Phoenix Academic Center opens in Sand Springs at former Moriah Christian building

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The Phoenix Academic Center will soon be opening its doors for its first school year in Sand Springs. Previously known as Cornerstone Tutorial Center, the home-school resource recently relocated from Tulsa to the site of the former Moriah Christian Academy at 680 East 41st Street.

The school was founded in 1990 and was previously located at Eastwood Baptist Church in the 11th and Mingo area. Along with the move, the school is also changing up the curriculum and rebranding.

The school offers a-la-carte classes for parents who struggle with teaching certain subjects, as well full course loads. Preschool and early elementary students can attend five days a week, with the option for parents to attend with them and collaborate with the teacher.

The school focuses on STEAM-based curriculum, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. They also will be offering basic life skills classes such as car maintenance and financial literacy. Those workshops will be held on Saturdays and open to the public.

The school will also offer a study hall and tutor to help students with homework between classes.

“It’s not a six hours a day, five days a week thing,” says Head Administrator Angela Leasman. “You can get so much more done as a homeschooling parent. My kids would have all their required work done by noon if they got up early, and they could sit in their pajamas to do it.”

Leasman has one child still in the system and her two oldest children are now teachers at the school. She also had grandchildren and cousins in the school. She joined the school as a parent volunteer four years ago and has since taken the reigns of the organization.

The Phoenix Board of Directors maintains Christian values, but is nondenominational and doesn’t require its students to be religious, nor do the teachers preach religion in class. “We accept everybody as long as they understand we are faith-based,” says Leasman. “I want everyone to be aware of (our faith) but I want them to also understand that we don’t expect them to believe what we believe.”

The school will be holding an Open House Saturday, August 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Parents are invited to tour the school, meet the teachers, and fill out an application. The school isn’t too restrictive, but requires an interview process to make sure that the school is a good fit for each kid. “We don’t want anybody to enroll and then regret it later,” says Leasman. She also plans on inviting some other local home school groups to the event. “We all offer different things. There’s really no competition.”