Liberty helps NC school reopen

University comes alongside high school as financial woes appear on horizon

Liberty University’s Online Academy, a branch of Liberty University Online, partnered with Hope Community Church in Burlington, North Carolina, to help reopen Faith Christian Academy Thursday, Aug. 28.

According to an article from The Times-News (Burlington), Marchael Bullard, the pastor of Hope Community Church and the co-director of the new school, reached out to his alma mater, Liberty University.

Jay Spencer, the dean of Liberty’s Online Academy who helped start the program in 2007, noted that every year there has been an increase in participants in this program, especially this year. He attributes the growth spurt to the fact that schools have been reaching out to Liberty University’s Online Academy.

This change is likely linked to Spencer’s involvement with Glen Beck’s event “We Will Not Conform,” which was broadcasted in theaters across the country this past summer. According to Spencer, this opportunity increased advertising and promoted the academy.

“We are continuing to expand and grow,” Spencer said. “We are a little over 900 students ahead of where we were last year at this time. We have about 3,300-3,400
students.”

Dr. Kelly Bingham and another online academy employee went to Burlington and met with the families of Faith Christian Academy. According to Bingham, the parents’ biggest concern was moving to an online format, but during their visit the Liberty University Online Academy officials were able to ease any anxieties and answer any questions the parents had.

“We were able to give them a great

demonstration of what the courses look like and answer their questions about accreditation and all the content issues,” Bingham said.

According to The Times-News article, Faith Christian Academy, formerly known as Hope Christian Academy, had to close in May due to financial issues. Hope Community Church and Liberty’s Online Academy came together with others to develop the stability the school needed.

“This is an ideal program for small schools that struggle with budget because they have to hire so many teachers,” Spencer said. “That’s the thing. We have the teachers online. They just need a classroom supervisor, who makes sure that the students are staying on task and answers any questions they have.”

Spencer noted this program is also applicable for homeschoolers.

“It is often described as the best of homeschooling and private education rolled into one,” Spencer said. “The parents who are intimidated by homeschooling do not have to be the teacher. We do that for them. They can be as involved as they want to be.”

According to Spencer, Liberty Online Academy recently expanded its program from grades 3-12 to K-12, so Faith Christian Academy will be able to offer all grades.
Bingham said the program is very interactive and is great for developing a strong student-teacher relationships. Students and teachers are able to send video messages and receive one-on-one time with teachers to ask questions.

According to Bingham, staff members at Faith Christian Academy have a heart for ministry and really want to provide a quality education. They are taking the program to the next level by expounding on the material.

Spencer said that high school students can earn dual credit up to and including an associate’s degree. The tuition they pay toward their classes can be applied to their tuition to Liberty if that is where they decide to attend.

For more information on Liberty University’s Online Academy, call 866-418-8741 or visit liberty.edu/onlineacademy.