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Several important items every family should know.

Exercising the freedoms provided private schools by the state of South Carolina, Lake Pointe has aims, approaches, and attitudes that can be very different from other forms of education. Many families are surprised by one or more of the following, which is why we share them with you.

An educational ministry, operating a diploma-issuing academy, certainly entails certain aspects and expectations of a "school." People expecting Lake Pointe to "only be" a school or to make decsions based solely on narrow academic or business-related values are often surprised, and sometimes frustrated. As a family-supporting, educational ministry, Lake Pointe must be...

  • In submission to Jesuse Christ, Our Savior
     
  • Sensitive to the needs of families, especially those joining in like-mindedness to the set program
     
  • More than a school
     
  • Not a church
     
  • Supporters and encouragers of the local congregations
     
  • Free to make decisions that the Board feels are Spirit-led, wise, and best for the short-term and long-term
     
  • Practicers of love, truthfulness, and humility as a community
     
  • Builders and encouragers of professing believers, not manipulators, gossipers, or those who tear down others

The heart of the University Model's format is its unique "shared campus" approach to class meetings. In effect, LPA has two divisions, which meet on alernate days. This efficiency saves space and money.

  • Secondary grade classes, grades 7-12 meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
     
  • Elementary grade classes, grades K5-6 meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Elementary and middle grade level classes are taught at the "gifted and talented" level.

High School credit courses are taught at the Honors level and carry the Honors distinction and the additional GPA points.

When something doesn't fit an obvious mold, as logically-gifted creatures, we seek to explain that entity using categetories that we do know. Jesus taught by example and analogy, saying things such as, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed..."

And so, since Lake Pointe has a vital parent role and at-home component, many have said, "Lake Pointe is like a 'school for home schoolers," or "it's like a home school co-operative."

These statements and descriptions are understandable, but they are often incomplete and can be very misleading in a number of ways. A better way to understand the academy is to view Lake Pointe as "a private school that, as a parent-supporting family ministry, offers home school students liberal opportunities to supplement their home education by participating in one or more classes and school-related activities."

We want families to understand the differences, so that they will avoid frustrations caused by unmet expectations. Below are some of the distinctions in home education-related topics:

Diploma-issuing
Following curriculum and standards
Assignment deadlines
Schedules of classes
Responsibility to state agencies
Maintenance of records

Students and parents coming from other forms of education are often surprised that Lake Pointe's advanced curriculum and schedule truly assume that the student and family are serious about learning. American culture has taught us that education should be easy and that families should be able to remove their attention for other activities or trips and then resume where they left off the previous week.

LPA's program can be compared to a river. While it's not an overly fast river, it is continous. Someone who ties up along the bank too often soon finds that the paddling to catch up can be tiring or even not enough. In that respect, the pacing prepares a student for college, since falling behind for social and other reasons in their first semester is a significant reason for why so many college freshmen fail or drop out of the university.

Sometimes, families fall behind the pacing and then declare LPA is too demanding, when the real culprit is cutting corners at home, not paying attention in class, etc. An average family with average students can be successful, if they are committed to keep up with the pacing and schedule. 

Lake Pointe takes numerous full-week breaks to allow rest and flexibility, seeking to teach this maxim: "when we work, we work -- and when we play, we play."

People often assume that challenging schools are only for the academically talented. That is not Lake Pointe's goal or heart. The plain and simple truth is that Lake Pointe is a place of learning for those who want to learn.

The average student can certainly succeed at Lake Pointe, if he or she has a desire to learn and with appropriate parent encouragement, tutoring, and support.

Even the below-average student can succeed if both the desire and parent support are increased.

Surprising to most people, the above-average student can flounder and fail if he or she does not want to learn or to work.

Desire and attitude cannot be discounted.

We celebrate this desire, attitude, and perseverence, despite obstacles in athletics all the time, cheering for the "Cinderella" underdog team or player, because they want to compete and the desire to win. It's why we resonate with sports movies, such as "Hoosiers," "Rudy," "The Rookie," "Facing the Giants," "Glory Road," and "The Mighty Macs." For more on this, see "Myth: Lake Pointe is too difficult."

Christian.
Christian church.
Christian teachings.
Christian School.

Maybe.

Not all that is done in the Name of Christ is according to Jesus' teaching or commands.

Lake Pointe is certainly not perfect, composed as it is of imperfect "sheep" who depend upon their "Shepherd" for the forgiveness of their many sins and for their ultimate salvation. So, a desire to be perfecting ourselves is not a claim to perfection. Rather, it is a desire to take seriously the Call of Christ and a desire to avoid diminishing that radical Call by making it more open to humanistic thinking and human achievement.

Icing is shallow. A glaze is superficial.

Rather than take a secular education and an American "be nice" culture and attempt to put "chocolate icing" on top to give the appearance of a chocolate cake, Lake Pointe seeks to work from the inside out, calling members of our community to love and to submit to King Jesus in a way that oozes chocolate from the inside out.

Public schools seek to offer "something for everyone," and the resulting efforts include multiple levels of academic rigor, course tracks for the college-bound or tech-minded, and even different "majors" of emphasis. Many private schools follow suit in many ways. Incredibly, home educators actually choose from an even wider and ever-widening array of options.

Lake Pointe differs in this regard, choosing to operate upon a simple, but thorough structure of core subjects and strategic electives. These are intentionally chosen to provide a deep, liberal-arts oriented education through high school. Students engage all core subjects through the end of high school, because a quality high school education should include depth in upper level English language, history, math, and science studies. Electives, as the state defines non-core subjects, are selected to meet college entrance requirements -- plus to include the Christian and classical studies that make LPA's curriculum unique.

The end goal of the curriculum is a diploma that represents a well-rounded education for a follower of Jesus. If the student continues on to university, he or she is solidly prepared. If the student chooses not to attend college, then the LPA studies afford him or her a worthy high school education, and the option to attend a college in the future if desires and plans change.

For more questions, click here.