Overview of ACHEV – Part One: What is ACHEV?
Overview of ACHEV – first in a series!
Please enjoy the first in a series of articles published in the April 2016 newsletter.
What is ACHEV? What is our scope? How are we organized? The answers are found in documents that go back to the founding and the date of incorporation as a nonprofit group. I won’t try to answer them all in one article because, frankly, I crave the luxury and fun of storytelling.
I urge you to read this section faithfully even if you don’t think you interested in these historical details. When I joined ACHEV all I really wanted to know was how to homeschool my kids, make friends, get a list of academic and social activities, and just do it. I didn’t have vision for home education. (I didn’t know there was a vision to have!) I planned to keep the kids home for, oh, a semester or so while we looked for a school. (What is this “vision” and how did I catch it? Watch for member testimonies under Words of Wisdom.)
Years passed as I enjoyed ACHEV, oblivious about its structure and operations. At some point, though, I wondered how certain people ended up in leadership (not that I ever wanted to do that). The answers to these mysteries had been at my fingertips the whole time. I just wasn’t paying attention.
Don’t wait years like I did. Let me walk you through an Overview of ACHEV, because history is not only relevant; it is fascinating and inspiring!
What is ACHEV?
ACHEV started in the early 1980’s as a handful of families banding together to support each other near the very beginning of the Christian homeschool movement. Even HSLDA and CHEA were small, newly formed groups! The homeschool movement grew rapidly despite terrible opposition from the establishment. (That’s an amazing story for another time.)
In 1998, the leaders decided, at the urging of HSLDA, to incorporate. That effort required documenting everything: articulating purpose, policy, bylaws, structure, operations, job descriptions… You get the idea. It was a long arduous labor of love to be sure. The ACHEV leaders of that day put their heads together, prayed fervently, and dedicated long hours to the effort. Guess who headed up the effort to write down everything that mattered? Jane Bozarth. I cannot emphasize enough how important this documentation foundation is to ACHEV’s success, past and present. Thank you, Jane!
Edit to add Jane Bozarth has served in many leadership roles over the years, currently on the Board of Directors. Thank you, Jane, for your dedication and leadership.
