Providence Hybrid Academy a New Alternative for Education in SV Area (Sponsored)

The Lehigh Valley is about to move to the head of the class when it comes to primary grade school offerings, if two Lehigh Valley moms have anything to say about it.

Rebecca Foley and her friend Angie Wakeman, who between them have five children under the age of 6, were not happy with the choices they faced as their preschoolers approached school age. Rather than simply settling for what was out there, about a year ago the pair decided to open their own school, and Providence Hybrid Academy, which Foley describes as the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley, was born.

“Many public schools have gone to full-day kindergarten and we did not believe this was developmentally appropriate for our littles, who were used to running and playing and imagining. We found private schools to be too expensive and to still have a highly academic emphasis for little ones. Homeschooling is something many of us considered for financial or pedagogical reasons, but we were at different comfort levels for various reasons ranging from the overwhelming amount of commitment involved to not knowing where to start with curriculum,” Foley said.

So Foley, who has a master’s degree in educational leadership from Lehigh University, and Wakeman, a former high school English teacher, began the research process. They both found the ‘hybrid’ school model, which has already been successfully operating in many states, to be particularly appealing.

Typically students in hybrid schools spend two or three days at school with a teacher and two or three days at home completing assignments, Foley explains, which allows for much lower tuition costs than those of private schools.

“It also takes a lot of pressure off of parents, compared to homeschooling alone,” she said, “because parents can drop kids off for full school days a couple times a week and know that they are having the class experience of a teacher and classmates.”

Providence Hybrid Academy will welcome its first students in September, according to Foley. The school is located near Hellertown in Christ Lutheran Church of Lower Saucon on Easton Road (in a space separate from the main church building that was previously occupied by Schoolhouse Christian Preschool).

This fall the school–which Foley describes as a Christian, but non-denominational, organization–will host a kindergarten class and a combined 1st and 2nd grade class. Each class will enroll 9-12 kids for a total of 18-24 kids in the program.

To date, Foley said there are 15 students on her roster, which means there are four to five spots left in each class. “We have two teachers, and possibly an aide, if we fill all the way,” she said.

Down the road, Foley said, they would definitely would love to expand into 3rd and 4th grades or add more classes.

“We have already had many people with older elementary kids ask about this since we will be the only hybrid program around,” Foley explained. “The hybrid model is not our only distinction. Other aspects that make us unique are our multiple recesses which research shows is highly beneficial to kids in multiple ways, an emphasis on ‘living’ books rather than textbooks, and an emphasis on exposing the kids to great art and music, nature and history.”

Tuition is $2,200 a year, with discounts for paying up front and for siblings. Foley said those who mention this article can receive $20 off the $100 registration fee through July 31.

More details on the program can be found on the school’s website: providencehybridacademy.org and on its Facebook page. Foley and Wakeman can be contacted via email at admin@providencehybridacademy.org.

Application forms and tuition information can also be found on the website or the school can mail out hard copies.

An open house date will be announced later this summer.