Classroom with a View has been designing and leading courses since 2001. We understand the inherent responsibility in leading young adults. Our primary goal is to complete each course safely. Our diverse backgrounds ensure safe, wise judgment throughout the field course. We understand what a parent’s most treasured possession is and we will not compromise the safety of any individual - student or instructor.

As time draws closer to each field course, we assemble a balanced team from our pool of qualified instructors. In selecting instructors, we value leaders who have wise judgment, familiarity with homeschooling, commitment to our mission, ability to work with teens and desire to work with teens. Some courses require a set of very specific skills such as wilderness travel skills, Spanish fluency, experience traveling internationally and more.

Each team of instructors is put together to balance and provide the many qualifications and skills needed to lead a group safely and successfully for the specific location and course content. Most importantly, we select leaders whom you can trust with your children.
We'd like you to meet some of the instructors in our Classroom with a View family.

Mindy Lindgren – Instructor, Founder & Board Chair Classroom with a View is the most rewarding thing I've done in my professional life. With a background in Girl Scouts, National Park Service and teaching, I find CWAV combines many of my passions: teaching, working with teens and learning in real life settings. Just like the students, I too walk away from each course with a life changing experience. The homeschoolers I’ve met are such outstanding individuals full of good will toward others, high values, strong ethics and true character, that my life is richer from knowing them. I look forward to the next adventure with more great teens!

Lacey Ruskin – Instructor & Board Member When I first heard of CWAV, I knew it was something I needed to be involved with. The ultimate improvisation where all the players finish the exercise with lessons and tools to use in the next real life scenario. We all win! From the seasoned traveler to the first time away from home, to be with teenagers in an unfamiliar setting, meeting the challenges, adjusting to the dynamics and growing with every choice is an experience I am honored to be a part of again and again.

Lisa Shelby – Instructor & Board Member I have always thrived being outside exploring, just seeing what I can discover next. As a professional educator and mom, I enjoy sharing my love of learning and the outdoors with incredible young people. I am thrilled to be a part of Classroom with a View, a program that encourages me to do just what I love to do! Each course offers up new challenges and adventures, never knowing exactly what experiences I will take away with me after interacting with such amazing people in such amazing places. CWAV creates authentic learning situations one does not forget, and I am excited to be a part of many more CWAV adventures!

Mike Lindgren – Instructor Even with so many great things in this world to experience, it seems like many people get bogged down with daily life, and never really get around to doing anything out of the ordinary. I feel very fortunate to be a part of such a wonderful opportunity for students to travel and learn; one that, most likely, would not be available without Classroom with a View. I look forward to many more adventures in Alaska and around the globe. I strongly encourage each and every student to experience a Classroom with a View. Personal warning: This program may have wonderfully positive effects on its participants. Some initial symptoms may include happiness, curiosity, excitement, maturity and confidence. Additional symptoms vary from person to person. See your Classroom with a View specialist for details.

David Pavish – Instructor & Board Member Classroom with a View is by far the most fulfilling job I have ever had! For the first time in my thirteen years of working with youth I am a part of an organization that not only guides youth in their academic development, but creates a learning environment that allows youth to grow in all aspects of their life. From Youth Pastor, to Student Affairs professional to outdoor educator, my life experience has shaped me into someone who has a passion to do this great work. In the six years that I have worked with CWAV, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with the most amazing students. I truly am blessed to be a guide for the great journeys that we have and will share together.

Boe Barnett – Instructor I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of CWAV. From fellow instructors, from students I've worked with, and from the unique locations in which we find ourselves, I always seem to learn something new. But for me, the CWAV experience is about more than knowledge. It is about making meaningful connections with people you might not otherwise ever come to know. I feel that my life is richer because of these relationships, and I look forward to forming more of them.

Jen Barnett – Instructor & Executive Director I became a teacher hoping to have a positive impact on students’ lives in a typical classroom setting. After becoming involved with homeschoolers, and especially with CWAV, I quickly realized how many educational opportunities exist outside of the brick and mortar building. Textbooks and traditional teaching methods can certainly lay a foundation for learning, but when we step into the world and experience things firsthand, learning takes on greater meaning. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with such outstanding people and to travel and create new experiences with some truly amazing young adults. I love watching students grow as people and develop skills during these courses and to learn from these inspiring teens as they offer their own strengths and insight to the entire group. CWAV has been an incredibly rewarding, energizing, and FUN experience, and I look forward to more journeys in the future.

Rob Shelby – Instructor & Board Member My educational philosophy is that every moment has the potential to be a teachable one, and experience is the greatest teacher of all. Classroom With A View embodies this belief and has allowed me to work with some amazing students. As an outdoor educator, I feel that CWAV offers a perfect balance between challenging the student to excel and helping the student to develop confidence and self-awareness. I look forward to the opportunity to be both instructor and student with every new CWAV adventure.

Interested in becoming a Classroom with a View instructor? Contact us.

“My husband and I were impressed with the quality of the teachers. To have such experienced and highly qualified teachers leading this trip was terrific!”
- Parent, Spanish Immersion '03

See what others have to say about CWAV