Founded by Aimee and Richard.
We bring first-hand experience in Alaska homeschooling, off-grid building, and AI to every gathering.
Ember & Oak Institute is a local educational institute serving Mat-Su Valley homeschool families. We pair timeless wisdom with hands-on, Socratic learning. All programs satisfy both State and Federal requirements.
The founders.
Aimee is an Air Force veteran who served as a medic and fell for Alaska while she was stationed here. She holds a degree in psychology and leads mental-health and recovery groups in Wasilla. With her family, she built a two-story off-grid cabin and a working homestead from raw land. She leads our Steady Flame work, and her hand is in most of what we make.
Richard has spent years building with software, AI, and hammers, from the tools families use in Ember Tech to the systems that run an off-grid homestead through an Alaska winter. He designs, codes, and builds, and he teaches the way he works: hands on, with the hard questions first. He leads Ember Tech.
Between them they have built most of what they own, which is most of what Industrial Pathways teaches.
They started Ember & Oak because they wanted something different for the families they knew. Something rooted in the land, honest about the tools we now have, and generous with the next generation.
What we keep.
Roots before reach.
A child who knows where they come from can go anywhere without getting lost. Here in the Mat-Su Valley, the land itself teaches patience and wonder.
Hands before screens.
We teach knives, code, soil, and words, because competence builds confidence. Technology is a tool here, not the point. In Alaska, winter nights are long and self-reliance is not optional, so that balance matters.
The circle is the curriculum.
Most of what matters is learned while listening to someone else across the fire. We protect time for real conversation between generations.
How we work.
- Small groups, usually 8 to 14 people, so every voice can be heard.
- In-person gatherings and courses throughout the Mat-Su Valley.
- Sliding scale available. Just ask.
- Allotment compatible and not tied to any single homeschool program.
- All programs satisfy both State and Federal requirements.