Michele Evard in 2020, Photo by Joelle Evard
Michele is a lifelong learner who has earned degrees from a variety of post-secondary institutions. Her Ph.D. is from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she was a member of Seymour Papert’s Epistemology & Learning group. Her M.S. in Computer Science is from the University of Oregon; she has a B.S. in Mathematics and a B.A. in Computer Science from Andrews University. She spent a year of college abroad in France and earned her Alliance Française. Each of these schools provided a different environment and opportunities, and Michele learned from experiencing each of them.
More recently, Michele attended the 2019 Summer Training Institute of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the 2020 Summer Institute on Education Equity and Justice, the 2020 National Anti-Racism Teach-In, and a variety of SENG town halls. She is happy to continue professional learning through conferences, seminars, and discussions with college admissions officers.
Learning in Communities
As a graduate student, Michele’s goal was to help provide traditional schools with new ways to support diversity and depth in learning. Michele and her husband chose to homeschool their own children to provide them with individualized learning opportunities in diverse environments, and to encourage them to go beyond mastery of knowledge and skill to proficiency and deep understanding. Michele believes it is especially important to share the love of learning with children while helping them develop critical thinking skills and the ability to direct their own studies.
Learning communities are very important to Michele. She co-founded and co-lead Many Rivers Unschoolers in Illinois when her children were young, and then joined Voyagers, Inc, when her family moved to Massachusetts. Michele’s volunteer roles there included Program Coordinator, Board Member, and President, but her favorite role was Study Group Leader. She has always enjoyed mentoring learners of all ages!
Michele is a member of SENG and a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association.
Educational Consulting
Michele enjoys visiting colleges and learning about what makes each one unique. There are so many different communities to consider and opportunities to be had! Her knowledge and perspective enable her to identify colleges that are a good fit for each individual’s learning style and goals.
Michele has also designed homeschool educational plans and helped parents write their homeschooling proposals. She considers a variety of options that go beyond what a boxed curriculum can provide, including online courses, dual enrollment community college classes, private tutoring, cooperatives, and independent studies. She helps families determine how to create their own personalized education plans. She has experience creating transcripts, course descriptions, educational philosophy statements, and counselor recommendations, and she can help parents produce professional documentation that admissions counselors can easily understand.
Michele’s educational background, her twenty years of homeschooling, and her years of mentoring teenagers combine to give her a wide perspective and the unique ability to assist students during the college application process. Whether your high school was traditional or not, she will seek to find you colleges that will meet your needs and allow you to learn and thrive.