Faith Christian School, here in Roanoke Virginia, was started in 1997 with 47 students. Faith now has over 250 students and is on the cusp of moving into a new, 68,000 square foot building on Buck Mountain Road. The new facility, combined with a new athletic field, are located on a scenic campus which backs up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The new campus will be ready this fall.
Faith is part of the classical Christian school movement that was started in the 1990s and is now up to 186 schools in the U.S. and 10 schools in Virginia. Faith integrates the philosophy of the classical approach of the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) in the context of a Christian worldview. The approach produces results.
Graduates of Faith Christian School have averaged above 1300 on their SAT scores and all of them have been accepted into their first choice of colleges, including New York University, the University of North Carolina and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
While academics are important, I am interested in the overall culture of a school, their committment to teaching Truth, and their mission.
As a parent of two children at Faith Christian, I was recently asked why I was committed to this school in particular. My response was immediate.
"Two reasons. One, this school is passionate about Truth. Two, I have been impressed by the quality and character of the faculty. I want these kind of people mentoring my kids and helping them to grow ... not just in knowledge, but in understanding and ultimately in wisdom."
High SAT scores are impressive. More impressive to me, however, is someone who combines knowledge, character and a committment to faith in Jesus Christ. We need more winsome and effective ambassadors for Christ here in Roanoke and in our world.
Faith Christian will be having an open house this Thursday (2/15). For those who live around here, take advantage of that and learn more about this school on the rise. Or email me if you have questions or are seeking testimonials from other parents.
One topic I'd like to see you post on (if you have experience of it- or maybe already written upon it) is the secularization of society. From my experience of living in 5 states and almost 10 cities is that Roanoke is behind the times in terms of secularization of the cultural atmosphere. The easiest way to recognise this is travel between D.C. and Roanoke. Big Difference. The lack of a church building every half-mile or less is the first indicator.
What I noticed in Roanoke is not whether one goes to church, its a matter of which church do/did you go to? [Young adults in the area tend to cast off church for 10 years or so until they have children and think its a good idea to return.]
Is this a southern thing? Or is it a vestige of how things used to be everywhere?
The broader question could be: In which sort of town would you like to live, culturally Christian or secular? Which is better for producing sincere faithful?
Posted by: Anna | February 13, 2007 at 09:44
A friend of mine teaches in a classical Christian school. It sounds very interesting. Can a kid jump in at any point, or do you really have to start early to get the benefit of the classical trivium?
How do they handle science education? I have to confess that my biggest hangup about traditional Christian schools is that often seem to promote a warfare thesis concerning faith and science.
Posted by: dopderbeck | February 13, 2007 at 09:53
re: kids jumping in late
Absolutely. One of mine jumped in as an 8th grader. She is doing fine. Yours would too, I bet.
All things being equal, it is better to start early and get those kids engaged in Latin, reading the classics, learning how to write, exposing them grammar (particularly Latin) and heavy memorization early. But late starters can shine too ... if they are determined.
re: science education
There is nothing built into classical learning that teaches kids to hate science or view it as a threat. They are taught to love science * and * why they should love science. That is the part I like. The science is integrated into life -- and discussions about metaphysics or theology are open and welcome. This makes science far more interesting that the drivel I endured in public school.
Now, if an individual teacher has a bias against the philosophy of scientism ... that could come through in his or her lectures ... just like an anti-religious bias could come through in a public school classroom. Teachers are humans and bring their biases to class. In a classical school, you are allowed to respectively disagree and challenge thought ... as long as you are respectful about it. Dialectics are a great way to learn.
The main drawback for a small school ... from a science perspective ... is that they can be poorly funded. Unlike a government school where taxes turn into computers and lab equipment ... private schools (at least the ones that are charging under 10 grand a year) are doing the best they can on a shoestring.
That is a concern of mine.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | February 13, 2007 at 12:35
Anna,
You ask a great question about secularization. I'll dedicate a post to it.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | February 13, 2007 at 12:37
Anna,
You ask a great question about secularization. I'll dedicate a post to it.
Posted by: Mr. Dawntreader | February 13, 2007 at 12:40
Hi Jeff,
I'm curious, are you still using Sonlight with your two children who aren't at Faith Christian? (you have 4 kids, right?)
My husband and I have pretty much the same educational goals for our kids as you, only we are using Sonlight materials (and Latina Christiana). You could probably call our approach a "loose" classical model. I'm curious as to how you made the decision to move from Sonlight to classical Christian school. (hope that's not too personal a question!)
Thanks!
Posted by: Bonnie | February 14, 2007 at 13:15