Cheryl Trzasko
Homeschool mom.
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Mark Trzasko
Florida certified teacher since 2000. 21 years experience teaching in public schools. Proud homeschool dad. Homeschool evaluator since 2020. "When it comes to school, there's no place like home." |
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About.
In 2005, after two years of doing Florida home education evaluations for local families, Cheryl was frustrated with the misinformation she saw posted online about Florida home education evaluations and wanted to create a place where homeschool families could get accurate information. Those families asked her if she could do evaluations for them, even if they were across the state, and thus FL Homeschool Evaluations came into being, first on Yahoo! Groups, then on Facebook and Instagram, and now here.
Cheryl Trzasko first homeschooled as a child in 1971 when her family was sailing the world in a cement yacht built by her father. Her mother's plan to have a trained teacher in the crew to teach Cheryl didn't work as planned, and her parents reluctantly took on homeschooling her themselves. Her father's dislike of the New Math program led him to create his own math program without a textbook or workbook; Cheryl credits his unorthodox methods with setting the foundation that eventually led to a degree in math from the University of Chicago.
Since then, Cheryl's not only homeschooled her own from the very beginning, but she's taught a relative's child, a friend's child, and a lot of other children through homeschool co-op classes and clubs. She's led PBC Homeschoolers, Inc., a local inclusive homeschool support group, since 2009. She has run pages on Yahoo! Groups and Facebook for FL Homeschool Evaluations since 2005 where she's not only offered evaluation services but has assisted homeschoolers and evaluators alike as they seek to understand Florida's evaluation and other homeschooling laws and regulations. She's worked to reassure new homeschooling parents and help them find their own way.
Cheryl's years of teaching in school systems convinced her that homeschooling is a better option for those willing to commit the time and energy required, and she works to encourage others through their homeschool journeys.
Since then, Cheryl's not only homeschooled her own from the very beginning, but she's taught a relative's child, a friend's child, and a lot of other children through homeschool co-op classes and clubs. She's led PBC Homeschoolers, Inc., a local inclusive homeschool support group, since 2009. She has run pages on Yahoo! Groups and Facebook for FL Homeschool Evaluations since 2005 where she's not only offered evaluation services but has assisted homeschoolers and evaluators alike as they seek to understand Florida's evaluation and other homeschooling laws and regulations. She's worked to reassure new homeschooling parents and help them find their own way.
Cheryl's years of teaching in school systems convinced her that homeschooling is a better option for those willing to commit the time and energy required, and she works to encourage others through their homeschool journeys.
- FL Home Education Evaluator since 2003
- Consultant helping various home educated students polish up documentation and get into college since 2012
- Florida Certified Teacher since 1995
- Previously certified by the U.S. Dept. of Defense
- Taught in a wide variety of high schools (and middle schools) in Florida public and private schools, as well as other schools including a Dept. of Defense Dependents School in South Korea and a Chicago private school
- Local homeschool support group leader since 2009
- Tutor for decades
- Interviewer for the University of Chicago’s Admissions Office for 7.5 years
- Homeschooled for part of her own elementary school years
- Author of Around the World in a Cement Boat: A Young Girl's True Adventure available from online book sellers
- Author of a number of homeschooling articles for various publications
- Author of FL Homeschool Evaluations 101: A Complete Guide to Florida Home Education Evaluations released in 2020
- Has helped a variety of homeschool families when local Florida school districts have over-stepped their bounds--including when some Florida districts attempted to prevent homeschooling after public schools shut down in 2020
- Speaker on homeschooling laws in Florida, motivating students, homeschooling high school, and other related topics for a variety of online and in-person events
- Participated in a committee to critique proposed changes to the Florida Dept. of Education's Office of Choice's Home Education FAQ page in 2020 and again in 2022 to create documents for the Florida Dept. of Education to provide for convenience of home education parents.
- Began an online support group for those interested in Florida homeschooling in 2020 which in early 2023 has grown to over 16,000 members
- Began an online support group for homeschool evaluators in 2020, which grew to over 300 members
- President of the Association of Florida Evaluators, AFEvaluators.com
---- - Mark Trzasko, Cheryl's husband and certified teacher, began assisting with evaluations in 2020
- Mark has taught in schools in Michigan and Florida
- Mark's been certified to teach English language arts in Florida since 2000
- Mark has Florida's Gifted endorsement as well as the Reading Endorsement and the ESOL endorsement
- Mark is also certified by the state of Florida to teach Latin
- Mark's been twice nominated for the prestigious Dwyer Award by his colleagues
- A middle school language arts teacher, he led clubs focused on learning Latin and Greek
- Retired from public school teaching after 21 years
Have questions about the evaluation process? About the documentation required by the state? About homeschooling in general? Cheryl has been fielding questions and helping homeschool parents since 2003.
Cheryl firmly believes that homeschooling can provide the best education possible for those children whose parents are willing and able to invest the time and energy required; she loves to help others figure out their own family's homeschooling journey.
Cheryl firmly believes that homeschooling can provide the best education possible for those children whose parents are willing and able to invest the time and energy required; she loves to help others figure out their own family's homeschooling journey.
