Margaret Piper had her first exposure to alternative education at the age of 19, when she was enrolled in a college independent course, in which she read the works of John Holt, Jonathan Kozol, A. S. Neill, George Dennison, and others. She has home-educated her four children since birth and the family joined Clonlara's HBEP in 1990 when her oldest child became school-aged. Three of her children have graduated from Clonlara and the youngest is currently enrolled in the high school program. Her oldest child graduated from university and has been accepted to a Master's degree program in public health. Her two middle children are successfully enrolled in four-year colleges.

Margaret grew up in New York State and graduated from St. Lawrence University, Phi Beta Kappa, with a BA in government. While enrolled in college, she also studied French and spent her junior year in Rouen, France, through which she became fluent in French. Two years later, she received her secondary teaching certificate in French and Political Science from Western Michigan University. Margaret has taught French at the high school level, to fourth and fifth graders in an exchange program which included three weeks in France, and for summer enrichment classes. In 1997, Margaret joined the Open Homeschoolers' Group (a college-prep homeschool cooperative) so that her older children could meet on a weekly basis with other home educated students. In 1999, she began teaching the junior high and high school French classes and in 2004, upon the retirement of the founder, Diane Linn, she became the OHG Administrative Coordinator. During her years there, she has functioned in many other capacities, as well: she worked extensively with the OHG opera program; she coordinated numerous group outings to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, theaters, and other cultural events; she has co-written the OHG catalog; she has served as advisor to high school students on their applications to college as homeschoolers; and she has been responsible for overseeing the K-12 interdisciplinary homeschooling-style curriculum planning.

She has been a La Leche League leader since 1991 and by hosting LLL meetings and providing individual consultations, Margaret honed her organizationaland interpersonal professional skills. She still enjoys helping moms on a regular basis. She was employed part-time as an income tax preparer for ten years and through counseling her clients and becoming knowledgeable about the tax codes, Margaret gained an important skill that connects with homeschooling: navigating the FAFSA maze for college-scholarship application. Margaret recently moved to Ann Arbor and she is still discovering the delights of the city. She enjoys traveling, reading, sewing, knitting and gardening.

Margaret's educational, employment, family, and homeschooling experiences, as well as her personal interests, have led her to Clonlara. Beyond her skills, though, and equally important, Margaret brings to Clonlara her enthusiasm for homeschooling and her love of working with young people and their families.