JLSA/Jordan Lake School of the Arts

Al-Manara means lighthouse in Arabic, and since 2010 our preschool at the Apex Mosque has offered an English-based program with a strong Islamic foundation for children ages 3 to 5. Class runs each weekday morning from 9:00 a.m. until 12:50 p.m., with breaks for government and religious holidays. Each morning blends Quran and Islamic Studies, Arabic pre-reading through phonics and storytelling, and preschool math, science and English language skills. Children learn through hands-on projects and Montessori activities. Our small team includes a school director with an elementary education background, an English teacher with a degree in child development, an Arabic and Quran teacher, and an Islamic Studies teacher. The mosque campus also houses the Al-Ihssan weekend and after-school programs, a youth center, a kids playground and a multipurpose hall with a gym. For summer, children ages 4 to 9 can join the mosque's five-week summer program, which mixes Islamic values with science, art, cooking, storytelling and water play. We keep tuition affordable so Islamic preschool education stays within reach of families across the Triangle.

Apex Elite School is a fully online private school for kindergarten through 12th grade, headquartered in Apex and founded in June 2022. Students learn from home through our learning management system, which covers every grade from K to 12, and the school year runs in four quarters starting in mid-August. Our core curriculum follows the Common Core standards. Students in grades 1 to 5 read with HMH Into Reading and grades 6 to 12 use HMH Collections, while math runs on Go Math from kindergarten through grade 7 and Integrated Math from grade 8. We add IXL practice for grades 1 to 11, the Highlights Library reading program for grades 1 to 5, and MAP testing for grades 3 to 11. Students choose a second language from Arabic, French and German, and high schoolers can take psychology, economics, and business and accounting. High school students take eight subjects a year and earn 24.5 credits to graduate, including computer, physical education, and art or music. We accept online applications from May through July.

Apex Peak Schools Montessori Preschool in Apex, North Carolina, is a private authentic Montessori early learning center and kindergarten preparatory academy established in 2010 to serve children from 2 to 6 years old across western Wake County. Emphasizing a small-school community design with an intimate 6:1 student-to-guide ratio, the preschool features multi-age prepared environments equipped with self-correcting Montessori sensorial, mathematical, language, and cultural materials. Certified guides respect each child's intrinsic developmental timeline, scaffolding concentration, executive functioning, and spatial awareness. The academy provides a calm, low-distraction setting particularly nurturing for early learners with sensory processing differences, speech delays, and emerging neurodivergent profiles.