Farmington seeks to start LifeWise Academy for elementary students

FARMINGTON — LifeWise Academy may soon offer a voluntary, off-site program with Bible-based character education classes for Farmington elementary students. The announcement came during the Farmington School Board meeting on March 25 by Superintendent Jon Laffoon during his monthly report to the board.

Under a 1952 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, public school students qualify for “released time religious instruction.” The ruling states that students can be released during school hours one hour per week to receive religious instruction.

To abide by the ruling, three things must occur, according to the court decision. The instruction must be off school grounds, privately funded and voluntary with parental permission.

LifeWise asked the school district to submit a letter of acknowledgment stating the district understands and accepts the program can legally exist, Laffoon said.

“The key thing is the letter that I’m going to submit,” Laffoon said. “It neither commits to nor discourages participation in the program. We won’t do that.”

The letter also authorizes LifeWise to coordinate all permission slips from parents, Laffoon said.

Katherine Hale, a local parent on the steering committee to bring LifeWise to Farmington, was at the meeting to answer questions. There were more than 200 signatures on a community interest list, Hale said. Each class will be about 40 minutes long, Hale said.

Brand New Church, 271 W. Main St., Farmington, has offered its current building on Main Street and its future facility for the LifeWise courses that would start in the 2024-25 school year, Hale said.

Farmington would not be the first community in Washington County to have a LifeWise chapter. Prairie Grove started a LifeWise chapter for grades 1-3 at the start of the 2023-24 school year. It has added fourth grade and Hale said about 300 students are attending classes each week.

Last year, representatives with the Prairie Grove LifeWise chapter said it not only was the first program in Washington County but also the first in Arkansas. Abundant Life Church in Prairie Grove serves as LifeWise’s venue for its classes.

In January, residents of Lincoln addressed Lincoln School Board about having a chapter of LifeWise Academy next year. First Baptist Church of Lincoln has volunteered its campus facilities for the Lincoln program.

LifeWise Academy, which was founded in 2018, provides Bible education off campus during school hours, said LifeWise CEO and founder Joel Penton.

“Our elementary curriculum takes elementary school students from grades 1-5 through the entire Bible over five years,” Penton said in a phone interview.

Courses are offered to middle and high school students but have a narrower focus such as one particular book of the Bible or a portion of a book, Penton said.

During the 2023-24 school year, LifeWise Academy served 330 school buildings across 15 states, Penton said. LifeWise plans to serve more than 500 schools for the 2024-25 school year, Penton said.

A typical day at LifeWise Academy depends on the school, Penton said.

“The way it works is every student in school can sign up and attend LifeWise once a week at an off-campus site,” Penton said.

Staff members from LifeWise Academy pick up students at school and take them to an offsite location like a church or other building to learn, Penton said.

Penton likened LifeWise’s courses to other electives that public schools offer once a week, such as art.

Hale told Farmington School Board members that the local program would be responsible for transportation and working with school principals on any logistics. LifeWise will assume liability for students while they are participating in the program.

For more information about the organization, go to LifeWise.org.