Please see our Academic Offerings page for more detailed information for each class.

The SFA Board carefully selects curricula that align with the academy's mission, vision, and commitment to Miss Mason's method. The Board affirms that it is, in the final instance, the parents’ duty to bring their children up in the fear and admonition of The LORD. SFA exists to assist parents in this responsibility. If at any point a parent believes that the SFA curriculum are in conflict with this end, contact Liza Yarbrough, the Head of Curriculum.

Excepting Language Arts, we do not provide curriculum to be done at home. Most of the subjects taught during “at school” days are to be done twice per week. Hence, at-home work will be necessary only in the case of absences. If you would like guidance about at-home subjects, Liza Yarbrough is happy to make curriculum suggestions and walk you through options.

SFA parents teach their children at home on non-SFA days, and SFA parents are responsible for choosing and implementing an at-home curriculum. SFA’s course offerings are designed to supplement this at-home learning with courses that many parents find difficult to facilitate in their homes. Please see the above chart for subjects that Charlotte Mason recommended. With one exception (see note on Language Arts below), SFA does not provide materials for at-home instruction on non-SFA days. While SFA parents select their at-home curriculum, SFA’s Head of Curriculum, Liza Yarbrough, is happy to discuss options for those interested. Note that as Language Arts is a subject intended to be offered each day of instruction (i.e., four days a week), we provide brief, 20-minute lesson assignments to be facilitated by the parent on Mondays and Wednesdays. We do this because we do not want parents to have to “double up” assignments on at-home days. Nevertheless, we try to structure our Language Arts assignments such that students who were unable to complete an at-home lesson are not “left behind” during the next at-school Language Arts class. On occasion, SFA teachers suggest additional materials or out-of-school learning for individual children, but this is solely supplementary and completely at the parents’ discretion. In addition, we spend two Fridays per month exploring nature together during a nature excursion, and SFA children are encouraged to solidify that experience through regular nature journal entries at home.

SFA is a community of families serving one another because we are committed to Christ and His kingdom. It is a labor of love to be part of our academy, and despite our best efforts, that labor is not always evenly distributed. No one at SFA is paid for his service and we do not tolerate gossip, passive-aggressive communication, or other seeds of disunity and dissension. In addition, SFA parents believe that responsiveness to loving adults in childhood is training in obedience to God in adulthood. Hence, our families insist on quick and cheerful obedience from students in response to direction from any SFA adult. We are here because we love. We love our children, we love the other families in our academy, and we love our wider community. We welcome those who can in good faith commit to reliably laboring with us in this work of love.

We ask that parents strive to be examples of Christ for our children; that they arrive promptly to class prepared for their lessons, implementing Mason’s principles while teaching; and that they continue growing in her philosophy of education and use her philosophy in their homes. By “growing in CM’s philosophy of education” we mean that the family or mother sincerely affirms or assents to these things: The primary means of education is through living ideas, presented through living books, solidified in the child’s mind through narration, and a healthy dose of time out of doors The primary motivation for learning is love of knowledge, not teacher charisma, rewards, accolades, or rank Commit to reading Charlotte Mason VOL 1 (Home Education) or VOL 6 (A Philosophy of Education) Plans to attend SFA's monthly reading group (currently scheduled for the first Monday of every month at 7:30pm) Cultivates the habit of attention and uses short, varied lessons Draws no separation between the spiritual and the intellectual Actively seeks to grow in knowledge of the Charlotte Mason method (such as through participating in a reading group, attending conferences, listening to relevant podcasts, etc.) If you are just starting out in this method, Liza Yarbrough is happy to make book, resource, and scheduling suggestions, and just generally be of help to you in this effort. We take into consideration any teaching experience or interests of the mothers.

No. SFA is not currently seeking accreditation.

Some SFA mothers have certifications or other formal training in certain subjects or education in general, but this is not a requirement. While we consider teaching experience for inquiring mothers, we are interested primarily in those families who share our vision. Please see pages 3-4 in our handbook for more information about Mason's philosophy of education and SFA's expectations of its teachers.

Each day at SFA, we pray morning, noon, and evening prayer from the Book of Divine Worship. The BDW is a prayer liturgy based on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and, with a few modifications, adopted and approved for use by Catholics. As an academy welcoming of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox families, this liturgy is a means whereby we offer our prayers in common sincerity.

No. SFA is a private and independent academy and is not affiliated with any church or other religious organization. SFA welcomes Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox families who are active members of their local churches/parishes. Currently, SFA has both Catholic and Protestant families.

Saint Francis is often associated with nature, with the poor, and with the Incarnation. These three concerns are at the core of SFA’s mission. We affirm the inherent goodness of the natural world and reject the Gnostic view of matter and the body, which is greatly crippling our culture. We seek to serve families of all sizes and means, who want something more for their children but who don’t have the means or formation to give them that something more. We treasure, with C.S. Lewis, the Incarnation as the “Grand Miracle,” the motif of the universe.

SFA families are committed to the historic, traditional teachings of Christianity regarding the family, gender, and sexuality. We affirm the goodness of our bodies as essential to our God-given task of calling all creation, both material and immaterial, to worship God.

A core component of SFA’s approach is outdoor work, exploration, and interaction with farm animals. While we educate and train our children in how to respect and care for God’s good world, our campus naturally comes with a higher level of risk than other classroom spaces. We believe the ability to assess risk is an essential skill for our children, and we want them to practice this skill under our supervision. We do not have a trained nurse or medical professional on site at SFA. Ultimately, the onsite parent is responsible for her children while at SFA. Page 6 of our handbook lays out our safety guidelines.

SFA's current enrollment is 22 students from 6 families.

Yes. Saint Francis Academy is a registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt, nonprofit organization.

We do consider mid-year enrollment on a case-by-case basis and prorate tuition accordingly.

We are currently accepting and evaluating applications for start dates throughout 2023. Please reach out if you are interested. Click here to view our application.

We currently serve children ages 0-11 and accept applications from families with children up to and including the sixth grade or equivalent. Families with older children are encouraged to contact us to continue the conversation.

Yes! The selection of new families includes a meeting with board members, a scheduled day of observation by the prospective teaching parent alone (no children to avoid undue disruption), and a completed application. We also have bi-monthly nature excursions on Fridays. These outings are good opportunities for prospective families to meet current SFA mothers and children. Mothers interested in growing in Charlotte Mason's method are warmly welcome to attend SFA's monthly reading group, which currently meets the first Monday of every month at 7:30pm.

Yes. SFA tuition is a flat rate for every child who is present on campus during school days. In the case of newborns, tuition is not required until the child needs meaningful care apart from the mother. In which case, tuition for the baby will be prorated. We are committed to forming and growing children of all ages, and have planned care and activities for even our little ones.

Not at this time, but we encourage everyone to contact us regardless of financial status.

For certain select subjects, we do offer placement tests. Yet, because our children are divided into Charlotte Mason’s forms (see chart below for equivalence with the U.S. grade system), placement tests are often unnecessary. Forms at SFA Form I = Grades 1-3 Form II = Grades 4-6 Note that we currently do not have students above Form II, but interested families with older students are encouraged to contact us to continue the conversation.

We do our best to provide a safe, academically rich environment for all of our children, however we have no accommodations specifically geared towards kids with special needs. An element of our Language Arts program, the Logic of English, has a history of unique success for children with dyslexia. Our Code of Conduct applies to all SFA students.

No. We require that one parent from each SFA family stay on campus to serve in an approved capacity.

At Saint Francis Academy, we obey, we encourage, we respect, we repent, and we restore. We frequently discuss these principles with our children to ensure they understand our expectations. When a child violates one of these principles, teachers respectfully point out the violation to the child, cite the principle, and encourage a correct behavior. If a child does not make efforts toward restoration, we try to foster contrition through solitude, prayer, or work. Please see our handbook, pages 4-5, for further details.

Infants are cherished at SFA. We have a number of napping spaces on campus to accommodate sleeping ones, though mothers bring their own monitors as needed. Tuition is not required for newborns until the child needs meaningful care apart from the mother.