Amy Alford
When Amy Alford began teaching third grade at Southminster Day School, she had no plans to one day start a school of her own. But after several years in the classroom, she found herself being approached by parents whose children were finishing up their time at Southminster, which ends after fifth grade.
“They kind of disperse into other schools beginning with sixth grade,” Amy explains. “I had some parents ask if I would homeschool their kids. At first, there were four or five [parents], and then it kept growing.” That’s how Christian Foundation Academy (CFA) began. Three years later, the small school is growing and giving families a different way to approach education.
Rather than traditional homeschooling, Amy created what she calls a “homeschool hybrid”—a Christian school that uses homeschool curriculum but operates five days a week, with shorter school days and a shorter school year. The first year, 11 children from Southminster joined her, including her son. Each year, she has added another grade. This fall, CFA welcomes students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.
Amy Alford
The school meets at Oakmont Presbyterian Church, and CFA has developed a close relationship with the church community. The school limits enrollment to no more than 15 students per grade, and keeping tuition low is a top priority (it’s currently $600 per month). The school’s small size also allows Amy and her teachers to tailor instruction to individual students. Academic classes include math, science, history, and English, along with a “learning lab” Amy created to focus on practical life skills.
Last year, students learned how to create budgets, write checks, and use a debit card. They also planned meals, shopped for groceries within a budget, and cooked their own food. “Those kids rocked it,” Amy says. “Every single thing was delicious.”
Amy Alford
CFA takes a decidedly low-tech approach. The school is electronic-free and teaches cursive handwriting. Students read books and complete book reports, including during summer, and Amy says the school’s small size makes it possible to accommodate individual needs. For example, some students take spelling tests verbally rather than writing the words. “That’s the beauty of being so small,” she says. “We cater to what each student needs.” In addition, students are placed in the classes they need, rather than according to grade level. “We’ve had some seventh-graders in sixth-grade math, and it’s never caused an issue. The kids don’t think anything of it; we just don’t deal with bullying.”
Academics, however, are only part of the CFA experience. Amy describes the school as a family, with students who have known each other since kindergarten forming close friendships. The community extends beyond the school day, too. Students participate in Bible studies and church activities together, and the entire school—including parents—takes an annual end-of-year trip where they stay in one accommodation.
Amy Alford
For the past two years, that trip has been to Gatlinburg, where the kids “love visiting Dollywood” and the Comedy Barn before spending most of the weekend together at a rented cabin that Amy ensures has a pool and game room. “This is not an educational trip,” says Amy. “It’s a “we survived the school year, let’s have fun” trip.” Last year, 32 people attended, with Amy doing the planning and cooking of almost every meal. “I think my love language is cooking and taking care of people. That’s just what I’ve decided. I do breakfast, lunch, and dinner—we go out to dinner maybe once—and we just spend the whole weekend together, all sleeping under the same roof.”
Perhaps the clearest sign of the school’s close-knit culture is Friday half-days. When Amy considered dropping Fridays altogether, as it’s more of a “catch-up day” with no regular instruction, CFA students voted to keep it. She continued the “Fun Friday” tradition she started at Southminster, and students enjoy activities like water balloon fights, Nerf gun days, and movies, complete with pajamas, sleeping bags, and popcorn. “The students choose and vote on each week’s activity,” says Amy. “You name it, we’ve done it.”
Amy Alford
And, apparently, even that isn’t enough time together. Amy says students regularly choose to arrive at school around 7:30 or 7:45 a.m., even though they aren’t required to be there until 8:30. “I ask why they want to be here all the time,” she says. “And they tell me because it’s fun.”
For Amy, that enthusiasm is the heart of what CFA has become. She remembers one student who had struggled academically before coming to the school. After receiving individualized attention and encouragement, the student’s confidence began to grow. “She would run down the hall and say, ‘Mrs. Alford, I made a 100 on my test,’ ” Amy says. “She knows that we care about her and that we want good for her and she has just soared.”
This year, CFA expects to have 20 students. Amy says she still doesn’t know whether the school will eventually expand into high school, but for now, she is focused on continuing to grow one grade at a time.
When she started CFA, Amy admits she had no idea what she was getting into. But the families who trusted her from the beginning have stayed alongside her, and their children have continued to thrive. “One of the parents told me, ‘For my child to be excited to be at school and jump out of the car and come in every day is worth more than you’ll ever know,’ ” Amy says. “Most teenagers in middle school don’t want to go to school. But these kids do.”