We stand for Christian, collaborative education

Heart Christian Academy serves JK-8th grade families across the country, with campuses in California, Idaho, and Tennessee. We support homeschool families with a collaborative educational model that combines two full campus days with three home days per week, including vetted curriculum, comprehensive lesson plans that align across home and classroom, and a rich community filled with monthly chapel, campus-wide events, celebrations, field trips, and more. 

​"These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

​Deuteronomy 6:6–7

philosophy of education

Heart Christian Academy supports parents in providing both spiritual growth and academic excellence, developing students who think clearly, communicate effectively, wonder deeply, and influence their communities in ways that will last eternally.
Picture
We stand for education that is Christian.

All education is inherently religious. It necessarily address issues such as metaphysics (what is real?), epistemology (how do we know?), axiology (what is good?), pedagogy (how do we learn?), and ethics (how do we live?). When the Apostle Paul says of Jesus Christ that “all things were created through him and for him . . . and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17), the door opens to seeing Christ as the ground of all reality and therefore all true knowledge.

​The ancient Greeks had a word for this sort of education in which everything connects to, is held together by, and derives its meaning from a center: paideia. It is the same word the New Testament uses to speak of the sort of education God demands for his children.

In Ephesians 6:4, Christian fathers are commanded to “bring [your children] up in the training (paideia) and admonition of the Lord.” This is far more than seat time in a classroom; it is the transformative enculturation of a student into the things of God. In other words, the New Testament makes clear that the education God requires for his children strives toward an all-encompassing, God-besotted perspective on every part of life. 
We stand for education that is Christian.

All education is inherently religious. It must necessarily involve itself with philosophical issues such as metaphysics (what is real?), epistemology (how do we know?), axiology (what is good?), pedagogy (how do we learn?), and ethics (how do we live?). When the Apostle Paul says of Jesus Christ that “all things were created through him and for him . . . and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17), the door opens to seeing Christ as the ground of all reality and therefore all true knowledge.

The ancient Greeks had a word for this sort of education in which everything connects to, is held together by, and derives its meaning from a center: paideia. It is the same word the New Testament uses to speak of the sort of education God demands for his children.
In Ephesians 6:4, Christian fathers are commanded to “bring [your children] up in the training (paideia) and admonition of the Lord.” This is far more than seat time in a classroom; it is the transformative enculturation of a student into the things of God. In other words, the New Testament makes clear that the education God requires for his children strives toward an all-encompassing, God-besotted perspective on every part of life. ​
Accordingly, an effective Christian education integrates subjects like literature, history, language, art, math, and science under the umbrella of a biblically saturated, Christ-centered worldview. This means that the educational approach of Heart Christian Academy is fundamentally different from secular education both in philosophy and content. The distinguishing marks of Christian education include, among other things: 

  1. The goal of reflecting and honoring Jesus Christ in all it does
  2. A high view of scripture as the ultimate measure of truth
  3. Developing a joyful love for learning as a means of understanding God’s creation
  4. Providing a clear model of Christian life through our staff and board members
  5. Prayerfully developing students who exhibit godly wisdom and character
  6. A pervasive posture of humility and service
  7. A curriculum that is time-tested and intellectually rigorous
  8. Discipline and conflict resolution that is restorative, appropriately filled with grace, in accordance with scripture, and always aiming at reconciliation
  9. Encouraging every student to begin and develop a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit
  10. Providing an orderly, safe, and respectful atmosphere conducive to attaining these goals    

We stand for education that is collaborative.

We employ a collaborative model, which combines the best attributes of traditional and home schooling. This blended model mixes the benefits of professional educators and structured classroom instruction with the flexibility and freedom of parent-led education in the home. Lessons plans are fully coordinated between campus and home days, providing a unique link that ensures intimate parental involvement in the education of their child. This reflects our belief that moms and dads are uniquely empowered and called to instill virtue and wisdom. 
​
We recognize that who parents select to help educate their children is one of the most important decisions they will ever make. Jesus told his disciples, “Everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Therefore, we support parents in their efforts to pass on the values and virtue that God requires, supplementing those efforts with like-minded teachers and staff. 

Accordingly, as a Christian program, Heart Christian Academy serves children of believing parents. We require that at least one parent be a professing Christian and that the household be committed to pursuing a Christ-centered home and upbringing for their children. Indeed, witnessing parents engaging in the instruction of their children and laboring to grow a family under the kingship of God is among the greatest joys of collaborative education. At Heart Christian Academy, parents can have confidence they are in a partnership with other Christian parents and educators that share similar commitments. In short, we are a support to the Christian family, which is the responsible unit in God’s plan for the education of children.

​Christ is the center. Parents are primary.