How Kindergarten Is Shaping a Lifetime of Faith
The Agan Family’s Journey at The First Academy
Andie didn’t want kindergarten to end.
She cried about it, actually.
Not because she was scared of first grade, but because she loved this year so much. The classroom. Her teacher. Her friends. Chapel.
And for her parents, Payton and Lexie Agan, that kind of joy meant everything.
The Agans are a family of five — Payton, Lexie, and their three children: Andie, the oldest, and then John Parker and Watson. With only Andie enrolled at The First Academy so far, they’re still at the beginning of their journey. But from the very first day, they knew this place was different.
A School That’s Been on Their Hearts for Years
More than a decade before Andie ever put on a TFA uniform, Lexie walked the halls as a substitute teacher, and then, as a full-time teacher.
“Even as a substitute, I was already treated like family,” she remembers. “That experience never left me.”
She quickly fell in love with the culture at TFA, a private Christian school in Orlando, FL. “One of my favorite things was how every subject tied back to a biblical worldview. It wasn’t just a Bible class once a day — Christ was the center of everything.”
So when it came time to choose a kindergarten for Andie, the family didn’t hesitate. “We said, ‘Please, can we get in?’” Lexie said with a laugh.
Payton agreed. “As our children’s minds and hearts are being shaped, we wanted a school where Jesus is the focus.”
A Place Where Faith Is the Foundation
In fact, the Agans’ number one priority is raising children whose lives are built on Christ.
“Our prayer for our children is that their lives are molded on His,” Payton said. “That’s our hope and prayer.”
And at The First Academy, they’ve found a partner in that mission. Whether through memory verses, daily lessons, or moments on the playground, faith is part of everything at school.
It’s not unusual to hear Andie quote Scripture at home or repeat a phrase she picked up at school. The latest phrase is, “Jesus says the first is last, and the last is first.”
Andie is living that out in her actions. She tells her mom stories of how she helped someone who fell. Or walked a classmate to the nurse to get an ice pack. Or chose someone else’s game instead of her own.
That compassionate heart is nurtured every day at TFA, where students, staff, and faculty are guided by the school’s Five Aspirations to become:
- Devoted Christ Followers
- Committed Servant Leaders
- Respectful Relationship Builders
- Consistently Honest Communicators
- Relentlessly Hard Workers
This kind of culture — where compassion, kindness, and hard work are recognized and celebrated — shapes the way students see themselves. It gives them the confidence to shine, knowing they are valued not just for what they do, but for who they are. Andie’s teacher once told her, “Everybody needs an Andie in their life,” a comment that left her beaming for days.
It’s not just the students who notice. When Lexie’s mom, a veteran teacher, visited chapel, she was moved to tears by the joy, the reverence, and the relationships she saw between students and teachers. “This is a dream,” she said.
Andie started the year not knowing anyone in her class. Today, she considers every classmate a friend. She’s been invited to baptisms, runs to greet older students by name, and lights up every room, including the Daddy Daughter Dance, where she twirled from friend to friend.
That same confidence shows up in her academics, too. She started kindergarten able to recognize letters, sounds, and some words, but not yet reading on her own. Now, thanks to an engaging and foundational kindergarten curriculum, she proudly reads entire books to her little brothers and sets ambitious reading goals for herself — goals her teacher gladly supports by loaning additional books from her classroom library.
But it’s not just Andie who is seen and supported.
A Community That Embraces the Whole Family
From field trips to classroom events to parent-led Christmas parties, the Agans have felt included since day one.
Even Andie’s little brother John Parker is greeted by name in the car line. “He’s not even a student yet,” Lexie said. “But they know him. They see him. That means so much.”
That sense of care extends beyond the classroom. Lexie and Payton both appreciate the intentional steps TFA takes to create a secure environment — from locked doors to a visible security presence. “She’s so little,” Lexie said. “And I never worry. She’s known, loved, and protected here.”
Payton agrees and appreciates all the ways TFA’s Christ-centered community protects and supports their family.
He has three hopes for his children — that they will grow in faith, excel academically so that they have opportunities in life, and be surrounded by like-minded friends who lift them up and encourage them.
He has found all of that at The First Academy, a place where excellence, faith, and family are woven into the culture. That makes TFA the right school, and the right community, to walk alongside their family every step of the way.