VPA’s Focus

Education

Heritage Academy Pre-School…

…is where our focus on education began in 2006 with the goal of teaching children English, one of two official languages in Kenya,  so that they could qualify to attend school.  They must pass an entrance exam for first grade. 

We provide year-round schooling for young boys and girls.  These children are typically age 3 through age 6, however, many older students who are just starting school will be in the top (kindergarten) class.  Our pre-school teachers and teaching assistants teach basic pre-school curriculum and most children are beginning readers when they complete kindergarten.     

The school day is shorter for our preschoolers, ending before noon and they only go to school 5 days a week.  They are given porridge in the mornings to make sure they are not hungry.  While these children are too young to board with us, we are aware of their home situations and we often employ a parent or grandparent to help them feed their families.  

Currently we have three levels (Baby, Middle and Top) of preschool classes with about 50 children each.

Heritage Academy Pre-School has a dedicated classroom building and playground on the Primary Campus.  

Heritage Academy Primary School…

…provides year-round schooling for boys and girls in 1st through 6th grade.  The school year starts in January and ends in December with quarterly breaks.  Our excellent team of administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, cooks, and home/school advisors love and devote their time and attention to the children.  

Many children board at the school due to unsafe home situations, unsafe distances to walk between home and school, or food insecurity at home.  

Currently we have two to three sections of each class 1 through 6 with a total of 450 students in the primary school.

Heritage Academy Primary School utilizes seven classroom buildings, five dormitories, a cafeteria with a kitchen, teacher and principal housing, and a library.  The children attend school from 7AM until 4PM Monday through Friday and 7AM to 1PM on Saturdays.  There is no school on Sunday and the boarders can be found studying, playing or doing their laundry most Sunday afternoons.

Heritage Academy Junior High School…

…launched in January 2023 with the Class 7 students. A class was added in 2024 and another will be added in 2025 when there will be classes 7, 8 and 9 in the new Junior High. 

The junior high school is a new requirement of the Kenyan Ministry of Education beginning in January of 2023. The education structure is changing from 8 primary classes and 4 high school classes to 6 primary, 3 junior high and 3 high school classes.  This is a big change and we are ready for it.  The junior high schools must now be a part of the primary schools’ campuses and we were blessed to have donors contribute for some additional land and a classroom building that is adjacent to the primary school’s playground.  

We have renovated another nearby classroom building to house a separate library, science lab, and computer lab. The home science lab will be finished soon.  We will adjust the dormitories as the junior high grows since eventually class 9 will be located on the junior high campus instead of the high school.

We continue to raise funds to fully furnish these facilities.  We need student and teacher desks, computers, library tables and benches and dormitory beds. 

The students attend class from 7AM to 4PM Monday – Saturday. 

Heritage Academy High School…

…launched in January 2016 with 30 Class 9 students.

The high school students moved into the new classroom building in January 2017 when we completed phase 1 of the high school campus. 

All planned buildings on the high school campus are now completed thanks to gifts from many donors.  We now have a library, science lab, computer lab and administration building, dorms and a cafeteria with a modern kitchen. 

We continue to raise funds to fully furnish these facilities.  We need student, teacher and administrative desks, computers, cafeteria and library tables and benches and dormitory beds. 

We have 430 students in classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 as of the new school year beginning in January, 2024.  They attend class from 7AM to 4PM Monday – Saturday and are usually studying late into the night so that they can do well on the national exams. 

With the phasing in of our new Junior High, in January, 2025, Class 9 will be assigned to the new Junior High School, per the new requirements of the Kenyan Ministry of Education.

Post Secondary Education…

…became a dream of ours once we began the high school.  Heritage Academy High School had its first high school class finish in December 2019.  Due to poverty, these 24 successful students did not have the opportunity to attend high school before coming to Heritage Academy.  Twelve scored high enough on their national test to be granted direct admission into a national university. The others pursued and successfully gained admission into universities, colleges and trade schools.

Most Kenyan primary and high schools run from January through December each year while the colleges and universities operate on a September through May schedule.  During the break between high school graduation and beginning university, we provide the graduates with computer classes and entrepreneur classes to better prepare them for university classes, and we provide important lessons on owning a small business to help support themselves through their post-secondary studies. Some of them want to raise farm animals, be a hairdresser, or sell or sew clothing in order it pay for some of their education. 

Our fifth group of students to complete high school finished December of 2023.  

The relationships built while students are at Heritage Academy allow us to continue to provide them with guidance and encouragement.  Some sponsors have chosen to offer financial support to make sure these bright students have what they need.  We will always be “family” to those who need one.

Facts

150

Children in Heritage Academy Pre School Baby, Middle and Top Classes (Top=Kindergarten)

600

Children in Heritage Academy Primary and Junior High School Classes 1-8

430

Students in Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 of Heritage High School.  All are boarding

300

Students in Primary School board with us

70

Heritage Academy graduates attending College, University or Trade School

20

Spacious classrooms, an Instructional Media Center, principal and teacher housing, and multiple girls and boys dormitories on the primary school campus

10

Classroom buildings, a cafeteria, dormitories and teacher housing, science lab, computer lab, library, and an administration building on the high school campus

Test scores put most of our students in the top 20% in Kenya

Healthy meals, snacks and healthcare provided for each student

Extra-curricular activities offered such as a gifted program, home arts, farming project, scouts, and sports

Bus for transporting students to field trips, competitions and other special activities

A young Kenyan visited the school and he said,

“Heritage Academy is different – very different from any school I have been in. The teachers and staff love the children – you all love each other and it shows! What a wonderful place!”


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