Meet Monise
Former K-12 educator turned edu-blogger, entreprenuer, and homeschooling mom of two.
Monise was born and raised in South Bend, IN. A product of public schools, she went on to graduate from the University of Notre Dame, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a concentration in African American Studies. Monise moved to the Atlanta area in 2002 to begin her first teaching job as a Special Education Teacher. After 5 years, Monise reluctantly walked away from the classroom to homeschool her oldest child and complete graduate studies. Although Monise is still passionate about the quality of public education, she realized that her children’s needs were not being met and their opportunities to explore creativity and develop as thinkers were slowly being replaced by bubble tests. Her family started their homeschool year this past July. You can read more about their discoveries in the Journey Into Homeschooling (Again) blog series.
With the help of a great and supportive life coach, @Stephanie_Alva of @MyLifeKeys, Monise has reinvented herself; she’s found the courage and creativity to do the things she really loves: Baking and helping kids develop an appreciation for the arts. This past March, Monise launched her naturally-sweetened cake business, ‘Heaven Must Be Like This‘.. You can read more about the inspiration for the business in the blog series Chronicles in Entrepreneurship and you can also follow the First 100 Days As An Entrepreneur series.
In addition to blogging on her own sites, she has been a guest blogger/contributor on the following sites:
Guest Blog/Writing Contributions
Atlanta Educational Reform Examiner:
Parents Get Test Anxiety Too (February 19, 2012)
Quick Tips to Navigating and Surviving the Special Education System (September 8, 2010)
Who and What Determines If Kids Are College Material? (September 28, 2010)
Gwinnett Homeschool Examiner:
Homeschool Spotlight: The Atlanta History Center (August 31, 2012)
The Role of Standardized Testing in the Homeschool Classroom (August 24, 2012)
Homeschooling Families Embrace Social Media to Connect (August 20, 2012)
Go Ahead & Free Yourself: Knowing When To ‘Unfriend’ People From Your Life (July 17, 2012)
Who Will Take A Stand? (March 25, 2010)
When Things Unsaid, Say a lot (June 24, 2010)
Race to the Top Success Requires Admission of a Broken Education System (December 6, 2010)
Feel free to follow and interact with Monise on Twitter: @MoniseLSeward
{ 12 comments }
What neither mother nor father, nor any relative can do, a well-directed mind does and thereby elevates one.
Buddha
thanks!
James
I think you’re onto something really great. You have some quality content on Examiner. I hope you can bridge the gap between students, parents and teachers. I think kids have a lot to say and don’t always have the platform to talk without being judged, especially kids in high school because we ALL think we know everything by the time we have “teen” anywhere in our ages. Nice to meet you on Twitter.
Thank you so much! This is on my list for tomorrow!
I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet with you. I admire you passion. You will always be in my prayers. You are definitely fighting the good fight. I look forward to your future blogs.
M.V.I.M.C.
Thank you! We aren’t done yet! We have a lot of work to do…
Monise,
I’m a homeschool father of 4 from Athens, GA that has developed a website that allows you to file your Declaration of Intent and monthly homeschool attendance records online. A number of families signed up last year and now I’m trying to get the word out to other counties (prior to the Declaration of Intent Sept 1 deadline).
The site is easy to use and a huge time-saver! Once you sign up you’ll be able to file your monthly attendance in less than 1 minute. It emails you reminders on the 1st of each month and even sends you a return receipt email when the school district opens your report.
Here’s the link: https://www.homeschoolcompliance.com
I had some difficulties with Cobb county and possibly Fulton. I’m wondering if you might be a help to me by writing an article about the site and the challenges of working with the local school districts?
Here’s my number:
Scott Meadows
(706)-353-3548
I have worked to teach economically disadvantedged students how to study and succeed in K12 schools and colleges. I’ve written three books, the Seven Secrets of How to Study, the Parent’s Ultimate education Guide and the Ultimate Scholarship Guide. If there is any way that I can assist you feel free to call me at 610-842-3843.
when do you think this charter school will be up and running? I work at a performing arts hs and I can’t wait to read/see more on what this school will do.
Probably not until 2012 unless we can raise funding to open as an independent school, which I prefer because then we can avoid all local politics, create our own curriculum, and eliminate some of the state tests. I will keep you posted!
I just left a comment on your latest post and came here in hopes to a shortcut to your twitter account
And now, as your passion screams through your about page, I am even more excited about the potential for further conversation. I so appreciate your candor and commitment to get important conversations out in the open. Thank you.
Jenna
Ms. Seward,
I applaud your excellence and commitment to preserving and providing equity in public education. As a fellow education scholar and aspiring education entrepreneur I am thankful to hear your story. I look forward to the dialogue!
Warm regards,
Charles H.F. Davis III
University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education
M.S.Ed 2010 / Ph.D. 2012
Thank you! We definitely need to keep in touch. There are several people on Twitter who aspire to do great things to bring actual equity to public education, with regard to leadership as opposed to solely in the classroom.
Monise
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