homeschool and private school moms that have been stepping up to fill these offices.  I went to campaign school earlier this year and it was filled with people running for office that homeschool.  Did you know that regardless of where our kids go to school, the majority of them will grow up and do life together in some type of capacity?  They will!  They're going to work together.  They're going to eat in the same restaurants.  They're going to build houses next to each other.   Their kids will grow up together.  And I care about every single one of them.  Every.  Single.  One.  Mine and yours.  

On the next few tabs at the top, right of this page are links for you to contribute to this campaign and links to my stance on all the issues that I know are important to you.  I love to communicate.  If you have a question that's not answered on those pages, let me know!  YOU are in control of your child's education.  And I will work hard to make sure that parents are put back in their rightful place as a force in our schools.  I can't wait to go to work for you!!

(See the content block below for the background on our homeschool story.  I want you to know!)

In March 2020 (March 9th to be specific) I registered our third born child for kindergarten.  Four days later, RCPS schools were shut down.  For the next 4 months we were left to wonder what the 2020/2021 school year was going to look like for our children, especially our kindergartener who had been watching her 2 big brothers go to school every day for the past several years and wanting so much for it to be her turn.

In July 2020, for the first time in my life, I attended a school board meeting.  It was held at Spotswood High School. . .  

Can we take a pause right here for emphasis on something really important?  At this point, I had an upcoming 6th grader, 2nd grader, and kindergartener in the public school system.  I. Had. Never. Been. To. A. School. Board. Meeting.  (Insert face palm.)  Does this story sound familiar?  Is that you?  One kid, two kids, red kids, blue kids. . .in the public schools. . .and you've never been to a school board meeting?  Friends, we have to do better.  And I'm talking to myself as well.  Until we have a school board that we can trust (and not to be left unchecked and unaccountable even then) we have to be actively involved. . .even if it's just being a presence in those meetings.

Ok, back to July 2020.  That night there were only a handful of citizens at the meeting, 10 perhaps.  By the time it was over it was very clear that schools weren't even close to re-opening with the slightest hint of normalcy for these kids and they were going to be sent back masked.  For my family that was the line not to be crossed.  We just were not willing to do that.  For other families the line not to be crossed was allowing members of the opposite sex into the same restrooms, for others it was the teaching of gender ideologies, and for others it was the introduction of Critical Race Theory.  We all have a breaking point, right?  For us, it was the masks.  Some families did not have any choice. . .but we did.  And so, our homeschool journey began.  Since I graduated out of a private school, I was very familiar with a certain, tried and true curriculum so it was not difficult to quickly formulate a plan for our children and it has been the best decision we've ever made for them.

Before I move on, I want to be clear on the way I view our exit from RCPS.  We did not leave public school; public school left us.  Had our children not been masked in the fall of 2020, it is likely that they would still be in public school.  We were forced out because of the overreach of government and leaders who were not bold enough to stand up against it.  Yes, I said it, and I'm not sorry.  EVERY PARENT HAS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE THE BEST MEDICAL AVENUE FOR THEIR CHILDREN!

Spring/Summer 2021: Our first year of homeschool was successfully completed. . .but. . .there's this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Over the course of the last year while schools were largely teaching our kids virtually, it has come to light that they're not teaching what we thought they were.  We have pillars of character that we talk about all the time at RCPS, but what we were finding out all across the nation was that our kids were being taught to hate each other, hate the skin they're in, hate police officers, and the list goes on.  AND RCPS WAS NOT EXEMPT FROM THAT!!!  And to boot, now we're being told that boys are going to be allowed in the girl's restroom and girls in the boy's.  Not only that, but they may be in the same locker room as well. . .and oh, maybe in hotels on field trips too. . .and the best response we got was "We have a 'no bullying/no discrimination' policy that takes care of any complaints about it."  And let's not forget, p0rn0gr@phy in the libraries is now the norm.  I couldn't stay silent.  And I couldn't leave quietly.

So, I authored and distributed a petition regarding the issue of restrooms being used by members of the opposite sex.  Not surprisingly, it was met with much welcome by members of our community, and not just the 5th District!  Citizens from all over Rockingham County were eager to sign.  We ended with well over 1,000 signatures.  I emailed the petition and the signatures to every school board member prior to the July 12th meeting to inform them of the general consensus on this issue and I received exactly what you'd probably guess. . .no response at all.  I presented the petition at the meeting and of course, no reaction, no response.  Nothing changed.  

It's fall 2021.  The kids are back in school.  They're masked.  They're being indoctrinated; the school board denies it.  The students have access to porn; the school board can't deny that, but their silence condones it.  And yet, the world kept spinning.  In November, we were met with some hope as the parents showed up at the polls and voted Matt Cross in District 3.  I continued to attend and speak at school board meetings and by January of this year (2022), with much encouragement from our community, I made the decision to run for Rockingham County School Board in 2023.

That's the story (or the highlights anyway) and here we are!  I will be a strong voice of reason for our district and for our county.  Make no mistake, parents.  I will be your advocate and I will keep my word to represent you with boldness.  This is a grassroots movement, a community effort.  This isn't me; this is YOU!  We will accomplish much together.

This is not a time for the faint of heart.  I recognize that and I enter into this endeavor fully aware, having counted the cost, and always remembering the following. . .  

"Who can we send?  And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I!  Send me!"