April Thome serves as the director of HomeLink Yakima.  She earned a B.A. in history education from the University of Washington and completed her fifth year at Central Washington University.  Additionally, she completed training as an educational therapist through the National Institute for Leaning Disabilities located in Norfolk, Virginia, and special training in study skills through the National Institute for Secondary Principals in Boston, Massachusetts.
April taught 5th grade for 5 years in the Selah public schools and worked for 11 years at West Side Christian School; serving 6 years in the classroom and 5 years as elementary principal.
In 1997 she founded the private program called "HomeLink Yakima" that offers once-a-week classes for home-schooled students of all ages.
In 2002, April became the West Coast Academic Dean for North Atlantic Regional School whose headquarters is located in Lewiston, Maine.  With the support of the NARHS credential management program, April became the specialist to establish multi-age, multi-grade-classroom institutions in West Palm Beach, Florida;  Tampa, Florida; Jupiter, Florida; and St. Louis, Missouri, all patterned after HomeLink in Yakima.
Together with the administrator of North Atlantic Regional School, April co-authored the book The First Great Book of High School Course Descriptions which puts forth ideas for designing academic studies with an individual student?s interests in mind.
In 2009, HomeLink Yakima became accredited as a supplementary program for home schools, through the Northwest Accredition Commision, making possible the credential management program "Home Education Designs" which accredits independent study high school work.
April lives in Selah, Washington, with her husband David Thome.  They have two married children, Aleah and son-in-law Erik Mickelson of Yakima and Joel & daughter-in-law Laura Thome of Selah, and four grandchildren.

2011 - 20121 Classes:

• Study Skills, middle school/high school, 1st quarter                                            
                   
  Test Preparation, middle school/high school, 3nd quarter

  Successful Teens, middle school/high school, 2nd quarter

  Brain Health, middle school/high school, 4rd quarter

  Character Studies through History and Nature, ages 8-10