Our Grassroots Beginning

In the spring of 2012, I decided to leave my teaching position at Reid School, located in Salt Lake City, to move to the small town of Wellsville, UT. Upon hearing this news, one of my student’s mother asked if I could still teach her son full time. Due to the long commute, she proposed an online one-on-one school set up where I would teach all four core subjects in less than three hours a day. I was skeptical, but soon discovered that there was ample time to cover history, math, English, and science while still diving deep into my student’s interests. He could train and compete in motocross across the United States while still excelling in academics. Once we proved this online endeavor was successful, she signed up her two other children for schooling. Through word of mouth, the school expanded and I taught students who needed an alternative to either public or private schooling, staying true to the live, one-on-one education vital to online learning. 

It wasn’t until the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic that ELIAS Academy officially started. Because public and private school systems were ravaged with unknowns during a time of transition, parents turned to me as an alternative. Knowing that I couldn’t devote my time to each student for individual schooling, I hired three highly qualified, passionate teachers who wanted to work from home while empowering students to be successful lifelong learners. 

Our Methodology

Mastery Learning
Each student must achieve true mastery of a topic before moving on to the next, more advanced subject. The student is given time and practice to study the topic until they succeed in achieving this mastery, even if it takes them longer than other students. Time is the one constant in a traditional classroom setting with lessons squeezed into set periods, leaving no room for exploration, different learning rates, or individual student needs. With our focus on mastery learning, achievement becomes the constant. 

Our School Name

Empower. Learn. Succeed. Our school not only embodies these values, but ELIAS stands for Empowering Learners Individually and Successfully. Elias also means “The Lord is My God.” I can’t deny the Lord’s hand in this process – one that allowed me to be His vessel and use my gift of teaching to bless my family, other teachers, and most importantly: my students.

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