First-year school proves popular on Facebook
Academy in the running for a $500,000 award from Kohl’s Cares
August 27, 2010 Justin Vick
With just 100 students, the newly opened Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy is closing in on a $500,000 prize awarded to the 20 schools that get the most votes on Facebook.
As of Wednesday, Aug. 25, Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy received 21,466 votes, earning it the 28th highest tally in the nation. The academy was 20,130 votes shy of edging out the 20th ranked school.
Kohl’s Department Store is donating $10 million in celebration of the 10th anniversary of its Kohl’s Cares community service campaign. Once a Facebook user clicks the “like” button on the Kohl’s page, he or she gets 20 votes and the option of casting up to five per school. Voting ends Friday, Sept. 3.
The theme of the contest – “What would your school do with half a million dollars?”
Amie Weir, head administrator at Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy, said the money would go toward land and facilities to help the school increase enrollment. Currently, the 100-student academy rents facilities at Harbor Church, 433 Williamson Road.
“We opened two days ago, and we have already outgrown the facility we’re renting,” Weir told Mooresville Weekly on Tuesday, Aug. 24. “We’ve had to turn students away because we ran out of space.”
Liberty Prep’s enrollment spans kindergarten through eighth grade. Kindergarten consists of 23 students, split into two classes. Each of the other grades range from nine to 12 students. The school had to limit the size of some of the grades because the church didn’t have rooms large enough to hold more students.
So how did such a small school generate so many votes?
“It’s just word of mouth, honestly,” Weir said, noting the staff-driven effort quickly spread to parents, volunteers and church and business contacts. “Word spreads quickly through Facebook.”
Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy also traded votes with sister schools under the umbrella of the National Association of University Model Schools, a Christian group that promotes a hybrid of public, private and home schools.
The academy teaches students on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and gives parents lessons they can teach at home on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“As a parent, it’s nice knowing we had two days of school, and tomorrow, we’re going to be at home with our kids again,” Weir said Tuesday, noting her two daughters will share what they’ve learned with her so far. One started kindergarten, the other third grade.
As head administrator of the first-year school, Weir said she believes she had more butterflies going into the first day than her daughters, but she was pleased with Monday’s start.
“The kids were just so excited and happy,” Weir said. “My two daughters couldn’t stop talking about how much fun they had going there.”
Kohl’s Cares’
Facebook contest
Here’s how many votes Mooresville schools have gotten leading up to Wednesday, Aug. 25. Voting continues until Friday, Sept. 3, with the top 20 schools in the nation earning a $500,000 prize.
• Liberty Preparatory Christian Academy 21,466
• Mooresville High 455
• Pine Lake Preparatory 320
• Mooresville Middle 220
• Lake Norman High 195
• Mooresville Intermediate 172
• Shepherd Elementary 130
• East Mooresville Intermediate 117
• Rocky River Elementary 116
• Park View Elementary 113
• Brawley Middle 108
• Lakeshore Elementary 107
• Lakeshore Middle 81
• Mooresville Christian Academy 74
• Woodland Heights Elementary 66
• South Elementary 61
• Mount Mourne IB Candidate 57
• Lake Norman Elementary 46
• Coddle Creek Elementary 44
• NF Woods Advanced Technical Arts 20
Friday, August 27, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Liberty Prep in the news.
This article ran in the 1st issue of Mooresville Weekly. It was well written and points out the real strengths of Liberty Prep. http://www.libertyprepnc.com/.
The article is now available at: http://mooresvilleweekly.com/story/20100604/new-academy-blends-public-private-and-home-schools.
Friday, May 28, 2010
What the Department of Education has to say about Private Schools
From the Dept of Education website: http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/choice/schools/onpefacts.html
Parents have a fundamental right to guide the upbringing of their children, and government has an obligation to respect that right. The nonpublic school community in the United States provides parents with important options for the education of their children. Faith-based and nonsectarian private schools, along with a growing number of children who are homeschooled, account for approximately 13 percent of the school-age population in grades K-12.
The first schools in the U.S. were private schools and currently account for about 24 percent of all elementary and secondary schools, 11 percent of all students and 12 percent of all full-time teachers. Seventy-six percent of private schools have a religious affiliation, while the remaining 24 percent are nonsectarian.1 A defining characteristic of private schools is choice as families may freely choose private education and private schools generally have the freedom to choose which students to enroll. Private schools vary widely, though their governance structures and enrollment choices are similar features that all private schools share.
Parents have a fundamental right to guide the upbringing of their children, and government has an obligation to respect that right. The nonpublic school community in the United States provides parents with important options for the education of their children. Faith-based and nonsectarian private schools, along with a growing number of children who are homeschooled, account for approximately 13 percent of the school-age population in grades K-12.
The first schools in the U.S. were private schools and currently account for about 24 percent of all elementary and secondary schools, 11 percent of all students and 12 percent of all full-time teachers. Seventy-six percent of private schools have a religious affiliation, while the remaining 24 percent are nonsectarian.1 A defining characteristic of private schools is choice as families may freely choose private education and private schools generally have the freedom to choose which students to enroll. Private schools vary widely, though their governance structures and enrollment choices are similar features that all private schools share.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Is There a Problem?
Is There a Problem?
Most people agree that public schools are a bundle of problems. Even public school proponents agree and use those problems to support their own agendas.
Besides the on-going complaints about poor academic performance, grade inflation, and low expectations, there is also serious concern over such in-school issues as:
violence
physical and emotional bullying
cheating and lying
wide-spread immorality
drugs and alcohol
worldview conflicts
Of course, these problems are really symptoms of something deeper, but what is it? The unions claim it’s a lack of funding. Schools often claim it’s a lack of parental involvement. Parents feel unrepresented and sidelined. Social reformers blame poverty. Others point to poor teacher training, not enough (or too much) testing, lack of accountability, even societal factors such as television and music.
We might find these claims more credible if it weren’t for the fact that so many private schools and home schools seem to avoid the problems of public schools, and they do it with less funding, often low incomes, less teacher training, and little to no accountability to the state.
What’s the Difference?
This is important, because it will lead us to the real cause of our public school problems.
The difference is that public schools are controlled by the government and subject to all the ills of government bureaucracy and power. Private and home schools are run, in varying ways, by parents.
Private schools are dependent upon the satisfaction of parents in order to remain in business. They do not control the children in their care. Instead, families retain their authority and “hire” the schools for certain aspects of raising their children.
Government schools never sought the permission of parents to educate children. Instead, they used force to secure their audience. As is only natural, the arrogance of the state and its contempt for parents has grown with the years. So also has its power over society.
Parents give up their rights when their children cross the threshold of the public school door. This was recently made crystal clear by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
When a few parents in Palmdale, California learned that their children’s school had permitted researchers to interview first, third and fifth grade students about such things as sexual urges and fantasies, they became outraged and took the matter to court.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case and concluded that when parents place their children in a public school, they forfeit any right to determine what or how their children are taught. The school may teach anything it wishes in any way it wishes. It may allow researchers, special interests, social activists, and anyone else it chooses access to students. The court’s decision confirmed earlier court opinions.
Our society has become a slave to the state by virtue of government-controlled schools. Children suffer, parents feel helpless, and scores of good educators feel trapped in a system that never should have existed in the first place.
Most people agree that public schools are a bundle of problems. Even public school proponents agree and use those problems to support their own agendas.
Besides the on-going complaints about poor academic performance, grade inflation, and low expectations, there is also serious concern over such in-school issues as:
violence
physical and emotional bullying
cheating and lying
wide-spread immorality
drugs and alcohol
worldview conflicts
Of course, these problems are really symptoms of something deeper, but what is it? The unions claim it’s a lack of funding. Schools often claim it’s a lack of parental involvement. Parents feel unrepresented and sidelined. Social reformers blame poverty. Others point to poor teacher training, not enough (or too much) testing, lack of accountability, even societal factors such as television and music.
We might find these claims more credible if it weren’t for the fact that so many private schools and home schools seem to avoid the problems of public schools, and they do it with less funding, often low incomes, less teacher training, and little to no accountability to the state.
What’s the Difference?
This is important, because it will lead us to the real cause of our public school problems.
The difference is that public schools are controlled by the government and subject to all the ills of government bureaucracy and power. Private and home schools are run, in varying ways, by parents.
Private schools are dependent upon the satisfaction of parents in order to remain in business. They do not control the children in their care. Instead, families retain their authority and “hire” the schools for certain aspects of raising their children.
Government schools never sought the permission of parents to educate children. Instead, they used force to secure their audience. As is only natural, the arrogance of the state and its contempt for parents has grown with the years. So also has its power over society.
Parents give up their rights when their children cross the threshold of the public school door. This was recently made crystal clear by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
When a few parents in Palmdale, California learned that their children’s school had permitted researchers to interview first, third and fifth grade students about such things as sexual urges and fantasies, they became outraged and took the matter to court.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case and concluded that when parents place their children in a public school, they forfeit any right to determine what or how their children are taught. The school may teach anything it wishes in any way it wishes. It may allow researchers, special interests, social activists, and anyone else it chooses access to students. The court’s decision confirmed earlier court opinions.
Our society has become a slave to the state by virtue of government-controlled schools. Children suffer, parents feel helpless, and scores of good educators feel trapped in a system that never should have existed in the first place.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Consider This
1. There are basically two kingdoms: a kingdom of light and a kingdom of darkness. It seems strange to have those who walk in darkness educate children of light. It doesn't fit.
2. If Jesus Christ is Lord, then He is Lord of all. We cannot divide things into secular and sacred.
3. All truth is God's truth, and God's Word sheds light on our path. Only in His light can we see light. Education is not focused on possibilities but on certainties found in God's Word.
4. Deuteronomy 6 tells parents that, in all they do, they should provide a godly education 24/7.
5. Three key institutions that shape a child are the home, the church and the school. Children are served best when all three institutions point them in the same direction.
6. Only an education that has the liberty to address the whole child -- social, intellectual, emotional, physical AND spiritual -- reaches the possibility of excellence.
7. The best preparation for effective service is to be well grounded in one's mind before direct engagement of the culture.
This comes from a website that i found called www.discoverchristianschools.com
2. If Jesus Christ is Lord, then He is Lord of all. We cannot divide things into secular and sacred.
3. All truth is God's truth, and God's Word sheds light on our path. Only in His light can we see light. Education is not focused on possibilities but on certainties found in God's Word.
4. Deuteronomy 6 tells parents that, in all they do, they should provide a godly education 24/7.
5. Three key institutions that shape a child are the home, the church and the school. Children are served best when all three institutions point them in the same direction.
6. Only an education that has the liberty to address the whole child -- social, intellectual, emotional, physical AND spiritual -- reaches the possibility of excellence.
7. The best preparation for effective service is to be well grounded in one's mind before direct engagement of the culture.
This comes from a website that i found called www.discoverchristianschools.com
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Davidson Town Day
We had another great event this morning. This time in the town of Davidson. Thousands of people showed up to participate in a 5k race and stick around afterwards to wander through various vendor displays.
Liberty Prep was once again a real hit. Carmen, T, Dana, Amie, and Dana's mother Sue from Indiana were there sporting their Liberty Prep gear and passing out information.
Again, we are hearing that people are just learning about the school and LOVE IT! What we are hearing most is that they are impressed by the low cost, the University Model (www.naums.com) , and how organized and professional everything is.
Amie estimates that about 20 families from today's event will want to look further.
Thanks to those who helped out and who came by to show support.
Liberty Prep was once again a real hit. Carmen, T, Dana, Amie, and Dana's mother Sue from Indiana were there sporting their Liberty Prep gear and passing out information.
Again, we are hearing that people are just learning about the school and LOVE IT! What we are hearing most is that they are impressed by the low cost, the University Model (www.naums.com) , and how organized and professional everything is.
Amie estimates that about 20 families from today's event will want to look further.
Thanks to those who helped out and who came by to show support.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Harsh Truth About Public Schools
Following is a review of a book that i found to be very helpful in understanding the educational climate that exists in our Government Schools today. it is available at: http://www.amazon.com/Harsh-Truth-About-Public-Schools/dp/1891375237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271696194&sr=8-1
THE HARSH TRUTH ABOUT PUBLIC SCHOOLS
BY BRUCE N. SHORTT, FOREWORD BY T.C. PINCKNEY,
PUBLISHED BY THE CHALCEDON FOUNDATION
The Indispensable Book for Convincing Christians Why No Child Should be Left Behind in Government Schools
If you are a Christian school teacher or administrator or a homeschool parent, you have heard all the excuses and evasions Christian parents give for educating their children in the aggressively anti-Christian public schools: “But our school is different,” “Our child is salt and light,” “Our public school has some Christian teachers and administrators,” “We can’t just withdraw from the culture,” “Christian education is too expensive,” and so on.
Bruce Shortt’s The Harsh Truth About Public Schools not only explodes these feckless rationalizations for rendering Christian children unto Caesar, it also synthesizes a vast amount of research conclusively demonstrating that government schools are indeed profoundly harming our children spiritually, morally, and intellectually.
What are others saying about The Harsh Truth About Public Schools? Here is a sample:
This book presents an idea whose time has come. Modern public education in America has too often degenerated into indoctrination in secular humanism. This book suggests the solution to the problem.
--D. James Kennedy, Senior Pastor, Coral Ridge Ministries
Bruce Shortt shows why the public schools are increasingly no longer suitable for Christian children--and why they are not likely to be reformed, owing to the teachers' unions and other secularist influences. We should stop treating the public schools as ends in themselves that always have to be "preserved." They are means, not ends; and when we discover that they no longer work, we should try something else. The book is quite readable and I hope it will find the audience it deserves. The subject matter is vast; yet it covers much of the salient material in ways which ought to open some eyes.
--Kenneth D. Whitehead, former Assistant Secretary of Education for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Everyone truly interested in our children, our homes, and the future of our beloved America should read and study this book.
--Chaplain (Col.) E.H. Jim Ammerman, U.S. Army Retired, Endorser for over 500 Chaplains, representative to the U.S. Military for over 15 million independent church members
It is sad that the condition documented in this book actually exists in a nation founded on the principles of religious liberty, but it is even more sorrowful to know that, short of a miracle, the very Christian parents and other Christian leaders who need to read this book the most will probably pass it by. For those, however, with courage and a desire to know the truth this monograph will be an incredible blessing. --Paige Patterson, President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bruce Shortt clearly and forcefully sets forth overwhelming evidence of the anti-Christian bias in parts of our public school system. This book is a must read for anyone concerned with the future of the United States. -- Judge Paul Pressler
Harsh truths with enough humor to make it a fun read. Presenting this compelling book in discrete chunks made it easy to start anywhere.
-- Marshall Fritz, President, Alliance for Separation of School & State, Founder, GetTheKidsOut.org
If you are a Christian school educator, The Harsh Truth About Public Schools can help your school retain students, recruit new students, and reinvigorate your staff’s enthusiasm for Christian education. If you are a homeschool curriculum provider, this book will help the families you support stay the course and become evangelists for Christian education.
Bruce Shortt, the author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools, is a graduate of Harvard Law School, has a Ph.D. from Stanford University, was a Fulbright Scholar, serves on the board of directors of Exodus Mandate, and is a homeschooling father. Mr. Shortt and T.C. Pinckney were co-sponsors of the Christian Education Resolution that was submitted for consideration at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
YMCA 5k
Yesterday was the YMCA Mooresville, NC 5k run and kids fun run. There were approximately 6000 people who came out to cheer the runners and walk through the various vendor displays. Liberty Prep was well represented with an end display and 2 large banners proclaiming their presense in the Mooresville Christian School community.
Amie, Doug, T, Leslyn, Kelly, Carmen, and Robin were there sporting new Liberty Prep apparal and answering questions and passing out literature.
Many folks stopped by to find out more details and a few teachers stopped by to check out employment opportunities.
The most common response from 1st timers was something similar to "Wow, this is an answer to prayer!" or "this is the best of both homeschool and private Christian school" or "this school will cost about 1/2 of what we expect to pay for Private Christian School in the area".
Needless to say, the community is buzzing around the introduction of the University Model School www.naums.com located at 433 Williamson rd., Mooresville, NC 28117.
View Larger Map
Amie, Doug, T, Leslyn, Kelly, Carmen, and Robin were there sporting new Liberty Prep apparal and answering questions and passing out literature.
Many folks stopped by to find out more details and a few teachers stopped by to check out employment opportunities.
The most common response from 1st timers was something similar to "Wow, this is an answer to prayer!" or "this is the best of both homeschool and private Christian school" or "this school will cost about 1/2 of what we expect to pay for Private Christian School in the area".
Needless to say, the community is buzzing around the introduction of the University Model School www.naums.com located at 433 Williamson rd., Mooresville, NC 28117.
View Larger Map
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