Barbara McMillan, M.S., Ed S, NCSP
Stillwaters Farm
208 Thompson RD
Acme PA 15610>br> 724-309-5953

I was among the pioneering homeschoolers in Pennsylvania in the early 1980s, and contributed to the writing of the PA homeschool law. I have served as a homeschool evaluator since 1993, and currently evaluate nearly 120 students each year at my home office in Western PA, near Irwin. As a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, I am qualified to evaluate elementary, high school and special needs students. I especially enjoy helping families to develop effective learning programs through:

educational consultations
review and pre-approval of learning objectives for special needs students
individual diagnostic assessment of learning problems
cognitive-behavioral counseling
support group presentations
conference workshops

I challenge students to take ownership of their learning, whether their goals are accelerated academics or basic life skills. I view my role as evaluator as three-fold:

a nurturing audience to encourage students (and parents!) in their learning
a mentor to help students set higher goals and access resources to achieve those goals
an authority figure to hold students accountable to the high standards of both the PA Homeschool Diploma and their parents.

My evaluation reports are concise and detailed, with a subject-by-subject description of key academic skills and concepts covered, extra-curricular experiences, practical life skill development and community service outreach. While I encourage families to be diligent in documentation of learning objectives, log and portfolio, I am comfortable with a wide variety of formats. If there are problems with course content or documentation of learning activities, I discuss these openly with parents and students. If my families have difficulties with their school district, I am happy to intervene on their behalf with District officials to resolve the problem.

As a mother of four adult children (who were homeschooled), I have also developed skills in helping families negotiate the maze of college and scholarship requirements, as well as guiding homeschooled students in writing powerful resumes of their unique life experiences. I love writing letters of recommendation for my students for college or scholarships. Some of my students have won huge, prestigious scholarships which have enabled them to pursue their learning at the universities of their dreams!

I have published the State’s only comprehensive guide to the PA homeschool law for special needs students called the WHATZ-UP MANUAL, available for purchase through PA Homeschoolers or directly from me at the address above. I also write a column on homeschooling special needs students for the state-wide PA Homeschool Newsletter.

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