Blended Programs & Courses

Libby Voth lives in Abbotsford with her husband and two children.

Originally from the UK, Libby earned her BA from the University of Stirling. Several years later, she took the teacher education course at SFU part time while working as an EA with special needs students. She taught for 6 years in an independent Christian school in Abbotsford before joining the TLA team in 2017. She is passionate about connecting with students and is excited to be part of facilitating their learning and growth.

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, taking photographs, and drinking chai.

Shelley has always loved anything active and athletics related. She has years of experience playing
a wide variety of sports and volunteering as a coach for various teams and sports camps. She is
excited to be able to share this passion with the students of TLA in the blended PHE program.

Shelley lives in Langley with her husband Paul. She feels blessed to spend the majority of her week at
home managing her active household of five sons and one daughter. She also loves to volunteer for
activities at her church.

Amy Jones lives in Cloverdale with her husband, Marty, and her 3 children, Judah, Myah and Joshua. She and her husband are also foster parents.

Amy graduated from university with her Bachelor of Education in 1998 and specializes in teaching French as a second language. She is currently part of the K-9 Home Program serving families in the Lower Mainland.

Amy loves spending time with her children, going to sporting events, visiting family and friends and working on the odd DIY project. She is very thankful to be a part of the TLA team.

Joyce Froese is a high school Math and Science teacher. She has considerable experience teaching Math and Science at all levels, as well as teaching students with various challenges.

She enjoys exploring, creating, growing and learning.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Physics, and a Bachelor of Education from the University of British Columbia.

It was the joy of helping other students in his computer class in high school that convinced Edward that he might enjoy teaching – enjoying computers was a given.

Edward obtained his BA in History and his BEd in SS-History from UBC, spent time in Japan and New York, then returned to the Lower Mainland with his family.

In his first year at TLA, Edward served as the school’s English and Social Studies Specialist, Grad Coordinator, and Tech Guy. As TLA has grown and others have stepped in to take over some of those roles, Edward has been blessed with the opportunity to focus once again on one of his first loves: helping others utilize computers!

Rita has been a part of the TLA community for over a decade as a homeschooling parent. She has dedicated her life to educating students, from her own three children as well as other children, in a variety of settings. In addition to homeschooling, she worked as an Education Assistant in the Catholic school system and as a volunteer catechist at her parish. Her own passion for learning fueled her desire in nurturing and teaching her own children, with the goal of imparting a life-long love of learning and with the idea that learning can take place anywhere.

Prior to having children, Rita taught university-level students as a Teaching Fellow while pursuing her graduate studies in Economics in the United States. She was excited to come back to TLA, this time as a Blended Teacher, entering a new chapter in her life.

When she’s not busy with all her commitments, Rita enjoys the outdoors with her husband and children, kayaking, hiking, and camping.

Suzanne was a high school Social Studies teacher in Richmond before homeschooling her two girls, Mary and Abigail from K-12. She is passionate about Canadian history and encouraging teens to be proud, responsible Canadians. Suzanne has a BA in History from TWU, and studied for a term at Oxford. She is excited to be sharing her love of history and investing in the lives of our TLA teens.

Always on a hunt for great historical moments, Suzanne has spent 24 years dragging her husband Jason around the globe. When trips are not in the cards, they hop in their kayaks in Point Roberts and go for a spin.

Ben has taught students of all ages from children to adults both in Canada and overseas. While now an adult himself, Ben prefers to remain a big kid at heart and can be found occasionally reading Star Wars comics at his local library.

In addition to his B.C. teaching certification, Ben has various other credentials including a Master’s Degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. However, his favorite one is being a husband and dad to his awesome family.

Charis Hammermeister was homeschooled all through her grade school years, which instilled in her a desire to help other families along their homeschooling journey. Joining the TLA team in 2019 as a Blended teacher allowed her to combine this desire with her love of classroom teaching. She is passionate about educating through inquiry and investigation and about tailoring her instruction to meet the individual needs of each child. Her hope is that each of her students will leave her classroom having developed a lifelong love of learning.

Driven by her passion for mentorship and discipleship, Charis is active in her local church through counselling and women’s Bible studies.

Most of Charis’s free time is spent teaching, coaching, training in, and competing in taekwondo. Her other interests include reading, creative writing, music, visual art, and 20th century Russian history.

Charis holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Maranatha Baptist University and a Master of Arts in Theology-Biblical Counselling from Central Baptist Theological Seminary.

My teaching adventures include a B.Ed. from UBC and a diploma in Christian Studies from ACTS, in Langley. Most of my teaching experience has been as a Christian-school teacher in Colombia, South America, and in British Columbia. I’ve also been a teacher-support for DL students and a tutor. I’m excited about teaching project-based learning and supporting parents in the Blended 2-Day Program with TLA.

I live in Maple Ridge and enjoy music, gardening, reading, being outdoors, and volunteering at a local animal rescue. And when football season starts, out come the Seattle Seahawks and BC Lions jerseys.

Mary lives in North Delta with her husband Edward and two homeschooled children. Her journey with homeschooling started in 2012 when her oldest, Alice, started Kindergarten. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and having taught Science and French at BC high schools prior to having children, she was excited to start her journey as a teacher parent.

Mary leads the Blended Two-Day K/1 program in Surrey as well as the One-Day Blended K/6 program in Vancouver.

When not teaching or homeschooling, Mary likes trying new recipes, reading books, and having nature walks with her family.

Natalie Hoogstra is a new face to TLA and so excited to be teaching the in class portion of Drama to her high school students! With past camp experience and a theatre background in acting and singing as well as backstage work, she cannot wait to teach all her wonderfully gifted students the beauty in following your impulses, failing boldly, having fun, growing in the craft, and working together as an ensemble! When Natalie is not teaching, she can be found at her other job working in reception, or at home snuggled up with her cats, a good book, and a hot cup of tea.

Amy lives in Prince George with her husband, Clayton and their four fantastic children, Josiah, Faith, Levi, and Luke.

Her journey into home education started in 2013 when she left the classroom on maternity leave with her youngest child and decided to try homeschooling her oldest who was entering grade 1 at the time. She brings her experience as a home educator to her role as DL teacher. Amy helped pioneer the One Day Blended Program in Prince George in 2017 and thoroughly enjoys spending time working face to face with her students and their families.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Krista completed her schooling years in small-community Christian education. After finishing a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education, Krista received her Bachelor of Education through the University of Winnipeg. Her final university year was done in Bangkok, Thailand, teaching middle school Thai students. Her passion for learning and healthy lifestyle stems from her grade school years as well as her coaching and personal athletic experiences.

After a year of teaching grade 3/4 in Winnipeg, Krista is excited to be starting her teaching journey in British Columbia with TLA. She will be taking over the grade 4/5 Blended class as well as running a One-Day program out of Vancouver. She is excited to be working closely with families to create the ideal in-class and home learning experience for individual student strengths and needs.

Krista currently resides in Vancouver and enjoys playing competitive ultimate frisbee (and all other sports), hiking, running, creating watercolour paintings, and is learning how to create digital art in her free time.

Deanna earned a Science degree with a major in Math. Since then, she has enjoyed passing along her love for math to her students. She has been teaching Math and other subjects for over 8 years, and continues to enjoy the challenges it brings. Her goal is to work with students in collaboration with their parents as they tackle the later years of high school mathematics.

In her spare time, she is an avid volleyball and tennis player, and enjoys reading a good book, although spare time is not easy to come by with four children in her home. She thoroughly enjoys the time she gets to spend with them every day.

Mary-Anne VanderHorst lives in Langley with her husband Burke (who is also a teacher) and their four children.

Mary-Anne earned her BBA from TWU and her BEd from UBC. She first taught for 4.5 years in an independent Christian school in Langley and then joined the TLA team in 2008. She is thrilled to be leading the Grad Program as Vice Principal.

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, camping, running and playing soccer.

I live in Langley with my wife and 3 adult children. I graduated from UBC in 2004 with a Bachelor of Education. I worked for a few years teaching for the Tri Cities school district. I Left my job and became an at home Dad to help our kids with the learning difficulties they were facing. I started with TLA as an Education Assistant about 3 years ago. I enjoy working with the students and seeing them learn and grow through what they learn academically and socially during their time in school. I am looking forward to starting my role as a blended teacher. I like learning new things myself and hope to help students find that enjoyment as well.

Renata joined the TLA family as a homeschooling parent in 2018 and appreciates the
faith-based, family-centred, and flexible support TLA offers. Building connections with
individuals is foundational in supporting learners and Renata looks forward to working
alongside students and their families in their homeschool journey.

Renata’s background in urban ecology led to teaching highschool math and science in the
independent and public school systems, and later a new passion grew as an elementary and
learning assistance teacher. She takes great joy in guiding learning through child-led
curiosity, especially if opportunities occur outdoors.

In her spare time, Renata enjoys spending time with her family, reading, gardening, and
dreaming of a future hobby farm with goats and bee hives!