Behind the Scenes

Staley Krause

Our family began homeschooling shortly after enrolling our oldest in a Mother's Morning Out program. The other children in the program were in full-time daycare, making it difficult for our daughter to assimilate; she simply followed the teachers around! We determined that we'd rather have her follow us around and our homeschool adventures began. We home taught both children until high school, at which point our son began attending a classical education co-op and our daughter enrolled in parochial school.

The individualized education that homeshcooling affords is indisputable. But parents require some individualized attention too! That's why the creative outlet I was able to gain from the concept of an eBook education store was of particular interest to me.

After meeting Leah Nieman a fellow homeschooler and friend, and deciding to go forward with an eBook site for homeschoolers, CurrClick.com was born. Our children had to learn that they couldn't talk to us when we were on the phone with a publisher, we had to learn how to budget our limited time, and we most certainly figured out that nothing good comes without a tremendous amount of hard work (and resulting dirty laundry.) Leah and I still talk about how thrilled we were when our first double digit customer signed up for an account.

Currently, I work on marketing and promotions, live class development and new business. I am blessed that my CurrClick colleagues also happen to be some of the most hard working, inspiring and gifted homeschool moms on the planet: Leah, Carrie, Loretta and Roni!

Leah Nieman

Our homeschool journey began in 1991 when my daughter was in Kindergarten. We realized that traditional school hours paired with my husband's 2nd shift job were not going to allow for any family time. Homeschooling solved this problem. It also allowed our kids the freedom to focus on their interests and passions, and learn in the style that was best for them. What started out as a homeschool journey to allow us time together as a family has yielded so many benefits.

One of those benefits was that I met Staley Krause. It was the middle of the day and we both had daughters who were clearly "school age". We struck up a conversation that went along the lines of "Do you homeschool?" Our kids also quickly became friends. Staley and I became close enough that she knew I was a curriculum junkie. She also knew that back in 2004, I was using some ecurriculum (what little of it there was on the market at that time) with my kids. She approached me about the idea of a niche website that would sell curriculum for homeschool families as digital downloads. I loved the idea and CurrClick.com was born.

I currently handle Publisher Accounts, Marketing and Promotions, and new business for CurrClick.com.

Carrie Kerr

I have always had a passion for children and education. Throughout high school, college, and beyond I had the privilege of working with and learning from many children with special needs. What most grasped my attention, even back then, was how critical the parents' involvement was in their own child's development, both educationally and emotionally. This has influenced how I am raising my own children.

I am a home-schooling mom to three great kids. We have a strong home-schooling community, which is where I met Staley and Leah many years ago. I have enjoyed watching them grow CurrClick and using its many resources in our own home. Over the years, I have helped with some small projects at CurrClick and, as my children have gained more independence, I have experienced more opportunities to contribute. I am now dedicated to the development of a CurrClick Special Needs Program, bringing useful resources to the families who need them!

Loretta Rhodes

I am a homeschool mom of 4. I have 3 boys and only one girl to help me keep everyone on track! They are 18, 16, 11, and 4 in ages. They take my classes and love CurrClick also. My oldest, who has been homeschooled since 1st grade, is beginning college this year. Although we have homeschooled for the last twelve years, I was a public educator before that and I continued to bring a classroom experience to homeschoolers over the years, through traditional settings and more recently, online.

I stumbled upon CurrClick during an internet search and instantly fell in love with the resources and affordability. When CurrClick began adding online classes, I was one of the first to begin teaching for them. I loved the experience so much that I have been adding more classes every semester under the classroom name, "Lessons Worth Learning." I have enjoyed getting to know wonderful families from all over the globe through the experience of online classes.

I also manage the live classes and teachers for CurrClick. I enjoy the time I spend training teachers and being a resource person for new ideas to make our classes the best they can be for our CurrClick students and families. In working closely with our teachers and classes, I can tell you that we have the best classroom teachers and classes anywhere!

Roni Bergerson

I started homeschooling about nine years ago when my oldest son was receiving therapy for Autism. I didn't feel the school district was adequately meeting his needs at the time, so I started working with him on my own at home. He improved so dramatically at home versus his improvements while in therapy with the school district, I decided to end services with the school district and handle his therapy myself. When my son turned four years of age, the school district contacted me about a special classroom they had for Autistic kids only. Unfortunately, this class did not work out to meet his needs either and it was then that I withdrew him from the district. I did not know about homeschooling at the time, but soon came across some information on the internet and immediately knew it was the right choice for our family. After a lot more research, we began our family's homeschool journey. During this time, my second son was born and although we didn't know it at the time, he would go on to have special needs as well. Given our experiences with homeschooling, we decided to homeschool him as well.

I came to CurrClick in 2010 as a publisher. Shortly thereafter, CurrClick put out a call for ideas for live clubs and I contacted them with my idea for a LEGO club. A short while later, I was offered an opportunity to work behind the scenes at CurrClick, which I happily accepted. Currently, my duties at CurrClick include coordinating live clubs and starting new clubs, managing the CurrClick Live Student Network, special projects, marketing, and other administrative and operational duties.