About Us

Tanya Whitfield and Kristi Eckerd both currently reside in Little Rock, Arkansas, where each have homeschooled four children. They met at church in 2001 where their oldest children, three years old at the time, attended Sunday School together. Becoming fast friends, they made the decision to homeschool and have been dedicated to this endeavor ever since. They quickly decided the most exciting things about homeschooling were researching different homeschooling methodologies and curricula and planning the school year. This developed into a passion that they worked on and discussed regularly.

When their oldest children were in the third grade, a homeschool dad offered to give swim lessons to the local homeschool group. Kristi decided the kids should all meet for a Bible study before the swim lessons. The lessons that followed led to poolside chats among the mothers, each sharing their homeschool desires and areas they felt the least competent teaching. Inspired by these conversations, Tanya and Kristi decided to work together to meet some of those needs. That school year, 2008, they began a program that met one day a week and offered writing instruction, Bible study, and Spanish. Within a week of announcing the classes, they had thirty-six students enrolled and were on their way to enjoying a successful school year.

Having completed a rewarding school year and possessing the desire to further support homeschooling parents who felt called to homeschool, they decided to expand their program the next year to include all subjects except math and to focus on a classical, unit-study approach. During the three-month summer break, they developed curriculum, hired 20+ teachers, developed school policies, and enrolled 150 students. Comm. (Communication and Community) Central Academy has met one day each school week since then for instruction, discussion, and review of the lesson material mapped out in the curriculum guide. The full program has been underway since 2009, with attendance averaging between 175-200+ students.  Beginning in 2016, Comm. Central began meeting on a second day for students 7th grade and above.

Tanya and Kristi are excited about the opportunity God has given them to equip students with the knowledge and communication skills that will allow them to become leaders in their respective fields of interest and share God’s truth in their spheres of influence.