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Our mission is simple -
to make quality Christian education accessible to all families
The Shepherd’s Academy is a tuition-free Christian school serving K–3 students in east Charlotte. Built on faith and community, we provide a nurturing place where every child can grow in wisdom, character, and purpose.
Our classrooms are small, our teachers know every student personally, and each child learns through a mix of hands-on projects, creative exploration, and adaptive technology that helps them master the basics and go beyond.
The school also partners with families and churches to create a model of affordable, high-quality Christian education that can be replicated in other communities.
The team at The Shepherd’s Academy is thankful for the many friends, church partners, and volunteers who have given their time, skills, and prayers to make this vision a reality.
Our Mission
To bring high-quality, Christ-centered education into the heart of the community—where families live, work, and worship—so that every child is known, loved, and inspired to learn.
Our Vision
A joyful school community where children and families find hope, belonging, and purpose in Christ—growing in wisdom, love, and confidence to serve others.
Get to
know us
The Shepherd’s Academy began with the simple vision: to make quality Christian education accessible to families in East Charlotte. Through God’s provision and the support of many friends, our school is scheduled to open Fall 2026 at Eastern Hills Baptist Church.
We believe that every child deserves a place to learn and grow in faith. Our classrooms are small, our teachers know every student personally, and each child learns through a mix of hands-on projects, creative exploration, and adaptive technology that helps them master the basics and go beyond.
Board Members
Meet the faces behind The Shepherd’s Academy
Leigh Smith
Founder & Board Chair
Leigh Smith brings over three decades of experience in education to her work with children.
Leigh Smith, Founder
Leigh Smith brings over three decades of experience in education to her work with children. She has taught in public and Christian school settings, including ten years at Covenant Day School, as well as in a Christian preschool.
Leigh has also served in a refugee enrichment program, where she designed and implemented a literature-based curriculum to support literacy development and language growth for children from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition, she designed and implemented curriculum integrating art, music, and STEM aligned with state standards for Title I schools. Students participating in this program demonstrated marked and sustained improvement in science achievement year over year on standardized assessments.
Alongside her work in schools, Leigh currently teaches in the Awana program at Eastern Hills Baptist Church, where she invests in relationships with children and helps them grow in their knowledge of God’s Word. Her ministry reflects her heart for discipleship and her joy in encouraging children to know and follow Christ.
Leigh homeschooled her children for over twenty years, an experience that deepened her commitment to intentional, literature-based learning. These experiences inspired her to start a school where all children can be prepared to meet academic expectations and future learning with confidence, while growing to know and love God and to see Him in everyday learning. She holds a Master of Education and brings a warm, relational approach to her teaching, helping children see God at work in all of life.
Leigh and her husband, Steve, are parents of seven grown children and grandparents to one grandson. Together, they are committed to building a school marked by academic excellence, purposeful faith, and deep respect for the role of families in a child’s education.
Steve Smith
Co-Founder & Board Member
Steve Smith brings exceptional financial leadership and governance experience to the school as co-founder and board member.
Steve Smith, MAcc Founder and Board Member
Steve Smith brings exceptional financial leadership and governance experience to the school as co-founder and board member. He recently retired after more than 30 years with PwC, where he served as a tax partner, advising organizations on complex financial, compliance, and strategic issues.
Steve's professional career reflects deep expertise in financial oversight, risk management, and organizational stewardship—skills critical to building a strong, sustainable foundation for the school's operations and long-term mission. His presence on the board provides donors, partners, and families with confidence that the organization is guided by disciplined financial practices and sound governance.
In addition to his corporate leadership, Steve has faithfully served as an elder at Christ Covenant Church, where he has provided spiritual leadership, accountability, and support for ministry growth. His faith informs both his professional life and his commitment to steward resources with integrity and wisdom.
Steve and his wife, Leigh, have seven grown children and one grandson. Together, they bring proven leadership to ensure the school's faithful stewardship and lasting impact.
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Davis Carman
Davis Carman is the president of Apologia Educational Ministries, the #1 publisher of creation-based science, math, and Bible curriculum for homeschooling families
Davis Carman, Board Member
Davis Carman is the president of Apologia Educational Ministries, the #1 publisher of creation-based science, math, and Bible curriculum for homeschooling families with over two million textbooks in circulation. This work includes the Apologia Live Online Classes, which has instructed over 15,000 students in all fifty states and dozens of countries since 2009.
He has been married to Rachael since 1986, is the father of seven adult children, and affectionately known as “Pops” to thirteen grandkids (and counting). Davis is passionate about challenging and inspiring the next generation of families to be intentional about parenting and to take the discipleship of their children to the next level.
He is the author of ten illustrated books for preschoolers, which are designed to instill a biblical worldview. He is the co-host (along with his wife Rachael) of the
Let’s Talk Homeschool podcast and blogs at Apologia with a total audience of over 200,000.
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Rachael Carmen
Board Member
Rachael Carman is co-owner of Apologia Educational Ministries, an award-winning publisher of creation-based curriculum for home educators.
Rachael Carman, Board Member
Rachael Carman is co-owner of Apologia Educational Ministries, an award-winning publisher of creation-based curriculum for home educators. Rachael is also Mom to seven adult children, “Coco” to thirteen grandkids (and counting), and a 26-year homeschool veteran. A respected speaker and author, she is energetic about affirming, encouraging, and equipping the next generation of families to disciple their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Rachael is the author of two books: How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You? and How to Have a HEART for Your Kids as well as a Bible curriculum titled The Word in Motion, developed in partnership with Walk Thru the Bible Ministries. It uses several formats (text, audio, video) to incorporate multiple learning styles (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic).
Joann Nabb
Board Member
Joann earned a teaching degree in K-12 from Hope College, with majors in French and English and minors in Spanish and German.
Joann Nabb, Board Member
Joann earned a teaching degree in K-12 from Hope College, with majors in French and English and minors in Spanish and German. After graduation, she taught in public schools for 2 years, moving to private schools, where she taught French and Spanish and found her niche. She has taught full and parttime for 52 years ranging from Kindergarten to Advance Placement French. Many of her French students have won gold and silver medals in national competitions. She is fluent in French, English, and Dutch and makes people laugh with her rusty Spanish and German.
Joann has been married for 48 years to Paul. They have 6 adult children, who were home-schooled their entire lives. They began the journey in 1985 and have enjoyed the trip thoroughly. Back in the Stone Age, there were few resources and many critics, so Joann learned to be creative. Drawing from her experience as a private school teacher and the years growing up in Holland and Switzerland, attending international schools, she was able to piece together her children’s education, making it hands-on and fun whenever possible. Taking advantage of the less stringent homeschooling schedule, she took her students on field trips to France, and other parts of Europe for several 3-6 month stays to enhance language learning, where the children in her classes attended French schools, also allowing for an understanding of how other cultures live. She still teaches French, very parttime, to homeschoolers.
They have a son who is a lawyer and retired US Marine JAG, a son who is an army reservist and police captain, a daughter who is a teacher, a son who is in IT, a daughter who studied exercise science and works as a Physical Therapist, and a son who graduated from NC State in Industrial Design.
My wish for Shepherd’s Academy is to encourage a love of learning in the early years that carries over to a lifetime of joyful learning. I believe that Shepherd’s Academy will be a special place of learning essentials, creativity, delving into excellent books, playing educational games, understanding differences, and giving children an opportunity to thrive. Learning can and should be fun and educative at the same time.
Board Secretary