Pocahontas, Arkansas
A school built for purpose, not the system.
We’re a Christ-centered school for families who want their children to walk in faith, godly character, grow in their roles of the household, learn outside, work with their hands, and rediscover the joy of being children.
Lighthouse Training Academy began with a simple call: to redefine education God’s way! To establish biblical truth in every aspect of learning. Resolute in truth and unwavering purpose, we make learning fun again by bringing faith and life together. To take the institution out of education and put discovery, family, and the land back at the center.
Whether your family is brand new to Christian education or you’ve been homeschooling for years, there is room here. We believe every child deserves to be known, called by name, and invited into a deeper love of God, learning, and one another.
Welcome to our school.
The Lighthouse family
The Heart of Lighthouse Training Academy
What we are built on.
Faith
Christ at the center of every classroom, conversation, and activity. Here faith and life come together in God’s original design for learning, roles of the family, character building, community and service. We don’t separate faith from learning. We let it shape everything from how we do our classwork to how we treat each other.
Family
Children are known by name. Parents are partners, not customers. We grow as a community: eating together, working together, celebrating together. Every family belongs.
Purpose
You are the light of the world — like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
how we learn
Real faith, real life, real skills.
We took the institution out of education and put biblical truth, stewardship, and discovery back where they belong, at the center of every day.
OUTDOOR & NATURE LEARNING
Our property includes open fields, woods, and a creek. Children explore, build, and study God’s creation as part of their school day.
hands-on skill & stewardship
Children tend animals, work in the garden, build with their hands, and learn practical trades. They grow up with the satisfaction of work done well, and with the wisdom to take care of what they have been given.
Faith Woven Through Everything
family-style community
meet the founders
A school built by families, for families.
Lighthouse Training Academy didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with a call from the Lord, a faith step, a team, and provision from God every step of the way. As parents who wanted something better for their own children, we felt called to open the door for everyone else’s, too.
Christopher & jessica rice
Founders · Lead Teacher
Christopher is a pastor and his own life is a quiet testimony to redemption. Raised in brokenness, he met Christ at the age of seventeen and has since served in worship, youth ministry, outreach, recovery, and senior pastoral leadership. Christopher and Jessica are walking testaments to faith, endurance, and the courage to use what God has placed in their hands.
Jessica is a faithful believer of eighteen years, wife to Chris, and mother to two daughters and a granddaughter. While sweeping her kitchen floor one ordinary morning, she received an open vision of a one-room schoolhouse, and stepped out in faith alongside her husband, LTA staff, and Jesse and Amanda Meeks to build it. Today she serves as a founder and teacher of the school, walking with each student with the same prayerfulness she has poured into her own children.
Jesse & Amanda Meeks
co-founders
Jesse comes from a background of building organizations rooted in discipline, accountability, and faith. He believes the work of raising up the next generation is among the highest callings a man can answer: to develop young men and women whose impact will carry into generations he may never meet. The same conviction that has shaped every business he has built is now poured into this school.
Amanda is a mother of three who has seen firsthand the impact that influence has on children, and the power of biblical roles in raising them. Through God’s grace, she and Jesse have walked a path that has taken their family far beyond what they once thought possible. Together they joined this school as both parents and co-founders, committed to a natural, holistic, and Kingdom-centered family life.
meet our teachers
Called to teach and to serve.
cindi barber
teacher
Hello, my name is Cindi Barber. I live on a little hobby farm on Highway 62 with my wonderful husband, my amazing grandson, a few chickens, some sheep and a good old dog named Buddy. My journey with Lighthouse began on October of 2022 when we were still a homeschool co-op. At the time I was a stay- at- home grandma, with a degree in Biblical Studies, looking for a way to serve. The Lord led me straight to Lighthouse, and a little class of preschool age children. I’ve stretched a bit since then and am currently working with K-4 through 2nd grade students. From my earliest days, working with college students and ESL students, teaching has always been a joy and because I most passionately desire to serve the Lord, working for Lighthouse provides such fulfillment. To say that I am excited for the future of Lighthouse Training Academy is an understatement. I fully believe in the vision behind it and the foundation that has been laid down. And most importantly, I am excited to meet all the beautiful children God will bring in.
common questions
Questions families ask us.
A short list of the questions we hear most often before pre-registration. Have one we haven’t answered? Tell us in your note below.
Who is Lighthouse Training Academy for?
Families across Pocahontas and the surrounding communities: Christian, curious, and everywhere in between. Christ is at the center of everything we do, but families don’t have to be at any particular point on their own faith journey to enroll.
Whether you’ve been homeschooling for years or you’re leaving the traditional system for the first time, you’re welcome here.
What grades do you serve?
We’re currently enrolling students for K-12 in our inaugural year. Class sizes stay small, and multi-age learning is part of how we teach: older students mentor younger ones, and each child is met where they are.
What days and hours are Lighthouse training academy open?
Lighthouse Training Academy is in session Monday through Thursday, from 7:30am to 3:15pm. Doors open at 7:30am for drop-off, and the school day ends at 3:00 pm.
What does a day at Lighthouse Training Academy look like?
Mornings begin together withworship, prayer, and Bible study. Foundational subjects follow: reading, writing, mathematics, biblical literacy, taught in small groups, hands-on, at each child’s pace.
Afternoons usually move outdoors: garden, animals, the creek, the fields, practical skills, and family-style meals. Real life, structured but never rigid.
How is this different from homeschooling?
Lighthouse Training Academy is a community of teachers, friends, and other families who share your values, without you having to teach every subject yourself. Many of our families have homeschooled before. Many haven’t.
The common thread is parents who want their children loved well, taught faithfully, and shaped by people they trust.
What does tuition cost? Is EFA or scholarship support available?
Annual tuition for the 2026–2027 school year is $7,200 per child for all grades.
Most Arkansas families fully cover tuition through the Arkansas Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program, which awards $7,208 per student to eligible K–12 students (and $8,162 for former Succeed Scholarship recipients). Applications open March 9, 2026 and must be submitted by June 1, 2026 to qualify for the 2026–2027 school year. Apply at schoolchoicear.org/apply.
We offer two payment options: a single annual payment with a 5% discount, or quarterly payments.
One-time, non-refundable registration fees:
- New student: $150
- Returning student: $100
- 2nd child: $50
- Each additional child: $50
A $75 standardized testing fee per student is also assessed each year.
We’ll walk through your specific options during your visit and answer any questions about EFA eligibility or payment plans.
How does the admissions process work?
Fill out the pre-registration form below. Our admissions team prayerfully reviews each application and will be in touch with you to set up an admissions conference if we feel our school is the right fit for your family.
From there, you will receive a formal application and contract to be signed and officially welcome your student to Lighthouse Training Academy.
BEGIN HERE
Tell us about your family.
Pre-registration is how every Lighthouse Training Academy conversation begins. The questions below help us understand your family and prepare a meaningful first meeting. We’ll be in touch within one business day to schedule a visit and walk you through next steps.
Interested in teaching with us? Submit your resume to enroll@lighthousetrainingacademy.com