About Stâre Academy

Our Mission

We will embrace truth and cultivate leaders through an engaging Christ-centered education.

Pronounced Star-eh
Stâre is a Latin word calling us to “Stand Firm”

Our Focus Verse

FROM COLOSSIANS 1:10-12

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of the kingdom of light.

“Oaks of Righteousness”

FROM ISAIAH 61:3

“that they may be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.”

Our Vision

To develop servant leaders equipped with the robust character, logic and resilience needed to impact the world for Christ.

3 Foundational Components

We believe children need 3 foundational components from their education:

Character Formation

To cultivate “Oaks of righteousness” per Isaiah 61:3 by acquainting students daily with their creator thereby helping them to discover who God created them to be

Exemplary Academics

To create an environment that fosters a love of learning while holding students to high academic standards

Grace To Grow

To allow safe places to share ideas, listen, discuss respectfully, make mistakes, and grow

6 Core Distinctions

We believe there are 6 core distinctions that make our school unique:

God Centered

We understand our broken, sinful human condition and deeply believe that only God can change human hearts and give us purpose

Classical & Experiential

We are data-informed and classically-designed, training children to think critically and apply what they learn to real life through experiential opportunities

World Engagement

We will assist children in navigating the world, its opportunities, ideas, and struggles.  We are committed to having kids engage in their neighborhoods, communities, and the world

High Accountability

We insist on radical accountability coupled with radical grace for teachers, parents, and students.  We require a parent covenant and mandatory parental involvement in their child’s education

Staff Stewardship

We believe that staff will serve children best out of the overflow of God’s work in their own lives.  Therefore, we will commit to pray for, listen to, mentor, and grow our staff spiritually and vocationally

Affordable for All

Through donor events and a partner sponsorship program, we finance our mission 80% through benevolent giving and 20% through a fair-share, income-based tuition model

Read Our Wellness Policy

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why did you pick the name Stâre Academy? Expand

Stâre is a call to “stand firm” in Latin and we believe the next generation will need to be equipped to stand firm for Christ in their homes, schools, businesses, and communities.

Do you have any plans of expanding the grades you serve? Expand

Yes, we hope to add a grade each year to our 8th grade until we have a complete PreK-12 school with the first students graduating in 2027.

Is this school only for Christians? Expand

Absolutely not.  Our staff are believers in Jesus Christ and affirm our Stâre Academy Statement of Faith.  The students and their families can be from any background provided they are in agreement with their child being acquainted with Christ each and every day while attending the school.

What is a classical school? Expand

A classical school seeks to educate the entire child through a robust study of the liberal arts, natural sciences, and great literature with the desired outcome of teaching children character-building truth and moral virtue.

Classical schools teach using what is called a Trivium. It has three parts, grammar, dialectics, and rhetoric.

Grammar taps into a child’s natural sense of wonder at all God has made.

Dialectics provides students with the tools necessary to start to answer the “why” questions that wonder produces.

Rhetoric enables students to put these thoughts and ideas together and share them with others.

Within language and history, this is built on great books  that invite students to think critically, find evidence in the texts for their thoughts and discuss those thoughts respectfully.

Each Classical School is unique.  Stâre Academy is committed to teaching classically, within the framework of God’s Word being the best source of truth and virtue.  Stâre Academy will also emphasize experiential learning, particularly within math and science as it mirrors the way children learn naturally.

How much will my child be on a computer? Expand

In February of 2020, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry stated that on average 8-12-year-olds in the US spend 4-6 hours on screens a day, teens 9 hours.  To equip students for world engagement, we believe they need to interact with books, peers, and teachers more than they do with technology.  As such, computers and the internet will not dominate our classrooms. We will equip kids to use technology wisely in an age-appropriate fashion, allowing them to skillfully navigate technology in our modern world.

Will there be busing available? Expand

Stare students within ISD 181 boundaries can sign up for busing through ISD 181 via this link.

For families that live outside of the Brainerd ISD 181 boundaries, we believe that Stâre Academy can work with those families to coordinate “transportation pods”, that will ensure all students arrive at school and back home safely every day.

What will the cost of tuition be? Expand

Our goal is for finances to not prevent any family that wants to send their kids to Stâre Academy.  To accomplish this, we are asking families and businesses in our community to partner with families who cannot afford the cost of tuition on their own. Gifts are per student: $7500 for a full partnership or $3750 for a half partnership.

A family’s “fair-share” tuition will be determined based on two factors: household adjusted gross income for the prior tax year and the number of students at Stâre.  Every family will be asked to pay a part of the tuition and the annual tuition cost will range between $2,500 for families with the greatest need to $8,000. The estimated cost to educate a child at Stâre is $10,000, so all families will receive some level of financial assistance.

Find more on the Admissions page.

Will my children be able to participate in athletics? Expand

We are grateful to have an agreement in place with ISD 181 that allows our students to participate in ISD 181 activities.

Stâre Academy Article

Read Article About Stâre

How It Began…

Many years ago, God planted a small seed in the heart of a Brainerd Lakes Area mom when she saw a local school building posted for sale.  She thought “I wish I could open a Christian school in a place like that.” 

God continued to teach her about education through a variety of avenues and began to solidify in her a sense of what a school could and should provide children.  Her oldest child graduated and she pondered how truly prepared her children were for life.  She wondered about their resiliency, God-confidence, and their understanding of God’s unique giftings and calling for each of them.

Simultaneously, COVID rocked the lives of children worldwide.  She and a friend, with their church’s blessing, began a small ministry that allowed kids to come and do their online learning together.  She clearly saw how God moved to reach children through this humble ministry.  Through these experiences, the Lord amplified that gentle prodding from years before into an avocation to obediently follow His lead on beginning a new school.

She began with a call to a respected friend.  The request was simple, “Who do you know that might be interested in opening a new Christian school?”  One year and many connections later, the Lord brought together a widely varied and skilled group of talented individuals. Each followed their own God-guided path to join a Steering Committee in moving this new school forward.  These faithful followers now make up the Stâre Academy Board of Directors, united under a shared faith in God’s promise with a vision to create a school that will serve as a reflection of His Kingdom.

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