Until 1981, the State of Texas had never attempted to prohibit or restrict home education, or to pursue truancy charges against homeschooling families.  Throughout the 1980s, the Texas Education Agency held the position that educating a child at home was not an acceptable substitute for public school attendance and urged school districts to file charges against home schooling parents.  To halt prosecutions, a group of nine families filed a class action lawsuit against the TEA, Arlington ISD, El Paso ISD, and Katy ISD and finally, in 1994, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled that Texas law “does not require children who are taught in legitimate home schools to attend public school.”

According to the law today, homeschooling parents “need only to home school in a bona fide manner, have a curriculum “consisting of books, workbooks, other written or visual materials….developed or obtained from any source.  The curriculum must be designed to meet basic education goals of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and a study of good citizenship.”

 

Fast forward to 1997, when Adel Zappasodi of Kingwood was home schooling her three sons.  As they approached high school, requiring more challenging subjects, Mrs. Zappasodi enrolled her children in Excel, a 2 day a week home schooling program in Spring, TX to supplement her home studies.  Frustrated by the drive, she inquired about opening an Excel program in Kingwood.  That program did not believe that “Kingwood had enough homeschoolers to support their program.”  However, since the Lord was leading Mrs. Zappasodi to begin an educational and enrichment alternative for home school families, she prayerfully began the planning. Relying on the Lord, her husband and other interested families, a new non-profit program for homeschoolers in the greater Kingwood area was created – Home Run Ministries was formed in the Spring of 1997. That August, Home Run Ministries’ academic classes began with 13 students and 8 staff members and offered courses in English, Worldview, Biology and Math.  The Board of Directors was expanded in the spring of 1998 and immediately concerns for the need for an enrichment program for younger students was discussed and implemented.  Under the direction of Anne Trapani, Super Friday, opened its doors in the fall of 1998 with 90 students. During the past 28 years, over 1,100 families have participated in the programs of Home Run Ministries at the Kingwood campus.

 

In 2017, Home Run Ministries supported the new DFW area campus, Arrow Christian Academy, under the direction of Adel Zappasodi and her daughter in law, Rebecca Zappasodi.  That campus has now served over 240 families with Academic, Enrichment, Testing and Social activity programs.