home : Leader of the Year: Leader of the Year

Meet the Leaders of the Year

Each year, the THSC Leader of the Year has written an article to acquaint Texans with themselves and their group.  Last year's leaders were Don and Nita Davis.  We hope you will enjoy their "Meet a Texas Home School Family" article, which appeared in the August 2005 issue of the THSC REVIEW magazine.

The Don Davidsons

by Nita Davidson

Some days it is hard to believe that our home school journey began fourteen years ago.  We knew from the beginning of our marriage that our children would not go to public school.  Don really felt that God called us to not give our children over to the government to teach.  I had taught for two and a half years in private schools and thought that when our girls were old enough, we would put them in a private school and I would go back to teaching again.  However, God had very different plans for our lives, ones of which I would never have dreamed.

It began the day Don walked in and said, "I think we should homeschool our children."  We had two daughters at the time, ages three years and eighteen months.  I was looking forward to Elizabeth going to school, to my being able to spend one-on-one time with Katherine until she started school, and then to going back to teaching.  After Don’s announcement, I decided that we should start right away so we would have plenty of time to "try it out" before Elizabeth began kindergarten.  Elizabeth graduated this year with other members of our support group after having been homeschooled her entire life.

In 1992 God moved us from San Antonio, where we had lived for seven years, back to Georgetown, where we had met and married in 1983.  We continued our home schooling and joined a co-op at the church where we were members.  This helped to solidify our convictions for the early years.  We were soon blessed with another child, Daniel, who arrived in 1995.  The girls so enjoyed having a little brother and spending time with him.  I was pleased that they were at home where God wanted them to be and were learning how to be little mothers as they continued their schooling.  I dropped the co-op because of the new baby and the time constraints of juggling the remodeling of a house, mothering, schooling, and supporting my husband.

In 1996 several Georgetown mothers gathered in a home and began meeting to support each other in home schooling and to have activities for their children.  I joined this group in February of 1997.  Over the summer of that year, it formally became known as Georgetown Christian Home Educators (GCHE).  I served as co-director the first year and have served as director since the fall of 1998.  This group has been a good fit for our family.

The most difficult and blessed year in our home schooling experience was 2000.  In 1999 my very ill mother moved in with us, we made a major move, and I was not recuperating.  I was very tired all the time.  I went to the doctor at Don’s insistence, and what a blessing it was to discover that I was pregnant!  We were all delighted, and the pregnancy went very well.  However, in March my father was diagnosed with dementia and entered a nursing home.  In May, Don’s mother entered the hospital and was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer.  She moved into our home, as did Don’s dad.  We cared for her and my mom and visited my dad in the nursing home as often as possible.  All the while, we continued trying to support his father, home school, and prepare for a baby.  Our home was very full with all the comings and goings of family, friends, and healthcare workers. 

Our children were very blessed to have this time with their grandparents.   Katherine helped with the physical care of Grammy and Granny.  Elizabeth would type Scriptures in large letters when Grammy could no longer hold or read her Bible.  It was not easy—but God sent so many blessings our way upon which to look back.  We have no regrets.  My father died suddenly on June 28^th, followed by Matthew’s birth on July 5^th.  Only three weeks later on July 30^th, Don’s mother passed away, followed by his father’s sudden death in a car accident on Oct 30^th.   Throughout this time the home school group brought more than eighty meals to our home.  They cleaned my bathroom, took my children for breaks, and blessed our parents and family with their love and support.  They truly lived out Scripture, ministering to my whole family with their serving, loving hearts. 

We have watched our older daughters as they have grown to truly want to serve Christ, and we look forward to the things He has in store for them in the future.  Our young ladies have been heavily involved in TeenPact, a leadership organization that helps teach home schooled teens about the government process and teaches them how they can have an impact.  They have participated in TeenPact activities in Texas and Georgia.  They have worked on political campaigns in New Mexico, Louisiana, and Texas as a part of Madison Project and Student Project, taking their dad along as chaperone and camp dad many times.  They have also been involved in volunteering for the Williamson County Republican Party, with Elizabeth being a page at county and state conventions and then being nominated by our state representative, Dan Gattis, to attend the Republican National Convention with the Junior Statesmen of America.  She was accepted and made the exciting trip to New York City last August.  She has volunteered in Rep. Gattis’ office during the special session July 2004 and the 2005 legislative session.

Katherine looks forward to graduating next year.  She loves promoting TeenPact and working in the kitchen at the Texas TeenPact residential camp where she and her friend, Ashley McCoy, get up early every morning and cook breakfast for the other students before attending class at the Capitol.  She has a true servant’s heart—whether it be babysitting, cooking, compiling the GCHE newsletter, or helping her grandparents.

What a blessing from God it has been to build relationships with my children as they have grown!   I look back and see the many ways He has chosen to "grow" them up that I never would have chosen.  We look forward to the blessings God has planned for us as we continue our home school journey the next thirteen years with our boys, Daniel and Matthew. 

Don and Nita Davidson have been married for twenty-one years and currently make their home near Georgetown, where Don is a rental and real estate investor.  They have four children, Elizabeth (18), Katherine (17), Daniel (10), and Matthew (5).  They both serve on the board of Georgetown Christian Home Educators.

It was a joy to surprise Don and Nita by honoring them as THSC’s 2005 Home School Leaders of the Year at its annual Awards Banquet!  GCHE members displayed an abundant outpouring of appreciation for the Davidsons. While only three letters are required for consideration, THSC receive ten letters of nomination from support group members for this couple!  Don and Nita are thankful for the friends and family who nominated them and for all 108+ families of GCHE who kept it a secret!

From Texas Home School Coalition Review © 2005

Back to Leaders of the Year

TOP