Natalie Mack

Natalie Mack is an American homeschool consultant, author, and speaker recognized as a leading advocate for military homeschooling families. A retired U.S. Navy chaplain's spouse who homeschooled her five children over more than two decades of frequent military relocations, she is the founder and executive director of the Military Homeschoolers Association (MHA) and a former military community outreach coordinator for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).^[1][2]

Early life and homeschooling journey

Mack is the spouse of a U.S. Navy chaplain who retired after 34 years of military service; over the course of his career the family relocated roughly 16 to 18 times, including an overseas posting to Naples, Italy, where Mack homeschooled while stationed under NATO Status of Forces Agreement rules.^[3][2] In an account published by Stand Together, Mack traced her decision to homeschool to a moment at church when she noticed her youngest daughter showed a stronger bond with her day care provider than with her, which led her to conclude she was missing the chance to instill her family's values in her children.^[1] She began homeschooling shortly afterward and, over the following 23 years, homeschooled all five of her children through high school graduation and into college and graduate study; her children's subsequent achievements include a master's degree in social work and licensure as a clinical social worker, a master's degree in international education, and, as of 2025, ongoing graduate study in urban planning at Virginia Tech.^[1][2]

Work with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association

In 2020, Mack became a High School Educational Consultant with HSLDA, and in 2021 she was named the organization's Military Community Outreach Coordinator, a position she created and developed to serve military homeschooling families.^[2] In that role she provided consultations and resources to military homeschoolers, school liaison officers, military homeschool support groups, and state homeschool organizations, and trained school liaison officers at events such as the school liaison program summit in San Antonio.^[2][3] HSLDA has credited Mack with mentoring military spouses who went on to found their own homeschool communities on military installations, including the Monterey Military Homeschool Community in California and the reactivated Camp Lejeune and New River Homeschool Families group in North Carolina; Mack, along with those two leaders, met in person for the first time at the BJU Military Homeschool Leaders Conference, co-hosted by Bob Jones University and HSLDA in Greenville, South Carolina.^[4]

Military Homeschoolers Association

Mack is the founder and executive director of the Military Homeschoolers Association (MHA), a nonprofit dedicated to advocacy, partnerships, and support for military homeschooling families.^[2] According to Stand Together, which covered the organization's work as part of its education-focused reporting, Mack founded MHA after concluding that although a wealth of resources existed for military families generally, those resources were not reaching homeschooling households specifically.^[1] MHA offers educational resources, training, networking events, and mentorship programs, and produces the "Base2Base" podcast, which shares homeschooling tips and resources tied to different duty stations; the organization has also partnered with organizations such as United Through Reading on a summer reading club and a deployment initiative in which service members record themselves reading books to their children.^[1] MHA's board represents all six U.S. military branches.^[1] Mack has met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Military Community and Family Policy as part of the organization's advocacy work.^[1]

2024 survey and research

In 2024, MHA conducted what it described as the first survey ever administered specifically to military homeschooling families, gathering responses from 763 households; the organization has said it intends to repeat the survey annually.^[1] The survey found that 60 percent of respondents cited dissatisfaction with traditional school options as a reason for homeschooling, 58 percent said their faith influenced the decision, and other respondents pointed to concerns about bullying and school violence.^[1] Separately, a March 2025 analysis by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, using U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data, found that 12 percent of active-duty military respondents reported homeschooling during the 2023–2024 school year, compared with 6 percent of civilians, and that the civilian rate had roughly doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic while the military rate had stayed relatively flat.^[5] Commenting on the findings, Mack described stability during frequent moves and increased family time following deployments as traditional motivations for military families to homeschool, alongside newer factors such as accommodating neurodivergent children and avoiding bullying or school violence.^[5]

Fort Belvoir Home Educators and local advocacy

Mack serves as president of Fort Belvoir Home Educators, a large military homeschool support group in northern Virginia organized as a 501(c)(7) nonprofit.^[3][2] She has described working closely with installation school liaison officers to secure space and programming for homeschooling families; through a partnership with Fort Belvoir's Child and Youth Services and school liaison officer Kristen Acquah, the group gained access to a large on-post facility during weekday hours, where it has been able to offer art, STEM, and physical-education classes, along with events such as ice cream socials and curriculum sales.^[3] Mack has said such partnerships help address one of the central logistical challenges facing military homeschool groups: finding consistent, low-cost space to meet, host classes, and welcome newly arrived families.^[3]

Writing and public commentary

Mack is the author of 101 Tips for Homeschoolers and has written numerous articles on homeschooling, including contributions to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Military Families magazine, where a 2023 piece by Mack outlined considerations for military parents weighing homeschooling, including finding support groups, navigating state-by-state legal requirements, selecting curricula, and addressing misconceptions about socialization.^[3][2] As of 2023, she was reported to be writing a further guide titled Homeschooling on the Move: Military-Style.^[3] Mack has delivered a TEDx talk on the impact of homeschooling that has drawn more than 37,000 views, and has appeared as a guest on numerous podcasts discussing military homeschooling.^[2] In an April 2023 episode of "PCS With Military.com," hosted by Amy Bushatz, Mack discussed the legality of homeschooling for military families in all 50 states and overseas under NATO Status of Forces Agreements, the role of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) in supporting overseas homeschoolers, and strategies for connecting with homeschool communities after a permanent change of station.^[6]

Other work

Beyond her homeschooling advocacy, Mack owns Natalie Mack, LLC, which provides mentorship to homeschoolers, consultation on military homeschooling to Department of Defense-affiliated organizations, and, through the company's website, classes and microschool support services.^[2][7] She is also the chief executive of Bella Bling by Natalie, a Paparazzi Accessories jewelry business.^[2] Mack is a member of the College Board and National Parent Union's BigFuture Families Advisory Committee.^[7]

References