Well Schooled

Educator Turns Homeschool Experience Into Growing Christian Academy

When her son, Aaron, entered middle school around 1991, Freida Lachman knew she needed to homeschool him, but she had no idea that one decision would lead to her becoming the director of a private Christian school
Lachman, who is the director of Evans Christian Academy, initially began her career in education by teaching science in Michigan and Ohio. She watched as her two older daughters, Leona Ruble, now an educator, and Monica Lachman, a businesswoman, went from being straight-A students throughout high school to struggling some in college. She had homeschooled her son, Corey, who is now a physician, as well and saw the benefit.

“I knew from their experience you can be as smart as you want, but you have to have the study skills,” she says.
By the time Aaron reached middle school, the family had relocated to the Evans area, and she felt there wasn’t anything to meet his need. Lachman was concerned about his middle school years because she knew he needed more attention than he would receive in a regular classroom. Also, she wanted to inspire a love of reading in him because, at the time, he was not a reader.

“He’s now an avid reader, but I had to make him read. We started with Popular Mechanics and Popular Science. He doesn’t remember that now,” says Lachman, whose youngest son is now 29 and an industrial engineer.

A New Career on the Horizon

Lachman’s homeschool career included teaching science to her son and the child of a friend who in turn taught art. It wasn’t long before her homeschool horizons were expanded from just teaching them. “Every time my husband came home, there were tutoring classes going on,” she says.

And it only grew from there. Soon, she became a leader to over 10 homeschooled families because there was a need. “I have the spirit of hospitality. I just can’t say ‘no,’” she says. Her school load continued to increase. “We were always having something. There was a play, and they needed space to hold about 20 people. Forty-five came” and packed into Lachman’s living room, she recalls.

By 1993, it was clear Lachman’s living room was not big enough to hold everyone so the families started meeting at In Focus Church. “At first, it was one day a week, then two, then three, then four days a week, and it kept growing,” she says.

The school met there for about 11 years with enrollment peaking at 124 middle and high school students.

When a new pastor took over at In Focus, it was time for the school to find a new home. Enrollment dropped at the school when it moved to meet at Cross Bridge Baptist Church in Richmond County. People wanted their children to go to school in Columbia County, she says.

A Vision for the Future

For years, the vision for the school was to build on the 17 acres on Chamblin Road which had been purchased in 2006. That changed when a member of Berea Baptist Church, whose children attended ECA, contacted her about the possibility of purchasing the church on South Old Belair Road in Grovetown last year.

Lachman says she visited the property the same day and knew it was the place for the school. “Everything just fell into place,” she says.

Academic Life in the School’s New Home

Students started the 2010-2011 school year at the new facility. The 9,600-square-foot two-story building sits on 5.71 acres. It has 12 classrooms, two art rooms and a commons area with a stage.

This year, there are 42 students enrolled full-time. The college-preparatory curriculum includes a variety of courses. Math courses such as algebra, geometry and calculus, and science topics such as biology, chemistry, physics and environmental science are offered in addition to language arts, history, foreign languages, chorus, drama, computer graphics, photography and psychology. The school also offers AP English, AP U.S. Government/Politics and AP U.S. History.

Lachman says she’d like to add a separate writing course. “Writing doesn’t go away, even when you are drafting a small memo,” she says.
The school offers opportunities for homeschool families to take some courses as well. There is currently one homeschool student enrolled. Typically, math and science are sought out by families homeschooling their children.

Lachman says her only regret in moving to a permanent location is not buying  sooner. “It is wonderful to have your own facility,” she says. “If you want to have an SAT workshop, you are not begging for permission to use the facilities.”
And Lachman believes the school will begin to grow again once people learn about its new location. She’s counting on that growth and looking toward the future, eyeing property adjacent to the current facility in hopes of expanding extracurricular programs. Volleyball is currently the only sport offered at the school.

“People are calling telling me ‘I can do your basketball program’ and ‘I can do your baseball program,’” she says. She knows it’s only a matter of time before those individuals are needed.

While her tenure in homeschooling her son ended many years ago, Lachman says she’s enjoyed what it has produced. The school population with its faculty, staff and students are more like a family, she says. “Everyone looks out for everyone else,” she said.

And she’s seen the impact the school has had on its students. It’s especially heartwarming to have graduates come back and teach there, she says. “This year, we have had a student come back to teach. He’s our second student coming back.”

A couple of events are planned at the school in the next few months. There will be open houses at 7 p.m., March 3 and April 19. Also, an SAT workshop is planned for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 30.

To learn more about the school, call 706-364-3565 or visit www.evanschristianacademy.org. 

Charmain Z. Brackett is an Augusta freelance writer and mother of three.