Barbara McMillan was among the pioneering homeschoolers in Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, and contributed to the writing of the curent PA homeschool law. She is certified as a teacher of elementary and special needs students, and is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, with a dynamic interest in helping families with special needs children and teens to develop effective learning programs through conference seminars, support group presentations and one-to-one educational or psychological assessment and interventions. Barbara has recently published a comprehensive guide to the PA homeschool law for special needs students called the WHATZ-UP BOOK.

Barbara has served as a homeschool evaluator since 1993, and currently evaluates nearly 150 students from elementary through high school levels. At the secondary level, she challenges students to take ownership of their learning, whether their goals are accelerated academics or basic life skills. She views her role as evaluator as three-fold: a nurturing audience to encourage students in their achievements; a mentor to help them set higher goals and access resources to achieve those goals; and an authority figure to hold students accountable to the high standards of both the PA Homeschool Diploma and their parents.

Barbara's evaluation reports are concise and detailed, with a subject-by-subject description of key academic skills and concepts covered, extra-curricular experiences, practial life skill development and community service outreach. If there are problems with course content or documentation of learning activities, she discusses these openly with parents and students, and include a few words in her report about the concerns and how the family intends to remedy the problem. If the family has difficulties with their school district, Barbara is willing to intervene on their behalf with District officials to resolve the problem.

As the mother of three college-age young people herself, Barbara is able to help families negotiate the maze of college and scholarship requirements, as well as help homeschooled students develop powerful resumes of their unique life experiences. As a Christian, Barbara supports the efforts of caring parents to guide their young people according to godly principles of moral behavior, learning to the best of their ability and service to others.