The Master's Academy of Fine Arts is a full fine arts school designed specifically for homeschooled children ages 5-18. Meeting just one day per week, children are exposed to the arts from an historical perspective.
	Each year the arts are taught from a specific time period beginning with Ancient Civilizations, then moving on to the Medieval/ Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern periods through a six year cycle. Each year is self-contained so a student need not be involved for the full six years, nor do they need to begin at the Ancient Civilizations period to gain a benefit from the program. Throughout the year, students concentrate on building foundational principles in our four core classes which include:

1. History - A combination of arts history and world history so that the students understand where "all the pieces fit."
2. Art - Learning of basic art skills and terminology as well as learning about the artists, and mediums used during a specific time period.
3. Music - Exposure to the basic elements of music reading, rhythm and notation, as well as learning about the composers, and styles of music from each period and learning to make music.
4. Drama - This is exposure to the basics of stage terminology as well as theater games, and literature of the period done in a group setting to learn basic drama skills.

In addition students will pursue electives in areas which they have found to be interesting to them in order to gain more exposure and skill in those areas. These options vary from location to location and by time period.

The costs vary slightly at each location, with an average price of $7.00 per class hour, and an annual registration fee per student. Discounts, additional fees, and payment schedules are at the discretion of each location. Days and times also vary by location. For more information on exact pricing, locations, and meeting times, please call the director of the school nearest you, or call the Master's Academy corporate office at 404-215-8261 or by E-mail at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

The Purpose
The purpose of The Master's Academy of Fine Arts is to glorify God through excellence in the arts. We accomplish this by raising the next generation to prepare the way of the Lord through teaching them Scriptural truth, artistic excellence, accountability, and discernment.
 

The Vision
Over the years, the vision of The Master's Academy of Fine Arts has grown to one of instructing children from a Godly perspective in the arts so that they can renew the culture and reclaim the surrendered battlefield as seen in Isa. 61: 3-4 "That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.”

The vision is threefold:

1. Reclaim: To reclaim that which is lost and taken captive. Ezek. 3:11 says " And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, Thus says the Lord God,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse." This is the heart of the vision and makes the call specific to the children of the household of faith in order that they might be restored through education and discipleship in the arts.
2. Restore: The purpose is to restore the foundations which have been devastated. Isa. 58:12 states this well, "And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell." This is our job as parents and requires us to restore to this generation the ways of the Lord and return them to the principles found in His Word.
3. Release: The purpose in all of this training is so that a generation of people who have been set free can be released to do the work which God has called them to do in their generation through the use of the arts.

 
The History
In 1989, when Vivian Doublestein moved to the Atlanta area with her family, they had just begun their homeschooling adventure. Being a musician, she had spent much time searching for arts related opportunities for her children to participate in as homeschoolers, but to no avail. While on a field trip the following Spring, the Lord gave her the vision for The Master's Academy of Fine Arts. It was to be a school of exposure to the arts for homeschooled children who were not being taught the arts at home. Sensing a great need in this area, Vivian began the program in September of 1990. Expecting twenty to thirty students, the staff was amazed when 115 children arrived for the first class.

In 1995 a second school was added to the program. At that time a decision was made to open the program nationally, as no one within the homeschool community appeared to be addressing the need for a unified arts education program for homeschoolers. Expansion of the program has continued into new geographical areas each year.

In 1999, after years of experimenting with different formats in the then 13 locations of The Master's Academy of Fine Arts, Vivian resigned as director of the original Stone Mountain program and, along with her husband Barry, began work on expanding the format of The Master's Academy of Fine Arts to include exposure, advanced, and mastery levels.

In January of 2006, Vivian resigned as the Executive Director of The Master's Academy in order to begin a college level program and to build The Masterworks Foundation, whose purpose is "rebuilding lives and cultures through the arts." She became President of The Master's Academy and her post as Executive Director was filled  by Lori Lane.

Development of the MAFA Program
As a new Master’s Academy location is begun, the first step is to implement our exposure level program described above. This step is necessary due to the lack of foundational arts education that we have found in the homeschool community in the past. The purpose of this part of the program is to “fill in the gaps” and make sure that all students understand the fundamental principles in art, music and drama and that they learn to see the arts in their historical context so that they make sense.

Master's Institute
Our next step is to implement The Master's Institute which serves as our "petry dish" for adding additional elements to the program. Students not enrolled in The Master's Academy may take individual classes in The Master's Institute. Students enrolled in The Master's Academy may also take Master's Institute classes, but they are not required to. 

MasterKey
After the first year or two of the program an additional level is added to further develop the junior high and high school program. Known as the Masterkey level, students continue their exposure to the arts at a higher level through a  specific scope and sequence of classes designed to move the students from the fundamental principles in specific areas, to a working knowledge in preparation for entry into the Artios School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

Artios [Website]
The Artios Academy for Visual and Performing Arts is an advanced high school program which began at the original location in the Fall of 2000. Artios is a college prep arts program for high school students wishing to continue their education in a college, university, conservatory, or professional arts school.

The vision of The Artios Academy is three-fold:

1. To Educate - by providing highly specialized and intensive training for students who possess special talents in the visual and performing arts.
2. To Equip - by providing not only artist preparation, but also a Christian worldview philosophy which will prepare the students to effectively minister and make a positive difference in their God-given areas of artistic expression.
3. To Elevate - by raising up educated, discerning, culturally literate servants of the Kingdom who will serve their destined purpose.

Cordis Academy [Website]
Because of a perceived parental need for help with instruction in junior high and high school classes,  Cordis Academy was begun in the Fall of 2005. Based on a paradigm that unites academics with the arts in a Christian context, Cordis Academy provides academic class instruction for students one additional day per week and integrates the curriculum with the yearly historical emphasis of The Master's and Artios academies. All instruction is based on an integrated and creative approach to learning.

Terebinth [Website]
Over the past several years, many of the students graduating from the Artios Academy have gone on to secular and Christian colleges in the arts. Many have been disappointed in the education that they have received and have jokingly said " Can't you just make a Master's Academy college?" So, we've taken up the challenge and our pilot year for Terebinth will be late summer/early fall 2007.

Because of the input of the students who have asked for this program, it will be highly non-traditional in approach. Our purpose will be to raise "Oaks of Righteousness" ( Terebinth trees) as a planting of the Lord in the various cultures of the world. Because of this purpose, we will be exposing the students to the different cultures of the world, and in this way they will gain a view of the world so that they can form a worldview that transforms the world.

The Philosophy of Education
The Master's Academy of Fine Arts' philosophy of education is based on a desire to aid parents in their children's educational journey and not to replace their God-given responsibilities to direct their children's education.

While the Master's Academy programs offer a great deal of freedom and flexibility, there is a considerable amount of responsibility that is placed not only on the faculty, but on the students and parents as well. In order to remain in the Master's Academy programs students must pursue and complete the work that is assigned and the parents must be diligent to see that their children are completing assignments and attending rehearsals in a timely and responsible manner. Knowing, according to Scripture, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , all of the courses taught within the Master's Academy programs begin with God and work out towards man, instead of the current educational philosophy which asserts that one always begins with man and elevates him to the position of god. God must be both the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. This is a Christian-based program and will only be effective when taught from such a viewpoint.

The philosophy further asserts that there must be freedom and flexibility inherent in the Master's Academy program structure. Therefore each program is designed to give the schools and their staff, in conjunction with the parents and students, as much freedom and control as possible in meeting both their spiritual and educational goals and purposes.

 
Begin a Master's Academy in your Area!
A Master's Academy program can be started in your community! We currently have a program in place which trains directors and teaching personnel how to use our curriculum to implement a program in a new area. All that is needed to begin is a contact person in the area who is willing to put us in touch with the homeschool groups and help us to find a meeting location. For more information on this or any of the other programs listed above, please contact the Master's Academy corporate office at 404-215-8261 or by E-mail at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

For information on starting a Master's Academy in your area click here.