A Guide to Selecting the Best
Educational Setting for your Student
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Choosing the Right Christian School
One of the most important decisions you will ever make as a parent is where your child goes to school. A Christian school should be significantly different than its public school counterpart but not all Christian schools are the same. It is impera-tive that a Christian school possess these five key traits:
Does the School have a Commitment to Jesus Christ?
Christ must be the absolute foundation of a school that dares to call itself Christian. Every aspect of the school function, from curriculum to athletics, to its policies and procedures must be based on the truth found in God’s Word. Such a commitment is readily seen in a school’s mission, its expectations for students, and the way the staff interacts with families. Jesus Christ is not just the founda-tion but the guiding principle in a school’s treatment of its students, parents, and staff.
Does the School have a Biblically Based Curriculum?
A school’s curriculum says a lot about its principles. A school must have a rigor-ous curriculum that teaches students that all truth is God’s truth and that subjects such as Math, English, and Science (to name a few) cannot be separated from Truth. That same curriculum must fully prepare them to not just enter college but to be successful throughout their college experience. Academics at a Christian School should not be a hindrance to a student’s success at the next level but be an advantage as they are better qualified than their counterparts from other schools because God asks his people for excellence in all they do! A Biblically based cur-riculum clearly demonstrates God’s character and His work in His creation and prepares students to be able to articulate that character in their schoolwork. Stu-dents are also prepared to enter college or the work force with a clear understand-ing of God’s expectations as they make decisions in each area of their life.
Are the Teachers and Staff Caring and Qualified?
Caring and qualified teachers are essential for a Christian school. Teachers are the models by which students learn what it means to live as a Christian in today’s so-ciety, demonstrating the highest levels of integrity and character. A Christian school’s teachers should have a clear testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and live out His passion for others and excellence in everything they do. Caring teachers reach the hearts of their students nurturing and growing a desire to share in the joy of Christ and instilling a passion for learning. Qualified teachers are critical in insuring that students are appropriately prepared in each subject matter. Such teachers should have, at a minimum, a degree in their subject area and must be continuously working toward a better understanding of both their material and in-structional technique. Certification by the Association of Christian School’s Inter-national (ACSI) is a critical part of such qualification.
Does the School have a Proven Record of Academic Excellence?
When you consider that the school you choose will be educating your most pre-cious possession, shouldn’t that school clearly demonstrate a track record of proven success? There are specific criteria to look for including: 1) how long the school has been in existence, 2) what is the schools’ reputation in the community, 3) how well prepared are graduates for the next phase of their education, 4) how do students perform on standardized tests; especially SAT and AP tests at the high school level, 5) for high school students, what percentage of students graduate and attend college and 6) what is the turnover rate for staff and teachers. The an-swers to these questions will provide a clear indication as to the long term health and success of the school and its students. When you enroll your student in a Christian school, you want to insure that you are investing wisely.
Is there an Emphasis on Character Development?
Developing Christian character in students is a hallmark of a good Christian
school. The school should have numerous opportunities by which students develop and demonstrate character traits of excellence. Such sought after traits should clearly be described in the school’s literature and the school should be able to pro-duce examples of students demonstrating those traits in and out of the classroom. Opportunities to develop and demonstrate such traits may include Bible studies, a comprehensive character curriculum, a purposeful approach to integrate such traits in athletics and clubs, a service requirement and opportunities to serve on the cam-pus and in the larger community. Successful character development in a Christian school is seen in its students and their behavior on and off campus. School staff should be eager to share such examples!
Choosing where your child should go to school is one of the most important deci-sions you will ever make as a parent and one that should be made with much
prayer. Is there a school that meets these critical requirements and where you know your child will be loved and provided a Christ centered, rigorous education? In a simple word, YES!
Continue reading to discover a school system whose mission is to:
Why Choose a School in the Woodcrest Christian School System?
WCSS is Committed to Christ!
Since its founding in 1948, the one unchanging truth is that Christ is the center of the entire school system. The school system’s foundational documents and arti-cles of incorporation, articulate its foundation on Christ. With a mission to Glo-rify God by Pursuing Excellence in Christ-centered Academics, both Riverside Christian Day School and Woodcrest Christian School work tirelessly to insure that Christ is the cornerstone of its academic instruction and extracurricular op-portunities. To insure that focus, all teachers and staff are required to be “born again” believers in Jesus Christ. Teachers also meet daily in devotions to focus their hearts in preparation for the day’s ministry. Each school’s curriculum is bib-lically based and instruction is focused on teaching student’s both the character of God and how to develop a biblical worldview.
WCSS Focuses on a Biblically Based Curriculum
At the core of each subject area taught from Kindergarten to 12th grade, is Christ. The elementary campus (RCDS) establishes academic bedrock through core sub-jects but also provides necessary well roundedness by still teaching art, music, drama, and PE. Textbooks are primarily used from Christian publishers but in those situations where the more effective material is a secular textbook, teach-ers take extra effort to insure that God’s Truth is taught. At the secondary level (WCS), the school focuses on the Biblical Core; an approach that recognizes that God’s Truth is at the core of each subject area and from that core, the material is taught. In essence, we teach that through each content area, God’s character
and perspective on life is revealed. The high school also has a very strong college prep focus offering Advanced Placement and Honors classes in many areas. The school’s curriculum has been approved by the University of California since 1973. At both campuses, the curriculum is rigorous and challenging, successfully pre-paring students for the next stage in their education.
WCSS Teachers are Qualified and Caring!
Our teachers love the Lord! Every teacher (and staff member) is required to be a “born-again” believer in Jesus Christ and each of them are an integral part of the “living curriculum” as they model the Christian walk to their students. Their demonstration of Christ’s love, integrity, and accountability are an essential part of Christian education. Our teachers genuinely care and are interested in students as demonstrated by the time they spend with them in and out of class. Many students and parents share their appreciation for teachers who go above and beyond in the time they spend with their child. In fact, students often share how they have been inspired by one or more of their teachers.
What makes a teacher “qualified” beyond a relationship with Christ? In the Woodcrest Christian School System it means that teachers have at least a BA/BS degree in their subject area recognizing that subject matter competency is es-sential in educational preparation. Over 50% of our staff has a Masters Degree as well. Our teachers are also certified by the Association of Christian Schools Inter-national (ACSI). This outside agency provides an objective process to keep our teachers on a track of continuous improvement realizing that when teachers grow in their knowledge and expertise, students do as well. Frequent staff train-ing also takes place throughout the year in the areas of effective instruction and assessment.
WCSS has a Proven Record of Success!
The Woodcrest Christian School System was established in 1948 with the found-ing of our elementary campus, Riverside Christian Day School. The system ex-panded to include a middle and high school campus in 1973 and the first class of high school seniors graduated in 1978. The high school curriculum has been ap-proved by the University of California since 1973. At the high school level, 98% of graduates go on to college with 85% moving directly to a four year university. Students are accepted to colleges and universities across the entire country in-cluding Biola, Baylor, Pepperdine, West Point all of the University of California campuses and many Ivy league schools including Harvard. These past 65 years have seen countless students successfully move on to higher levels of education and alumni have served successfully the fields of medicine, law, business, law en-forcement, education, and many others. In fact, many alumni now serve as teachers and staff within the school system demonstrating a deep appreciation for the education they received and a desire to give back. Within the community of Riverside and its environs, the schools of the Woodcrest Christian School Sys-tem have a long tradition of Christ-centered academic excellence.
WCSS Builds Christian Character
Developing a Christ-like attitude in every part of life is a major focus targeted at four specific traits that reflect the person and mission of a believer in Jesus Christ. The Woodcrest Christian School System focuses on developing Christ-like Wisdom, Character, Stewardship and Service. From specific instruction in and out of the classroom to opportunities to develop these traits experientially, each stu-dent is challenged to not just demonstrate these characteristics but to truly un-derstand them as a means of praising God! Such effort takes place regularly at
the elementary campus through the teaching of four “Starter Qualities” that in-clude attentiveness, obedience, responsibility, and kindness. At the secondary level, students are challenged throughout their day and in their involvement in extracurricular activities to constantly demonstrate a heart and attitude that represents Christ. In all things, we challenge students to be “hearers” and “doers” of the Word as seen in James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the Word… Do what it says.”
