The History of Solid Rock Preparatory Academy

I asked my sister-in-law after she shared that she would be teaching and my nieces and nephews would be attending one. The answer intrigued me: In short, part-time private school and part-time homeschool. I searched for one near me, though my children were only three and sixteen months old at the time. I knew this was the long-term education model for our family. I had experience teaching Early Childhood to Fourth Grade, so my husband and I had decided homeschooling would be a great option for us, but what would I do after that? My love for learning and education told me that I would still want to be involved with their schooling beyond that, but I had no clue what that might look like. So to hear of a model where real teachers did the heavy work of choosing curriculum (which in and of itself is a triple check!!!) and the primary teaching while I would be responsible for reinforcing and guiding my children and still spend two to three days with them at home was amazing! 

God had placed a desire to open a school in my heart by the time I graduated from the University of North Texas (Go, MEAN GREEN!) in the early  2000s. At the time, I thought it would be a preschool, but as I began visiting University-Model® schools in the DFW area, I was greatly impressed by each one. Instead of enrolling our oldest in one, I felt God call me to start one. I spoke with Mrs. Barbara Freeman, CEO of the National Association of University-Model® Schools and planned to attend a New School Workshop after our third child was old enough for me to be away for a week. However, in the Spring of 2020 the words coronavirus, shelter-in-place, and quarantine became prevalent in our society, so while I attended the New School Workshop virtually, I knew there were too many unknowns to begin a school that Fall. Additionally, we learned we would welcome baby number four to our family by the end of that year, so plans were definitely on hold... mostly. 

God did put it on my heart to share my dream with two like-minded ladies from church, Michelle Wheeler and RaeKesha Kelley. They believed in the vision and agreed to help in any capacity. So in the Fall of 2020 we began working on the by-laws and structure of Solid Rock Preparatory Academy. After so many delays and roadblocks, I had become accustomed to taking my time and doing a little here and there to work toward the school, knowing that it would eventually come together in God's timing. In January 2022, after seeking Him for direction, He said, "Go." As in, move forward! 

So after nearly two years of weekly board meetings, purposeful planning, diligent training, and an abundance of passionate prayer, on  September 8, 2022, Solid Rock Preparatory Academy will open its doors on the campus of New Beginnings Church in Lewisville, Texas to students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade with hopes of growing until we are a Preschool through Twelfth Grade school.  --- Dana Blow, Founder