About Education Unlimited

Founded in 1999, we function as a traditional home education management system to provide service to families throughout the province of Alberta.  For many years, we have successfully facilitated only traditional home education programs without using provincial accreditation or blended programs and consistently demonstrated principled leadership in home education both at home and abroad.

Although our foundation is biblical, and we encourage a biblical perspective and approach to home education, we offer our services to all who wish to home educate.  Our purpose is to recognize the authority and responsibility of parents, and to enable, equip, and encourage them in the training of their children at home.

We enable parents to home educate by helping them understand the requirements of provincial regulations and their own rights as home educators, while at the same time greatly simplifying the required paperwork for registration and funding.

We equip parents by providing them with the knowledge and tools we have gained through our experience and expertise in education with the objective of helping parents to lead their children to responsible adulthood.

We encourage parental authority in home educating by establishing the foundational principles for educating children within the family created by God, and by reminding parents that these principles do not change with time.

We believe in keeping things simple, and freeing parents to simply be parents.

Our Staff

We have a vision and a heart for family and traditional home education. Our founders and staff are leaders whose long time contributions to home education are helping families in Alberta and beyond!

Léo & Faye Gaumont - Education Unlimited Founders & EU Facilitators

Léo and Faye are among Alberta's pioneer home educators!  Léo is a professional educator with over 40 years of experience, 25 of which were spent in the classroom mostly at a high school level.  Léo is also our director and principal facilitator.  Faye is an experienced home educating mom (and now grandma), the office administrator, as well as a trained teacher.  Léo and Faye not only educated their children at home but are now mentoring them as they home educate their own children.

Léo has experience and vision that make him stand out among home education leaders. He has spoken on home education in most Canadian provinces as well as in the United States. He is a pioneer in advocating for the admission of home educated students into post-secondary institutions across the country, and has conducted the most detailed research studies on this issue in Canada. His decades of experience and extensive research have left him firmly convinced that a home education provided by loving parents is the best education any child could possibly receive.

Léo & Faye consider it a privilege to minister to those who have a sincere desire to honour God as they "train their children in the way that they should go”.

Rick Span - Education Unlimited Academy Principal & Teacher - Facilitator

Rick and Marsha image

Rick grew up in southern Alberta. He married Marsha and together they have raised 11 children. He received his B. Ed. from the University of Alberta, and in his over 30 years of teaching in private schools has taught in Rocky Mountain House, AB; Chilliwack, B.C.; Lacombe, AB; and Redlands, California.

He has also been involved in home-schooling over the years in various capacities - a number of his 11 children have been home-schooled at various times, and he has worked with Education Unlimited in the past by registering certain students for some parents as being home-schooled. He looks forward to developing his relationship with Education Unlimited Academy as teacher and principal.

Tamara Westran - Resources Coordinator and EU Facilitator

Tamara Westran was raised a rural Saskatchewan girl. Due to her nurturing spirit and love of children she felt drawn to becoming a teacher. At the age of 21 she acquired her Teaching Diploma and proceeded to teach elementary and special needs students within various school settings. After becoming married and having children of her own, Tamara decided to stay at home permanently. Tamara then embarked on the journey of home education and embraced the full responsibility of training her 3 children from start to finish.

Tamara has been blessed by being in partnership with Education Unlimited since 2004. Tamara is a fellow sojourner and is well acquainted with home education. She has a heart for children, family well-being and the brokenhearted. Many families have commented on her warm and caring presence that helps them feel safe to open up and put their concerns into words. She will listen to understand your needs and aid you in ways that are in alignment with your goals and desires.

Gary & Beth Wiens - Video Editor and EU Facilitators

Gary was born and raised in Mountain View County in central Alberta. His family was actively involved in the Bible College that was located in Didsbury. Gary completed his Bachelor of Religious Education with a Christian Education major and went on to complete his Bachelor of Education as well, with a major in Industrial Arts.

Beth grew up in a family of 6 in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. As a teen she felt led to attend Bible College, which brought her to Didsbury. Beth graduated from college with a diploma in Bible. Gary and Beth were married and began their family in Didsbury.

Following post-secondary training, Gary taught for a while in the area of special needs and occupational programming, but he felt a desire to be more involved where he could present the truths of God's Word. During this time Beth ran a homeschool book store, was president of a local homeschool support group, home educated their four daughters, as well as worked alongside Gary in ministry. Together Gary and Beth have been active in the homeschool community for over 18 years. For 7 years they also enjoyed working with AHEA to provide the children's program during the conference.

Beth has recently published two fictional novels on the home educating family, "Bringing Them Home" and "As for Me and My House". Presently Gary and Beth are transitioning out of full-time ministry with GoodSeed International to work full-time supporting home educating families.

Nicolette Groeneveld - Text Editor & EU Facilitator

Nicolette’s professional life began with teaching various subjects in the French Immersion program at the Junior High level. Ten years of public education left her disillusioned so she quit the system and created the Indigo Sudbury Campus, a democratic, unschooling centre modelled on the old Sudbury Valley School. After six and a half successful years, a move and resulting drop in enrolment forced ISC to close. However, the relationship that developed between Nicolette and Education Unlimited to support ISC continued, which explains Nicolette’s current position as facilitator.

Sharon Bevaart - EU Facilitator

Sharon grew up in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia in a family of five children. Her husband, Brian, grew up on the Eastern side of Canada, in Ontario in a family of six children. Their parents raised them in the Christian faith, a faith in which they continue to grow.

After attending college Sharon received her teaching degree and taught four years in the Christian school system in Alberta. During those teaching years, she was married to Brian. The Lord blessed them with five children, born in the succeeding years, during which Sharon was happy to be a stay-at-home mom.

Brian started a cabinet-making business which he continues to successfully operate to this day. Together they were led to teach all their children at home, a journey for which they have been very thankful. Sharon has a desire to help home educated families and enjoys interacting with them.

Marjon Rozendaal - EU Facilitator

Marjon Rozendaal grew up in the Netherlands and after finishing college, she immigrated to Canada in 1995 to teach at a private Christian School. She taught there for a number of years, during which she met her husband Jeff. They have been blessed with 9 children, which they have been home educating since 2010.

They live in Southern Alberta where they feel called to minister to those families who are (considering) home educating and to encourage and support them on that journey.

Miranda Hamer - EU Facilitator

Miranda graduated from Prairie High School in 1998. Then in 2003, Miranda graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and an Associates Religion and Arts Degree from NABC. She taught one year in London, England and seven years at Sacred Heart School in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Miranda married the love of her life in 2005 and together they are blessed with three wonderful boys (ages 12, 10, and 6). Miranda resigned from being a school teacher in 2012 to begin her homeschooling journey.

Along with homeschooling, Miranda directs Drama Camps for Kids and provides workshops on Integrating Drama into the Learning Environment for both teachers and parents. One of her favorite quotes is taken from an old Native American Proverb, “Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand." Her most memorable directing and acting experiences were with, "The Hiding Place: The Corrie ten Boom Story" performed at The Manluk Theatre in 2019 in Wetaskiwin, Alberta and “All Things are Possible: The George Muller Story” performed at NSMC. Ultimately, Miranda's hope is that her life brings glory to her loving Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Carey Braun - EU Facilitator

Carey and Jeremy live on an acreage near Carstairs with their 2 children. Jeremy runs a small machining business and Carey has taught elementary students in both public and Christian school settings. After having their own children spend several years in the public education system, Jeremy insisted it was time for a change. As a reluctant beginner, Carey was pleasantly surprised at the welcome change in lifestyle and fully embraced the traditional model of home educating shortly after. Jeremy and Carey desire to walk alongside others and encourage them in their home education journey.

Ginger Patton - EU Facilitator

Ginger received her Bachelor of Education degree in 1995 from the U of A. She went on to teach for a couple of part time years and then married and started having her family. When her children were ready to start school, it became very quickly apparent that public school was not a good fit, since God was calling her and her husband to keep their children home. They are now veteran 'unschoolers' and very grateful that God called their family to do so. Ginger has a strong passion to share with other families the joys and rewards of unschooling. It has allowed them to have unique opportunities for their family, such as guiding/big game outfitting to spending a winter in Texas. Her goal is to help others realize that the very best learning happens outside of the classroom! She is looking forward to building your confidence in the belief that you too can be the very best advocate and teacher your family will EVER have!

Neil Hudec - EU Facilitator

Father of 9 children, 6 sons and 3 daughters, aged 38 down to 16, and 6 grandchildren, Neil has been parenting “school-aged” children for almost 35 years. With 20 years spent as a classroom teacher, elementary principal, home education facilitator with an unschooling perspective, he's looking forward to being part of the Education Unlimited staff and meeting his families this fall.

Lorie Jean Loewen - EU Facilitator

Lorie has taught most of her 30 years of teaching at the elementary level, in community schools or Catholic schools. 17 of those later years being a substitute teacher for one St.Albert school. This was as close to teaching freedom as she could find. She knew there had to be something better because what schools provided wasn’t learning, it was conformity. In her search for a better education model based more on God's design the holy spirit led her to discover Education Unlimited. Her journey to get here hasn’t been easy but so worth it. Lorie has a listening heart for all families, she desires to encourage families to take back their God given authority and stand boldly for their right to control their child’s educational needs. Her hope is that she can display a solid representation of Christ's love to all those who meet her.

Lorie is now an empty nester who lives with her husband Doug on a 5 acre hobby farm just north of St.Albert, where they enjoy being self-sufficient and raising babydoll Southdown sheep for her grandchildren to enjoy. She is also an artist, who has a home based hand lettering business.
Lorie is excited to meet new families and come alongside them to support them in their journey of educating their children and giving parents back the God given title of teacher.

Joanna Marie Bevaart - EU Facilitator

Joanna is a home education graduate who grew up in Central Alberta. Afterwards, she went on to pursue post-secondary education and received her Bachelors degree in music education, as well as a Masters degree in music history. She has been teaching for over 10 years in both private and public schools, as well as giving private music lessons. She considers herself a lifelong learner and her curiosity has also led her to explore everything from foreign languages to nutrition to nervous system health. 

Joanna has a heart for children and desires to see them thrive on spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical levels, as they learn about themselves and the world they live in. Her teaching experience and educational background puts her in a unique position to support and champion parents who desire to give their children the freedom to develop their creativity and interests. She is grateful to walk alongside families as a resource, listening to their concerns and sharing in their joys.

Adèle Hoflin - EU Parent Resources Manager & Administrative Assistant

Adèle Hoflin is a home educating (and home educated!) mother of 4. She lives on a piece of paradise in central Alberta with her husband, children and an assortment of critters. Adèle has been blessed to be involved with Education Unlimited for many years and is very thankful for the opportunity to be able to work from home while helping families negotiate the funding portion of their home education journey.

Dr. Michael Wagner - EU Executive Assistant

Michael Wagner and his wife Ivy have eleven children, and they have been home educating for over 25 years. Besides working for Education Unlimited, he is an independent researcher and writer, and an occasional columnist for the Western Standard. He has a PhD in political science from the University of Alberta.

Lyndon Popovitch - Chair

Samual Hood - Vice-Chair

Jeff Rozendaal - Treasurer

Renae Hale - Secretary

Wes Smith - Board Member

Kathryn Heyde - Board Member

James Wiebe - Board Member

Léo Gaumont - Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Michael Korsholm - Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Tanya Reitz - Chief Activities Officer (CAO)

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