Education is never neutral
Every school disciples kids into some set of beliefs. Ours is built on purpose on a biblical worldview: God as Creator, every child an image-bearer with a designed purpose, and Christ necessary for a flourishing life.
Treign Up Academy · Hanover, VA
Where education is discipleship.
A faith-based, learner-driven microschool for families who believe school should prepare kids for life, not just for the next test, and that a child's relationship with Christ matters most.
The problem
School was built to make boys sit still. So they fall behind.
The model most kids sit in traces back to Prussian schools designed to produce obedient soldiers and compliant citizens. Boys are built to move, compete and take risks, and in that system those are problems to be managed, or medicated.
215
boys suspended for every 100 girls
80%
of high school dropouts are boys
24%
of K–12 teachers are men
From our essay Education Is Failing Boys.
Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets
Inefficient
Long hours inside classroom walls, and a huge gap between the time spent and what kids actually learn.
Ineffective
Memorize for the test, forget it in a few weeks. That isn't preparation for life.
Inflexible
The world changes fast. Most schools still run on a model built two centuries ago.
Truth decay
Classrooms where Christ can't be named and a child's real identity can't be affirmed.
Most teachers in today's schools are doing their very best, and we honor them for it. This isn't the answer for every family. It is a better fit for some.
The model
Discipleship toward deployment.
Faithfulness today is preparation for tomorrow. We'd rather a child learn at 12 that he'll never feel fully ready, and go anyway.
Guides, not lecturers
Kids drive about 80%: set goals, choose pace, own the work, learn from failure. Adults bring the other 20% a good coach brings: design the environment, set the standard, see what a child can't see, and push when he would stop.
Learn by doing
Self-paced mastery of reading, writing and math, then quests, projects and real-world challenges where the skills get used.
Built for how boys are wired
Movement, competition, risk and physical challenge are part of the day, not things to be managed out of it. Physical development is a full pillar of the school.
Toughness on purpose
Suffering is formational and toughness grows through difficulty, not protection from it. We're protective of identity and very willing to push kids physically, mentally and spiritually.
Faith as the foundation
Spiritual formation isn't a Bible class bolted onto the schedule. It is the education, and everything else rests on it.
Three studios, one arc
Ages 5–8 · Identity
Spark
Form an unshakeable identity. Nurturing guides who tell stories and speak identity over every child.
Ages 9–12 · Skills
Discovery
Build the arsenal. Master the tools: freedom earned in levels, Socratic discussion, contracts and goals.
Ages 13+ · Deploy
Battle
Real apprenticeships, community impact, intellectual combat and physical challenge, before they feel ready.
Parents are the primary educators. The Academy comes alongside them: a firm floor on core skills for every learner, with room above it to fit each family.
See if it's the right fit for your family.
Tours, applications and enrollment live on the Academy site. Questions about the model? Ben will answer personally.
Keep reading: Why we started the Academy · Education Is Failing Boys