NEWS FEATURE: Another kind of Christian school alternative

c. 1997 Religion News Service HARRISBURG, Pa. _ No controversial library books. No skirmishes over teaching evolution vs. creationism. No chance that birth control methods might be explained in health class. No debates over prayer’s place in the school day. These arguments for forsaking public schools for an alternative _ increasingly, for many parents, a […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

HARRISBURG, Pa. _ No controversial library books. No skirmishes over teaching evolution vs. creationism. No chance that birth control methods might be explained in health class. No debates over prayer’s place in the school day.

These arguments for forsaking public schools for an alternative _ increasingly, for many parents, a Christian alternative _ are well-known. Its a choice more and more families are making.


In many areas, however, the only alternatives are Roman Catholic parochial schools. But now a growing variety of Protestant schools are also available for parents seeking other options.

In Pennsylvania, the state department of education said some 74,000 students there attended non-Catholic, Christian schools last year.

When Betsy Adams’ family, for example, opted out of the public school system for the three children, they chose a private Protestant Christian school.”They have Bible every day,”Adams said.”And all of the teachers have the same basic faith that we have.” Her daughter, Joy Adams, who started the eighth grade at Harrisburg Christian School in early September, added,”You get to learn more about God and how to live your life _ what your morals for life should be.” Those who choose these schools, and those who run them, believe their virtue is in their viewpoint: Generally, they teach that the Bible is the inerrant word of God; that homosexuality is forbidden by Scripture; that humankind was created as the Bible _ not the theories of Charles Darwin _ describes.

Betsy Adams recalls her battles with public school teachers over evolution. At Harrisburg Christian School, one of the older Christian schools in the state, her children learn about evolution,”but they learn what’s wrong with evolution,”she said.

New to the roster is Covenant Christian Academy, a Reformed Christian school, which opened its doors for the first time Sept. 2. Its bringing yet another new twist to the Christian school option.

Housed in Trinity Presbyterian Church in America in Harrisburg, Covenant Christian Academy is part of a relatively new movement in Christian schooling drawing on teaching methods rooted in ancient Greco-Roman tradition.

It employs what is known as the”Trivium”model in which a student’s career is divided into three parts: the grammar, dialectic and rhetoric periods. In the grammar period, which includes kindergarten through fifth grade, children are taught the rudiments of education through recitation, memorization and repetition.


In the dialectic period, grades six through eight, students are taught formal logic and analysis. During rhetoric, grades nine through 12, the emphasis is on developing eloquence of thought and argument, what Covenant headmaster Christopher Perrin describes as”arguing with beauty.” Like many other Christian schools, Covenant Christian Academy _ whose credo is”Bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”a verse from 2 Corinthians _ will focus on what it considers to be basic subjects: language arts, literature, math, fine arts, history and Bible study. It also will require students to study Latin, from the third grade on.

Perrin said Covenant is unique as a Christian school in other ways, as well. It will seek to show its students the Christian perspective speaks to every discipline, and that there need be no dividing line between the spiritual and secular.

While Perrin said some Christian schools are”escapist”in nature, retreating from the wider culture and reacting against it,”We want the kids to be engaged in the culture and transform it.” Covenant Christian Academy is modeled after the Logos School, a Moscow, Idaho, school founded by Douglas Wilson, a leader in the classical Christian education movement.

Perrin, an adjunct professor of theology at nearby Messiah College, said about two dozen students are enrolled. Initially, the school is offering grades K-5. For families with one child enrolled, tuition costs $2,800.

Diane Coleman, one of the school’s three teachers and one of its founders, is sending her youngest child to the school. A speech and language therapist by training, Coleman will teach fourth and fifth grades.”Philosophically, it’s my personal belief that no subject can be studied adequately apart from the word of God,”she said.

At a third Protestant school in Harrisburg, Bible Baptist, some parents are less concerned about academics than the school’s values, according to George J. Wiedman, the school’s administrator.”We unashamedly believe that God created the universe. … We didn’t evolve, we’re not products of time plus chance,”said Wiedman.


Teachers there must be active members of an evangelical Christian church. Unmarried teachers cannot live out of wedlock with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Homosexuality is held to be a sin.

The school is affiliated with Bible Baptist Church, but most of its students attend other churches. This year, roughly 600 students are enrolled.

Heather Goodyear, now a senior at the school, is considering attending Messiah College, another Christian institution.”There are times when I wish I had more friendships with people who are unsaved _ there’s that ministry that (Christian) kids have in public schools,”she said. But Heather said she isn’t sorry her beliefs were not put to the test in a public school.”I think when I get out in the real world, I feel like my beliefs will probably be challenged enough,”she said.

MJP END CASSIDY

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