Transition

by Kelly Knowlden

The end of the year is in sight and so most students and parents are thinking of summer. For us in the office, we are doing a lot of planning for next school year. One of the things that the Board is thinking about is how to be better at what we do. That is a general question that we entertain often, but this year we are trying to determine how to market ourselves as a distinctly Christian institution that brings the grace of the gospel to bear on the lives of children who are living in a secular culture.

That task is not easy. We come at that task from a very different perspective from our public school counterparts. We work from the goal of education (learning, not grades) and then think about how children learn at various stages as well as about that for which they should be held accountable. So students will have homework that must be done in ways that demonstrate their understanding of the process of education. (Again, not just the answers.) So high standards of work (handwriting, formal presentation of work, following the order given that shows all their work, etc.) and high expectations of timeliness, diligence and effort are expected. If the student is doing that kind of work, then learning will take place and will be rewarded. Another aspect that we are thinking about is how to modify coursework for students who genuinely follow the process but for various reasons of maturity, ability, and learning differences are unable to understand the material.

This is a valuable exercise for us and will increase our ability to serve you. We ask that you would pray for the Board and the administration of the school. Our goal is to serve families and students for many generations with a mind/heart-shaping worldview of truth.