T H E  M I S S I O N

Enlightening the Dark ASL Program is a faith-based student outreach program that was founded to offer awareness and education to students who have a desire to reach the deaf community. Students wanting to learn to better communicate and understand those who are deaf is an essential focus for these classes. We are dedicated to helping your students grow in confidence, experience, and natural talents as we hold them to high standards and assist them in achieving their goals. 

A B O U T   E T D
S I G N  L A N G U A G E

The Homeschool CARE Foundation holds ministry and empowerment at its core. Out of this desire to help the community find hope, healing, and confidence we founded the student ministry arm: Enlightening the Dark. 

The Enlightening the Dark ASL Program encompasses experience and instruction for youth who have specific interests and seek to grow in their personal character through service and advocacy. We use language, community service and social interaction to develop teens and assist them in finding their God-given value, purpose, and talents. Through our work with ETD-ASL, students will learn about Deaf culture, raise awareness, and advocate for services and benefits for the Deaf community. 

Advanced students can audition for the ASL TROUPE. The Troupe is a performing arts group that will perform musical pieces in ASL. 

M E E T   K E N N E D Y

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​Kennedy Moore has had a passion for ASL since she was 12 years old. She began by signing songs at her church. It was something she really enjoyed. She and her friends would perform for holidays and different events. She did this on and off until her late teens. ASL always managed to be a part of her life. She would always find ways to incorporate ASL into what she was doing. She was self taught for many years grabbing any book she could find and would sit and go through ASL dictionaries memorizing words. It wasn't until her 20's that she really thought about pursuing some kind of ASL-related career. In 2017, she took an ASL course at Gallaudet University, one of the only fully deaf universities in the U.S. Soon after that she began teaching ASL with Enlightening the Dark. Within her first year of teaching, she was inspired by her students to work on a unique play that would cater to the Deaf community. She also involved herself and her students in outreach here in Jackson to raise money to further support the Deaf community. Kennedy continues to educate herself so that she can continue to share her passion and knowledge with her students.


​W H A T  D O E S  E N L I G H T E N I N G  T H E  D A R K  M E A N ? 

The title “Enlightening the Dark” comes from the idea that darkness exists in various forms. Sometimes it’s heartache and pain, other times it’s abuse and hate, it can even be ignorance and judgement. Regardless of the circumstances, we believe that light always casts out darkness and EN-lightening the individuals involved, brings empowerment and hope. It is our goal to confront the darkness that teenagers face by enlightening them through truth and the strength to tell their stories. We raise awareness about important issues and strive to gain wisdom as we embrace our gifts and shortcomings. The main aspect of "darkness" that we hope to learn from is that of stories untold or misunderstood.

P R O G R A M   E L I G I B I L I T Y

  • We accept 7th through 12th grade students 
  • Students must have an interest in learning sign language and gaining a better understanding of deaf culture and how it impacts the community.
  • Students must get along well with their peers and care about helping us build a family-like atmosphere. Bullying or crude behavior will not be tolerated.
  • We ask that all of our students have a way to access to our Slack account (either a computer or a phone will suffice). Slack is a free app that we use as our primary form of both fun and essential communication outside of class. Our Slack account is a "closed group" and is by invitation only. We are completely willing to add parents to the account for monitoring and updates. We do set a high standard of respect and we watch online communication closely. 
  • Students are not expected to have a religious affiliation or claim a christian faith but we do require that our families sign the Homeschool C.A.R.E. Foundation's Core Beliefs. It should also be known that there are faith-based themes that may come up in conversation.


​A   N O T E   F R O M   K E N N E D Y

My journey to Enlightening the Dark has taught me many lessons, allowed me to use my creativity, and has come with many twists and turns. I have spending making plans in my head, learning about ASL and Deaf culture, and writing my stories.  I have wanted to bring something to students in order to develop a passion for ASL, learn to value relationships, accept themselves, and understand the world outside of themselves. Why being different is not a bad thing. I want them to see why it's worth it for anyone and everyone to see the world through someone else's eyes. 

My heart and passion is for my students and the Deaf community. I have watched my students grow in skills and love for sign language over the last few years and I could not be more proud. I have developed relationships within the Deaf community and I have seen the joy they have gotten in seeing things developed for them and that students are taking the time to learn how to better communicate with them. I am very thankful for everyone and excited to provide these unique opportunities to the homeschool community.
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O U R  L O C A T I O N

HOMELIFE ACADEMY
3563 NORTH HIGHLAND AVE JACKSON, TN 38305

ETD DOES NOT HAVE OWNERSHIP OVER THIS FACILITY

731-697-7869

[email protected]
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Monday | Friday 9:00-4:00 
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