Q. What is your student-to-teacher ratio?

A. Our current student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1.  The Board of Trustees has set a policy maximum class size of 20 students.

Q. Are you accredited?

A. We are pursuing accreditation with the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS), in which we already hold membership. 

Q. Are your teachers certified?

A. Since we are a distinctly Christian school following a classical teaching methodology we do not require state certification of our faculty. Rather, we seek faculty willing to learn and apply the classical methodology in their classrooms, demonstrating a consistent Christian walk of faith and desiring to disciple young minds and hearts.  We do require credentials of degrees or experience that are equal to or exceed certification. 

Q. Do you have extra-curricular activities?

A. Yes. In athletics, we currently offer both boys and girls basketball, girls volleyball, flag football, track and golf.  We plan to expand our sports offerings as we are able in soccer, tennis and other sports. We have a Latin club which competes at the local and state levels, and we hope to attend the national Latin competition soon.

Q. Are you affiliated with any church denomination?

A. No, we are an independent non-profit Christian ministry directed by a Board of Trustees.  Our Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and families represent a variety of evangelical Protestant churches in the Georgetown area.

Q. What is Classical Education?

A. The classical teaching model is a time-proven educational method.  Classical education refers both to the teaching approach and the content of the curriculum.  The classical teaching methodology is based on what is referred to as the "Trivium", or a three-pronged approach to each subject. Beginning with the Grammar, the student studies the basic particulars of each subject. Logic (or dialectic) deals with the reasoning, which ties all the various particulars together. It gives one the basis for integrating bodies of knowledge and proving the correct relationships in and between subjects. Rhetoric focuses on the clear and effective expression of facts, ideas, and relationships through written and oral presentations. These three master disciplines, or tools of learning-Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric-are applied to every subject.

This distinctive approach to education is most readily seen by those unfamiliar with the approach by three subjects which are hallmarks of classical schools.  Latin is taught at Grace Academy from third grade through ninth grade and provides a strong grammar framework for all language studies at the school, as well as the memory work characteristic of a solid grammar stage.  Our goal for our students is reading literacy in Latin by the ninth grade.

We teach formal and informal logic to our eighth through tenth grades.  These classes are normally not encountered by non-classical students, if they are encountered at all, until the college years.  The study of logic provides our students the tools needed to read difficult texts and to discern soundness of argument from error.  It provides a solid foundation for the student's future rhetoric years where debate and written argumentation are critical.

We teach rhetoric to instruct our students in the art of oral and written presentation.  Our goal is to develop students as models of good people speaking and writing well.  The classical subject of rhetoric provides the tools developed by two thousand years of classical education, tools most of American's know nothing about, so that our students may grow to be masters of the Word and masters of words.

Classical also means that the foundations for Western civilization will be emphasized in the study of history, philosophy, science, the arts, literature, and language.  Central to the study of these disciplines is the study of the orthodox, historical, Protestant Christian faith. This faith provides then, and provides the foundation for a proper understanding of every other discipline.

While the classical education seems novel to many of us in 21st century America, the classical approach reigned supreme as the dominant educational model in western civilization for over 1,000 years, only being eclipsed by the "progressive model" in the past 100 years.  Therefore, it is the progressive method that is the novelty, and not the classical method.

Q. What do you consider a "Christian" education?

A. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6). A Christian education, therefore affirms that Jesus and His Word is the standard for all truth and learning. We believe God is the author of all truth.  All of His creation reflects His power, order and glory. Jesus said "…thy Word is truth" (John 17:17). We affirm that Scripture is the inerrant and authoritative Word of God.  It is from Scripture that we derive and confirm truth.  In view of this, we approach all other "truth" from the fundamental perspective that the truths of Scripture form the foundation upon which all other learning and investigation of the universe is built.  Therefore, we will always endeavor to teach all subjects as parts of an integrated whole with the Scriptures at the center.

A truly "Christian" education is also concerned with behavior.  James 1:22 affirms the importance of being "doers of the Word, and not hearers only".  We believe right behavior and right thinking is not had simply by the accumulation of the right data.  It requires the correct application of the truth (God’s Word and biblical principles) to daily activities.  At Grace Academy, we are strongly committed to providing a clear model of biblical Christian living through our staff and board, and to encouraging and training every student in moral and spiritual development.

Q. How does Grace Academy compare, academically, with other schools?

A. We believe Grace Academy offers the best education in Georgetown. Our students’ academic achievement is excellent in comparison with national averages.  In years past, we used the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT10), a widely used national testing tool.  Our students consistently performed so well on the Stanford that the test gave little feedback to our faculty on instruction or curriculum.  While we believe these results are directly related to the effectiveness of the classical approach, our smaller classes and excellent teaching, we chose to convert our achievement testing to the CTP4, published by the Educational Records Bureau.  This test is fast becoming the gold standard for testing among schools within the Association of Classical Christian Schools.  Since the spring of 2007, the testing data has provided feedback on our curriculum and instruction while overall student performance has again been a testament to the effectiveness of classical education.

If you have further questions about any aspect of Grace Academy, please call the school office at 512-864-9500.  We would be pleased to address your individual questions.