Where Academic Excellence and Success go hand in hand with Spiritual Growth and Community Building. We strive to equip young people with a firm foundation of biblical truth and believe that in doing so we are preparing them to build stronger families, shape communities, and strengthen our city.
►Historical Overview Due to the increase of academic failure and increased risks in our communities, we have found that parents have struggled to provide their children with successful academic achievement while keeping them in a safe environment; therefore us as a partner to the community desire to bring an alternative to the home school environment. In today’s society where both parents are forced to provide financially for their families, the time and energy to home school a child is lacking. Given the alternatives, we have found that parents are still attempting this initiative and are failing. We at the Sanctuary Fellowship Academy desire to partner with these parents by taking all of our professional resources and combine them into alternative high school experience. The school officially opened September of 2006. Founders include the following: Mrs. Yeseny Ferrer, certified New York State Certified Special Educator, Rev. Jorge Martinez, Senior Pastor of the Sanctuary Fellowship Church; Mrs. Michelle Martinez, former nonpublic school teacher (BA in Speech and Language), Mrs. Jennifer Ferrer (AA in Liberal Arts) church leader and Mrs. Eleanor Ferrer, expert in home schooling and former school administrator of Crossway Christian Academy in the Bronx, NY. Our vision/mission statement is to provide a safe environment that enables young people to achieve academic excellence and spiritual maturity. And to encourage young people to be Gospel-Centered, Community-Minded, and Family Focused as they pursue their God Given call and purpose. ►Buildings and Grounds The program is currently functioning out of our church facility. We have three large classrooms where the students study and complete their academic courses. Students are divided into different groups based on grade level for different subjects and utilize other areas within the building. The building has a functional kitchen area, where students can prepare food for lunch and eat in a lounge area outside of the classrooms. We provide physical education for the students within the facility and within the local parks. ►Staffing As a small home school program from grades 9-12. Our staff consists of the school administrator, two lead teachers and dean of student affairs. We have parent volunteers available to help within concentrated core subjects. ►Curricular Program The Sanctuary Fellowship offers courses through Alpha and Omega LIFEPAC Curriculum. The LIFEPAC Christian curriculum is designed to teach five core subjects plus an array of electives. LIFEPAC's full-color work text curriculum is based on the principle of mastery learning, in which students truly master the content and skills of one unit before progressing to the next. The curriculum is composed of consumable textbook/workbook combinations that conveniently combine subject text, exercises, projects, review, and tests. ►Extracurricular Programs The Sanctuary Fellowship Academy offers an array of creative arts program. Our music instruction is not only part of the curriculum but is offered also as extracurricular program. Our music instructor provides basic intro lessons in piano, guitar and vocal (special arrangements are made to study music). Our lead teacher is studying artist and provides hands on art instruction in drawing and painting. As part of our mission statement we want our students to be community minded; we’ve committed one day a week to give back to our community through volunteering at local nursing homes, the World Vision Organization along with various community projects.
►Accreditation We are currently a home school program and our students register with Bridgeway Academy. Legal diplomas are issued through this program, which is located in Pennsylvania. Our program is not registered with the NYS Education Department as of yet and we are not required to take Regents exams; however we do plan to register the program with the NY State within a few years. For further information please visit: www.bridgewayacademy.com.
