Instructors and Staff
Sarah Paschen
Form IB Instructor Age 6
Sarah graduated from Simpson University in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree and teaching credential. She taught at Boulder Creek in the Enterprise Elementary School District for the past eight years. Seven of those years were in the first grade, with one year in the second grade. She absolutely loves teaching and watching children find a love of learning all their own. She cannot wait to join Roots and learn more about Charlotte Mason and the biblical principles she applies to education! She believes the Lord created children to be amazing and unique.
Mrs. Paschen and her husband Mitchell have been married five years. They love adventuring in the summers and on his days off when he is not at work as a firefighter! They bought a 1970 VW bus and love to load up their three dogs and go camping wherever they can. Sarah finds joy being outside in nature. She loves camping, kayaking, biking, picking blackberries and flowers, caring for animals, or anything that gets her outside in God's creation!
Joy Simpson
Form IA Instructor Age 7
Joy Simpson was born and raised in Orange County and came to Redding right when the Carr Fire started in 2018 for a teaching job after discovering its rich beauty and community. She is excited to dive right into the Charlotte Mason philosophy of teaching and have her 10-year old son also attend Roots with her.
She has a California teaching credential in both single subject English and elementary school and has been in the public school setting for over a decade where she has taught a wide array of ages from teaching adults English as a Second Language, to teaching high school and middle school English to discovering her love and passion for the elementary school classroom where her enthusiasm for teaching and playfulness is shared by the students as well. The advantage of teaching across a wide range of ages and abilities is that she teaches with the end goal in mind, as she knows what is expected at the older grade levels. However, the Charlotte Mason philosophy has opened her up to a new perspective of what success looks like and how to get there. She is excited about growing the child's relationship with knowledge where the child is the one looking for relationships between ideas and making connections, something that most educational methods cannot give them. She sees her job as an educator to foster their strengths as well as build up areas for growth through modeling, repetition and encouragement.
In her free time she enjoys exploring the outdoors with her son and is always up for an adventure, whether it is camping, mountain biking, kayaking or hiking. She has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and loves to grow in all areas: spiritually, relationally, in the classroom and most of all in her love and relationship with Christ for He is the foundation of all she does. It's her goal to be a lamp placed on the lampstand so that others can benefit from its brightness. She seeks to create a classroom where others can feel the warmth of God's love and is excited to work at a school who has a mission of challenging young minds through a solid foundation in academics as well as guiding their hearts through a solid foundation of their roots in Christ as the supreme guiding factor in all they do.
Chad Fowler
Founder, Director, and Form II B Instructor Ages 8-9
Chad was born and raised in Shasta County. He and his wife Melody have three children with the youngest almost 16. From an early age, Chad had an interest in gardening and animals and participated in Shasta County 4-H. Chad worked his family business as well as other working retail management for many years. After helping in his son's kindergarten class and coming from a family of teachers, Chad decided his place needed to be in the classroom and he went back to school. He received his BA in Liberal Studies and teaching credential through Simpson University. He later completed his administrative credential and Masters degree in Educational Leadership through National University.
He has been a public school educator since 2008 and served as a Master Teacher, Teacher in Charge, Activities Director and Lead Teacher. He has participated in the Shasta County Math Grant, the Northern California Arts Project for teachers, Gates Literacy Grant and other teacher development trainings since 2008. Chad enjoys time in the garden growing vegetables, fruits and flowers, camping with his family and spending time with his Nigerian Dwarf Goats and chickens.
Kiah Gridley
Form II A Instructor Ages 9-10
Kiah was born and raised in Red Bluff and moved to Redding to attend Simpson University. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies she joined the Roots staff with Chad and Melody as her mentors last fall excited to learn and grow through the Charlotte Mason education and philosophy.
A few of Kiah’s takeaways from her first year were: she loved that she was able not only teach the students but learn and grow alongside them, read books that were living and interesting, have the freedom to have faith-based discussions as a class, and most importantly develop a deeper love and appreciation for the beauty and nature that our creator has given us.
Kiah enjoys being active and being outside in the sun. She grew up playing soccer, playing through college as well and even playing a season on Redding’s Semi pro team. Now she enjoys playing pickleball with her community, going on runs and learning new calisthenic tricks. She also has a passion for crafts and hobbies like sewing, crocheting, sketching, baking, reading and is always looking to learn a new skill.
She is excited to work with such an amazing staff, families, and students to create an educational environment that is centered around all that is beautiful and plentiful.
Melody Fowler
Founder, Director, Form III Instructor Ages 11-14
Melody is a happy wife of 29 years, a proud mother of three and now an over-the-moon grandma of five grandchildren. She was born in El Paso, Texas and moved to Redding when she was five years old. She loved learning as a child and her favorite pastime was to play school in her garage with younger siblings and neighborhood friends on vintage desks her father bought at local yard sales.
After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies and teaching credential from Simpson University, Melody taught a self-contained fifth grade classroom for 11 years before moving on to the 8th grade teaching English and U.S. History for four years. She finds it essential to teach the next generation to revere and protect the rich inheritance of liberty they have been gifted. She also completed her administrative credential in Educational Leadership and wrote her Master's paper on Charlotte Mason.
She participated in the Northern California Arts Project, the Shasta County Math Grant, and a three-year ELL grammar program teaching English as a second language. Melody was involved in her site’s leadership team, and successfully advocated for funding creative problem-solving programs like Odyssey of the Mind for the gifted and talented. She also volunteered to coach other activities like student government, softball, and cheer.
The past five years at Roots has transformed her relationship with Christ. Besides reading her Bible and listening to theological podcasts, she enjoys learning about education, philosophy, economics, history, health, gardening, and spending time with her family and five dogs.