Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Friday Feature: Kipe Academy

by December 13, 2024
December 13, 2024
Friday Feature: Kipe Academy

Colleen Hroncich

Tonya Kipe saw the flaws of the public school system both as a mom and a teacher. She loved her elementary teaching position at first but grew frustrated by how cookie-cutter and robotic it became. Hers was one of eight second-grade classrooms at her school, and they were all expected to be keeping the same pace despite having students at various levels. “We were a Title I school,” she recalls. “Half of the group was reading below grade level, but we were still pushing second-grade content.” Kids responded by crying, crawling on the floor, and generally acting out. Tonya says she felt guilty because she knew she wasn’t serving the children well and it seemed unethical to her. 

As her own children left elementary school and headed into middle and high school, she saw problems throughout the system. Her oldest son had a block schedule in high school, which meant classes met fewer days per week but for longer periods of time. In theory, this schedule gives teachers and students more time to dig in and explore the topics they’re covering. But that’s not what was happening. “The teacher would teach for 10 to 15 minutes and give them a worksheet. When they were done, they’d put it in a basket. Then they could watch Netflix, sleep, talk on the phone, and be with their friends,” she says. He watched complete multi-season shows during school because there was so much downtime.

Things were worse for her youngest son, who has an individualized education program (IEP), a document that provides guidance and explains accommodations for students with special needs. When he was in elementary school, Tonya was able to work with his teachers when any issues came up. But it wasn’t as smooth in middle school. By the time he was in eighth grade, she realized it wasn’t working and decided to homeschool him.

Tonya let him pick out what he wanted to learn, like welding and building. “He wasn’t stressed by the schedule. He wasn’t stressed by people telling him how he’s going to be a burger flipper, and he’s dumb and that he’s not doing what the rest of the group is doing,” she says, adding that she wishes she’d started homeschooling sooner. Her son was so much happier that his friends started asking him if he was taking drugs.

Tonya realized she wanted to create a place where she could be just as happy teaching and the kids could be happy learning. “If they need extra time for something or they need to accelerate, I want to be able to give them that. And then I want to teach them what they want to learn,” she says. “So we started Kipe Academy. We started off with one student, then it grew to three, and it just kept growing.” (Kipe Academy is in Polk City, Florida.) 

Like many founders, Tonya had a hard time finding a building, so she initially offered after-school tutoring at a park or the library. She began holding science-themed weekend workshops that were open to any student regardless of school. As Florida’s school choice programs began providing flexibility for personalized learning, she started getting more home-education students.

She expanded her search and finally found a location that worked to launch her full-time program in August. “We try to do academics Monday through Thursday that are based on the unit theme. Then Friday is the social piece of it or the more relaxed piece, where we’re doing like the fictional text instead of non-fiction. And we’re doing the directed drawing and the one-and-done art, not a project that takes the whole week,” she explains. “We have kids who come Monday through Friday, and we have some kids who come for just fun Friday.”

Tonya acknowledges that she, like many parents in her community, used to see options like homeschooling as taking away from the public system. But her perspective changed when the system wasn’t working for her son. “Why should we keep doing something if it doesn’t work? Just because that’s the way it’s always been done? And so that’s when my mindset was changed,” she says. “I’m not saying public school is bad or that public school should be abolished. But if it’s not working for you, pick something different. Especially since you have options.”

Now Tonya is working to help other parents understand and navigate Florida’s diverse educational landscape. “In October, I teamed up with some other local microschool leaders, and we hosted the first Homeschool Choice Expo. We invited the state scholarship program to come, so they were there. We got to network with other microschool leaders and just to try to bring awareness to the community about all of the different options that homeschooling allows,” she says.

Founding Kipe Academy has been enormously beneficial for Tonya as well as her students. “When I go home, I’m not tired because when my kids are doing recess, I can actually sit and do a little admin work. Or if I want to get up and play with the kids, I can play with the kids. We can go to the bathroom when we want to go to the bathroom. Even though I’m working all day and then I tutor after school and then I have meetings in the evenings, I am still less tired and more energized than when I was working in public school,” Tonya says. “I’m not stressed. And because I’m not stressed, I don’t have to force that stress on the kids. And it just makes it a whole different vibe or environment.”

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Eliminate Government Holidays
next post
A Fine Pairing: Crypto x AI and a Decentralized Tech Agenda for Policymakers

You may also like

How Primary Reform Stalled—and Why It’s Back

October 18, 2024

A College Endowment Tax Is the Wrong Federal...

May 20, 2025

Senate Report Highlighting Bias in Online Services Shows...

May 1, 2024

Friday Feature: Classic Learning Test

September 6, 2024

The Cognitive Shift: How the Terrorist Label May...

March 20, 2025

The New Deal and Recovery, Part 18: The...

July 29, 2022

House Tax Bill Doesn’t Kill Green New Deal...

May 15, 2025

Tariffs Won’t Stop Fentanyl Smuggling

March 27, 2025

Government Proposes To Make Bad Standards on Race...

April 20, 2023

Big Brother’s Censorship Will Harm Those They Claim...

August 14, 2024

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025
    • House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: ‘Iceberg is ahead’

      June 7, 2025
    • Call with China’s Xi, and Trump-Musk exchange fueled barbs during 20th week in office

      June 7, 2025
    • Trump’s conservative allies warn Congress faces critical ‘test’ with $9.4B spending cut proposal

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,568)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved