Vision & Philosophy

As persons, we seek to be worshipful knowers who delight in all of God's creation and to be servant kings who participate with God in ruling over creation and in serving others. The studies offered in our tutorial invite young people to join us in this approach to God, his world, and our fellow humans. We aspire to educate young people this way, because we aspire to live this way.

We have been stirred by the work of Charlotte Mason and present day educators who continue to advance her approach. We use the Alveary curriculum produced by the Charlotte Mason Institute as our core. 

History & Who We Are

Starr Mountain Academy has its roots in discussions among families at Wellspring Mennonite Church stemming back a number of years. In the spring of 2020, some of us met frequently to explore schooling options that would be more feasible for our families than independent homeschooling. We ended up running a small homeschool co-op for the 2020-2021 school year. While the co-op did not end up being a long- term model, it did help to revitalize the tradition of homeschool programs hosted at Wellspring. In the spring of 2021, we became aware of the work of Blue Willow Tutorial. Some of us ended up participating in Blue Willow Tutorial for several years, while retaining the vision to eventually launch a program of out own. Our time at Blue Willow and relationships with the leaders there gave us models and tools that equipped us much better for launch. A pilot program was run in 2024-2025 with 6 students in grades 6-9. While the tutorial is not  formally connected to Wellspring Mennonite Church, the majority of the board members are from there, and there is a strong informal connection.

For 2025-2026 we are expanding offerings to grades 1-12.

 Theological  Orientation    

Charlotte Mason states: "We allow no separation to grow up between the intellectual and 'spiritual' life of children, but teach them that the Divine Spirit has constant access to their spirits, and  is their Continual Helper in all the interests, duties, and joys of life." We see all good things as God's creation and all our work and study as for him. We routinely pray and give thanks to God and invite students to participate in prayer and thanksgiving.

The Bible, church history, and the lives of Christian heroes are integrated within the curriculum and taught with the same methods as the rest of the curriculum. This differs from catachesis or instruction in specific theological positions. Students read Biblical and other Christian texts and narrate and discuss them, but authoritative presentation of particular doctrines or interpretation is left to churches and parents.

We are unapologetically "small c" catholic. That is to say we affirm the unity of the church across time and place and its various traditions and denominations. We confess with  We confess with Christians of all times and places the foundational truths of the Apostles Creed (below).

We also affirm a broadly Anabaptist view of Jesus' sacrificial kingdom that entails non-violence and suffering love across all of life and strictly voluntary church membership with baptism upon one's own confession and pledge to King Jesus.  We also embrace the (currently minority) position that principles of decorum in worship found in 1 Corinthians 11 are applicable across cultures, and Starr Mountain Academy Staff apply the same decorum to tutorial events, with men's heads uncovered except as hats are required by weather and women's hair covered with a veil.

Neither students or parents are required to embrace these specific theological positions, and we do not catechize or indoctrinate students. The effect of these positions on the life of the tutorial comes through the general influence of staff and its implications for how we choose books and present history and current events. We feature the work and stories of saints from across the full spectrum of Christian traditions while giving particular representation to believers who exemplified non-violence and suffering love. More generally, we take care to study history from a broad perspective that honors all people rather than elevating earthly powers.