Executive Summary. Christian Heritage School. Mr. Doug Carr, Headmaster 2715 FM 1844 Longview, TX

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1 Mr. Doug Carr, Headmaster 2715 FM 1844 Longview, TX Document Generated On March 4, 2014

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 6

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. <br><br> The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Almost 20 years ago, of Longview was established by a local pastor and several like-minded families who shared a vision for reclaiming the excellence of a classic American education. Through prayer, sacrifice and God's generous blessings the school has matured into a safe, productive environment realizing all that is good about Christian education. Today, is an independent, K -12, classical Christian school with a student population of nearly 250 and growing. The school operates debt-free on a modern campus situated on 10 acres in north Longview. Longview is located in east Texas amongst rolling hills, lakes, and pine forests, in an area known as the "Piney Woods" of East Texas. The city's population is approximately 80,000. Longview is also the home of LeTourneau University, a comprehensive Christian university, and there are several community colleges and regional state universities within driving distance. is one of several private schools in the Longview area. is not tied to any one church. In fact, over 30 churches and a variety of denominations are represented by the current school families. The unifying factor of is the like mindedness of its stakeholders in the value of Christian education and high academic standards. Admission requirements dictate that at least one parent be actively involved in a church. This commonality is integral to the identity of where the partnership with the parents in the Christian education of their children is such a strong component. The school has grown modestly but fairly consistently over the past ten years, with an average 7% growth rate annually. The student population is approximately 95% Caucasian, with the remaining 5% primarily Asian and Hispanic. There is a strong interest in increasing the diversity of the student population, but with limited scholarship resources, recruitment among minority communities has not been pursued. However, there is a healthy distribution of economic diversity in the CHS community. Many families make significant sacrifices within limited budgets to send their children to CHS, but there is also a fair representation of families who are able to contribute to the school above the tuition fees. A high priority is placed on keeping tuition costs as low as possible to make the school available to more families. Christian Heritage has faced its challenges in the past several years. The school has experienced repeated administrative changes in Principal or Headmaster over the past seven years. These experiences motivated the Board to take very deliberate steps to clearly define the mission and vision of the school so that the purpose and direction of the school could be accurately communicated to potential leadership candidates. These were years of transition that were difficult, but the school weathered it well. We continued to see enrollment growth and strong academic achievement during those years. This led the Board to move to a temporary leadership model with two Heads of Schools, and we are now beginning to see renewed confidence in school leadership as our two Heads of School have remained for two and four years in their current positions at CHS. Page 2

5 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Mission Statement: The mission of, working together with the home, is to provide excellence in classical, Christ-centered education, in order to develop within each student the ability to reason biblically, while encouraging a desire to savor God and to serve both God and man. FIVE POINT VISION 1. To Develop Students with True Godly Character 2. To Educate Students with a Functional Christian Worldview 3. To Train Students to become Effective Christ-like Leaders 4. To Equip Students to fulfill their God-given Calling 5. To Instill in each Student a Love of Learning CHS seeks to accomplish its mission and vision by providing a challenging classical Christian curriculum which integrates the Bible in all facets of the curriculum, and which is college preparatory in scope. Students are offered an education that is both classical and Christian. It is classical in that it draws deeply upon the rich heritage of Western civilization and culture; it is Christian in that it recognizes the Bible as the final authority in matters of life and thought. Students are encouraged to develop and articulate a worldview that integrates Christian faith with all areas of learning. These traditional ideas result in a curriculum that is rigorous and demanding. The emphasis on mastering the verbal arts combined with small class size requires all students to engage in class discussions and to become proficient in public presentations. Teachers require that students work toward answers rather than providing answers for them. This develops in students the ability to both ask good questions and to know how to find the answers on their own. These methods peak during required formal rhetorical presentations in the senior year. The senior thesis presentation is given in front of peers, faculty, and parents, and must be defended. This purposeful rigor provides the skills necessary for students, not only to respond to culture in a persuasive and winsome manner, but also to actively influence it. It is the hope and prayer that this education will further God's Kingdom by transforming culture to His glory. Objective: CHS is an independent classical Christian school which works to achieve an active partnership between home, church, and school to establish a firm academic and spiritual foundation in each student. The school strives to develop in each student a devotion to Christ, consistent self-government, a lifelong love of learning, and a responsive conscience in order to prepare them to fulfill their God-given roles in the church and in society. CHS recognizes that God has established spheres of earthly authority including the family. He has entrusted specifically to parents the responsibility to educate their children. (Deut. 6:4-9, Eph. 6:4). Therefore, CHS is established to operate as an extension of the family to cooperatively assist parents to carry out their God-given educational duty ("in loco parentis"-in the place of the parent) by providing the particular type of Christian education outlined in these Bylaws. [By Laws of, Article II, Objectives] Page 3

6 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. Perhaps one of the strongest areas of recent improvement for CHS over the past three years has evolved from one of its greatest challenges, as is often the case. CHS experienced a number of years of administrative turnover. However, the stability of leadership under the Head of Grammar and Logic Schools for the past four years and the Head of Rhetoric School for the past two years has led to a sense of stability and confidence in school leadership. Not only has confidence in school leadership increased, but important needs have been met: curriculum in all subject areas has been completed, and an effective structure is in place for teacher training and evaluation and for new teacher mentorship. The Board of Trustees has been able to pull back from involvement in school operations and has been able to focus on strategic planning, facility needs, and the development of the new Board Policy Manual. The relationship between the Board and the administrative leadership is healthy and mutually supportive. CHS continues to grow in reputation within our community as a school with high academic rigor. Within the past three years, CHS has had a National Merit Finalist, and 3 Commended students. This past year, 9 of our Rhetoric students advanced to the TAPPS State Academic/Speech competition in Austin, with placement in 4 different academic areas at the state level. All (100%) of the current CHS Seniors were deemed "on track to be college and career ready" based upon their performance on the 2012 PSAT exam. CHS has built a strong fine arts program, contributing to a well-rounded education for students. For the first time, CHS has had three students advancing to Area competition for the All-State Choirs, with one student advancing to the TMEA All-State Women's Choir both this year and last year. The Grammar School continues to present outstanding musical productions annually, and the logic and rhetoric schools presented "Music Man" this past year, involving students from both Choir and Theatre. Although a small school, opportunities within the fine arts are excellent because of talented and dedicated staff. The large majority of logic and rhetoric school students are also involved on athletic teams. CHS Varsity Soccer took first place in the TAPPS Soccer State Championship last year, with previous years of participation in the final championship games. The school launched baseball as a new competitive team sport this year, and the new elective, Archery, in the Rhetoric school has provided another opportunity for athletic competition. Parents continue to be one of the strongest assets of. In addition to the special annual events for which parents are the primary workforce, such as Grandparents' Day, High School Banquet, Homecoming, and Pastor Appreciation Day, parents recognized a need and took the initiative to remodel the front foyer this past fall. Parents continue to make our lunch program, our athletic program, and so many of the special events and activities that happen outside of the classroom a reality. The focus of improvement over the next three years is a continuation of efforts already begun in several different areas of the school's operation: growing further in the model of classical, Christ-centered education, addressing facility needs to meet our growing student population, utilizing assessment tools to direct our efforts toward a stronger academic program, and utilizing technology resources wisely so that the use of technology truly addresses the needs of our school and supports our mission statement. One of the major challenges for leadership has been to effectively introduce both parents and the community to classical education. Longview is a community in which most have been educated under the public school education system. The draw to for the majority of our families is an attraction to high academic standards and Christian community. The majority Page 4

7 come into CHS uninformed about classical education. In addition, the classical education model is new to most of our teachers. The responsibility has been on the shoulders of leadership to effectively educate stakeholders about classical education and the lifelong value it will have for their students. CHS also continually strives to provide teacher training and mentoring so that the classical model may be more strongly implemented in the classrooms, at all levels, and in every subject area. This is a process of both training the teachers and educating the parents so that they also can "catch the vision" of classical, Christ-centered education. has also experienced the challenges that come with a growing school in facilities that must meet the expansion needs. The current building construction was completed and populated in 2000, and the gym was added in Since that time, portable buildings have allowed the school to meet the growing student population needs without incurring debt. However, the school is on a well water supply system which is growing older and was not originally intended for the building expansions and additions. The water is regularly tested and is safe, but supply during peak demand is sometimes low. A temporary fix has enabled the school to function well through this school year, but the Board has been actively seeking options for connection to the city water supply. CHS currently uses the CTP-4 testing as an academic assessment tool for grades 1-8 and the PLAN and PSAT testing for grades Data analysis from the CTP-4 testing revealed possible shortcomings in our Grammar School math program, and these results led to piloting a change in the math curriculum which has been very successful. A comprehensive test in math is now done at each grade level in the Grammar school, and over the next several years, an additional subject area will be added to that comprehensive testing to better assess accomplishment of academic goals by subject for each grade level. CTP-4 will continue to also be used as an evaluative tool. Final comprehensive exams are now held in core subject areas in both Logic and Rhetoric Schools as well. Further training in both in-house and standardized assessment tools will be provided to teachers in order to more effectively assess learning, and identify needed changes in curriculum. Technology is another area in need of continuous reassessment because of our rapidly changing world of technology. Teachers are well equipped in their classrooms with technology tools that support their teaching needs, although this need continues to be reassessed as teachers submit requests for additional teaching tools each year. CHS leadership does not feel that the school needs to be in competition with the technology resources that many of the students have in their homes. While technology is a great resource, the role of the teacher is central at CHS, and the student/teacher relationship is integral to the teaching process. This is a luxury that CHS is still able to enjoy as a benefit of the small student to teacher ratio and a staff dedicated to learning needs of their students. A need has been recognized for more formal training of basic computer skills for our students as they enter the Logic and Rhetoric school years, so that they are well educated on the skills needed to produce quality written and oral presentations. This is included in the Improvement Plan. School leadership is continuing to assess and address the needs for technological support for staff. Page 5

8 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Previous responses sufficiently address the Executive Summary Page 6