For several years now, we have functioned under a dual name ­ Family Academy/Academy Northwest.

In our early years, we went through a few name changes, finally settling on Family Academy®. It seemed like the perfect name, directly paralleling "home (family) school (academy)." But then there were a few "grumbles" from the high school students wanting a more "preppie" name for their school, so we added "Academy Northwest." We felt if we just switched to "Academy Northwest," we wouldn't really communicate a name to interested families that we were anything other than a traditional school. Thus, the dual name. However, we have now come to a crossroads where we will divide into two not-for-profit organizations and separate the responsibilities while still maintaining that close alliance.

Academy Northwest will remain as the school-without-walls within the Pacific Northwest. Any activities of the school would primarily be under the name of Academy Northwest, such as graduation and regional events we host. Transcripts, school records, student ID/enrollment, and diplomas would all be part of Academy Northwest. Activities such as all-school field trips would be coordinated through Academy Northwest. The activities of each of the Washington State learning centers would be as Academy Northwest / name of local learning center. We will continue to use the logo of the evergreen trees as the identity of the school. Academy Northwest would be a Family Academy® school much like the local Christian school is affiliated with ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International).

So what is to become of Family Academy®? To begin with, Family Academy® is the champion and caretaker of the unique educational vision and model we have come to know. This vision includes more than what has been accomplished to date. Our desire is to develop this concept to its fullest potential. Family Academy® will promote our philosophy of education which matches parents and their children with resources. Not only will Family Academy® point the way, but it will provide key support in the process of growth and expansion.

As such, Family Academy® will be the agency that focuses on:

1. Training of
   1. Teachers
   2. • to re-orient their skills to become teacher-consultants working with students and their parents in a weekly learning center format rather than as an instructor in a traditional classroom
      • provide on-going in-service training to increase their effectiveness as teacher consultants
   3. Parents ­ to become increasingly effective in their roles as home educators

   Currently our training with teachers is in face-to-face meetings through small group initial orientation/training for new teachers and all-school teacher in-services offered three times a year. This service will continue, helping teachers sharpen their skills as educators within our unique business/ministry approach.

   With parents, we primarily train via our "Able to Teach" course that several of our teachers are offering through local colleges, including an on-line instruction format. We are also looking at providing additional on-line courses for parents that focus on homeschooling needs for junior high and high school students and curriculum approaches.

2. Bookstore and curriculum development services

   The materials we carry have been carefully reviewed and field-tested by our own teacher consultants. Because we prefer to develop an educational program to fit the student rather than force the student to fit a pre-set curriculum, this service is constantly being refined and improved.

3. Continued development of technology- related services:
   1. Software for school records, transcripts, and financial accounts
   2. Internet use for school website(s) and the virtual Teacher's Room.

   We will soon be adding a virtual "Commons" where parents, students, and teachers can all network. These projects will enable Academy Northwest to build its own community via the Internet.

4. Establishment of new schools in other states (like Academy Northwest) implementing the above underlined items along with all of the experience we have gained over the years.

This is a new vision. Items one through three have already been going on for several years. We would like to take what we have been refining here in the Pacific Northwest to plant similar schools in other areas where there is interest. Our goal is to help these new sister schools become self-sustaining by providing the tools and resources we have created and honed over the last twenty-plus years. The intellectual property of the founders, that which has been developed out of their vision, will now be stewarded by Family Academy® ­ making it available to a wider audience. So, Family Academy® will promote and market this philosophy and methodology for educating our children.

This summer, we made contact with Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. In a recent survey of young families, Focus on the Family has identified the greatest need to be education and is looking at how to meet that need. They are seriously looking at what we are doing without government funding as a viable educational alternative.

Our experience is captured, to a great degree, in the materials we have developed, so we have gone the extra mile of trademarking "Family Academy®." Our identity is reflected in the tri-colored three triangles that will appear on all Family Academy® publications. In addition, we have developed a forty-minute video/DVD that explains in-depth how Family Academy® works so that teachers, parents, and students can implement our unique educational program. We have been "creating the wheel" since the early 1980s, and we want to share that knowledge.