This Ask Anything Chat is the opposite of complicated. It’s a sneak peek of what enrolled families see in the school handbook. Essentially, this is a guide for parents who have questions.

Parents like you!

We want this AMA-style chat to be authentic, transparent, and compassionate because our team understands that you’re not just looking for a school or an educational pathway. You are searching for a place where your child and your family can be seen, understood, and known.

Kick off your shoes. Get comfortable. Let’s get started.

Why an Ask Us Anything Chat?

We meet parents every week who tour the North Georgia campus, inquire about our Navigator Program, email our admissions team, and attend Discover Learnwell preview nights. Whether in person or online, your questions are important to us. Our hope is that you’ll find more than information here.

We want to peel back the curtain on a traditional Q&A and show you the heartbeats behind our mission:

• Teachers
• Parents
• Students

We all want the same thing: the opportunity for students to pursue an excellent education without losing what matters most — intentional margin, deep faith, and authentic community (our core values).

Questions about a Typical School Day

One of our most-asked questions is what a typical school day and an at-home day look like. When parents don’t have the experience of hybrid school that’s more creative than a typical hybrid school, we know it can be hard to “see yourself” in the Learnwell environment.

Many hybrid schools simply teach during the in-school days as your typical public or private school would. Then they send your children home with worksheets and videos to watch, with virtually no interaction unless you need to check that their homework is complete.

That isn’t Learnwell.

While there is nothing wrong with that school style, Learnwell believes in building strong partnerships with parents by design. Here’s what that looks like at various grade levels.

K-3rd Grade

Your child needs a parent, a grandparent, or a tutor to sit with them at the table (or on the trampoline or outside under the oak tree) — wherever you’re actively working on the lesson the teacher has prescribed — and guide them through it. At these grade levels, students are largely still learning to calculate, read, and understand instructions.

But you have freedom to modify assignments when your child has the concepts mastered, if he or she needs a break, or if you and your child are struggling, your child’s teacher is just an email away. She’ll help you modify it according to your child’s needs.

That might look like doing a math problem on a dry-erase board, building blocks to understand the foundations of addition, or using a storytelling game to sound out words, in addition to a reader. Parents receive weekly coaching videos and resources to support their teaching and guidance on at-home days.

4th/5th Grade

While your child definitely still needs a trusted adult by their side, they may be feeling more independent. Perhaps you can help them get started, ensuring they understand what’s been asked, and then let them finish a few problems or questions on their own. Or they may want to read to you, teach you how to do a math problem, or come up with a creative way to meet the mastery guidelines. Spelling words while playing HORSE outside at the basketball hoop? We love it. Often, students will work on presentations and projects because we value collaboration, creativity, and effective communication (including public speaking) at all ages.

If you’re nervous as the co-teacher at the K-5th grade level, don’t worry! The lesson plans are designed for YOU, the parent, and your child’s classroom teacher equips you weekly with coaching videos and at-home support. While teachers are not on call during at-home days, they are available via email and usually respond within 24 hours. So if you get stuck, it’s okay to move on, take a break or try a different subject for a while. Your child’s teacher is not just your child’s advocate; he or she is your advocate, too, and wants you to succeed as the co-teacher.

6th/7th Grade

During the school day, all grade levels will receive engaging lessons from highly qualified teachers. Middle school is no different. The main differentiator for our middle school students is that they begin to switch classes while they’re at school. Instead of having just one teacher for the entire day, they’ll go between math, language arts, life skills/discipleship, and science and social studies.

At home, they still definitely need a parent to help them manage their time. However, they’ve been given more freedom to check their lesson plans themselves for some classes through the student portal; this is intentional and helps them build responsibility before entering 8th grade and high school.

8th-12th Grade

While it may feel oddly foreign to you and your child, we advocate letting go in 8th grade. All students and parents are well-resourced on how to do this step by step, and you’re in a community that’s incredibly supportive.

Why do we want students to take responsibility for their at-home days? It helps them learn how to advocate for themselves when they have a question or need an extension on an assignment. It also helps them learn how they’re wired and experience what it’s like to manage multiple classroom assignments on at-home days.

While we don’t want to overload them, we believe a student thrives when he learns how capable he is. If parents continue to step in, it limits a student from learning that they’re smart, able, and can grow from failure.

Students in these grade levels have the option of attending school all four days of our four-day week, but only two in-person days are required (except for some Advanced Placement and Honors courses, which require a third in-person learning day). They can also take classes elsewhere, particularly once they reach 11th grade and may want to enroll in external courses for dual enrollment.

Our “Ask Anything Chat” may answer some of your questions, but not all. Join us in person at our next parent preview night to ask any student-centered or family-specific questions that this guide hasn’t answered.

How Is Faith Approached and What Does Learnwell Value?

We publish our four core values in the family handbook and encourage parents and students to adopt these as their own. These include:

1. Intentional Margin: Education with margin leads to effective learning and healthy families. ● We help parents homeschool in a way that brings health and wholeness to the entire family. 

● Learnwell’s teachers and staff operate in health because they want to do their best work together in serving Learnwell families. Learnwell prioritizes the health of team members and does its part to ensure that they have the rest they need in order to do their best work. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11)

To the best of our abilities as a school and staff team, we seek to honor the time of your family and the Learnwell team’s time with their families. 

2. Deep Faith: Because of our faith in Christ, we deliver the services that our families expect with integrity. 

● We strive to do what we say we will do, at every turn. 

● Our faith is evidenced in the way that we care for one another as a community, which includes our focus on prayer. 

● We embrace the everyday celebrations and challenges of life, knowing that “(our) Father knows what (we) need before (we) ask Him” according to Matthew 6:8. So our commitment is to first look to God as our guide in all matters with thanks and prayer: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). 

3. Educational Excellence: We provide educational services that are delivered and supported with excellence. 

● Excellent educational services reflect current research and best practices regarding the way students learn. We also strive for excellence in how community members can support one another. 

● Our teachers and academic leaders regularly engage in meaningful professional development in order to provide the very best for those we serve. 

● Philippians 4:8 guides our team’s desire for excellence in all that we say, think, and do: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” 

4. Authentic Community: We facilitate opportunities for families and students to interact as a school community, within our local community, and – at times – for our students to interact with our international Learnwell Navigator community. 

● It’s important to us that all students feel seen and known, and that every student feels included in the opportunities to connect with others at Learnwell. 

● Our commitment is to provide events, field trips, and service opportunities that are optional – all with the same goal: making genuine, meaningful connections.

● Scripture has plenty of examples of authentic community. Our school seeks to embody these principles as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 18:15-21. Overall, we do our best to live by this tenet: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). 

Faith propels our teachers and staff, and our school operates using values consistent with these beliefs. We understand that students and families are on a growing continuum of faith. Not every family follows their faith in the same exact way, and we support that diversity. However, we ask that all families recognize the school’s foundational beliefs as central to why we do what we do. Here are our guiding beliefs.

We believe that: 

● God is the Creator of the Universe, and eternally exists in the Trinity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

● We believe that the Bible was given by God to man and is our authority on faith and living. 4

● Man was made in the image of God, but was separated eternally from him because of sin. We believe that our only hope of salvation, or reuniting with God, lies in the acceptance of Jesus as Savior. 

● Jesus, who was both God and man, was born of a virgin and died on the cross in payment for our sins, thereby redeeming us and allowing us to live with God forever. We believe that he rose on the third day, which demonstrated to everyone his power over death. 

● Because of this, salvation is available to every person who accepts it. 

What Is Learnwell’s Disciplinary Policy in the Classroom?

To answer this question, we refer to our WISE Owls (K-5th) program and our Learnwell Owls Ask (6th-12th grades) program. We believe every student deserves to learn in a safe, positive, caring, and respectful environment. We also understand that student behavior is an integral part of their learning, so our team has worked hard to identify and assess the academic behaviors we model, teach, and reinforce with Learnwell students. 

In grades K-5, students participate in the “Wise Owl” program that reinforces our Learnwell Academic Behaviors. Students will be regularly recognized as a Wise Owl throughout the school year. 

Be a WISE Owl! 

W– Winning Attitude!- “I can do it!” 

(Growth Mindset)

I– Integrity- “I will do the right thing, even when no one is watching!” 

(Follows Directions, Flexible, Adaptable) 

S– Show Respect and Responsibility- “I will respect myself, others and school property and be responsible for my actions and my own learning.” 

(Focused and on task, prepared for lessons,socialskills) 

E– Encourage Others- “I will be kind and supportive with my words and actions.” (Social Skills, Effective Communication) 

In grades 6-12, academic behaviors will be reinforced regularly by Learnwell teachers, and feedback will be provided on progress reports and report cards. The following graphic represents this.

Our family handbook and high school handbook outline specific policies for digital devices, weapons, dress code, preparedness and honesty guidelines, expectations about communication, and other code of conduct offenses.

Learnwell will, in concert with a student’s parents and teacher, call for disciplinary action when a student violates the expectations outlined in our Learnwell Academic Behaviors and the behaviors outlined in depth in the school handbook. This includes any behavior that interferes with the right of other students to learn and teachers to teach. 

We provide first-offense warnings, and then second-offense disciplinary measures are taken, appropriate to the offense.

Disciplinary action may include: 

● Teacher-led consequences, such as: 

○ Sitting out of a classroom activity 

○ Talking with a teacher after class 

● Principal-led consequences, such as: 

○ Calling a parent 

○ Silent lunch 

○ Sending a student home from school for the day 

○ In the case of dress code violations, calling a parent to bring appropriate clothing to school 

Disciplinary action will never include physical harm or emotional distress of any kind. On the contrary, discipline will be guided by the intent to be restorative (giving the student the opportunity to make things right); reflective (giving the student the opportunity to reflect on why the decision he/she made was not appropriate and who it may have hurt in the process); and instructive (providing a learning opportunity to change in the future). 

What Is the Overall Culture of the School?

The climate of Learnwell North Georgia Hybrid School is in accordance with its core values: intentional margin, deep faith, educational excellence, and authentic community. 

Whether you are a parent volunteer, a parent relating to other parents or students, or a student in one of Learnwell’s classes, please make every effort to maintain these core values as your own. 

1) Intentional Margin: Make sure that families, and their time, are respected. Let’s remember that everyone’s level of margin and capacity is different based on each family’s season of life. This may require simplifying expectations about events and other celebrations. 

2) Deep Faith: Make sure there is room for students and families to live by their faith (and this means we do what we say we will do, care for each other and pray for one another, avoiding gossip and rumors at all costs). 

3) Educational Excellence: Make sure activities reflect and align with excellent educational practices, and are in sync with Learnwell teaching staff recommendations. 

4) Authentic Community: Make sure our community is highly valued, which means a strong emphasis on inclusion over exclusion; following the biblical model for handling conflict; and modeling/instructing forgiveness and preference of others over self-emphasis. 

Because of this, we take behavior that is not in accordance with our core values seriously, whether on campus, on a field trip, or at a school-sponsored event.

How Is Bullying Addressed?

Bullying does not fit with our core values, and we address it as soon as it’s brought to our attention.

The policy outlined in our handbook is below.

Learnwell does not tolerate any behavior associated with bullying, harassment or intimidation. This conduct denigrates others because of their race, color, national origin, gender, disability, age, status, or any perceived imbalance of power. Additionally, Learnwell does not allow sexual or verbal harassment of any kind. Those behaviors may include, but are not limited to: 

● Physical harm of any kind, damage to a student’s or teacher’s property, or causing reasonable fear of damage to property and/or physical harm. 

● Persistent or pervasive behavior that is meant to intimidate or threaten a student’s physical or emotional health – verbal, written or derogatory comments of any kind, including outside school hours in the case of cyber bullying or texting behaviors that are inconsistent with respect and love for all as created in God’s image. 

● Using school or personal electronic devices to cause intimidation, teasing, or anything that would threaten emotional and physical safety of a teacher, parent or student.

● Intimidation, defined as the act of inducing fear by an individual or group of individuals for any reason. 

● Harassment, defined as an act (or multiple acts) of disturbance whether physical or emotional. This includes sexual advances, emotional intimidation, use of profane language or inappropriate comments, inappropriate touch or conduct of any kind that invades a person’s right to his or her own body, or inducing fear. 

Learnwell will hold all parties accountable for any bullying, harassment, or intimidating behavior, and will inform parents and report to local authorities any behavior that is against the law. 

First offense: The student disciplinary consequence for any bullying, harassment, or intimidating behavior will be an out-of-school suspension of at least one week. 

Second offense: One week out-of-school suspension and student is placed on disciplinary probation. 

Third offense: Student will be expelled from the school 

Any student experiencing bullying, harassment, or intimidation of any kind should inform his/her teacher and/or parents, and parents should report the offending behavior to a classroom teacher and/or school staff immediately so that restitution and appropriate action can be taken. 

Students who learn of other students being bullied, intimidated, or harassed need to report the offense to a teacher or staff member upon first occurrence. 

You’re Invited to Get to Know Us

If you’ve still got questions, we would love to answer them in depth. You can attend our parent preview night, get a tour of the school, and meet with teachers, parents, and administrators who can speak to your situation and answer your questions. Sign up for the next Discover Learnwell event or schedule a tour.

Ask Anything Chat for Out-of-Area Families

We’d love to host an “ask anything chat” for anyone who lives too far from our North Georgia campus. Areas outside of Roswell, Alpharetta, Smyrna, Cumming, Buford, Atlanta, and Gainesville may be too far for your family to drive to school. We understand that and have an alternative.

The alternative is a partnership with families who want to homeschool but need coaching, support, lesson plans and feedback for their students from time to time. The same teachers who plan lesson plans for our students on campus in Alpharetta also provide coaching and lesson plans for K-7 students in the Learnwell Navigator Program.

If you don’t live near the North Georgia campus, we invite you to explore our Learnwell Navigator Program for families worldwide with students in kindergarten through seventh grade.