Tidings “The State of Lexington Christian Academy” From Mr. Mark Sisk, Head of School
JUNE 2018
Dear LCA Family and Friends,
Mr. Mark D. Sisk Head of School
Welcome to the first edition of a new LCA publication – our hope is that these good Tidings will bring you great joy. Our plan is to publish this near the beginning, middle and end of each school year, with an occasional special edition thrown in. Since the end of classes is already here, we are focusing this inaugural issue on celebrating an outstanding year of growth and accomplishment. Towards the fall, we will deliver an academic report card on the school, keeping you informed on our progress and pointing out areas where we need to get better. At the beginning of the next calendar year, we will provide a state of the school update, with a particular focus on our finances. So sit back and join this celebration of the great work God is doing at Lexington Christian Academy. If you have comments or suggestions for future Tidings, please pass them along to Tidings@lexingtonchristian.org.
Jesus said unto him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
Looking Back on the 2017-18 School Year There is an ancient saying that time is like a river – one cannot step twice into the same river. While that is true, another analogy seems more appropriate as I get older and that is time is like a huge lake and I am in a boat rowing away from shore. The further I go, the more I see and the better my perspective (though I still cannot fully see where I am going!). When we are looking back on this 2017/18 school year decades from now, we will rejoice in many great things that have happened but for the moment, let us zero-in on those biggest events likely to stand the test of time.
This year will undoubtedly be remembered for excellence both academically and in co-curricular activities. Six Governor’s Scholars Program participants, two Governor’s School for the Arts selections, two National Merit Finalists, and seven seniors accepting full-tuition scholarships is just a sampling of our amazing educational achievements. State, regional and All-A championships in many sports including golf, basketball, football, etc. produced athletic scholarships to one-eighth of our senior class! Moreover, our Sixth Grade Robotics team was runner-up in the state and chosen to participate in the Lego World Championships in April. While these are a few measures of excellence, perhaps the most profound occurrence might be the Board approving a new policy to extend accommodations to more students challenged with learning difficulties. Would it not be awesome to one day have the resources to give a top-notch Christian education to every child in our families across the educational spectrum? Read ahead to learn more about LCA’s new Student Support Services initiative.
The 106 LCA graduates this year received over $9.8 million in merit-based four-year college scholarships? That’s an average of nearly $100,000 per student!
Looking Back (continued) Visitors to LCA often remark about our amazing facilities. People are surprised when they learn that the Rose Campus is nearly twenty years old, a constant testament to our Father’s incredible provision. We have just started construction on the Sixth Grade Academy, providing a unique way for our kids to transition from elementary levels to the extra freedom offered in Junior High. These self-contained classrooms will open up a world of imagination with innovations like Makerspace, a dedicated co-lab, and an elective wheel to give them a taste of diverse areas of study like world languages, personal finance, music, etc. We are especially excited about a new class, Shaped to Serve, which explores the unique talents and passions of each child, then connects them with ways God intends for those gifts to be used in service to Him and others. Topping it all off, this course will be taught by our new Spiritual Life Director, giving him the chance to know personally every student in class. This monumental addition for this pivotal age group will complete our long-time plan to have full-time chaplaincy across every grade level – no other Christian school has made such a commitment! And the fruit of these labors is already evident with many students from elementary to high school having made professions of faith this year. Never question the impact we are making on the next generation at LCA!
Coincident with the summer construction will be enhancements and renovation to our Immanuel Campus. We are finally able to combine two remarkable primary schools into one holistic entity covering Preschool through Fifth Grade, truly merging the best of both worlds. Our school is incredibly blessed to have IBC for such a wonderful church partner, enabling us to bring Christ-centered instruction to far more young people than we could on our own. We made substantial investment in campus-wide security access as well as devoting extra safety personnel to watch over both campuses. LCA was one of the first private schools in Kentucky to have a dedicated school resource officer and we hope to find ways to expand this in the near future.
Looking Back (continued) A treasured maxim at Lexington Christian Academy is that teachers are the living curriculum. Though much overused today, the phrase ‘awesome’ is still the best way to describe how the Lord continually brings to us amazing people. From seasoned veterans to new instructors, staff and administrators, God has actively provided us with the right people at the right time. We must do all we can to help and retain these servants, and to that end, we recently established our first endowment specifically targeted toward teacher compensation. It may take a while for this to grow, but He who started this good work will be faithful to complete it.
One of the best memories created this year came from the Faith, Family, Freedom Annual Fund Dinner with Lt. Colonel Oliver North. Hundreds gathered that evening for a time of reflection on our blessings and renewal to our mission – to glorify Christ through educational ministry. For this night, we all came together as a family and following this great patriot’s example, sacrificially gave towards our future as a school. While we are not perfect and face many challenges, our loving heavenly Father has promised that where He leads us, He will protect and provide. We are entering our 30th year and with His help, the best is still ahead. To Him be the glory!
Lexington Christian Academy Class of 2018
Grading Scale Advisory Group LCA has formed an advisory group to examine our grading scale and the related weighting of honors courses. Lori Graham, a parent, teacher and Chair of the Education Committee, will lead this team to examine our current system and how it compares to other area schools, as well as our benchmark Christian schools around the country. After compiling and analyzing the data, they will hold a forum where interested parties can review the findings. Ultimately, any suggested changes will go with a recommended implementation plan to the Board. Other members of the group are:
Eryn Baldwin, High School Teacher Amber Cook, Parent Cate Crosbie, Student Government President Jennifer Fouch, Parent LeAnna Hensley, Parent/Elementary Counselor Lisa Meadows, Parent/Junior High Teacher Aaron Merz, Parent/High School Teacher Jamie Meurer, Parent Chris Ray, Junior High Teacher Kehla Vance, College Counselor Gary Wortz, Parent
Should you have any information for use by the group, please send that to LCAGradingScale@lexingtonchristian.org.
Spiritual Identity Survey Last month, we conducted our first Spiritual Identity Survey, with responses from about two-thirds of our faculty & staff, over five hundred parents, and approximately ninety percent of our students. The survey was developed last year by our accreditation agency (AdvancED) and thus comparable benchmark figures are not yet available. Nevertheless, the raw scores were as follows:
LOWEST
HIGHEST
These summary scores are somewhat improved from last spring and once again show the highest ratings in the elementary grades (note the difference in scales). While each constituent group ranked above average, there is still much room for improvement to show the excellence God requires of us. Each survey contained dozens of questions and comments – these are being evaluated by administrators at each school/campus with a specific action plan being generated. Our desire is to utilize this data to prioritize those areas most needing development with a goal of delighting every family and employee connected to LCA.
Safe from What? Recent shootings in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas remind us why safety is the top priority for many parents when selecting a school. According to a recent USA Today article, kids are about ten times as likely to be killed walking or riding their bikes to school as they are from a shooting once there. While there cannot be one hundred percent protection against a determined assailant, there is no excuse for being unprepared or not taking every reasonable step to minimize the possibility of this peril for our children. Perhaps a greater danger lies in letting the physical protection of our students cause us to turn our eyes away from other even deadlier risks. When choosing education, parents must keep kids: Safe from Group-Think. Some believe it takes a village to raise a child, but God entrusted children to parents and ultimately, they are responsible. When placed under the tutelage of a secular humanist, they will likely adopt much of that distorted worldview. When God and prayer were kicked out of schools, is it any wonder that weapons and drugs rushed in to fill the void? The world preaches a pseudo-knowledge born from a pop-culture that says what is right is wrong and vice versa. They want you to believe that science is supreme and biblical teaching is outdated and irrelevant. Do not compromise and buy into those lies, which will dissipate like vapor when the next trend comes along. Safe from Fear. Knowledgeable Wall Street analysts will tell you one of the worst things for stock prices is fear, uncertainty and doubt. Fear immobilizes and depresses, and when it inhabits the classrooms, educational achievement drops dramatically. Focusing on the headlines and evening news could make any parent apprehensive about sending their kids off to school. But thankfully Christ has provided abundant life that lets us transcend the worries of this earthly existence. Because our eternal destiny is secured through what Jesus has already done for us, we do not have a spirit of fear. Do not let the world, the flesh or the devil rob you and your family of joy.
By all means, put your children where they are as safe as can be, but not in an environment that peddles hatred, divisiveness, and terror.
Looking Ahead
Two thousand years ago, Pilate asked this of Jesus, and the question is still relevant today. As an institute of learning, truth is vital to everything we stand for at Lexington Christian Academy and undergirds every action we take, every word we speak and every thought we think. Almost thirty years ago, LCA’s founding parents came together united around the knowledge that Christ’s claim to be the Way, the Truth and the Life was more than just beautiful prose. The pace of secularization over the last three decades has exceeded even the worst fears of our founders, thus reaffirming the importance of taking a stand on unchanging truth. In this post-modern society biased against traditional values and beliefs, it is more essential than ever that we educate our children to thrive in the abundant life only Jesus gives. We must ensure that they excel in academic and co-curricular endeavors but more importantly, that they know how to think and discern truth based on God’s standard. To empower our dedicated faculty & staff to thoroughly incorporate a scriptural worldview into every aspect of our curriculum, LCA is undertaking a 36-month professional development initiative with one of America’s most transformational educators. Dr. Annie Gallagher will be working with the Board, administrators and teachers to create a systematic approach that will cultivate Christ-centered instruction in every class. This is our opportunity to be a generation that answers the call by remaining steadfast in our convictions by partnering with our Lord to help LCA deliver the most distinctive Christian education in the world. The truth is, we are producing some amazing graduates but the best is yet to come!
Student Support Services Academic success is defined differently for every student. For some students, they need additional support or strategies in order to be successful in the classroom. LCA is proud to announce the “Student Support Services” program which is designed to assist students in need of intervention in area(s) of reading, mathematics, written expression, and/or attending difficulties. The Student Support Services program is an expansion of LCA’s elementary reading and math intervention programs. This spring, LCA’s Board of Directors approved expanding the intervention program so that we can now serve children from elementary through high school. The goal of the program is to help students develop academic skills and apply instructional strategies to become independent, life-long learners. Highly trained learning specialists (interventionists) work with small groups of students with similar academic needs to capitalize on students’ strengths while helping them to improve in academic areas. Students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors collaborate with the learning specialist in a team approach to create a student academic plan with measurable goals and objectives that is highly individualized and designed to promote student success and independence. Examples of allowable accommodations include: time and a half for assessments, reader, use of assistive technology, alternative testing environment, note taking guide and/or movement breaks. To learn more about LCA’s Student Support Services, please contact the admissions office at (859) 422-5733 or admissions@lexingtonchristian.org.
Tidings A Publication of Lexington Christian Academy 450 West Reynolds Road Lexington, Kentucky 40503 (859) 422-5700 www.lexingtonchristian.org