Our Story
STUDENTS ENROLLED
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P.A.S.S. TESTS TAKEN
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DISTINCT TITLES PUBLISHED
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The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.
HEWITT’S ORIGINS
In 1963-64, the original founders of Hewitt identified a group of professional men and women who were concerned about trends in health, education, welfare, and the family and decided to put their concerns into action. They organized first as Cedar Springs Foundation, and in 1964 were approved as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation was renamed Hewitt Research Foundation in 1969 to honor its co-founder Carl Hewitt. Dr. Raymond Moore, the other co-founder, served as director until 1987. His work was published in Time, Newsday, and Columbia University’s Teachers College Record. He was also the author of several books such as Home Grown Kids, School Can Wait, and Home-Style Teaching all of which placed Hewitt at the forefront of the home-schooling movement.
The Foundation became a not-for-profit California corporation with a mission to equip families to educate their own children using the best resources available.
HEWITT’S PAST
Beginning in 1983, the primary function of the Foundation shifted from consultation with educational institutions to an examination of institutions in society as they relate to society’s basic unit—the family. Hewitt’s research led it to be a proponent of homeschooling, which has experienced its own renaissance. With an estimated 1.2 million students across the country at the turn of the century [Wall Street Journal, March 5, 1997], homeschooling has become a very valid option for American parents. According to research, homeschoolers test in the 87th percentile on the complete battery of basic skills—37% higher than the national norm.
Hewitt Homeschooling has continued to follow a balanced, flexible approach to homeschooling throughout the years. Our emphasis includes combining excellent academics with whole-person development, instilling work ethic, and developing a spirit of community service in the next generation.
Until 2019, Hewitt operated out of an 8,750-sq. ft. facility in Washougal, Washington with a staff dedicated to carrying out the mission of Hewitt Research Foundation.
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HEWITT’S PRESENT
In the fall of 2019, several key members of Hewitt’s staff and board decided it was time to retire. They handed the reins over to a new staff who could continue to serve learners everywhere. Our offices moved from Washougal to Spokane, Washington and a new board is in the process of forming.
With a current client base of over 30,000, Hewitt’s operation is currently divided into three sectors: Services, Products, and Testing. We offer services for students from kindergarten age through high-school graduation, including:
- curricula,
- standardized testing for grades three through eight with our own PASS test which was specifically written for homeschoolers,Â
- curriculum recommendations, coaching, and written evaluations for students from junior high through high school, and
- programs that help students develop innovative ideas, apps, and prototypes.
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HEWITT’S FUTURE
A strong superstructure must always be built on a strong foundation. Hewitt Research Foundation strives to continue the work started by the previous board and staff including the advancement of several areas.
Website and Online Store: Following our server crash, we are taking the opportunity both to “move to the cloud” and to rebuild our entire site. Watch for continual changes, and let us know how we’re doing, or if there is a feature you are missing or would like to see. Meanwhile, all of our products and services are available.
Testing: We will be looking for funding to re-norm and update the popular PASS test so that it can continue to serve homeschoolers everywhere.
Publishing: As the Lightning Lit series approaches completion, we plan to publish updated editions on a rotating basis as well as expanding our High School titles. Due to popular demand, we also plan to expand the “My First Report” series. We have also joined together with Kid’s Chemical Solutions to publish the M.C. Detective Agency series.Â
Programs: We have partnered with Innovation World to run the National Innovator Challenges. We also provide homeschool grading services upon request.
Homeschooling Resources: We hope to expand our library of resources available to homeschoolers through our website.
Our Team
Jack Lewis
Having led non-profits for over 38 years, Dr. Lewis was invited to assume the presidency of Hewitt in light of the retirement of now President Emeritus, April Purtell. Having earned a PhD in Educational Leadership from Gonzaga University, he spent over 20 years in Higher Education Leadership. Dr. Lewis also comes with experience in homeschooling some of his own children (the lead role in that context taken by his wife of over 40 years, Cheryl). In addition, he and his wife have also been involved in the homeschooling of some of their grandchildren. The Lewises have four grown children, currently boast of ten grandchildren, and enjoy the privilege of living with some of them in a four-generational home.
President
Jane Tucker
Assistant
Kristin Lehman
Kristin Lehman has spent years working on the title “eclectic learner.” She worked in Higher Ed for over 13 years, teaching schools including Eastern Washington University and Whitworth University. During that time she wrote a textbook, set up curriculum for an Aviation major, and helped establish the mathematics scope and sequence for multiple programs. She also taught coding, astronomy, & mathematical artistry to elementary students as a community collaborator for Spokane Public Schools’ homeschool Parent Partnership Program. She studied Wilderness Leadership, Linguistics, and Interpreting for the Deaf, and holds an advanced degree in Mathematics from Eastern Washington University. She worked as the Director for Invent Washington before joining Hewitt Learning. She helped found the Independent Innovator Challenge in the spring of 2021. Kristin and her husband currently homeschool their four children.
Director
Jared Nelson
IT
Michael Gaunt
Born in North Carolina, Michael Gaunt has had the pleasure of living in many different parts of the US and abroad. He met his wife while they were in graduate school studying medieval history at the University of York in England. Upon his return to the States in 1998, he went to work as a teacher/counselor at Hewitt Homeschooling Resources where he has been ever since. Years of experience working with homeschooling students and families have helped him to revamp many of Hewitt’s class offerings to better meet the needs of the homeschooling community as well as to recognize the variety of situations and the flexibility of approaches required to best serve each student. He was also able to assist Elizabeth Kamath in the development of the Lightning Lit program which has proved so useful to so many. After his twins, he is proudest of the high level of achievement of his students, both at Hewitt and in their lives after Hewitt.
HS Director
Christa Mattocks
Designer
Our Board
Anne Haugaard
A native to the Pacific Northwest, Anne was raised on the strong foundation of Hewitt curriculum. When her parents realized the incomparable benefits of one-on-one instruction and the beauty and limitless bounds inherent when parent and child bond as teacher and student, they made the choice to homeschool Anne and her brother and never looked back. During her summers in high school and college, she worked at Hewitt in the customer service and shipping departments. The company and its mission are still closely held in her heart. Anne received her Bachelor's of Arts in Environmental Studies from Hawai'i Pacific University and Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Oregon. She is a family law attorney in Portland, Oregon. In her spare time, Anne loves going on outdoor adventures, whether camping, hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, or just sitting beside the fire enjoying fellowship with friends.
Board Chair
Christal Gamble
Christal shares her adventures as the parent and homeschool educator of her
son, Cash, a Gifted Learner, on her Instagram page @Mamasweetbaby. Christal realized that her unique point of view could be beneficial to other families who share similar experiences, so she started a blog, Facebook pages, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube channel, all with the same name. Christal supports any parents interested in Learning at Home. She believes that a parent is the child's first and most important teacher. She frequently shares free educational resources, events, competitions, curriculum reviews, books, and additional support specifically for Gifted and Diverse learners.
Board
Jaclyn Parrott
Currently serving as Assistant Professor, Collection Management Librarian, and Religious Studies Subject Liaison at EWU Libraries, Jacki has years of professional librarianship experience (including serving five years as Branch Librarian at Moody Bible Institute-Spokane Library), as well as an extensive customer service and leadership background. She earned an MDiv from Moody Theological Seminary, a Professional Librarian’s Life Certificate, an MLISc, (Library and Information Science) from University of Hawai’i, and a BA in Communication Studies (with a Business Administration minor) from Eastern Washington University. She was homeschooled the first six years of her formal education. Besides a passion for education, she enjoys spending time with her Springerdoodle Fyodor, recreating in the outdoors, traveling, reading, enjoying music, riding her motorcycle, taking pictures, and hanging with friends and family.
Board
Alfrea Moore
The homeschooling mom of two, Alfrea is the Founder & Publisher of Melanated Gold Homeschool Magazine and the Owner of the Melanated Gold Review Squad. The rapid growth and broad reach of these endeavors reveal her entrepreneurial strengths. With a Master of Arts in Human Services and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, her experience and strengths include "Thinking Outside the Box'' problem solutions, social media strategy, and networking/community building.
Board
Daniel Ward
Daniel has invested over twenty years in education, serving as Dean of Students for the Spokane Campus of Moody Bible Institute and as an adjunct faculty member at both the high school and college levels. Evident in his experience as a part of the leadership team at Moody, augmented by his MBA, his eye for analyzing processes and possibilities make him a clear asset for any organization he chooses to serve. He and his wife Cherice have three daughters, homeschooling being a significant part of their educational path.
Board
Martha Gady
Martha was born in Kolhapur India as the daughter of missionaries. She was raised being homeschooled and attending boarding school before her family returned to the US where she attended Seattle Public Schools. Martha has a BS from Seattle Pacific University with majors in mathematics and computer science. She also has an MS from Texas A&M in applied mathematics and is ABD from Washington State University in Mathematics Education. She is currently an associate professor at Whitworth University in the Mathematics and Computer Science Department, where she started teaching in 1984. Her areas of specialization are mathematics education and statistics. For the past 4 years she has also served as the department chair.
Martha enjoys biking, cross-country skiing, and needle work. Her favorite way to spend her time with her husband, Steve, daughter, Sarah, and son-in-law, Chris.
Board
Our Authors
Elizabeth Kamath
Elizabeth Kamath has a B.A. in psychology and worked many years as a technical writer. She had over ten years experience grading home-school student English papers before she began developing curriculum for Hewitt. She has written thirteen of the current twenty Lightning Lit guides. In addition to her writing, Elizabeth is kept busy by her husband, two sons (who she homeschools), two cats, two chickens, and a snake.
Author
Colleen Kelley, PhD
Colleen Kelley received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Richmond, and herPh.D. in Organometallic Chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University. She continued her studies having been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the University Louis Pasteur with the Nobel Laureate, Professor Jean-Marie Lehn. Colleen was a tenured faculty member at Northern Arizona University with research focusing on metal toxicology and chemical education. Her teaching duties have spanned from graduate level courses all the way to elementary school courses. In 2017, she taught chemistry in rural Kenya. Colleen is passionate about chemistry, discovery, chemical education and how to create a profound and robust learning environment for all students. Colleen now teaches organic chemistry at the University of Arizona. She is the author of M.C. Detective Agency, a fun comic book series for kids ages 8 and up!
Author
Michael Gaunt
Born in North Carolina, Michael Gaunt has had the pleasure of living in many different parts of the US and abroad. He met his wife while they were in graduate school studying medieval history at the University of York in England. Upon his return to the States in 1998, he went to work as a teacher/counselor at Hewitt Homeschooling Resources where he has been ever since. Years of experience working with homeschooling students and families have helped him to revamp many of Hewitt’s class offerings to better meet the needs of the homeschooling community as well as to recognize the variety of situations and the flexibility of approaches required to best serve each student. He was also able to assist Elizabeth Kamath in the development of the Lightning Lit program which has proved so useful to so many. After his twins, he is proudest of the high level of achievement of his students, both at Hewitt and in their lives after Hewitt.
Author
Lucy S.R. Austen
Lucy S. R. Austen is a freelance writer, editor, and homeschooling mother who loves sharing her enjoyment of reading, writing, and thinking. She was homeschooled from kindergarten through sixth grade, and again in eleventh grade, before going on to earn a B.A. in English from the University of Washington. She has worked for Hewitt Homeschooling Resources as a high-school English evaluator, and as editor of Spring Hill Review, a (print-only) journal of Pacific Northwest culture. Her textbooks, British Christian Authors and American Christian Authors, are part of Hewitt's Lightning Literature & Composition series, and she has a full-length biography of Elisabeth Elliot forthcoming from Crossway. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, working in the garden, and watching the antics of her family's two cats, four goats, six chickens, and nine runner ducks.
Author
Brenda Cox
Brenda S. Cox is an American who has spent most of her adult life living and working in the Middle East. She homeschooled her four children, and several other students, through high school. She currently trains people in teaching and learning Arabic, and hopes to soon complete a master’s degree in applied linguistics. She also enjoys teaching Arabic to her oldest granddaughter! Brenda has friends of many nationalities and loves to share the joys of different languages and cultures with others. She has written articles and stories about languages and cultures for children and adults.
Author
