An Open Letter Regarding Claims About Our Community
In recent months our community has been confronting the misconduct of a former leader. This has been a deeply difficult and disorienting season for many people connected to this community.
When allegations were brought forward, our leadership confronted these issues which led to his resignation. We then engaged an independent investigative organization to examine both the allegations and the practices of our ministries. At the same time, our community has been doing the biblical work of repentance—honest self-examination, reflection, and soul-searching about our life and practices.
Unfortunately, accusations from the godisacult website and socials have often made that healing harder. Individuals who had no role in any alleged wrongdoing—including students, employees, families, and neighbors—have been publicly criticized or misrepresented simply because of their association, however slight.
Victims deserve dignity and privacy. Students deserve the ability to pursue their education without being treated as villains. Families and employees deserve to live and work without being targeted for public hostility.
Those attempting to define the public narrative about this community through social media have had absolutely no relationship in recent years and had only brief and limited contact with the ministry many years ago. They did not participate in membership, attended our schools only briefly, and were not part of the leadership or accountability structures of this community. While anyone may share personal experiences, presenting such limited involvement as insider knowledge is misleading.
Journalists covering these events play an important role in examining institutions and asking difficult questions, and we remain willing to engage with responsible reporting. Professional standards of journalism call for treating information from unofficial websites and social media with skepticism and independently corroborating claims before repeating them. That standard applies to claims originating from disreputable and misguided websites and social media sites.
Truth matters. Accountability matters. Basic human dignity matters as well. The pursuit of truth should not come at the cost of dehumanizing the very people whose lives have already been terribly affected, including damaging individuals’ ability to make a living or choose their place of worship.
Our community will continue the difficult work of truth, accountability, and rebuilding. We ask that you give us the space and dignity to do so.
GRACE Investigation Update - March 13, 2026
As many of you know, our school engaged GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments), an independent investigative organization, to conduct a comprehensive review related to the allegations of misconduct of our former leader and to examine the practices and structures of our ministry.
Since that time, a lawsuit has been filed naming our church, school, and GOD International. Because this matter is now part of active litigation, legal counsel instructed us to pause the GRACE investigation while the legal process moves forward.
This pause does not reflect any change in our commitment to truth, accountability, or care for those affected by these events. Rather, it is a procedural step intended to ensure that all investigations and legal processes proceed appropriately and responsibly.
We remain committed to cooperating fully with the legal process and to continuing the work of strengthening our practices and structures. We ask for your continued prayers for everyone affected by these circumstances.
Thank you for your patience and care for our school community.
Academy Update - March 4, 2026
We recently became aware that our school has been referenced in a lawsuit that includes allegations involving our former head of school. We take such matters seriously and, above all, remain committed to the safety, well-being, and care of all those connected to our school.
In response to the allegations brought to us this fall, the Board of Directors engaged an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation, which is still ongoing.
We are cooperating with the legal process and will provide additional information as appropriate.
Winter Bible Retreat: “Be Still & Know”
Written by Ms. Mathews, Jr High & High Vice Principal
The 2026 Bible Retreat was a beautiful and impactful time centered on our theme, “Be Still and Know” from Psalm 46. We are so grateful for the opportunity to step away from our regular routines and create intentional space for our Jr. High and High School students to encounter the Lord in meaningful ways.
““Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””
We began our retreat with experiences designed to help students slow down and appreciate God’s creation. High school students explored Ruby Falls, while our jr high students visited the TN Aquarium. These outings were more than just fun excursions—they were intentional moments to pause, observe, and reflect on the beauty and creativity of our Creator. When we take time to acknowledge who God is, we are reminded that we are His creation.
Upon arriving in the mountains of Tennessee, students entered into a powerful time of worship. Many shared that they felt an overwhelming sense of peace and reassurance from the Lord. It was incredibly moving to watch students lay down their burdens and trust God with the things weighing on their hearts. Our guest speaker, Mr. Ty Mathews, taught from Psalm 46:1, reminding students that God is our refuge and strength—a very present help in trouble. Students were challenged to consider what it truly means to know God as their safe place and how their understanding of Him can continue to grow and mature.
Thursday morning began with teacher panels for both jr high and high school students. Student Council submitted thoughtful spiritual questions ahead of time, and our teachers prayerfully prepared responses. The discussions that followed were honest, reflective, and encouraging. Students asked sincere questions about faith, doubt, growth, and walking with God in everyday life. It was inspiring to see them wrestle with meaningful topics and pursue deeper understanding.
The afternoon provided a balance of fun and fellowship. Many students participated in paintball, while others enjoyed board games or simply spending time outdoors in the beautiful weather the Lord provided. Later, we transitioned into one of the most meaningful parts of the retreat—practicing stillness. High School students were given opportunities to meditate on Scripture, engage in guided prayer, journal, sketch, paint, or create wood designs. Some chose to sit quietly by the creek near the sanctuary, listening to worship music and soaking in God’s presence. The intentional quiet allowed students to truly practice what it means to be still before the Lord.
That evening’s worship was peaceful, reverent, and powerful. Mr. Mathews spoke again, connecting Psalm 46 with Exodus 14 and Mark 4—reminding students that the same God who parted the sea and calmed the storm is the One who offers peace today. Students were invited to trust God in their own circumstances and to know Him personally as their safety and salvation. The time of prayer and response was deeply moving.
We closed our retreat with another opportunity to be still in nature before breakfast, followed by worship and student testimonies. Many shared how the Lord met them in moments of quiet, worship, and reflection. It was a joy to witness the seeds God is planting in their hearts. We are expectant for how He will continue to grow and strengthen their faith in the days ahead.
Why Curriculum Matters
Recently the Academy administration announced the incorporation of several new (to us) instructional programs. These resources like UFLI, JumpMath, and Phonics for Reading focus especially on teaching math and language arts skills at the K-8 levels, to ensure the strongest possible foundation for our students. We wanted to take a moment to share the value of clear, well-researched and tested knowledge building programs, and all that it will add to a student's education. Not only do such comprehensive curriculums safeguard against students ‘slipping through the cracks’, but it frees the teacher to focus not on lesson creation but on the students: on the instructional delivery. This aligns with our long-standing value that it is our teachers who are the most valuable part of the classroom.
The importance of curriculum, a clear and coherent plan for learning over time, is difficult to overstate. You can’t teach if you don’t have something to teach about (curricular knowledge), you don’t know how to teach (instructional methodology) until you know what has been taught (prior knowledge). In more simple terms, instruction is blind and aimless if the curriculum is broken, absent, or fragmented. Nuno Crato(1), leader of Portugal's successful educational reforms, says “Everything starts with the curriculum. This is the education founding document and without clear learning goals no education system can progress.” (2) A school exists to transmit critical content, information, knowledge, and skills to the next generation—content that would not be acquired as efficiently through natural discovery alone. The curriculum sits at the heart of the school, and if it is not centrally understood, accessible, and shared by all—as Crato emphasizes—don’t expect progress. If schools digress or stagnate, what becomes of society?
Many schools depend on teachers, implicitly or explicitly, to not only generate or self-select curriculum, but to also deliver the instruction. Between and after classes, and through the weekend, teachers nationwide scour Google for lesson plans, assessments, content, printable materials, and activities from sites like Teachers Pay Teachers and Pinterest—resources that may or may not align with grade-level standards or build knowledge coherently.
According to a 2016 RAND teacher survey (3), nearly all teachers (97–99%) reported using self-developed or self-selected materials to some extent—these being the lesson plans, instructional content, activities, and assessments that a coherent adopted curriculum should provide. Weekly or more frequent use was reported by 83% of elementary and 87% of secondary teachers, highlighting the high frequency and near-universal prevalence of teachers acting as de facto curriculum designers.
More recent RAND surveys (4) confirm this pattern persists: nearly half of K–12 teachers use self-created curriculum materials in some capacity, about 25% primarily or exclusively rely on them (termed 'DIY' teachers), and nearly all teachers modify materials extensively—often mixing multiple sources ('cobblers' at 45%). Only about 20% follow a single provided curriculum with limited changes ('by-the-book').
There are a few glaring issues with this. Teachers are rarely trained to design curriculum, let alone trained to use the best evidence informed instructional practices (5). Curriculum design is work that takes extended knowledge of a specific domain in which critical content is identified, lessons are horizontally and vertically sequenced, instructional language is specific and controlled, cognitive load is accounted for, big ideas are constructively aligned from one grade level to the next, and etc. This is done best with teams of experts over the course of extended testing, research, and design. Even after a program is developed, pilot studies must be conducted with preliminary models of logic, feedback has to be collected and quantitative data has to be analyzed. Results have to be accountable to scientifically validated methods like random controlled trials and quasi-experimentation. Large sample sizes of thousands are needed to generate reliable effect sizes. Curriculum teams have to answer the question on whether or not the curriculum works. Robert Pondiscio, author of ‘How the other half learns’ says that making teachers responsible for curriculum design on top of classroom instruction, makes teaching next to impossible to do well (6).
Boards and committees, to no fault of their own, are often underprepared to review curriculum despite great intentions (7). The committees that are formed are not supplied with the available research that has been done to evaluate curriculum. In addition, they do not get enough time away from their classroom responsibilities, or are paid extra for their time to thoroughly inspect/investigate the program in review. The committees are more likely to have questions about engagement rather than factors like measured learning outcomes, methods of instruction, and amount of practice given to students to develop mastery in the subject matter.
Not all curriculums are equal in design and quality. A poorly designed curriculum that stands on plausibility alone can do serious harm to student learning. One can look at the tragedy of whole language learning designed by Lucy Calkins, whose popular but incorrect reading instruction filled curriculums nationwide via major publishers. Many cite these flawed curriculums as primarily responsible for reading declines across the nation (8). Though the curriculums were not backed by sound research nor did it have evidence of being effective, it was continually promoted in the colleges of education without evaluation. Follow the work of education advocate Brett Tingly, or the recent developments in reading outcomes in Mississippi to learn more about what seems to be a closing chapter on the reading wars and reading curriculum.
Though not widely known in the US, the work of E.D. Hirsch Jr, on returning curriculum to knowledge building was a driving feature of the positive results on student learning in the UK. Knowledge building means that content is broken down and arranged into well organized chunks in which students can acquire, practice, and generalize with mastery. That all learning is built on prior learning, meaning that it is the responsibility of the curriculum to have secured what will become a pre-requisite in the future. When curriculum aligns with the learning sciences, we see improvements in equity, creativity, and generalized intelligence. Nations that have risen to the top of the PISA tables share a commonality with regard to curricular design. They are centralized, knowledge building, instructionally explicit, prioritize depth over breadth, and are mastery based.
The improvements in curricular programming have been birthed out of this growing awareness. At the Academy, we will be utilizing programs that have been carefully designed, backed by strong research, tested and seen to have evidence of efficacy, consider learning sciences and the building nature of knowledge, and are supported with strong implementation resources. This has guided the recent selections like UFLI, JumpMath, Arts and Letters, Acadience, Spring Math, and Phonics for Reading. I have linked overviews and evidence for each of these programs on our website. The burden of curriculum for us will not be creation, it will be appropriation, adaptation through collaborative data informed progress monitoring, continuous implementation support, professional training, and assessment.
When schools adopt high-quality instructional programs or curricula that are shared and understood by all teachers, students gain from consistent language, logical sequencing and cumulative knowledge-building, ample deliberate practice, and teachers' greater attention to each student's learning progress. Though curriculum is not the panacea, it is a foundational and unifying component that schools need in their endless pursuit of deeper, more effective student learning.
(1) Nuno Crato is a Research Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at ISEG, University of Lisbon, and served as Portugal's Minister of Education and Science from 2011 to 2015. During his tenure, he led evidence-based reforms—including a strengthened, knowledge-focused curriculum, increased mandatory schooling (from 9 to 12 years), rigorous teacher training, regular student assessments, and reduced dropout rates (from ~25% to 13.7%)—that contributed to Portugal achieving its strongest-ever results on international assessments like PISA (exceeding the OECD average for the first time in reading, mathematics, and science) and TIMSS.
(2) Crato, N. (2021) Improving a Country’s Education: PISA 2018 Results in 10 Countries. Springer Nature.
(3) Opfer, V. Darleen, et al. Implementation of K–12 State Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts and Literacy: Findings from the American Teacher Panel. RAND Corporation, 2016. Research Report RR-1529-1. RAND Corporation, www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1529-1.html. Accessed [your access date, e.g., 25 Feb. 2026].
(4) Doan, Sy, et al. Teachers’ Use of Instructional Materials from 2019–2024: Trends from the American Instructional Resources Survey. RAND Corporation, 2025. Research Report RR-A134-30. RAND Corporation, www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA134-30.html. Accessed [your access date, e.g., 25 Feb. 2026].
(5) Surma, T., Vanhees, C., Wils, M., Nijlunsing, J., Crato, N., Hattie, J., Muijs, D., Rata, E., Wiliam, D., & Kirschner, P. A. (2025). Developing a curriculum for deep thinking: The knowledge revival. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-74661-1
(6) https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/failing-design-how-we-make-teaching-too-hard-mere-mortals
(7) Marcy Stein, Carol Stuen, Douglass Carnine, Roger M. Long (2001) Textbook Evaluation and Adoption, Reading & Writing Quarterly, 17:1, 5-23, DOI: 10.1080/105735601455710
(8) National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf