East Valley Parent Partnership: Homeschool/in-person program helps Isabella Mattke excel
Isabella Mattke has shone in her years at the East Valley Parent Partnership, a program that brings together homeschooling with school district support that includes classes, curriculum and equipment.
Mattke has been in the program since kindergarten. She is autistic and her mother thought she would need extra support in school. “I have a learning disability, so it seemed like a better option to homeschool me,” she said.
She particularly likes the supplemental classes the program offers. “The classes are fun,” she said. “There’s pottery and art and I really like doing that.”
Mattke said she has enjoyed her time at the East Valley Parent Partnership and is grateful she didn’t have to attend a much larger mainstream school. “I like it a lot,” she said. “It’s easier to make friends.”
Counselor Mary-Hope Lakin said the EVPP has enjoyed working with Mattke. “We have had the honor of watching her grow into an amazing young woman,” Larkin said. “She had her bumps along the way, especially in math, but her work ethic and perseverance allowed her to successfully navigate these times.”
Mattke said she was able to get through her math classes with the help of the EVPP. “I definitely struggled with that,” she said. “I had to have one-on-one help and the East Valley Parent Partnership provided that.”
On the other end of the scale, she has loved studying English. “I like writing and telling stories,” she said.
She spent much of her childhood competing in horse shows, including dressage and jumping, on a horse her family bred and raised named Timbuctoo. She stopped doing shows last year and now she and her horse can be found riding the trails near her house.
She’s definitely been keeping busy, however. For the past two years Mattke has been enrolled in the criminal justice program at the NEWTech Skills Center. She said she’s interested in pursuing a career in social work and believes studying criminal justice will help her.
This year she also joined the girl’s varsity wrestling team at East Valley High School. She said she enjoys the physicality of it and that it’s based on her skill alone. She earned a letter in the sport. “It’s not the typical sport,” she said. “It’s one on one.”
She’s also been spending some of her time helping out in the EVPP kindergarten room. “It’s nice helping out where I was raised,” she said.
Larkin said Mattke has been “amazing” with the younger students and if she ever pursues a career in early childhood education, she would be welcome at EVPP. “We would love for her to come back and teach some classes for us,” Larkin said.
After she graduates this spring, Mattke plans to attend Spokane Falls Community College and get a certificate in social work. She would then like to finish her bachelor’s degree at a four-year college, possibly the University of Washington. Her ultimate goal is to start working in a school, perhaps as a teacher, and then transition into social work.
“I think it looks cool,” she said of social work. “I just really want to help people. I think it’s a good way to help people and help kids.”