New school opens in Gentry

Community Christian School offers parents and students an alternative to area public school systems

Haylee Pyburn works at her desk at Community Christian School in Gentry. The new Christian school provides an affordable alternative to public school and motivates students to work at their own pace and excel beyond state and federal guidelines for their grade levels.

Haylee Pyburn works at her desk at Community Christian School in Gentry. The new Christian school provides an affordable alternative to public school and motivates students to work at their own pace and excel beyond state and federal guidelines for their grade levels.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

— With the opening of Community Christian School last week, parents and students in the Gentry area have another alternative - with individualized attention and a Christian perspective - to a traditional public school education.

The school, located at 20770 Dawn Hill East Rd., in Gentry, began classes on Aug. 17, with 11 students currently enrolled. The school holds classes in its newly-renovated building from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday and is still accepting students in kindergarten through the 12th grade.

On Thursday, students were hard at work at their modular desks, reading materials, doing work sheets and self testing their understanding of the presented units of instruction.

Instead of a state-mandated curriculum and an education system focused on achieving ever-improving standardized test scores, Community Christian School focuses on meeting the educational needs of each individual student and helping students pace themselves and achieve academic excellence while maintaining a Christian world view and atmosphere in which to learn.

Students at CCS each have an individualized program of study, using packets of accelerated Christian education (PACE)from aceministries.com. The PACEs contain bite-sized units of self-instructional material with illustrations and examples, and students use self tests and score strips to see if they have mastered the material before moving onto the next PACE.

While a new school, it carries on the educational tradition of Faith Christian School in Gentry, which recently closed. CCS offers parents who choose not to send their children to public schools an option beside homeschooling.

Amy Hodge is the school’s administrator-principal, and Melissa Pyburn is a supervisor. Others, too, volunteer their time andexpertise to help students and operate the educational center. In order to make the school affordable, the school staff is not paid a regular salary but works on a volunteer basis.

Rather than charging a tuitionof thousands of dollars per student, CCS tuition is only $1,800 per year, in addition to PACE fees for materials, with payment plans available.

“CCS is here to serve the families of this and surrounding communities,” said Hodge. “We want to help them with the needs of the education of their children.”

Among school offerings are its acceleratedChristian education curriculum, a 10 to one student-teacher ratio and a positive classroom environment, a school brochure states.

Academic excellence is the goal for all students.

“We don’t even give grades of D,” Hodge said, explaining that students are required to master subjects and are not just passed and allowed to move on to the next level.

Christian devotions are a regular part of studies at CCS, though the school is not directly affiliated with any church or denomination.

“We try to provide a safe place for children to learn academics, character and responsibility,” Hodge said. “Most importantly, we want students to know how much God loves them and that He has an awesome plan for their lives. Education is an important part of that plan,” she added.

For more information on the school and its course of study, contact the school office at 736-8885.

News, Pages 1 on 08/24/2011