MOM THINKS EDUCATION BEGINS AT HOME

Last fall, Trish LaFoe decided she wanted to expose her children Elizabeth, 10, and Will, 7, to a more challenging curriculum than they were receiving in the public schools. She wanted to give them a broad-based education that would help them develop academically, socially and spiritually.

She looked around, but didn't find an area school that provided all of the opportunities she was looking for. So with help from educator Jackie Brandtner, she conducted a lot of research, and one year later, the Deer Creek Christian Academy was up and running in the LaFoe's basement.

LaFoe wanted the private school to deliver a home-based educational program dedicated to the "realization of each child's maximum potential." Christian principles, family values and community service complement a curriculum which includes core subjects as well as exposure to foreign languages, art appreciation and music lessons.

"More control to my own children's education was important to me," said LaFoe. "In Cape Girardeau we have some excellent schools, but an opportunity to do something different presented itself."

Fourteen students in grades two through six currently are enrolled in the school, and the waiting list continues to grow. LaFoe said attendance probably won't grow much more so that student-teacher ratios remain low.

Transportation is another reason to limit enrollment, she said, because students have frequent field trips and receive specialized physical education classes at sites away from the school.

"With it being visionary, we were intending to start small," she said. "People were very interested in trying something different with us. We're happy small until we prove it works to our expectations."

Deer Creek Christian Academy operates on an eleven-month calendar. Students attend class between August and June in nine-week sessions, each followed by a three-week vacation. No classes are scheduled during the month of July.

"We feel that the research does show that the children will retain more with the shorter breaks," said Brandtner.

LaFoe credits Brandtner for helping get the school organized. Brandtner, one of two teachers at the school and the school's educational facilitator, left her job as an elementary teacher because she felt "the time was right to leave the traditional classroom."

She supported the idea of a home-based school setting that used the one-room schoolhouse concept to teach a group of children of various ages.

"This is the most fun I've ever had; it's a wonderful feeling to get up and be excited," said Brandtner, a 16-year teaching veteran. "It seemed more beneficial to expose the children to a variety of age groups so they could learn how to be role models and to aspire to higher levels of achievement. There are occasions when those students help each other on projects, and that's when they develop as role models."

The curriculum she uses is highly individualized, but corresponds with a traditional curriculum for each grade level. Because of the mixed age groups, students generally study areas that are accelerated for their grade level, although children having difficulty can easily slow their pace so they retain material, Brandtner said.

LaFoe would eventually like to see other groups open schools similar to Deer Creek Christian Academy. "It would be neat to see other people emulate what we're doing," she said. "The key seems to be a low student-teacher ratio. I can't find the downside to this. I can't find anything not to like."