FAQs

Heritage Academy at Jubilation Farms is a whole-child, farm-centric, and classically inspired microschool located on 20 acres in Owens Cross Roads, AL in the heart of a real working farm. Our mission is to foster creativity, critical thinking, and a lifelong love for learning. Students participate in life on the farm while engaging in subjects such as Writing and Language Arts, Science, and History. Our youngest students PreK-K learn in a Montessori-inspired environment where they learn fundamental skills through play-based learning. Elementary age students engage in hands-on, project style learning in a Charlotte Mason approach, while our Middle School students and above move towards a more classically inspired format to include learning about logic, debate, and Socratic Seminars.

We are pleased to announce that in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, we will be opening enrollment for ages 4 and up! Our youngest learners will be part of a special Sprouts program for children ages 4-5 that focuses on building skills through a Montessori approach, yet Sprouts are still integrated into our regular program throughout the day.

Our two-day-a-week program brings learning to life with hands-on exploration in History, Science, and foundational Language Arts and Writing. Science lessons often connect directly to the farm, giving students a rich, real-world understanding of what they learn! We love to incorporate cross-curricular and project-based learning at Heritage Academy so that we provide a more enriching experience for our students.

While we don't require a specific curriculum for home learning, we encourage families to embrace a phonics-based approach for early reading success. Please note that math is not part of our program, so you'll need to provide your own math curriculum at home.

We believe that the job of a child is to play. Homework is not required after spending a full day learning and engaging critical thinking skills and problem-solving skills. All work is completed during the school day; however, students may wish to do outside research and study in their own time at home. Occasionally students will be required to work on presentations at home. We aim for 4 presentations a year.

Our early middle school and middle schoolers (ages 12-13) and high schoolers (ages 14-17) will be expected and required to complete some work outside of class to further their studies and educational goals. Any work assigned is to strengthen skills or to develop critical thinking and will be corrected and discussed with students so that they are given the opportunity to learn from mistakes.

We utilize all aspects of the farm for a totally unique learning experience for our students. Students participate in farm chores such as watering the animals, scooping poop, collecting eggs, feeding the pigs, and grooming the animals. They also learn about basic animal husbandry and have time outdoors daily to spend with the animals. Students will also learn about growing seasons on the farm through our horticultural classes and class projects.

Mrs. Nuss has taught for over 20 years in all age ranges. She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, an international education honor society. She taught at Randolph School and served on the committee for strategic school planning.

Mrs. Nuss has extensive experience in teaching all ages and abilities of children, serving as a teacher, tutor, and mentor in various capacities. She has taught in churches, private schools and learning centers, homeschool coops, and most recently, opened Farm School classes for children ages 5 and up on her farm. She has been homeschooling her own children for over 12 years.

Mrs. Nuss owns Jubilation Farms and is responsible for the day-to-day operation, as well as the planning, implementing, and running all farm programs. Since opening the farm for educational classes and tours in April 2023, Sarah’s Farm School has sold-out and filled with waitlists.

Parents who are interested in enrolling their children in this innovative learning program are asked to contact our staff via email to set up a family farm tour and information session. An application must be completed online prior to the farm tour. We also highly encourage parents to attend information sessions as well as having your children attend one of our Observation Days.

We embrace mixed-age groupings to create a collaborative and supportive learning community where students can thrive together! For activities like phonics, reading, and comprehension practice, students are grouped by similar skill levels to ensure personalized attention and meaningful progress.

While older students connect with younger learners during chore time or as reading buddies in the context of being mentors, their core learning experiences are tailored to their age and development, fostering growth and leadership in age-appropriate ways.

Our younger students ages 5-12 will not receive formal grades. However, student knowledge and understanding will be assessed through projects, essays, assignments, narrations, Socratic discussions, hands-on activities, effort, willingness to participate, and problem-solving skills. We will have regular parent meetings to discuss strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement, and areas to be addressed.

Students age 14+ in our program who are in high school will receive grades as a way of feedback. As the parent, you are always in charge of your child's academics and grades.

The safety of our students is a top priority. We have implemented safety measures such as first aid training, background checks, abuse training, as well as security cameras in and around the school. Two adults will be present on site at all times, and any other helpers will undergo safety training. Students will use the buddy system. We will also perform fire and weather drills to ensure students know exactly what to do in the event of an emergency.

We are not equipped to handle children with severe to moderate learning or physical limitations at this time. However, for students who may have mild physical limitations, we will work with you as the parent to understand your child’s needs and limitations. For example, a student who may have a condition that prevents heavy lifting, we will work together to find ways that student can still participate in farm chores without causing injury or harm.

However, because the focus of our program is working on a real farm, parents need to carefully consider whether our program is the right fit for their family. There is always the risk of injury to any person due to the inherent nature of participating in a farm-centric program, and as such, all family members are required to sign a waiver and release form before enrollment.

Parents are a vital part of our learning community! We will have parent-teacher meetings, special events, and parent-guest speakers come in throughout the year. We are also looking for volunteers to be on-site for certain events and projects so we have more hands to go around. We would love for you to be an active member of our school community!

Any parent who wishes to become an aid or regular volunteer must go through the required background check and child safety and abuse certification course.

Yes! We have parties, family days, celebration days, and Showcases where students show what they've been working on throughout the year. We will also have parent workshops and seminars as well as Parent Night Outs!

We are thrilled that you are considering Heritage Academy at Jubilation Farms! Head to our website and click the SCHEDULE A TOUR link. This will take you to a page where you will fill out basic information about your family. Mrs. Nuss will email soon to schedule a tour of the farm with your family and answer any questions you may have. Please make sure you fill out the application prior to your family farm tour and info session.

Following the interview process, if Heritage Academy still seems like it’s a good fit for everyone, then you will be sent a digital Welcome Packet with enrollment forms and other paperwork that must be filled out.

Tuition is $4000 per year per student; however, we offer discounts for families with multiple children. The tuition breakdown for a family with three children is as follows:

Child 1: $4000

Child 2: $3800

Child 3: $3600

There is a one-time, non-refundable Family Fee of $100 that covers incidentals, cleaning, and supplies for those who enroll.

Tuition is paid in 4 installments throughout the year.

We do offer a sliding scale tuition assistance program for eligible families! Please see our Tuition Page to read more about eligibility.

Yes! We offer tuition assistance for eligible families. Check out our Tuition page to learn more!

We plan to cap total enrollment at 50-60 students (this includes both M/W and T/TH). From there, each group will be broken into smaller class sizes up to 10-12 students max in each section so that we can maintain small class sizes.

We are so excited to be able to offer an optional enrichment opportunity two Fridays a month for ages 5-12! This day will be open to the public, so it will be an enrichment day only. Some of the activities students will participate in are baking and cooking both inside the school kitchen and in our outdoor cooking area, food preservation skills, arts and crafts, free play, nature hikes and journaling, living history demonstrations, hands-on science, gardening, farm chores, basic animal husbandry, animal cuddling time, games, and water play on hot days!

You may email us at heritageacademyjf@gmail.com for further information.