Establishing a community of virtuous scholars who advance God’s Kingdom locally and throughout the world

Our commitment to a Christian classical paradigm and the dignity of the human being results in a robust philosophy of education centered on the formation of the whole person.

The poet T.S. Eliot once asked, “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” It is helpful to think of classical education as an answer to Eliot’s lament. The stages of a classical education move students through the accumulation of information to the formation of knowledge, which is then directed toward the pursuit of wisdom through the cultivation of eloquence.

Educational reformers of various stripes have insisted on opposing the mastery of content to critical thinking or the acquisition of skills, and they pay no attention to beauty or wisdom. Classical education recognizes the value of each and incorporates them all into a model that seeks to cultivate informed, thoughtful, and articulate students.

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OUR VALUES

Character

We seek to mold students who value themselves and others, who apply Gospel values in moral decision-making, who have a strong aesthetic sense, and who exhibit self-discipline and a cooperative spirit.

Spiritual Discipline

We seek to give students a comprehensive understanding of the Christian faith, a respect for the value of the individual, and the experience of a faith community, lived out through liturgy, prayer, and service.

Academics

We seek a curriculum which meets the highest standards of accreditation and society, which prepares students for college and post-secondary pursuits, and which fully develops students’ skills for communication and critical thinking.

Community

We seek to promote an active interest in the well-being of others, understanding of diverse cultures, and an awareness of the responsibilities of citizenship.

The Cottage School

Over twenty-five years ago, Smith Preparatory Academy began as a tutoring service for homeschooling families. Still committed to our homeschooling roots, we offer a blended school paradigm. The Cottage School combines the best parts of a traditional homeschooling experience with that of a classical private school education. We partner with parents to provide a rich educational experience for each student.

Gifted and qualified teachers, who know and love their subject, work with students instructing, encouraging, and engaging them weekly. Students work at home with their parents on the remaining days. This allows for more personalized attention and serves to strengthen an already robust philosophy of classical education.

We seek truth because God is Truth; we pursue what is good because God is Good; we rejoice in what is beautiful because God is the source of all Beauty.

Smith Preparatory Academy is non-denominational. The school and its teachers are orthodox, evangelical, and Protestant. Smith Prep embraces both the essential truth of orthodox Christianity as articulated in the ecumenical creeds and the systems of doctrine expressed in the confessions and creeds of the Protestant Reformation.

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★★★★★

Smith Prep Academy has richly blessed our four children over the past 7 years. The teachers have both challenged and encouraged each of our children in their academic endeavors and in their spiritual growths. Through their classical education model, the teachers have greatly enhanced critical thinking and have developed valuable communication skills. Two of our children are now thriving in college, largely due to the education they received at Smith Prep. In addition, their entire staff has walked and prayed with us through life. Our family strongly recommends Smith Prep Academy: where they challenge students, prepare them for success, and equip them to be disciples of Christ.”

The McCain Family (2012-present)

★★★★★

Praise the Lord for the faithful servants on staff at Smith Preparatory Academy! Not only has Smith Prep’s model of classical education and rigorous academic standards challenged our two sons to develop cognitively, its ambitious philosophy of teaching students to seek truth, goodness, and beauty across the curriculum enabled them grow morally and spiritually as well. My wife and I truly appreciate the integral role Smith Prep faculty plays in helping us disciple our young men. It is much more than just another Christ-centered school that offers classical education. Smith Prep is a small campus of big thinkers, an intimate community of virtuous young scholars, and a loving extended family that blesses us immensely.”

Mr. Don Levonius (Parent, 2013-2019)

★★★★★

Smith Prep taught me to love. It taught me to love God, love his world, and love his image, humanity. Smith provided a community that felt safe, honest, open, and welcoming. Smith pushed me and my friends to think about things beyond sports and Star Wars, to think about God and what he wanted from us. Smith was my home, and I will never forget it.

Christopher Larson (Student, 2010-2017)

★★★★★

Smith Prep provided a community in which we could practice service, leadership, humility, and love, teaching us how to better represent Christ in a broken world. We practiced in the classroom as we discussed together; we practiced in the chapel as we prayed together; we practiced at the Ball as we respected one another; we practiced within the Houses as we welcomed one another; we practiced at Leadership Camp as we helped one another. Smith Prep builds the disposition of its students through these seemingly small but frequent lessons by which we were being taught how to better love Christ, love others, and love ourselves.

Megan Alsene (Student, 2012-2015)