Golladay Learning Center School

Most people in Mesa have never heard of Golladay Learning Center. 

It doesn’t have a giant campus or a marketing department. What it does have is something special: a place where children can find a different approach to education in a Christ-centered homeschool-style setting. The students here are smiling, confident, and thriving in ways their parents once thought impossible. Once you learn their story, you realize there are kids in Mesa who need this school. And this school needs us.

Brian and Sheyda started this school through inspiration when they were having a difficult time finding a school for their two autistic children. After they began, other families wanted to join in. They were spiritually guided to model this school after the idea of individualized education, real-world preparedness, and a Christ-centered focus.

In a typical day, you could walk in and see children learning how to cook, trading in the stock market, working on a business plan, cutting hair, designing projects for 3D printing, laser engraving, coding video games, raising chickens, washing eggs, gardening, or reading books. They might be working on math, reading, or writing, and they most definitely would have a project going on, such as building electric go-karts, pontoons, or a chicken coop. The ages range from kindergarten through high school, providing a family-like setting where the older kids learn to teach and mentor the younger kids. The student body also has mixed abilities, such as autism.

Brian and Sheyda hire teachers and are teachers there themselves, but they do not run this school for a profit; they run it as a calling from God. Sheyda graduated from medical school but became a stay-at-home mom as their two first children were autistic. She has gone back to school to achieve her Montessori teaching certificate as well as a master's in education. Brian still works as a tax accountant with degrees in accounting and an MBA and is currently back in school working on a doctorate in educational leadership.

GLC believes no child should be denied education because of income, and so no families pay anything out of pocket. Instead, GLC partners with Arizona Tuition Connection, a nonprofit organization that provides children with scholarships funded by tax credit donations. GLC does not use the Arizona ESA voucher program.  By the grace of God, the children have been able to receive enough scholarships to cover GLC’s expenses to stay open year after year since 2018. But to continue or even grow, we need your help.