Kym Kent is a busy homeschooling mom with six children who range in age from 13 to 24. But when she had a vision for a new program to help other homeschool families, she didn’t shy away from stepping up and co-founding Bridge Elementary Homeschool Tutorial Ministries in 2017. After adding middle and high school classes over the years, the program is now called eXtend Homeschool Tutorial.
While Kym earned an economics degree from the University of Maryland, she says her real education started when she became a homeschooler in 2004. For nine years, Kym and her children participated in a homeschool tutorial program that was aimed at middle and high school students and followed a classical model.
One morning, Kym had an idea for a new program. “I knew I wanted it to be a la carte,” she says because of things that weren’t working in the “all or none” model of her previous tutorial. “There were no models in our area that were academic, a la carte, and for elementary and middle school.”
Kym and her co-founder spent a little over a year planning their tutorial. “We were blown away because we had 63 students the first year, and we kept growing,” Kym recalls. “When covid hit, it made us a nation of homeschoolers—whether you wanted to or not. That enabled people who had been hesitant to see what it was like. Some of them realized they wanted to keep doing this. We had a lot of covid parents who came in and then stayed because it was the best thing for their child.”
“My initial vision was that my group would be a feeder for the other tutorial. That didn’t happen. Instead our parents were asking us what was next,” says Kym. They decided to grow the tutorial but wanted to give older kids their own space. “We’re now 1st through 12th grade. We were able to get another church down the street, literally 60 seconds door-to-door. That’s where our high school meets. Some middle school kids take a high school class or two and we’re able to get them there.”
Like many hybrid program leaders, Kym calls eXtend the best of both worlds. “We meet two days a week. The kids are in class with tutors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That’s when tutors introduce new material. On Wednesday, Friday, and Monday, they get homework assignments that are designed to follow up on what was introduced in class. It really is an incredible benefit. The kids and families thrive in that model and really feel supported. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Kym describes eXtend’s educational approach as eclectic because they draw from several models. “Classical has some great things in it, so we use some of that. For example, we use Shurley Grammar, which is very classically modeled. And our math is very classical,” she explains. The overall focus is on what she calls the Four Cores: English (including grammar, composition, and literature); science; math; and history/social studies. Science and history include a lot of projects and hands-on learning, so art and even sometimes music can be incorporated there. eXtend also offers a variety of electives: music, drama club, physical education, American sign language, high school Spanish, entrepreneurship, and computer applications and digital media.
eXtend is a Christian organization, and tutors want to help parents lead their children to grow in wisdom, knowledge and love of the Lord. This is reflected in their actions as well as their words—and in the phenomenal community that has sprouted around it. There are now 184 students from 123 families attending eXtend. “We really have built an incredible, vibrant community,” says Kym. For example, one of the dads had a stroke last year, and the community has rallied around his family as he works on his recovery.
Kym says they try very hard to be valuable to the churches that let them use their facilities each week. She encourages similar groups to make sure they aren’t just takers. “Be very intentional,” she urges. “Ask: How can we bless this church? What can we bring to this church so we are now a benefit to their community?”
“We leave our buildings so much better than we find them every single time,” Kym emphasizes. “Whenever the church has events, we make sure to broadcast that to our community. Typically our families will show up even if they don’t go to that church. That adds value for churches.”
While there aren’t scholarships at eXtend, the prices are low, and parents can volunteer to be classroom assistants to cover their tuition. Families pay the tutors directly for classes. The current rate is $325 for each year-long class plus a small supply fee. The only thing they pay to eXtend is a registration fee and a building and technology fee that pays the building rentals, zoom, etc. With so many classes (1st–8th grade and up to six classes for each grade), there are plenty of opportunities for parents who want to cover their tuition by serving as in-class parent assistants. Some parents have covered their entire tuition bills this way.
Kym is very passionate about eXtend and is happy to mentor others who want to start similar programs. She even invites people to bring a team to see what they do. “What we have here may or may not transfer to what you’re doing,” she tells them. But they can learn how things work at eXtend and then tailor it to meet their community’s needs. “Every community is different, and every group of learners is different,” she says.
And that, in a nutshell, is the beauty of educational freedom. Parents finding the learning environment that works best for their children and families. Teachers having multiple options of where and how to teach. Communities blossoming around shared ideas. With more options, everyone wins.