The CCS

Patriot
Issue 1 - Why the Principle Approach?

October 2005

This past November, the board and administration of Community Christian School determined that God was leading us to add a high school beginning with 9^th grade in the fall of 2007. This newsletter is devoted to sharing information with parents to keep you informed of the direction we are taking and why we are so passionate about a Christian High School. We chose the name “Patriot” because it reflects upon the goals and ideals that we have for the students and families that elect to attend the high school. Our founding fathers were men and women of remarkable Christian character. We desire to assist parents in raising up another generation of Christian leaders who understand the world in which they live and are fully equipped to engage the culture and reclaim our nation for God. We believe that children are a gift from God, and that the education of children is the sole right and responsibility of parents. We humbly ask that you read these newsletters and prayerfully consider the educational options that God has made available to you. Thank You.

CCS Board and Administration

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion…Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

John Adams Oct. 11, 1798

Noah Webster, the Father of American Christian Education, stated; “The education of youth is an employment of more consequence than making laws and preaching the Gospel, because it lays the foundation on which both the law and Gospel rest for success.” Not many people today would agree with that statement, mainly because what we understand as education today is far different than what the people of Noah Webster’s day had in their homes and schools. This first issue of the “CCS Patriot” is devoted to giving you a taste of that type of education and the glorious results it had in the early days of our republic and is still having today.

The Principle Approach is the model of education that produced the great thinkers of our colonial and early years as a nation. It was the educational system that catapulted the United States to the forefront as a world power and prompted other nations to come to us in order to learn how to educate their own citizens. It was not uncommon for students to enter college at the age of 14 or 15 when the academic standards were far greater than they are now. It was this type of education that helped shape and develop the character of a nation that was established on the Word of God. It is the type of education that is our best hope to reclaim this nation for God and return it to the Godly principles on which it was established.

The Father of our Country, George Washington, was the product of this type of education. Although a brilliant man of tremendous Christian character, he should not be considered an abnormality when it comes to his education and Godly wisdom. Our nation was full of men and women cut from this same mold. They were the products of Christian parenting and a distinctive educational approach that attained unparalleled results. The result was a society that could function and prosper under a system of government that placed strict limits on power at the federal level. The people in that day were not governed first by the government. They were self-governed according to the principles set forth in Scripture. They understood their God-given rights and were able to think and reason from what we would call today a Biblical or Christian worldview. This type of thinking and reasoning gave birth to our nation, a nation that was established by Godly people to govern Godly people. Look again at the quote by John Adams at the top of this newsletter. The writings of our founding fathers testify to the fact that they believed that we would maintain our Christian heritage and continue to live according to the Bible. If we failed to do that, they feared that our system of government would not be able to successfully contend with the chaos that would result. Am I alone in believing that we are seeing their fears come true?

There is hope. God always provides a way for His people to return to Him. A number of schools across the country are rediscovering the rich blessings of the Principle Approach. One such school is StoneBridge School in Chesapeake, Virginia. The following is an excerpt from the booklet entitled, “The Case for the Principle Approach.”¹

· Biblical Worldview test results are well above those of Christian students attending public schools or traditional Christian schools.

· Seniors have a 5-year SAT average of 1210, well above the national average of 1013.

· The 2000 graduating class of 13 students was offered $749,800 worth of merit-based scholarships; similar awards are made each year.

· Sixteen percent of the alumni have earned designation as national Merit Scholars; Merit Scholars are the 4-5% of juniors nationally who obtain the highest score on the PSAT.

· The student body collectively scores on average in the top 25% of their peers nationally on the Stanford Achievement Test.

· On a test of parent satisfaction, StoneBridge parents gave the faculty and school outstanding ratings. For example, in the area of “providing a Biblical basis for each subject,” parents gave a rating of 4.8 out of 5!

These are not isolated examples from just one outstanding school. These are the kind of results that one would expect from an educational approach that places God at the center of all learning and is calling them up to a higher standard of excellence in knowledge and character. It is a proven educational approach. If you doubt the results, do some research on your own about the quality of education achieved in our formative years as a nation. You will be amazed.

Future editions of the “CCS Patriot” will be devoted to explaining the need for the type of students that this educational philosophy produces as well as giving some more details on just what makes the Principle Approach distinctive from both the public school and “traditional” Christian schools.

In closing, we don’t ask for a blind endorsement of what we are doing, but rather we ask that you carefully research the educational choices you have as a parent. Look carefully at each option. Ask yourself what you want your child’s education to accomplish. Ask yourself what is the purpose of my child’s education. Ask yourself which school is producing the kind of results that you want to see in your child. You are ultimately responsible for the education that your child receives. Be sure to carefully consider the options that God has made available to you.

Steve Masseth

Assistant Administrator

Community Christian School

1. Max Lyons, The Case for the Principle Approach,(Chesapeake, VA: StoneBridge School, 2002)