Tamara Ann McGuire

Tamara Ann McGuire is the mother of four energetic boys ages 6-12, that she has the privilege to homeschool. A native to Orange County California all of her life until moving to Eagle Idaho in 2021, she achieved a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Marketing from California State University, Sacramento (2004). Upon graduation, Tamara went on to dedicate 15 years to advancing her career through corporate America culminating in a Senior Management position where she directed multiple sales teams in California. During this season, her husband Paul founded a small business where Tamara's skill sets were further implemented to improve the management and operational systems for his business. Her life's mission is to inspire, encourage, and teach her boys to love Christ, serve others, and be disciples for the kingdom of God. Her proudest and most important milestones in her life started with the day she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior in 1989, married her best friend in 2008, and became a mom for the first time in 2010. Youth ministries has been a major role of Tamara's heart to serve the kingdom, as she has participated as a camp counselor (Hume Lake), High School Ministries Youth Leader (Saddleback Church), AWANA leader (Compass Bible Church), a Sunday School teacher (Grace Christian Schools), and director of a homeschool hybrid program from 2021-2023 (Independent Learning Academy). Tamara is passionate about everything she does and pours her whole heart into all within her circle of influence. Empowered with the word of God and led by the Holy Spirit, Tamara seeks to be separated for Christ through all things even when there is lack of understanding.

Natasha Austin

From a young age, Natasha has always loved working with and teaching others. As a child, she was homeschooled from 3rd through 8th grade. Her mom took her sister and her on many different road trips where history came alive. This sparked her love of learning, inspiring her to think outside of the box for her future students. Eventually, Natasha started traveling the world and teaching abroad, sparking a newfound appreciation for different cultures and desire to help the world in a bigger way through education. Working with children and educating others has always been her passion, and she feels blessed to have the opportunity to do so.  

In 2013, Natasha graduated from Pepperdine University with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and earned her teaching credential. While teaching in the classroom full time in Southern California, she went on to pursue her master's degree in education through California Baptist University. She taught at Desert Sands Unified for five years working with students ranging from Kindergarten through 8th grade. 

From 2019-2021, Natasha was a teacher for a charter school based in Southern California. The charter school's model provided personalized learning and education for all students in the homeschool community. While serving in this model, Natasha created personalized learning plans for her students, supported families in different curriculum choices, and monitored, organized, and assessed her students toward grade level standards. She also had the opportunity to create and teach two online writing courses for middle school. Having been a product of the homeschool model herself, she became very passionate about the opportunities to support families and students virtually and in-person in their personalized learning goals while also still being able to provide direct instruction using technology.  While developing two online writing courses, she began developing her own writing curriculum that eventually culminated into self publishing it for her in-person classes she teaches today.

In the summer of 2021, Natasha moved to Boise, Idaho and began to serve the homeschool community in a larger way. She started up TRUACE Educational Services, her own business that provides different educational services and personalized tutoring to students in the Boise area. Additionally, Natasha served as a teacher and Academic Coordinator within Independent Learning Academy Meridian, a non-profit homeschool hybrid ministry program designed to provide core and elective classes to the homeschooling community.  She also served as registrar for the ILA high school programs in California where she collaborated and mentored high school students.  She met with them to discuss their post-graduation goals while creating transcripts and transcript legends. 

Natasha is excited to serve as teacher and Academic Coordinator this year for Ethos Academy.  She believes in personalized education and the parent's right to choose the method and materials in which they want to educate their children and bases her entire educational philosophy off of Proverbs 22:6 -  "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."

While Natasha is not teaching, she is an adventure enthusiast.  She loves riding her road bike and mountain bike, traveling, exploring new secluded spots in nature, paddleboarding, trying new things, baking sourdough bread, learning how to dirt bike, and spending time with her friends and family.