ABOUT HERITAGE ACADEMY
Heritage is classical in its educational approach.
The goal of education, since ancient times, has been the cultivation of wisdom and virtue by feasting the soul on truth, goodness, and beauty. The classical approach, characterized by exposure to history, literature, art, and language, has produced the greatest thinkers, leaders, and scientists in the Western world from the time of the Greeks until the late 19th century, including America’s Founding Fathers. Seeking to nurture and train the whole child in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom, classical education prepares the student for an adventure of lifelong learning by teaching him how to think.
Over the years, education in America has moved away from this classical approach to learning, pursuing more of a career training path. It has given up education as primarily a means of training the mind. In the 1940's, Oxford scholar Dorothy Sayers remorsed, “Is it not the great defect of our education today that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils ‘subjects,’ we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think? They learn everything, except the art of learning.”
Believing that the art of learning, the habit of thinking, the growing together in wisdom and virtue are best carried out in a community of faithful friends, Heritage works to provide a classical education steeped in rich traditions.
Our Partnership
Heritage Academy has partnered with Classical Academic Press to become a Scholé Homeschool Group.
The word scholé (pronounced skoh-LAY) comes from a Greek word that means “restful learning” with the connotation of confidence in the course of study, of doing fewer subjects well, and of contemplation, conversation, and reflection. Ironically, it is also the basis for our English word "school", which no longer holds for us this idea of studying only a few subjects well.
As a Scholé Homeschool Group, we endeavor to cultivate meaningful assignments in our study of the liberal arts. We want our staff, parents, and students to feel freedom to "throw off the anxiety of trying to fit everything in" in order to cultivate a love of literature, language, history and the other liberal arts.
We believe student work can be challenging without being frenetic, monotonous, and worrisome. Our goal is to put the scholé-- confidence in a humanities-based, liberal arts education-- back into school.
In order for you to fully embrace and learn more about the "Restful Learning" approach we embrace at Heritage, we would encourage you to:
Buy and Read this book:
by Sarah Mackenzie
Our History
Heritage Academy began as a kitchen-table dream over 20 years ago. Today it is a flourishing community of more than 120 families, 230+ students, and 40 staff, fueled by a generous community of donors.
When our founders first experienced true education from a biblical worldview in college, they wanted the same for young students in the Flathead Valley of Montana. After a handful of years operating a solo homeschool, Jane and her husband, Josh, launched Heritage in 2010 as a homeschool supplement group with 18 elementary botany students. In 2011, our art program commenced to engage students in nature journaling. In time, choir, history, English, math, and multiple disciplines bloomed forth to round out a full academic program at Heritage Academy.
God has directed our mission and vision, faithfully growing a vibrant community and bringing families together. He has provided temporary facilities until we can build, brought together motivated students, intentional families, and highly skilled faculty. Heritage Academy has weathered four major moves as we rapidly outgrew church facilities. In 2019, God brought together generous donors to renovate classrooms at our current facility, both through monetary contributions and volunteer labor. Since the fall of 2019, we have been blessed with rented space in a partially-remodeled facility where we can leave our classrooms set up. The church allows us to pay a fraction of the rental-market-cost. What the grounds lack in aesthetic beauty, our community makes up for in delightful relationships and shared mission and vision.
In 2019, upon the move to our current campus, we added a second weekly class day and implemented a unique parent partnership program that ensures a close working relationship between staff and parents. This has been one of the single best decisions we have made. Our parent partnership program requires one parent to serve on campus four hours each week and work as a co-teacher at home three days each week to implement the work assigned in the classroom. This University Model program gives families over 1000 extra hours together each year (vs. a traditional 5-day school) and allows parents, siblings, and students the opportunity to learn in an intentional community.