Photo credit – Joseph Miller Photography, LLC
Ruth is the oldest of eight and a homeschool graduate. She and her husband, Jason, currently homeschool their three neurospicy sons (12, 16, 17) in Portsmouth, VA.
Ruth is a doctoral candidate (Educational Psychology) at Regent University (Virginia) and is working on a dissertation on the effects of parental math anxiety on students in the homeschool community. She holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University (Scotland), an MEd in Math Instruction from Regent University (Virginia), a partial degree in Biomedical Engineering from Virginia Commonwealth University (Virginia), and is a Professionally Certified Educational Therapist (PCET) as well as a Level 1 CrossFit trainer.
Ruth has years of experience from being a member of a completely neurodiverse household (ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dysgraphia, auditory processing disorder) and brings a wealth of experience from her many years as a math teacher/tutor and educational/math therapist. She has worked with hundreds of learners (K-12+) over the past 20+ years, has a passion for making math make sense, and a desire to work with parents and students to provide support and reduce math anxiety. Ruth is a co-founder of PATHS (Partners in Academics & Therapeutic Services) where she was also the Math Director, and has previously served as Math Director/Department Head at Landry Academy (online) and Homeschool Plus (Norfolk, VA).
In 2016, Ruth began working with Sarah Olbris as an end-of-year evaluator and quickly fell in love with testing and the opportunities it brought to encourage parents (and students) in their homeschool journey – especially those with different learners. Ruth has the heart, compassion, and vision to partner with homeschool families to equip, educate, and encourage parents and students along their educational journey.
When she’s not testing, Ruth uses her spare time (haha) to enjoy CrossFit, run half and full marathons with her crazy sons to collect more medals, do bookkeeping, teach math classes in person and online, and tutor math students. Ruth loves logic puzzles and coffee, is low-key obsessed with smoking meats, and loves looking out the window at the river while wearing her beloved red Chick-Fil-A snuggie.
NOTE FROM RUTH:
Over the last five years, Sarah Olbris has poured her vast knowledge, passion, and love into training and encouraging me to become the new “Testing Lady” – to include earning a Masters in Education and a PhD!! Sarah is one of the original and true pioneers of the homeschool movement and, while I am not sure I can ever fill her shoes, I will certainly try! Thankfully, she is not leaving completely and will still be available to test, counsel, and advise.
I honor Sarah Olbris for her decades of tireless, sometimes invisible, service and expertise to the homeschool community and am in awe of the hundreds (probably thousands) of individuals she has touched. On January 1, 2026, Sarah handed me the reins to her legacy of 40 years. Words will never adequately capture the profound effect this has had on me. I am honored and humbled by this trust and my prayer is that I remain worthy as I become The Testing Lady. While acutely aware and in awe of the legacy I represent, I look forward to serving the homeschool community however I can through testing, consultation, and encouragement!
Meet Sarah
Sarah, and her husband Dwayne, homeschooled their four children for 18 years. Sarah graduated from Wingate College and NC State University. She has had experience teaching in the public schools in both junior high and high school. She has worked with gifted, average and special-needs children. Sarah has been testing homeschoolers since the late 1980’s and has been doing evaluations and portfolio assessments since the mid-to late ‘90’s.
Her vast experience in testing hundreds of homeschoolers has led her to be a much sought after speaker for homeschool groups and seminars. Her expertise was requested in writing by the Home Educators of Virginia when she was asked to write the section for their manual on testing and evaluations.
In her spare time (smile), Sarah enjoys reading fictional literature, cross stitching, and completing logic puzzles. She also teaches higher level math courses (Pre-Algebra through Pre-Calculus) to homeschooled students. She hopes that her years of experience will be beneficial for you as you glean information from this website.