Ep 15: How Do IDEA Field Reps Bring Homeschooling Families Together?

Guest:

Cherie Taylor and Jen Schutte

Topic:

Podcast host Lindsay Pinkelman talks with Field Reps Cherie Taylor and Jen Schutte about being the fun planners! Field Reps have the opportunity to welcome families into IDEA, ensure questions and concerns are answered, and begin the enrollment process. After that, the fun happens through field trips, office parties and working with community partnerships. Listen to find out how your idea could become an event in your local region.

Guest Biography:

Jen Schutte joined IDEA in January of 2012 with her son, Alex.  They never regretted that decision and only wish they had taken the plunge sooner.  Alex graduated in May of 2019. She has two more students (Morgan and Quinn) moving up the ranks.  She looks forward to crossing the stage with them as well in 2025 and 2032. She believes in being an active participant in her family’s lives enabling them to follow their passions.  She has led clubs such as FLL Robotics and held the positions of Secretary and Chair for the Parent Advisory Committee.  Jen became the Field Representative for the Fairbanks office in July of 2019.  She advocates for all families in the IDEA program.  She maintains communication between families and administration; oversees PAC; welcomes new families to the program; and helps coordinate events, orientations, activities, curriculum fair and workshops. 

Cherie Taylor is a wife and a mama to a 9yr old boy. She is in her 5^th year of homeschooling.  She started with IDEA as a homeschool parent & parent advisory committee member.  She joined the PAC to be as involved as she could be in the arena of homeschooling – something that was new to her.  In July of 2020, due to the pandemic, the enrollment with IDEA was quickly escalating & Cherie was hired as a part time field rep – mainly just answering inquiries such as “How does homeschooling work?” and “How does IDEA come alongside families to support homeschooling?” In October of 2020 Cherie was hired as the full time field rep.

Episode Sponsor:

 IDEA’s Resource Room

https://www.ideafamilies.org/families/resource-room/

Resource Links:

Fred Meyers Community Rewards Program

1. Log into your Fred Meyer Community Rewards Account and designate IDEA as your non-profit of choice.  If you don’t have a Fred Meyer Community Rewards account, you can create one here.
2. Once you get your account set up and you’re logged in, go to “My Account.”
3. Once there you can designate IDEA Homeschool as your nonprofit of choice.  You can either search for us by name (IDEA Homeschool) or by our organization number, which is 92911.
4. Once you’ve designated IDEA as your non-profit of choice, print or electronically capture the bottom of the “Account Summary” page that shows:
   1. Your name, and
   
   
   
   
   1. That you’ve chosen IDEA as your non-profit designee.
   
   
   
   
5. Then email or bring it to your contact teacher.
6. Once your contact teacher has this information, they will send you your username and password for each of your K-8 students in IDEA to have their own Moby Max account.