Heritage Academy

By ANNE SHIFLEY
news@ColumbiaMissourian.com
COLUMBIA — Most kids can only dream of attending school as few as three days a week, but for students at Heritage Academy, it is a reality.

The school supplements on-campus instruction with “satellite classrooms” at home, said chief administrator Isaac Keene. The satellite classrooms serve in every way as an extension of the schoolroom, he said.

“One of our primary driving principles is that the family is and should be the primary educator. That doesn’t necessarily mean providing instruction; the schools provide instructional support,” Keene said. Home is used for further practice, parental instruction or to complete homework. Maintaining a healthy balance in the partnership between families and faculty is key, Keene said. Support and communication are invaluable, he said.

Heritage Academy follows a university-model system aimed at smoothing the transition from home to college by gradually intensifying the amount of time spent in school, Keene said. Kindergarteners through second-grade students participate in an enrichment and integration program one morning a week; third- through sixth-graders are enrolled in traditional curriculum two days each week; and seventh through twelfth grades attend class at Heritage Academy for three days weekly.

“We draw students from two backgrounds,” Keene said. “One is from an exclusively home-school experience and we give (those students) an opportunity to be in a more social classroom setting and develop friendships.” Keene also said home-schooling parents sometimes need the discipline of a traditional school setting or professional expertise to help in particular areas of their upper-level students’ education.

The other group representing Heritage Academy is students from a traditional schooling background who can be more successful with more freedom than at a standard private or public institution, Keene said.

Although Heritage Academy is an independent Christian school, Keene said families are given the freedom to teach their children their own religious values and teachers are asked to refrain from going beyond a statement of faith.

A benefit of the school’s flexible schedule and small size is mobility, Keene said. The school is now looking to make its computer lab mobile by purchasing laptops for added convenience. Informal social activities such as meeting at Stephens Lake Park to go sledding on a snow day are common as well.

Opened: 2002-2003 school year

Chief administrator: Isaac Keene

Address: 601 Blue Ridge

Enrollment: 113 from Columbia, Rocheport, Moberly, Jefferson City and Fulton

Mascot: Warriors

Colors: Maroon and navy blue