By James Feichtner
In the beginning years of life, a child’s education is an important factor on how they grow. With parents being busier than ever today it is hard to guarantee their children are getting the proper education they need. Fortunately, parents in the Geist area need look no further than Geist Academy, a one-stop shop for child care and education conveniently located in the Geist community.
As an extension on the Geist Chapel Ministry, Geist Academy works to give the child a full learning experience, not just the academics.
“There are so many things in a state run facility that you’re not allowed to express. We’re allowed to address the whole child; the academic, the spiritual, the fine and gross motor skills. Other places are really geared towards academics only, so I feel like you’re leaving out a really big part of teaching the child,” said Stephanie Murphy, academy director.
A key factor behind Geist Academy is its dedication to professionalism.
“When we decided to put this together we opted for professional management, not volunteer,” Ken Booster, marketing coordinator, said. “You have to go through all the background checks and everything a regular teacher would go through. We’re using professionals and we have got some great professionals.”
“All of our teachers are CPR, First Aid and AED trained and then they either have to have their CDA, 10 plus years of experience or they have to be working on it. I want my staff to be very well qualified in what they are doing,” Murphy said.
The Academy serves children from ages infant to 12 years old. For kids aged infant to 6 years, the academy acts as top-notch pre-school ensuring that students are fully prepared for kindergarten when they leave.
“We do two assessments,” Murphy said. “We do one in the spring and one in the fall and that lines up with the ISTAR-KR which is what the state of Indiana uses to test kids when they come in for kindergarten, so we have a real good picture of where that child is at. We are really geared to make sure those kids are ready.”
For kids ages 6 to 12, the Academy acts as a before- and after-school program.
“Between the ages of 6 and 12; those are school kids,” Booster said. “So the whole idea is they get dropped off in the morning because mom/dad is on their way to work. They don’t have to leave them at home. They can stay here, spend an hour or two here and then they go to school. We can arrange for the bus, so the school bus picks them up. After school, the school bus drops them off and they’ve got activities they can do here. They can do their homework and we have someone that can help them with that.”
In order to make the academy a true one-stop shop, Murphy explained that they were looking into bringing extracurricular activities to the school, such as karate, ballet and soccer.
“The idea behind that is if the kids can do that while they are here, that’s one thing parents don’t have to do after they pick up because they’re already here, they’ve had it and so when you pick them up you can be done,” Murphy said.
For those interested in trying Geist Academy, but are worried about the upfront fees, Geist Academy is offering a unique opportunity for new candidates.
“We’re doing something a little different,” Booster explained. “If you bring your child here we’ll waive the upfront fees and you pay for two weeks and we’ll give you two weeks free. Then at the end of that period of time you can decide if we’re doing a good job.”
“I think we look at things a little differently than the average place: a little more personal, a little more oriented toward the Geist resident and a little bit more of an understanding of who our client is,” Booster said.
About Geist Academy
Established – August, 2015
Age groups served – Infants up to age 12
Student capacity – 81
Time of operation – Year round, 5 day per week
Services provided – Infant care, toddler care, pre-school/pre-kindergarten care, before and after school care.
School curriculum – Science, math, language (including pre-reading and pre-writing), music, art, social studies, health and safety and play.
Teacher certifications – CPR, First Aid, AED, CDA or 10+ years experience
Website – https://geistkidsacademy.com/
Phone – 200 – 8995
