Traditional Learning Academy was founded in response to pleas from parents for their children to be educated in a setting that ensured a high quality education, provided a spiritual environment and supported the family. Allan Garneau, the founder of TLA, resigned his post as a principal with Vancouver Public Schools with the hope of fulfilling the wishes of these parents and in 1991 Traditional Learning Academy opened its doors.

From the beginning, TLA worked with homeschooling families not only to set up the registration process, but by offering support services. TLA pioneered the notion of allocating part of the Ministry grant to help parents obtain quality resources. Over the years, TLA has consistently served about one third of homeschooling families in BC, and is renowned for its advocacy for homeschooling provisions in the School Act.

With a strong philosophical position of recognizing the role of parents as the primary educators of their children, TLA closely monitored the onset of DL programs in the public schools. Many of the programs were set up to bring homeschoolers back into the public system and families accepted accountability in return for teacher and financial support. Parents soon discovered to their dismay that public programs could not allow the use of religious resources. TLA urged the Ministry to allow independent schools to start DL programs thereby allowing families who wanted to educate from a position of faith to partake in the DL option. We are proud to say that we were among the first five independent schools given permission to pilot the DL program. TLA remains committed to serving families as traditional homeschoolers and in our well established DL and online program. Our teachers and office staff are committed to supporting you and your family in every aspect of your children’s learning.