Have a closer look at Parent Support at Veritas, through the words of our beloved Audra Thomas. Audra is our New Parent Liaison and leads our parent mentorship program and monthly meetings.
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”
-Socrates
Starting out on the journey of raising children I never dreamed my world would take all the twists
and turns that it would. I went to college and received my teaching degree, taught sixth grade
English for a few years and then had our first child. I decided to stay home and raise our
children and have been home ever since. I never dreamed I would send my children to a
private school, let alone embrace a hybrid homeschool model? Early on when our oldest child
was a toddler we began to see that he was experiencing some sensory overload issues. We
knew that a typical school setting would be overwhelming to him and ultimately lead to poor
choices and disruptive behavior. Our great need led us to beg God for wisdom on how to best
lead our child. When it was time for Kindergarten we ended up at a five day a week private
school that was Classical Education. This checked all the boxes for us and provided a small
more controlled environment where everyone was working for the success of our child. We
attended that school for three years and were then blessed with the gift of twins! Having twins
meant it was no longer in our budget to afford this private school. Back to the drawing board.
We began to pray again and beg God for wisdom and his best for these children. We knew he
had led us to the other school and we were counting on his faithfulness again. We ran across
Veritas Christian Academy when looking for the criteria of a smaller private school and Classical
Education which I had fallen in love with. We took a tour and had an interview and began to
pray more… Was this public school teacher really going to embrace homeschooling?
Fast forward, we are The Thomas family and we have been in the Veritas community for a
decade now, that’s hard to believe!
My name is Audra, my husband Eric and I have been married for twenty-seven years and have
four children. Our eldest, Ethan attended Veritas from fourth grade through twelfth grade. He
graduated last year and is about to finish his first year of college at the Virginia Military Institute.
This has been the fastest year ever! We have twin boys Brody and Gaige who are in sixth
grade, and our little cherry on top, Ava Kate who is in third grade. We have experienced the
growing pains as VCA has grown and changed over the years, as with any growing organization
and we would do it all over again as we believe this institution is the best place for our children.
When you say yes to Veritas you are opening up many possibilities other than just education.
You are saying yes to your child slowing down and falling in love with learning, becoming a
lifelong learner. You are making space for your family as you will get time back. Our life isn’t dictated by
homework and a school schedule. We actually have room in our weeks for our kids to pursue sports and hobbies and it’s not overwhelming. We have time as a family to eat together and have evenings where we are all home together. We have time to explore and contemplate on who God is and appreciate his beautiful creations all around us.
Learning is a byproduct of all the intentional efforts of appreciating beauty, time for critical
thinking, and daily practice of our families virtues that are on display and carried out at school as
well. Veritas supports the family in leading these children to learn rigorous materials but most
importantly, to know and love Jesus!
I get the great privilege of being the New Parent Liaison here at Veritas. If I haven’t met you, I’d
love to soon! As you begin your journey at VCA, I will pair you up with a veteran parent, which
we call a Support Parent, to walk you through your first year and help you get acclimated to this
new program. That Support Parent is there to help answer any questions that you may have
and help you navigate each turn. Get comfortable at leaning into that support, it will make all of
the difference as you progress throughout the year.
I also serve on a team with Emily Robinson and Laurajo Ross and we lead monthly parent
informational meetings known as P.A.C.K meetings. This stands for Parent Affirmation,
Community and Knowledge. We enjoy bringing you guest speakers, new materials and
resources to aid you on your journey of raising kids and leading your families. There are many
ways to get plugged in and connected here at VCA, these are just a few examples.
Welcome to Veritas Christian Academy! You have joined a rare community. One that is rich in
love, and grounded in truth. I pray you feel at home here and Veritas becomes the unexpected
gift you never saw coming. Please say hello if I haven’t met you yet. I’m excited to get to know
you and your family.
Go Patriots!