About

Amazing Grace Academy

Our Staff

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Mrs. Cathy Skelton

Office Administrator
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Mrs. Christian Ott

Primary Grammar Teacher & Headmaster
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Mrs. Jessica Perttula

Para-Educator & PE Teacher
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Ms. Pat Pires

Logic Teacher
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Mr. Robert Davis

Grammar School Teacher
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Miss Kaleigh Bowman

Preschool Teacher
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Mrs. Jenet Emberlin

After School Facilitator

Academy Motto

Connecting students to timeless Truth while growing in Virtue to Serve others.

Truth

Students will be immersed in an environment where the timelessness of truth found in the Scriptures (Holy Bible), coupled with the wisdom from the ages, form the foundation for learning to flourish.

Virtue

A virtuous, strong moral character will be encouraged and modeled as the way to navigate life within a Christian worldview.

Service

Serving others becomes a natural outworking of a learning ethos where students discover themselves within the plan of God.

A Classical, Christ-Centered Approach

What is meant by a Classical Christian School? First, keeping Christ at the center of all we do at Amazing Grace Academy will be a primary focus.

Amazing Grace Academy will actively:

Teach all subjects as an integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center. We do this because we believe:

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work,"

II Timothy 3:16-17
Provide a clear model of the Christian life through our staff. We do this because we believe:
“....let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 6:16
Encourage every student to develop their relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We do this because we believe:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20

Classical

The Trivium is a three-stage educational process involving grammar, dialectic (logic), and rhetoric. These three phases happen to be in accordance with the God-given stages of a child’s learning development. The Classical approach is intended to teach students the proper use of the tools of learning.

In all its levels, programs, and teaching, Amazing Grace Academy:

Emphasize grammar, dialectic (logic), and rhetoric in all subjects.
Encourage every student to develop a love for learning and to live up to their academic potential.
Provide an orderly atmosphere conducive to the attainment of the above goals.

Definitions

Trivium
Latin for “three roads” or a place where three roads meet. The trivium is the combined teaching of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. In the Middle Ages, the trivium was the lower division of the seven liberal arts. Note: it is not enough to just practice the trivium, it must be measured by truth, goodness, and beauty (Aristotle’s natural categories). Knowledge exclusively for one’s own purposes is a failure on behalf of a classical school; therefore, the ultimate goal is to lead the child in knowledge and understanding in order to gain wisdom and virtue.
Grammar
The fundamental facts and rules of each subject. The art of memorizing facts trains the brain to hold information. This goes hand in hand with the way people naturally learn. In order for the brain to use critical thinking skills, it needs to be able to compare our experiences to something.
Rhetoric
How the grammar and logic of each subject may be clearly expressed or the ability to take the language understood and teach it to others (Bortins, pg. 36). The Rhetorical classroom is largely based on a Socratic Method of discourse and debate. The teacher will pose questions and leave the discussion to the students based upon their prior knowledge and help lead the discussion. This method is not based on lecture, but on the Socratic style of questioning. “Rhetoricians write essays, present hypothesis, lead discussions with others and act on the knowledge they have gained” (Bortins, pg. 35).

Dialectic / and or Logic

Logic is defined as the ordered relationship of particulars in each subject. Eventually, a child who has learned information wants to learn why they must learn the terminology and what to do with the terminology they have learned. This curiosity naturally leads into dialectic and rhetoric. Logic can also be discussions with the purpose to discern truth (pg. 36 Bortins, The Core). As children progress into grades 7-12, their natural inclination is to argue and talk back; using this inclination to one’s advantage, students are taught to converse logically and considerately. Students learn to discover the difference between expressing an opinion and developing a logical conclusion through reasoning skills (Bortins, pg. 71).

Philosophy

We Believe
We believe the purpose of education is to discover more about God, our Creator, and to share Him with the world. We accomplish this through the integration of the Trivium. Through the trivium, we incorporate God and Scripture as the catalyst to steer students toward truth and beauty.
We Seek
We seek to challenge students of all ability levels, cultivating the art of wisdom through knowledge and understanding, and teaching students how to think, and how to learn in a loving community setting. We believe that if a child is taught well, he or she, “will come to love both the process of learning and the knowledge itself” (Wilson, pg. 77).
We Believe

We believe that God’s Character is revealed not only through His Word but in every facet of creation. Therefore, we teach that all knowledge we discover and study is interrelated and instructs us about God Himself. Learning grammar, math, science, world geography, fine arts, Latin and history, etc. instruct us about God.

“Because truth is truth however learned, it is possible to teach students to balance their checkbooks without any reference to God. But this is not education; it is merely mental dexterity. Students are not being taught to think thoroughly. They are merely being trained to function in a particular way. When a student is taught to think, he or she will relate what is learned in one class to the information offered in another. But students can only do this when they have an integrating principle. -something that will tie all the subjects together”

- Douglas Wilson, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning

We Believe
We believe that the family is a unit where decisions about education and the training of children are made; therefore, we uphold and value our families with the upmost respect and dignity and seek to cultivate relationship and community. We are preparing students to have their own families and helping them to become wonderful communicators and loving, productive members of society. This is accomplished by using high standards of conduct and the belief that, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).