Fast forward nearly 10 years when there were more evident trends in homeschooling. Lynn, HLA’s Counseling Team Leader at the time, observed these trends and began looking to the future needs of students. The typical homeschool family was beginning to look very different. Students were exiting the public school system for various reasons, and the need for Archway became increasingly relevant. Around 2015, Lynn and Angela, along with other administration, started discussing the real need for Archway. It was then that foundation was laid and steps were taken to build the program. 

HLA Archway was launched in 2016 as a HomeLife Academy program and under the direction of Lynn Knowlton. With the help and hard work of key team member, Tom Adams, the program first utilized Ignitia, Alpha Omega’s curriculum for Christian schools and shortly after added Edgenuity as the primary curriculum provider for Archway students. Adding Edgenuity, along with developing better processes which led to steady growth of the program during the first few years allowed other key team members to be added. This program continued to build over four years with enrollment reaching over 500 students in the 2019/2020 school year. We are excited to see new growth with ArchwayOnline in the 2022/2023 school as Tennessee’s only private, accredited* online school. 

With trends still changing, Lynn and Angela began seeking options for accreditation in 2018. There was no doubt that accreditation was going to be a needed piece of the puzzle. With more students homeschooling short-term with the intention of returning to public school, the need for reciprocity became more and more crucial. We also began to see a greater need globally, finding families looking for U.S. accredited diplomas. Within the last year, more families have been looking for programs with support and accountability for their students. 

As we began to look at moving the Archway Program from HomeLife Academy to its own school in Tennessee, we saw the need to build something that would support families that were homeschooling differently and for different reasons than veteran homeschoolers. These families have different needs and that is when we realized we have to look  at home education differently. These families have students that are getting educated @home and are  looking for added support and accountability for success. These families may not have had a long-time vision for homeschooling, but have chosen to do so knowing it is the best for their student, whether due to medical issues, bullying, anxiety, mental health struggles, or for a variety of other relevant reasons. Some may do it blindly and by faith, hoping that they are doing the right thing and searching for the right answers. REDEFINED simply means that EDUCATION @HOME may not look like traditional HOME EDUCATION and that is ok. We are here to serve and to help any family seeking to do the best for their student and family.  

So here we are, ready to serve. With our nearly 20 years of experience helping homeschooling families, we believe that the key is either a motivated parent or a motivated student, or ideally both! If neither are motivated, success is rare. We believe it is imperative to have a support system for both the parent and the student. In traditional umbrella schools or organizations that support homeschooling families, the support is focused primarily on the parent. Staff and counselors work closely with the parent to encourage, education, motivate, and provide resources so that they can then work directly with their students. ArchwayOnline recognizes that the student needs support, too. Our goal is to provide both. The years of experience we have to EQUIP and support the parent go hand-in-hand with the experienced mentors, teachers and counselors that work one on one with students to INSPIRE and motivate them. Students getting @home support from parents that feel equipped while also getting the academic support and motivation needed is why ArchwayOnline holds the key to your student’s success. Take this journey with us. Welcome to ArchwayOnline.