Silver SPRUCE Academy Staff

As a lifetime Colorado resident, Natalie Howard enjoys the outdoors, learning, and exploring her world for knowledge. She graduated from Ignacio High School in 1999, attended Fort Lewis College earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and continued her studies in a distance education program at CU Greeley earning a Masters in Education in Administration and Educational Leadership. 

Natalie, her husband and their children have a great appreciation for nature, embarking on family adventures, and learning new things each day.

Natalie has worked with homeschooling families since 2005. Her outgoing and bubbly personality create a social environment for students that exemplifies group interaction and allows for ample opportunities for students to engage in educational experiences. 

Natalie quotes, "I love learning and I love inspiring others to learn. Each person is unique and is skilled in certain qualities, the key is celebrating each child's special gifts and exploring education with that at the forefront."

" Natalie's motto to teaching is organized chaos with no box!"

That is pronounced Shmoots for all you non-German speaking folks. Janna was born and raised in the Four Corners area and graduated from Ignacio High School in 1999. She became certified as a Medical Transcriptionist in 2006 from San Juan College and Career Step. In 2014 Janna obtained a certificate from The Photography Institute in digital photography and became a certified user of Quickbooks. She maintains a substitute teacher license through the State of Colorado each year. Janna is currently studying Marriage and Family Science through Brigham Young University Idaho.   

Janna and Natalie have known each other since preschool and connected again through the homeschooling program that Natalie previously directed. Janna was excited when she heard that Natalie was starting Silver SPRUCE Academy because she believes in the value of homeschooling.       

Janna and her family enjoy Jeeping, boating, camping, and traveling. She quotes, "A traveler's destination is not a place, but what you see and experience"

Tara Douglas is originally from Angleton Texas and graduated from Angleton high in 2005. She also took a photography course at Houston Community College where it expanded her love for the hobby and she turned it into a small business.  She and her family moved to the four corners area in August of 2018 and fell in love with the area and people. They love hiking and exploring the outdoors. She taught classical conversations in a homeschool group for 2 years and was a youth leader for 4 years at her church in Richwood Texas. She is a mother of 4 and has been homeschooling for 5 years. She has over 10 years experience in child education and is passionate about the educational growth of every individual child. She teaches and offers a unique learning style that includes hands on and physical activity. Tara dives in 100% when there is a goal to be reached and teaching children is one of her biggest passions. One of Taras favorite quotes is “we must view young people not as empty bottles to be filled, but as candles to be lit.”

Trudy has lived and raised her children in the Pine River Area. One of her sons still lives in the area. Trudy enjoys riding horses, ranching, roping, barrel racing, and raising dogs. Trudy went back to college after raising her kids. Teaching was her first choice, but after working for the Forest Service spraying weeds and working fires, she realized that she would rather stay outside. She has taught swimming ever since graduating high school in Bayfield. She has worked for the Southern Ute Community Center since it opened. She learned to scuba dive and has spent 10 years working for LandShark Scuba as a cook on their dive trips. Trudy has also taught horseback riding lessons and worked for a substitute teacher in Bayfield, Ignacio, and Las Cruces School Districts. Being around kids keeps a fresh perspective on everything, and she quotes, “It is important to count your rainbows and not your thunderstorms.”