NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Back-to-school season continued for a group of students in Nicholasville who attend RadArtz Academy, a faith-based homeschool co-op.
The academy was founded by Casondra Radford, who has been teaching since 2006. Radford said she didn’t think a day like this would come.
“I always dreamed and I always wrote down plans for what it would look like, but I never dreamed this up,” she said.
The concept for RadArtz Academy began when Radford started looking for a way to homeschool her daughter.
“She's neurodivergent and public school wasn't working for her,” Radford said. “I had three friends who I've been tutoring their kids for a long time. They asked me if I would teach their kids since they were homeschooled as well. Because of that, I was able to financially stay at home with my child and then teach.”
RadArtz started with those initial four in August 2024, but it quickly grew. The academy was initially housed by Urban Village, and they relocated it to its current space with Revive Ministries at the Nicholasville Christian Church earlier this year, in April.
With more students – and a bigger space – Radford found the need for more teachers. That includes Chansley Turner, who teaches a Bible class. Turner initially met Radford at the Jessamine County Public Library.
“Last year, she called and was just like, I know that God does things for a reason. There's a reason why we met,” Turner said about her conversation with Radford. Turner added she was asked, “’Would you feel comfortable teaching at RadArtz next year?’ And I was like, ‘absolutely.’”
This is the second year for RadArtz, and its first full year in this space. This school year, the academy has 34 students.
To celebrate, RadArtz invited community members to welcome their old and new students to the first day of class on Thursday.
“This was huge,” Radford said. “To have the community come and cheer them on and say, ‘hey, you can do it,’ that's going to give them the boost that they need to achieve.”
“I am so excited to teach them,” added Turner. “I'm so excited to teach them about God. I am just excited to love on them and just build that relationship with them.”
