WELCOME MESSAGE

Before you begin to browse through the various pages of this guide, I just wanted to say a huge ‘thank you!’ for coming to join us here at Cumorah Academy.

Our students are precious to us and precious to the Lord and are living through a critical stage of their lives during difficult times on this earth. The Cumorah Academy provides a place of spiritual safety, a refuge from the world where they can learn, grow, acquire skills and knowledge that will direct the course of much of the remainder of their spiritual and professional lives and we are truly grateful that you’ve chosen to be a part of that.

Our mentors stand at the heart of the experience that students come to Cumorah Academy to gain. Your stories, your skills, your professional, spiritual and life-long experience are a well of living water for them and we love that you’re willing to share that with them.

We also believe that this experience will be as rewarding, edifying and testimony-enriching for you as it is for our students and for all of us who work here. We love being a part of helping this rising generation to fulfil the abundant potential that each one of them has, to bring out the latent talents, abilities and strengths with which the Lord has endowed them, and to provide an environment where the Spirit of the Lord can enrich them all.

May the Lord bless you in your time on campus with inspiration, revelation and abundant joy as you serve these wonderful students here at Cumorah Academy.

Iain R Saunders – Academic Director

OUR MISSION

Cumorah Academy is a non-profit organization supported solely by generous contributions of individual donors. Cumorah Academy's Mission is to assist individuals in their desire to follow Jesus Christ and positively impact their lives, careers, homes & communities. To accomplish this, we:

• Gather faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and like-minded individuals to a safe and gospel-centered campus

• Empower them with the Knowledge, Skills & Attributes that result in lasting happiness

• Prepare them to be leaders in their families, the Church, their professions & their communities

OUR VISION

Cumorah Academy’s vision is of an educational institution known throughout Europe and the world as a place of safety and strength for members of the rising generation. A place where education is practical, valuable and where the joy of the Saints can be experienced to an extent that no other educational institution in Europe has yet achieved. It is of an institution whose courses follow the highest educational standards and are available to any and all members of the rising generation regardless of their financial circumstances. An institution that can lift those who are struggling, open doors for those to whom all doors seem closed and to change lives for the better in every aspect of our endeavors.

It is a vision of students that have attended Cumorah Academy returning to their lives equipped with practical skills, knowledge and personal attributes that will vastly improve their personal and professional prospects. Students who are faithful in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, confident in their own strengths, supported by a life-long community and network of friends and professional contacts that will improve their options for life and business and give them a much greater chance at truly experiencing the joy of the Gospel both in this life and the life to come. They will build Zion, build relationships and raise families in their own countries as leaders and pillars of their churches and communities in their homelands.

SCHOOL STAFF 

Iain R Saunders – Director Iain is responsible for all aspects of the campus, it’s students, courses and programs. He oversees student admissions, curriculum, timetable, activities, student welfare & discipline. He also teaches public speaking and some English classes during the semester. Contact: iain.saunders@cumorahacademy.org Tel: +420 737 603 356
Nina Scurtu – Recruitment & Careers Manager Nina oversees and coordinates enrolment efforts and student admissions, and works extensively on curriculum design and materials writing. She also teaches the Find a Job and Marketing Strategy classes whilst also overseeing the Sales Project.
Aneta Bočková – HR Manager Taking care of all the staff, scholarship work, processes and procedures at Cumorah Academy is no small task, but Aneta manages very well. She works with students to ensure they get Scholarship Work that matches their commitment and their skills as well as overseeing the wellbeing of the staff throughout the organisation.
Rebeka Vit– Management Assistant Rebeka is helps with the general administration of the campus, on-campus organization & activities and also works directly for the managing direct (Jan) in the running of both the school and its associated industries.
Ricardo Vargas – Management Assistant Like Rebeka, Ricardo helps with the general administration of the campus, on campus organization & activities and also works directly with Iain in running the school. He has specific responsibilities for organization interpretation and translation, liaising with the activities committee and supervising the student liaison.

INTERNS AND VOLUNTEERS

Leah Waldrop– English Teacher Intern Leah is working at Cumorah Academy for the Spring Semester teaching English. She’ll work with Charlotte and be responsible for preparing and delivering the lessons as well as marking homework, helping with exam preparation and some tutoring.
Charlotte Peterson – English Teacher Intern Charlotte is working at Cumorah Academy for the Spring Semester teaching English. She’ll work together with Leah and be responsible for preparing and delivering the lessons as well as marking homework, helping with exam preparation and some tutoring.
Hannah Nerdin – Business Intern Hannah will be working directly with the business students to help them develop their business plans. She’ll teach the business, soft skills, starting your business self-reliance classes as well as follow-up with assignments and produce further teaching materials for the business courses.
Kenneth Waldrop - Student Counsellor Throughout the semester Kenny will be running courses to help students with their emotional resilience and in managing their mental health. Kenny will be on hand to offer counsel and advice as well as teaching courses.
Scott & Brenda Gardner – Cumorah Academy Advisory Couple As the volunteer members of staff with the most life-experience, the Gardners act as personal coaches to the students, meeting each student weekly to help them complete and develop their life plan, presentations, and other assignments. The Gardners also act as service missionaries assigned in the Czech, Prague Stake, organize and lead church meetings and oversee student welfare.

OTHER PEOPLE YOU’LL WORK WITH ON CAMPUS

Patrick Sedivy – Founder & Executive Director Along with his wife, Allyse, Patrick founded and developed Cumorah Academy from an inspired idea to the current campus. He is actively involved in decision-making, fund-raising, mentoring and the running of the school. Contact: patrick.sedivy@cumorahacademy.org Tel: +1 (801) 691-6623
Kelly and Stacey Shepherd – Executive Director’s Assistant Kelly and Stacey joined us in the Fall 2022 semester as the Cumorah Academy couple and are returning to help lead the school and the team, training staff members and overseeing the school administration. They’ll be working directly with Iain and the school team as well as helping train and supervise the Cumorah Academy Couple. Contact: kelly.shepherd@cumorahacademy.org Tel: 1 (801) 425-2186
Roman Čadeni – Campus Manager Roman is entirely responsible for the physical aspects of the Cumorah Academy Campus. He oversees accommodation, catering, equipment, and classroom maintenance as well as liaising directly with Stamberk Farm on production and facilities that intersect with Campus facilities. Contact: cadeni@hotelstamberk.cz Tel: +420 723 941 800
Lubomir Boček - Marketing Manager Often seen around campus with a camera pointing in your direction, Lubomir (Luboš) looks after all our marketing programs, leads the on and off campus marketing teams and is the primary content creator for our social media and web feeds.  Contact: lubomir.bocek@cumorahacademy.org
Daniel Čaňo - Campus Driver and Maintenance When you get a ride from the airport or go anywhere off campus, Daniel will most likely be your driver. His work involves driving and doing maintenance and repair work around campus under Roman Čadeni's direction.

COMMUNICATING WITH STAFF

IN-PERSON

When you need to ask a staff member something please first look for the staff member that has a name tag lanyard around their neck. They are the on-duty when they have the name tag on. They will probably be in the Common Room or the Staff Room.

If they are not wearing their name tags they are not on duty. Please avoid off-duty staff to work, on campus staff can end up never off duty if this happens. 

ONLINE

Please use Messenger to communicate with staff online. If staff have given their phone number above you may use WhatsApp to send direct messages. Please do so with consideration for normal working hours (8am to 6pm)

Our students are normally aged between 18 and 33-years old. They are usually single or young-married couples with no children. They originate from many different countries and backgrounds both inside and outside of the European Union and use English as their common communication language onsite. Their skills, educational, religious and cultural background vary greatly.

They are normally members or friends of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many of them are studying online with BYU Pathway or other online educational institutions in addition to their studies here with us. Each of them will have chosen a combination of studies that you’ll see in the next section. All of them have sacrificed time and personal means to join Cumorah Academy and each one of them is extremely important to us.

Our programs work as follows. All students attend either:

1) Leadership and Development Certification Program, sometime referred to as the ‘core curriculum / program’ plus one additional, optional ‘+’ certification, study or work program

2) the Elementary English Program

3) Team Leadership and Instruction Certification Program (for returning students only)

1) LEADERSHIP AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT + ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION

Supervisor: Iain R Saunders

You and all of your fellow students are enrolled in our core Leadership and Development Certification Program.

 All students will:

- Attend Leadership classes 3 times a week (45 mins per class)

- Attend Public Speaking classes twice a week (1 x 90 min, 1 x 45 min)

- Attend Self-reliance classes twice a week (2 x 60 minutes)

- Attend Family Relationship classes once a week (1 x 45 minutes)

- Attend at least one religious education class (Institute for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Gospel Principles for non-members)

- Attend a ‘Soft-Skills’ class once a week. (1 x 45 min)

- Attend their group meetings and fulfil 1 week of responsibility as a Group Leader

This accounts for approximately 12 hours class time a week and takes place normally between 9am and 1pm on weekdays.

ACHIEVEMENT CRITERIA FOR GAINING THIS CERTIFICATION

• Classes: Attend all lessons unless sick or otherwise excused by authorized staff

• Leadership: complete and submit your life vision

• Leadership: complete the online Leadership assignments at my.cumorahacademy.org

• Leadership: successfully lead your group devotionals, meetings and home evening for 1 week during the semester

• Public Speaking: present 2 x public presentations, in English with visual aids, to the student body. 1 presentation on a topic of your choosing. 1 presentation presenting principles from a personal development book that you have read on campus.

• Self-Reliance: complete all assignments and projects in your self-reliance course.

• Other: complete other assignments as set by tutors, mentors and teachers during the semester

GRADING

Each area of your Leadership performance receives a grade between 1 and 5 where ‘5’ is the highest. These are then averaged to a % score. Your final score for all the above areas will feed into your student report grade:

• 90-100% - Outstanding

• 80-89% - Very Good

• 60-79% - Satisfactory

• 0-59% - In need of Improvement

(Scores that fall below 60% will usually mean termination of the scholarship and study program or other disciplinary action)

Teachers:

• Leadership – this week’s visiting mentor(s)

• Public Speaking – Iain R Saunders

• Soft Skills – the Business Intern

• Life Vision – Cumorah Academy Couple Member

• Self-Reliance –Cumorah Academy Couple Member

• Family Relations –Cumorah Academy Couple Member

ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION, STUDY AND WORK PROGRAMS

You will also be fully engaged in one of the following add-on ‘+’ certification, study or work programs :

- + English

- + Business and Entrepreneurship

- + Custom Certification (Career Skills)

- + BYU Pathway or Other Online Studies

- + Work Focus

These certification programs will take place either in free hours during the morning that are not being used for Leadership and Personal Development classes (see above) or through the afternoon.

These classes normally take place on weekdays (Monday to Friday) though may take place on a Saturday if we have a trip or an excursion on a weekday during that week.

You are required to select one of the following certification tracks. The criteria for receiving the certificates for these study tracks vary and we advise you to think carefully about which study track to take before choosing your course.

+ ENGLISH CERTIFICATION (CAMBRIDGE EXAM FOCUS)

Supervisor: Iain R Saunders

Students on this study track learn English as a foreign language in class and through our online self-study platform whilst working towards passing an internationally recognized English language certificate (B1 Preliminary, B2 First and C1 Advanced). Students take a test before the start of the course and get put into specific level classes based on their results.

Each level will have 4 x 90-minute certification-focused core lessons per week, plus 1 x 45 additional class conversation and 1 x 45-minute class in pronunciation skills.

In addition, all students attend the Business English weekly class for 1 x 90 min session. These classes normally occur on weekdays in sessions between 2pm and 6.30pm.

The English study track includes full preparation for Cambridge English examinations and students will have the option at the end of the course to take a Cambridge English exam appropriate to their level.

ACHIEVEMENT CRITERIA FOR GAINING THIS CERTIFICATION

• Attend all lessons unless sick or otherwise excused by authorized staff

• Complete 3 x full examinations using Cambridge English Standard material in class (your certificate will show the level you achieved in these exams rather than the level of your class).

+BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP CERTIFICATION

Supervisors: Patrick Sedivy & the Business Intern

Learning by contacting and working with people already established in the area of business the student wishes to develop. Through study, online courses and developing business relationships they gain the skills that their contacts suggest they learn to prepare them for the realities of life when running their own business.

Students on this study track attend online courses in addition to their on-campus courses which include attending optional mentor classes and specific business skills classes.

We estimate that this will take anywhere between 12-18 hours study time per week depending on the classes you choose.

ACHIEVEMENT CRITERIA FOR GAINING THIS CERTIFICATION

• Attend all lessons unless sick or otherwise excused by authorized staff. Including ‘Business Class’ 3 x a week, the ‘Starting and Growing a Business Self-Reliance Class’ as well as the ‘Business Class with Mentors’ classes on campus

• Fulfil and complete all online tasks and courses as set by your course tutor

• Complete 1 x practical marketing project.

• Complete 1 x practical sales project.

• Complete, submit, present and justify your business plan.

+ BYU PATHWAY OR OTHER ONLINE STUDIES

Supervisor: Your own online course leaders

Students on this study track are already enrolled in external online learning programs. They fulfil their online assignments and tasks in their own time. At the same time, they will also complete the Leadership and Personal Development Certification.

Based on their time commitments, students may also attend additional optional classes and activities that are available on-site.

+ WORK FOCUS

Supervisor: Jan Pohorelicky

Students study the core Leadership and Development component of the course and then work in either their own companies, jobs or in specific positions at the Cumorah Academy when not studying.

Based on their time commitments, students may also attend additional optional classes and activities that are available on-site.

2) ELEMENTARY ENGLISH PROGRAM

Supervisor: Iain R Saunders & English Interns

Students on this course are at A2 Elementary level of English and are aiming to be B1 Intermediate.

All Elementary English Students:

- Study 20 hours in class each week (2 x 90-minutes each day).

- Study 1 additional session a day with a personal tutor selected from the Leadership students (1 x 45 mins per day)

- Attend the Self-Reliance My Foundation course in their own language (Spanish)

Elementary English students are also part of the student groups. They will group meetings and activities with their group and work with their group to gain points for the house cup.

ACHIEVEMENT CRITERIA FOR GAINING THIS CERTIFICATION

- Attend all lessons unless sick or otherwise excused by authorized staff

- Complete all assignments as given by the teachers

- Complete the projects and assignments in the Self-Reliance: My Foundation course

- Take the full final test.

OUTCOMES AND CRITERIA FOR FURTHER STUDY

The purpose of the Elementary English course is to help students improve their English enough to attend the Leadership and Personal Development course at a later semester.

All students who achieve a B1 level or above in their final exam, will receive a scholarship to return for a later semester and study the Leadership and Personal Development course.

Teachers: English Interns

There are no ‘+’ certification, study or work focuses that currently combine with the Elementary English cert

3) Team Leadership and Instruction Certification

Supervisor: Iain R Saunders

Students on this course have all completed the Leadership & Personal Development Certification in a previous semester. They have returned to Cumorah Academy to take part either working as a Student Leadership Intern or to complete a new program

• All students on this program attend:
• Leadership Classes
• Professional Life Class
• Advanced Public Speaking Classes
• Communicating Across Cultures Class
• Conflict Resolution Class
• Leadership Book Club
• All group meetings and projects

Achievement Criteria for this Certification

• 80% Attendance or above in all classes
• Successfully lead a group
• Produce a range of public speaking presentations including a large final presentation the type and topic of which will be determined 72 hours before the presentation
• A written appraisal of their application of Leadership principles based on their Leadership Book Club assignments