HIGHER LEARNING
Hearthside Academy offers dual enrollment and advanced college placement with Christian Leaders Institute (CLI). Christian Leaders Institute maintains academic partnerships with the colleges and seminaries listed below to enable students who desire to pursue Christian undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs for a fraction of the cost of traditional educational institutions. Mrs. Brewer, our Head of School, is the Regional Mentor assigned to students enrolled in CLI degree programs within the Grand Canyon State. CLI is a United States Department of Education (USDE) institute for USDE-recognized accreditation. The College holds Candidate Institution Status with the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) Commission on Accreditation and is approved by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) through the ABHE. Candidate Status is a preaccredited status granted to those institutions that evidence satisfactory compliance with ABHE’s Institutional Accreditation Standards, including documentation of the appropriateness, rigor, and achievement of stated student learning outcomes and all other Title IV eligibility requirements, while demonstrating promise of achieving accreditation within a maximum of five years.
Accreditations & Certifications
School accreditation is a voluntary process intended to recognize standards of quality in academics, governance, and operations through ongoing teacher training, leadership development, and school improvement practices. Hearthside Academy elects to affiliate with and participate in accreditation practices with organizations that affirm fidelity to Christian-based education and/or Charlotte Mason philosophies. Historically speaking, Charlotte Mason was a committed Christian educator whose philosophy of education was grounded in a biblical worldview, emphasizing the formation of character, the authority of Scripture, and the recognition of children as whole persons created in the image of God. As leaders and educators desiring to serve God in the spirit of her unwavering dedication to such noble educational principles, we choose the following organizations which align perfectly to our commitment to Christ:
(1) The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) is a credentialing and accrediting organization made up of a network of Christian schools, educators and specialists committed to Biblically-based education with results that are measurable. Deniese Brewer, the Founder of Hearthside Academy, holds ACSI Certified Educator Head of School certification and Secondary Teacher certification.*
(2) The Charlotte Mason Institute (CMI) provides rigorous advanced teacher training, development and support for teachers and school leaders. Hearthside Academy is currently pursuing Institute Accreditation for Charlotte Mason schools, as we are ever committed to researching and implementing the most updated and best practices in the field of CM education. CMI is a member of the National Council of Private School Accreditation, and as such accredits its member schools. Accredited schools meet standards of excellence on many levels, including governance, finance, and educational standards over a seven-year candidacy process.
(3) The Herzog Foundation has a mission to “catalyze and accelerate the development of quality Christ-centered K-12 education so that families and culture flourish.” Herzog trainings are best-in-class transformational learning experiences designed to sustain growth in the Christian educator sector and has created partnerships with top organizations committed to growing their vision and mission. An important Herzog partnership, as it relates to Hearthside Academy, is with the Charlotte Mason Institute (CMI) for Charlotte Mason school leadership training through SchoolBox.
(4) The Charlotte Mason Education Association (CMEA) is a nonprofit CM accreditation organization which exists to affirm, support, and recognize facilitator-led private schools and parent-led homeschools that faithfully practice Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education through living ideas, human pedagogy, ethical governance, and the formation of persons.**
Note: *Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) funding requires that all teaching services be provided by an individual or facility accredited by a state, regional, or educational accrediting organization. Hearthside Academy meets this requirement through ACSI Educator certifications. **Our microschool is philosophically aligned with CMEA and serves as a demonstration and pilot site for resources and training. All accreditation decisions with respect to Hearthside are conducted independently through third-party assessors and without founder involvement to preserve objectivity.
Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) Funding
Hearthside Academy (formerly Solus Christus Classical Academy) is an approved vendor for the Arizona Department of Education’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA). Empowerment Scholarships expand educational opportunities for eligible students outside of the public school system, provides funding that can be used for a wide variety of educational expenses, and pays for private school tuition, educational therapies, tutoring, and more. Families interested in this funding are encouraged to apply directly at the Arizona Department of Education ESA homepage.
