FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What grades does LCCS offer?
In 2024-2025 we aim to offer grades JK-6, pending enrollment.
2024: JK-6
2025: JK-7
2026: JK-8
2027: JK-9
2028: JK-10
2029: JK-11
2030: JK-12
Are teachers certified by the state of Michigan?
An individual may qualify to teach in Michigan nonpublic schools in one of three ways [however, if a nonpublic school claims an objection to teacher certification based on a sincerely held religious belief, the minimum education requirements for teachers are waived (People v DeJonge 442 Mich 266)]:
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By obtaining a Michigan teaching certificate
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By obtaining a substitute, full-year, or emergency teaching permit
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By obtaining a bachelor’s degree
Do teachers and volunteers receive background checks?
Yes.
Do students get daily recess?
Yes! We think that outdoor recess is important for children and carve out time for it every day.
Is Liberty a faith-based school?
Yes. As said in our mission statement, “Liberty Christian Classical is a Christian school dedicated to providing a Classical Education through rigorous academics and upholding patriotic values rooted in a Bible-based, Christ-centered worldview in partnership with parents.”
Liberty takes a biblically integrated approach to literature, art, history, science, math, and theology. Rather than confining Christianity to a Bible class, we view all subjects through the lens of Scripture.
Is classical education only for "gifted" students?
No! As every human is made in God's image, classical education is for everyone.
What extracurriculars does LCCS offer?
We plan to offer extracurriculars as we grow! Because human beings are comprised of body, mind, and soul, we want to train and educate all of those facets of each child. We will offer sports, music, and other extracurriculars based on interest and capabilities.
How is LCCS governed?
The school has established a self-perpetuating board that operates under the Policy Governance model.
What is classical education?
We hold to this definition from the Education Department of Hillsdale College:
Classical education is the pursuit of human happiness through the cultivation of moral and intellectual virtue by means of a rich and rigorous course of study in the arts, sciences, and humanities, yielding informed self-government and a well-ordered understanding of the world and human nature.
What is the origin of classical education?*
Classical education can be traced back to Plato’s foundation of the Academy in Athens, Greece circa 385 B.C. Other philosophers in this same era such as Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Isocrates were also instrumental in the formation of educational ideals leading to classical education and the seven liberal arts. When the Roman military conquered the Greeks, the intellectual ideas and influence of Greek culture and education remained strong and were incorporated into the Roman way of life. Then, Quintilian, a Roman rhetorician born in 35 A.D., began the process of placing many Greek educational ideas into age-appropriate stages of learning and classical education was solidified.
Why does classical Christian education seem so new and different? *
In the early 1900’s, the effects of modern philosophy created noticeable changes to the look and feel of education. Philosophers such as Rousseau (b. 1712), Hegel, (b. 1770), Dewey (b.1859), Piaget (b. 1896) and others worked to dilute and remove Christianity from education. These seemingly subtle shifts in the late 1800’s have created cavernous differences between modern schools and classical Christian schools. Modern schools are now child-centered rather than Christ-centered, and the doctrines of socially accepted morality have replaced objective standards of truth, goodness, and beauty found in God’s Word. The final byproduct is felt in classroom curriculum, teaching methods, academic standards, and behavioral expectations.
What is the Association of Classical Christian Schools? *
The Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS) is the largest organization of classical Christian schools in America. The ACCS has over 350 member schools and can be found in all 50 of the United States and several other countries. The ACCS is a Christ-centered network of schools that advances classical Christian education, provides an annual national conference, offers national Accreditation, and other member resources. The ACCS was founded in 1991 after Douglas Wilson’s book, Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning, inspired many individuals to start classical Christian schools around the nation.
What is the role of parents at classical Christian schools? *
Children are a gift given to parents, not to schools, to responsibly raise in the ways of the LORD. God instructs parents to train up children in the way they should go in every area of life and during every stage of childhood. Therefore, parents are vitally important to the mission and vision of any educational institution. Classical Christian schools enter into a partnership with parents when a family joins a school. This partnership involves parents embracing and supporting the mission, leadership, and teachers at the school and the school employees communicating to parents throughout the formational education being provided.
What is the purpose of Christian education? *
Christian education exists to pass down the truth of God’s Word from one generation to the next, to inform students about all of God’s created order, and - most importantly - to form students to be more like our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. We know that a student will become like their teacher. So, this formation of students requires spiritually mature Christian teachers and school leaders who are excellent mentors and masters of their craft. Christian education also requires high academic and behavioral standards for excellence in education to occur. God uses teachers and school leaders to set the table for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the children attending Christian schools.
What is the purpose of classical education? *
Classical education is designed as a great gift of western civilization to be passed down from one generation to the next. Each generation is responsible to entrust the next generation with the knowledge, traditions, and wisdom from the past. Our modern society is not uniquely independent from the past. It has been influenced by thousands of years of great scholars, philosophers, theologians, leaders, discoveries, and history. Western civilization is like a mighty river that has moved throughout time and the western world until it arrived at this present-day. The purpose of classical education is to fulfill our responsibility as citizens to entrust the traditions, culture, and wisdom of western civilization to our children.
* Excerpt taken from the book 100 COMMON QUESTIONS - A GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN EDUCATION By: Dr. Timothy Dernlan