Meet Courtney Hunter | Founder and Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Courtney Hunter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Courtney, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Honey Haven Academy impacts the community by giving families another option! A smaller, more personal environment where kids are taught at their own level and pace instead of being shoved into one box. We help students build confidence, independence, creativity, and real-life social skills while still making sure they’re learning state standards through tools like IXL and hands on projects.

We also create a sense of community that feels genuine. Families know each other. Students of different ages work together, cheer each other on, and grow together!! Older students naturally become leaders while younger students feel supported and inspired. It feels more like a village than a school.

For many families, HHA also provides relief. Relief from environments where their child felt overwhelmed, overlooked, anxious, behind, or bored. We meet students where they are and help them rediscover that learning can actually feel safe and exciting.

As we grow into a larger campus, our goal is to continue creating a warm, creative, community centered environment that supports not only students, but parents too. We want families to feel connected, supported, and proud to be part of something different — a place truly focused on making education sweet!!!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am most proud and excited for more children and families to experience a second home like Honey Haven Academy. My hope is for anyone who is intrigued by this type of educational environment for their child(ren) is able to join our hive!

Honey Haven Academy started from a simple feeling…that school should be done differently!! What began as one classroom with one big vision slowly turned into something families genuinely connected with because it was built around real children and real relationships, not a one-size-fits-all system.

The school was built piece by piece with a lot of creativity, flexibility, and heart. From teaching in a home environment, designing curriculum lessons and projects from scratch, building routines, creating themed spaces, planning performances, running small groups, organizing field trips, and personally knowing every student and family, HHA became what it is because it was intentionally built around connection and personalization!!!!

HHA grew through word of mouth, trust, and families seeing their children thrive. Parents saw their kids becoming excited to learn again, gaining confidence, improving academically, and actually wanting to come to school. That created a ripple effect in the community.

Instead of focusing only on traditional grades and rigid structures, HHA focused on meeting students where they are academically and emotionally. Small-group instruction, project-based learning, SEL integration, and individualized learning paths helped students feel successful in ways they may not have before.

HHA is where it is today because of consistency, community support, creativity, and a belief that education should feel engaging, supportive, and human. Every performance, project, classroom setup, parent conversation, late night planning session, and leap of faith helped shape what Honey Haven is becoming today. Which is a school centered around children learning their academics without sacrificing their childhood.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’ll start the day touring the new Honey Haven Academy expansion location and walking through the vision for the future campus and classrooms. After that, we’ll head to Downtown Gilbert for brunch and spend some time exploring the farmers market to experience the family centered community that surrounds HHA. We can finish the afternoon head over to downtown Mesa for some historical vibes. My favorite way to end the night would be getting lost in a thrift shop.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honey Haven Academy was founded in 2024 with one simple belief: Children deserve an education that truly meets them where they are.

After years of working in traditional school settings, I consistently saw a gap between what children need to thrive and what many classrooms are able to provide. I knew there had to be a way I could prioritize connection, hands on learning and individual support.

In 2023, I had the opportunity to lead a micro-school where I was able to bring this vision to life! I watched students grow, not only academically, but emotionally and socially in ways I had never seen before.

As that establishment came to a close, families expressed overwhelming support for my approach to learning and encouraged me to create a school of my own.

That encouragement became the foundation of Honey Haven Academy.

We would not be where we are today without the love and support of those OG families believing in me!

Website: https://HoneyHavenAcademy.org

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