Home educating your family in the 4th largest city of America, and within the 145+ parishes, 1.7 million Catholics of our Archdiocese (plus other rites and orders), means endless resources, events and activities. 

Numerous regional groups, co-ops, classes, lessons, activities, and more occur within the greater Houston area, from Montgomery to Galveston, Katy to Baytown and beyond! 

Our aim is to help create and connect community, find and share those resources to make them accessible for your family, plan events and help you grow in your vocation to be a holy family, educating your children equipped, enriched, empowered, and engaged. 

We serve over 260 families and have met over 1000 people! We connect with many ministries, foundations, and non-profits to create, find and share the events, resources, community, and enrichments that together build a culture of holiness, sacred beauty, rich formation, community and connection. From our families to yours! Join families from all over, from multiple Catholic rites and cultures, educational styles, and zip codes to find the motivation you need to home educate into eternity!

Connecting families, resources, communities! 

• Annual Conference to empower home educators to continue

• Social events engage and connect families

• Educational opportunities enrich our home education environments 

• Showcase to enhance the call to family unity in pursuit of the transcendentals of truth, goodness and beauty

• Resources List to enlighten the at-large community, the small, regional communities and co-ops, by highlighting the social, historical, cultural, educational, and Catholic opportunities available

• We aim to enliven our journey, vocation, and call to be primary educators of our children in the home, preparing them for the world beyond

The Catholic Home Educators Collective Houston, CHECH,  mission is to create a Catholic Homeschool community in Houston connecting smaller groups to one another and assisting families with resources concerning Catholic education.

Our goal as a 501c3 nonprofit is to : Connect families to Enrich- Empower- Educate- Engage

A column signifies standing on the strength of the past, embracing tradition, and looking into the future. 

A column supports, creates structure, and beautifies even in its function. 

This is an aim of CHECH: To strengthen, build on the past and work towards the future, making it all beautiful and inspiring and long-lasting!

Our Lady of the Pillar: Within the logo of CHECH, we first notice the strong M of the column, representing a Marian foundation. We recognize Mary as Mother and Teacher, always Foundational and Principal to our Christian faith, with a nod to her first apparition. In the year 40AD, St James was discouraged in his sharing of the Gospel and in need of some motherly counsel and comfort. Mary, accompanied by angels, appeared across the river, standing on a pillar, beckoning St James and his followers to take comfort and erect a church in her honor. The Child Jesus was cradled in her arms, for she is ever a mother, ever our mother, providing solace and respite. She promised St James that the church to be built in her honor in Zaragoza, Spain “will stand from that moment until the end of time in order that God may work miracles and wonders through my intercession for all those who place themselves under my patronage.” The Church, the first built in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has stood the test of time, despite war and bombs and attempted destruction. Mary is said to have gifted St James at that time with a little wooden carving of the apparition, a reminder of her care and love. We further recognize the symbol of pillar, used as images of strength, stability, and support. They are often ornately decorated in architecture ancient and new, signifying that creating beauty is necessary to our call. We give homage to Mary as the first disciple, and to the primary and necessary role of parents in the education and formation of their children, as Mary was first to Jesus, and then later to the Apostles.

CHECH includes access to resources galore so you don't have to search for it all! And forthcoming will be opportunities for development and "coursework," places to communicate with members. 

We host an entry level qualifying round to the National Scripps Spelling Bee.

Inlet chapter to National Honor Society- the only Catholic Homeschool Chapter in the area!

List of resources of all varieties available to peruse!

Lecture series for highschoolers- and Lectures: Live or Later for parents forthcoming!

Summer reading program to incentivize readers and connect to Houston businesses and organizations.

Yes! We host an annual home education conference, for the professional development of our parents. 2026 includes a new Teen Track!

We host National Spelling Bee, Summer Reading Program, and plan enrichments and excursions for our families!

We host an annual Fall Family Dinner & Dance- themed and so fun!

We host a Spring Showcase, for student artists, musicians, orators and more to perform. We also induct our NHS members and hand out awards and other honors or notable achievements. And! We have a graduation for area-wide seniors. It is a one-stop event for excellence, truth, goodness, beauty- all to celebrate the unity of Catholic Home Education.

Membership allows your family to have exclusive access to curated events that enrich your family’s educational environment, social events that engage and connect families, events like the conference that empowers home educators, events like the showcase that enhances the family unity we are called to in pursuing truth, goodness, and beauty, all to enliven and enlighten the home education journey, vocation, and call to be primary educators of our children in the home to prepare them for the world beyond!

The Annual Showcase Magazine provides a place to publish and showcase art, writings, honors, event re-caps, and more...from local students and the community to creators and thinkers of old. 

Flowing from the annual theme, this publication aims to highlight what is true, good, beautiful, and unified in the greater Houston homeschool community.

The 2025 debut Magazine, Vol 1: An Inviation to Wonder, can be purchased in our storefront. 

The annual Showcase Magazine allows you to reflect on the call to holiness in your family through art and quotes, essays, and recollections that enhance this lifestyle and vocation, from saints of old to parents of today!

All kinds!

Events that are area-wide for your family: educational, cultural, historical, natural, and Catholic!

Catholic things like retreats, local places of interest, sacred beauty, liturgical living, and more.

Links to Resources: list of classes, museums, parks, nature centers, lessons, camps, athletics, extra-curriculars, amusement parks, playgrounds, play centers, libraries, farm and animal experiences, Catholic vendors and businesses, summer camps, volunteer opportunities, young adults activities, contests and awards, tutoring, and more!

Communities, Groups, and Co-ops: find a list of all the different options your family has in the greater-Houston area! 

Formation forthcoming! Lectures, courses, and more! 

We are here to help! We have scoured to find the things you may need! 

Highschool help: Social Gatherings, Service Opportunities, Transcript Help, Scholarship, NHS, Magazine, classes, Post Highschool Info, & more!

Area Events: Houston & Beyond: natural, catholic, educational, historical, entertainment, & more! 

Resources: Community Groups & Co-ops, Curriculum, Events, Activities, Book lists, Podcasts, & more!

Conversation and Connection: Online forum, lectures & formation, retreats, events , showcase magazine, & more! 

We are here to help! Many of us have chosen to homeschool all the way, and we want to encourage you!

We have access to: transcript help, scholarships, summer camps, college visit days, NHS, awards, dual enrollment programs, Newman Guide Colleges and trade schools, college entrance exams, lectures and classes, social gatherings, and more- so much more!

Yes! You can find different "Circles" to join and chat in! Even host an in-person meet-up. You will find it updated frequently. Come join the conversation! 

Membership allows you to have a curated online community. Share resources, sell books, chat with like-minded parents, learn from others or share your experiences, advertise events, see what is going on beyond the walls of your home!

Yes! We have a growing list, all in one place! Join us to find families like yours! Learn about the hundreds of opportunities for regional communities and small groups, co-ops, classes, and more! All you need in one place! Find mega lists of resources and community-wide events to help you grow in community and culture!

Attend annual events like our Showcase, Conference, National Spelling Bee, Family Dances, or Summer Reading Program! Browse the selectively compiled lists of resources, communities, events, or attend any of our enrichments! Host and join a meet-up from our forum! Through all this so much more, you will discover the call to holiness and unity for the home educating family.

Let us come together to build a culture of holiness, of beauty and truth and goodness, and unity!

National Honor Society! We have the inlet chapter of Eta Sigma Alpha National Home School Honor Society- Kappa Delta Chapter. This is an opportunity for home school scholars to be rewarded for their academic success.

Information here.

Yes! Students submit an essay on the annual CHECH theme. 

2 student awards of $1000 with winning essays published!  A panel of judges reads through the essays and applications and a decision is made each May. The essays are published, along with a favorite classical art piece and a childhood image of the student, in our Magazine! 

Application Deadline: March 31

Winners will be published in the Showcase Magazine and awarded at the Spring Showcase.

• Homeschooled Graduating Seniors

• CHECH member family

• Submit a 500-750 words essay on the theme for the year

• Two (2) winners will each receive $1,000

2026 Theme: “Magna Conversatio” The Great Conversation: Family Life, Home Education, God

2025 Theme: “An Invitation to Wonder: A Culture of Learning at Home”

CHECH plans to offer you formation! This will be done with lectures, videos, documents, and more. Have an idea of what the community needs? Let us know! And stay posted because we are broadening the horizon for Houston Catholic homeschoolers! 

We update frequently the educational opportunities, enrichments, and events all around Houston!

Our events, enrichments, excursions, and website are all done by volunteers! Our board members search and share, curate and connect, and work tirelessly to help you love the call to home education. We want you empowered, engaged, enriched, enlightened, and encouraged!

If you feel called to give of your time, talent, or treasure to our mission, we would love to work with you! Reach out to info@chechtx.org to let us know. Tax-free donations to our non-profit 501c3 can be given here. Thank you!

Together we can build holy families, and connect the people, resources, and communities of the Houston homeschool world!

Current Members

Caroline Testa, President

Casey Torello, Chair

Jessica Counts, Secretary

Katherine Tully, Member

Ava Camara, Member

Past Members

Diane Aquila, Founder

Deborah Harne, Past Chair

Diana Hayes, Member

Olivia Kirwan, Member