The parking lot of Gateway Church on Madison Street is abuzz with activity as homeschooling parents unbuckle their toddlers and strap them into their strollers while their other children grab their book bags and lunch sacks. Young mothers slide their infants into carriers snuggled against their chests as more seasoned mothers remind their teen drivers to shift the family minivan into park before removing the key.
Parents smile and greet one another as their children excitedly chatter about the hands-on science experiment or art project their teacher has planned for their enrichment classes. Everyone hurries toward the front door before the bell signals that the first period of Kingdom Ranch Academy (KRA) has officially begun.
Four years prior, Michelle Curtis unpacked her family’s belongings and settled into their historic homestead on the outskirts of the Flat Creek community. She thought about the hybrid homeschool program her son had been involved in before their long-distance move to Shelbyville.
“Our children attended a preschool before we moved, and we loved it,” said Curtis, the co-director of KRA. “When we looked into the cost of private education where we used to live, we discovered it was way too expensive. One of my neighbors told me about a hybrid homeschool program. I looked into it and loved the concept because we wanted our children to spend time together. So, this schedule worked perfectly for us.”
After scouring the internet for similar opportunities, she scheduled tours with several local and semi-local homeschool cooperatives and tutorials. But Curtis and Brittany Hinzo couldn’t shake the feeling that God was calling them to start something radically different, and so KRA was born.
Growing up, Curtis attended private school and graduated from California State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, so homeschooling was unfamiliar territory.
“I never thought I’d be a homeschooling parent, but we feel like God called us to do this, and we love it,” Curtis said. “Our first school year was 2019-2020, so when COVID-19 hit, it was actually quite beautiful because, unlike a lot of other families thrust into homeschooling when everything shut down, we continued doing what God had already told us to do.”
KRA offers several academic programs which can be tailored to fit every family dynamic, whether your child is in preschool, or needs to earn credits toward a high school diploma. Unlike other homeschool cooperatives that require parents to teach a class, teachers at KRA have college degrees and receive compensation. Safety is also a top priority. Everyone — including hall monitors, teacher’s aides, and parents who choose to remain on campus — have all passed background checks and have agreed to follow specific rules and standards.
“We currently offer a two-day program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-2:30,” said Curtis. “Our prekindergarten and kindergarten students remain with their teacher all day, but first grade and up rotate classes. We offer core classes, such as grammar, spelling, and writing, in which parents partner with their child’s teacher and continue the same curriculum at home. This means less work for the parents as students are introduced to the material at KRA. If a parent wants to enroll a child for enrichment type classes such as hands-on science, Spanish, history, economics, public speaking, recycled art, etc., students can enroll in just those classes.”
According to Curtis and Hinzo, the motto of KRA is “Home School Together,” and their vision for the academy is far from complete.
“When we first started, we had 50-60 students, but now, in our third year, we are bursting at the seams with well over 150 students and an extensive waiting list. We believe God has a larger vision that includes our own facility with land. There would be unlimited hands-on opportunities indoors and out. Paths for bicycles, tire swings, soccer fields, farm animals, a vegetable garden … We could have an auto body shop and places to create art. It would be an environment where learning and play happen seamlessly. It could be open to all families, not just those who homeschool.”
Co-director Brittany Hinzo, who has a degree in child and adolescent studies with a double emphasis in family and community context and counseling and social work, said, “We want KRA to be a place where kids walk in and feel God’s love, where they can make friends, and where they have the freedom to explore the world around them in an out-of-the-box way.”
