09/30/2026
Meet the OHSAP staff! In the photo below, starting on the left, you have Jenn. She is a supervising teacher and has a wealth of both wisdom, and familiarity with resources about homeschooling, parenting, and life. And she makes magical field trips happen! (I mean, a shrimp farm?!) Next to Jenn in the pic you can see Becky- writer of the WAAG, teacher, and hoster of book clubs. Then comes Heather. If you’ve called our office, you’ve probably talked to Heather. She holds the history of our group, having homeschooled and worked in some capacity in the OHSAP for decades, although she doesn’t look old enough for that to be true. She also handles paperwork, ordering, district communication, and 17,846 other things as our admin associate. She’s a queen, we tell you! And Kristi, next in our photo, is the fairy godmother of our library. Since joining our team as an associate she has made our library one to be greatly admired among HSAPs. Also, to know Kristi is to know that she loves Disney. Oops, typo. We meant to say, LOVES. To the right you see Courtney. She graduated high school by homeschooling with our very own OHSAP, went on to get her teaching degree at UNI, and brought back to us her love of homeschooling and science (she leads our science labs!) Fun fact: she calls Heather “Mom,” in a literal, not figurative, way. And on the far right is Melissa, who joined us after teaching at Ottumwa High School- including classes for college credit through Indian Hills. You won’t find anyone more passionate about our community bringing excellence to the task of preparing students for their futures. She’s crazy generous and has spearheaded some of the most memorable, over-the-top awesome events our families love (do some of you remember Mel’s Manners?!) Our "Dream Team" is here to support and encourage families who are choosing home education in partnership with the Ottumwa School District. Whether you are currently enrolled in the OHSAP or you are kicking the tires of what being part of a program like ours is like, we are here to help answer your questions and guide you toward the best homeschool fit and experience for your family!
