About The Now Academy
We Believe There Is More in Every Child.
Children are more than test scores, grades, and future job titles.
They are thinkers, creators, problem-solvers, leaders, and people of purpose who need an environment that helps them discover what they are capable of becoming.
That’s why The Now Academy exists.
Learn. Build. Lead. Become.
Your Child Is Becoming Someone.
Every lesson teaches more than information.
Every challenge can build resilience.
Every responsibility can develop character.
Every opportunity to create can strengthen confidence.
Every relationship can influence identity.
That’s why we believe education should ask more than:
“What does this child need to know?”
We should also ask: “Who is this child becoming?”
The Now Academy was created around both questions.
The World Children Are Entering Is Changing. Education Must Prepare Them for It.
Our children are growing up in a world shaped by entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, automation, global communication, rapidly changing technology, and careers that may look very different from those available today.
But some things will remain deeply human.
Children will still need to know how to: Think. Communicate. Create. Solve problems. Work with people. Make responsible decisions. Adapt. Lead. Serve.
That’s why The Now Academy brings together strong academic foundations, Business, STEM, Leadership, creativity, global learning, and biblical character.
We’re not trying to predict every future opportunity.
We’re helping children develop the capacity to navigate whatever opportunities their future brings.
THE ORIGIN STORY
What if children learned early how to communicate an idea?
How to understand money?
How to solve problems?
How to recover when something doesn’t work?
How to work with people? How to lead themselves?
How to recognize that their gifts can create value for others?
How to connect faith, character, purpose, and responsibility?
Those questions helped shape The Now Academy.
We began imagining an educational environment where children wouldn’t have to wait until adulthood to encounter entrepreneurship, leadership, financial understanding, problem-solving, technology, and purpose.
Why “The Now Academy”?
The future matters. But children are becoming who they will be right now. The habits they practice now. The confidence they build now. The questions they learn to ask now. The character they develop now. The opportunities they see now. All help shape what comes next.
N.O.W. — Next Opportunity Window
We believe education can help children recognize opportunities, develop the confidence to pursue them,
and build the skills and character to create opportunities for themselves and others.
Their future is being built now.
Children Don't Only Learn by Listening. They Learn by Doing.
The Now Academy is built around a simple learning rhythm: LEARN → APPLY → BUILD → REFLECT → GROW
LEARN:Develop strong academic foundations.
APPLY: Connect knowledge to real situations.
BUILD: Create, experiment, solve, and collaborate.
REFLECT: Understand what worked, what didn’t, and why.
GROW: Use that learning to make the next attempt stronger.
We want children to understand that mistakes aren’t the opposite of learning. When examined and corrected, mistakes can become part of learning.
Learn. Build. Lead. Become.
LEARN.
Build the foundation.
Literacy, mathematics, knowledge, curiosity, and critical thinking.
BUILD.
Use what you know.
Business, STEM, creativity, technology, projects, and problem-solving.
LEAD.
Take responsibility.
Communication, discipline, service, collaboration, decision-making, and integrity.
BECOME.
Grow into who you're capable of being.
Confidence, character, purpose, resilience, faith, and identity.
Education isn’t only preparation for what children will do. It helps shape who they will become.
Faith Isn't an Add-On. It Shapes How We Lead.
The Now Academy is grounded in Christian principles and the belief that education involves more than intellectual development. We want children to grow in:
- Integrity
- Stewardship
- Service
- Responsibility
- Respect
- Compassion
- Purpose
Our Mission
The Now Academy equips children with strong academic foundations, real-world skills, leadership development, and biblical character so they can confidently learn, build, lead, and become who they were created to be.
Our Vision
We envision a generation of confident, capable, character-driven young people prepared to solve problems, create value, lead responsibly, and use their gifts to positively impact their communities and the world.
What Guides How We Build
RESILIENCE
Learn. Adjust. Try again.
Challenges can develop problem-solvers.
SERVICE
Use what you know to help others.
Leadership isn't only about being first.
STEWARDSHIP
Take responsibility for what you've been given.
Time, talent, resources, opportunities, and relationships matter.
Meet the Founder
Leonard J. “Coach LJ” Chaplin Founder | The Now Academy
Coach LJ’s vision for The Now Academy grew from decades of experience across leadership,
entrepreneurship, ministry, coaching, business, and education—and from his own experience as a child
whose potential was not always immediately recognized.
As a child, Leonard experienced academic and communication challenges and spent time in special education environments. There were moments when labels could have defined what others expected from
him.
But educators, mentors, faith, and opportunity helped him begin seeing possibilities beyond those early
limitations.
That journey eventually led through higher education, entrepreneurship, leadership development, ministry,
business coaching, and doctoral study.
The Now Academy grows from a conviction shaped by that journey: children need people and environments
that can recognize possibility before the child always knows how to recognize it in themselves.
LEADERSHIP
John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Coach & Trainer
BUSINESS
20+ Years of Entrepreneurship & Organizational Experience
EDUCATION
Bachelor’s in Marketing / Business Marketing Master’s in Management
RESEARCH
Doctoral Candidate — Organizational Leadership
FAITH
Pastoral & Ministry Leadership
DEVELOPMENT
Certified DISC Consultant / Trainer
Coach LJ’s experience across business, leadership, faith, coaching, and organizational development informs the Academy’s emphasis on preparing the whole child.
A Vision Bigger Than One Person
The Now Academy isn’t being built around one personality. It is being built around a mission. As the Academy grows, Lead Educators, Specialist Faculty, parents, mentors, community partners, and future leaders will help carry that mission forward.
Strong institutions outlive their founders because the mission becomes bigger than the person who started it.
We Don't Hire Educators Just to Deliver Lessons. We Invite Experts to Help Shape Learning.
Great educators bring more than subject knowledge. They bring experience, judgment, creativity, curiosity, and an understanding of how children learn.
Our model gives educators appropriate ownership to recommend resources, learning experiences, projects, and tools within The Now Academy’s academic, developmental, faith, and quality standards
Expert recommendation. Academy oversight. Student-centered decisions.
We're Starting Small on Purpose.
The Now Academy is launching with an intentionally small Kindergarten Founding Cohort of approximately 10 students.
Why not open every grade immediately?
Because we believe culture should be built before it is scaled.
We’re beginning with one cohort so we can:
- Build strong relationships.
- Establish the learning culture.
- Refine systems.
- Listen to families.
- Develop traditions.
- Document student growth.
- Strengthen before expanding.
Build it well. Then build it bigger.
We're New. Our Commitment Doesn't Have to Be.
The Now Academy does not have decades of alumni yet.
We are building our first cohort.
We believe families deserve honesty about that.
What we can offer from the beginning is an intentional commitment to:
- Small cohorts
- Excellent educators
- Clear communication
- Student safety
- Strong academics
- Real-world learning
- Character development
- Listening and improving
Our goal isn’t to look established before we’ve earned it. Our goal is to build something worth establishing.
Part of a Bigger Vision
The Now Academy is the K–12 educational arm of the Next Opportunity Window (N.O.W.) ecosystem, built around helping people recognize possibility, develop capacity, and take meaningful action.
The Now Academy focuses exclusively on helping children build the academic foundations, real-world skills, leadership, and character they need for their next opportunities.
What Do We Hope Our Students Carry With Them?
Not simply grades. We want students increasingly able to say: “I CAN LEARN.” Confidence. “I CAN SOLVE THIS.” Problem-solving. “I CAN TRY AGAIN.” Resilience. “I CAN CREATE.” Innovation. “I CAN COMMUNICATE.” Leadership.“I CAN SERVE.” Character. “MY CHOICES MATTER.” Responsibility. “MY FUTURE HAS POSSIBILITIES.” Vision.
Those aren’t promises of perfection. They are the capacities we intentionally help children practice.
A Note From Coach LJ
Dear Parent,
I know you’re not simply looking for a school. You’re making a decision about the people, environment, ideas, and experiences that will help shape your child.
I don’t take that responsibility lightly. My own journey taught me how powerful it can be when someone sees possibility in a child before that child fully sees it in themselves.
That’s part of why The Now Academy exists. We want children to learn strong academic foundations, but we also want them building, questioning, communicating, solving problems, developing character, discovering confidence, and learning that mistakes don’t have to define their future. We are starting small because we want to build this well.
If what you’ve read reflects what you hope education can provide for your child, I would be honored to have a conversation with your family.
— Leonard J. “Coach LJ” Chaplin Founder, The Now Academy
There Is More in Your Child. Let's Help Them Discover It.
The Now Academy is building an intentionally small, faith-centered learning community where children develop strong academic foundations, Business and STEM skills, leadership, character, confidence, and real-world problem-solving abilities.
No pressure. Just a conversation about your child, your hopes for their education, and whether our vision aligns with yours.
THE NOW ACADEMY Learn. Build. Lead. Become. Business • STEM • Leadership