Furthering the mission of Biola University’s School of Education and Biola Youth Academics, the two have merged in an effort to better serve youth and homeschool students.

The merge, which officially occurred in late July, allows Biola Youth to more fully participate in partnerships that strengthen education through intentional service to children in grades 1-12 locally and globally.

June Hetzel, dean of Biola’s School of Education, said she is “excited about the upcoming change and believe[s] that bringing Biola Youth Academics into the School of Education will provide all of us with an opportunity to readily explore future partnerships to enhance our ministry and service to children and youth.  It’s all about the kids.”

The joining of these two programs is a perfect fit, Hetzel said, as the mission of the School of Education at Biola University is “to equip Christian educators to impact public, private, mission, and homeschools through biblically centered education, scholarship, and service.” The inclusion of the programs at Biola Youth Academics into the School of Education helps the School of Education further carry out its mission to homeschool students.  

Recently, both programs have expanded online programs as well. This online expansion marks an important increase in course offerings, which will widen the influence of Biola Youth Academics and the School of Education. Now, programs will be accessible to anyone in the world essentially and will take the mission and vision of Biola to students and families nationally and globally.

For more than 15 years, Biola Youth Academics has served the homeschool community by offering academically rigorous and biblically centered courses for junior high and high school students, supplementing their learning with in-depth, college prep-level classes taught from a Christian perspective. This valuable resource now includes courses online, featuring:

• Classically informed Torrey Academy courses such as Logic, Writing Lab, The Inklings, Foundations of American Thought, Plato, and more.

• Traditional textbook courses like Economics, Government, and SAT Prep.

• The Latest Technology: The program's traditional textbook classes utilize Blackboard, a leader in asynchronous course management systems. And for over 10 years, its classically informed Torrey Academy online courses have been taught in real time, currently via Adobe Connect.

• Live Interaction: With Adobe Connect classes, students will attend class in real time and discuss with their instructor and classmates directly via Web audio-conferencing. Blackboard classes feature project and discussion group options via Skype group video.

• Flexibility: Students can experience the quality instruction and unique community of Biola Youth Academics whether at home, on the road, or anywhere Internet connection is available. Whether in California, Canada or South Korea, Biola Youth Academics Online Courses are designed to fit their lifestyle and needs.

Learn more about Biola Youth Academics or Biola’s School of Education.

Written by Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator. Jenna can be reached at 562.777.4061 or through email at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.