Lake Charles-Boston Academy of Learning

JOY Lake Charles is an Acton Academy where children ages 4–13 take an active role in setting goals, learning at their own pace, and working through hands-on projects. Guides use Socratic questions to help learners build responsibility and teamwork; older students can pursue apprenticeships and internships.

Our PreK through 3rd grade campus on East McNeese Street is part of Lake Charles Charter Academy, a tuition-free public charter school operated by the Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy Foundation and managed by Charter Schools USA. We were the second charter school in the Lake Charles area and are open to students across Southwest Louisiana, with admission through a lottery. Teachers follow the CSUSA curriculum built on state standards, and every student has a Personalized Learning Plan that tracks strengths, weaknesses and progress toward a year's worth of learning. Students study a world language, a literacy plan guides reading instruction, and special education services are coordinated on campus. New students join one of four Houses on House Sorting Day as part of our 4 Houses, 1 Family tradition. Students wear uniforms, and we offer bus transportation, a before and after care program and school meals. Our counselor provides student services and referrals.

A Different World Academy opened in 2003 in Marrero with 10 students, including our founders' two daughters, and today serves kindergarten through 12th grade from our campus on Bellemeade Boulevard in Gretna. We call our model a Homeschool Away from Home: a Christian private school with live, traditional classroom instruction using the Abeka curriculum, combined with computer instruction. Classes are small, and we offer one-on-one student-teacher instruction, individual assessments, annual testing and AP courses. We serve gifted and talented students and students on the autism spectrum, and IEPs are welcome. A year-round program lets students who are a grade or two behind catch up and graduate on time, and we offer after-school tutoring and grade-level testing. We are accredited by the National Association of Private Schools. Each summer we run a day camp at $60 a week with academic enrichment, field trips, science dissection, music and dance, arts and crafts, and breakfast and lunch included. Our graduates have gone on to colleges, universities and the military.