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All Saints Classical Academy
Church

Frequently Asked Questions

Education Questions

Hybrid education is leveraging the best of home and school environments through a sharing of teaching duties between parents and academy teachers. This approach honors the family structure as the primary place of education yet provides the necessary support and extension of that through teachers at the academy's supplemental educational enrichment program. In doing so, we create an environment where we can blend the individual attention of home education with the academic excellence of classical education in a way that helps reunite family, church, and school. The model is similar to the “collaborative” or “University Model” approach. For more on hybrid education, see: “Our Hybrid Model: Familia.”
Classical education is the cultivation of knowledge, wisdom, and virtue by means of a content-rich curriculum that spans the arts and sciences and culminates in theology and Christian worship. The goal is to form human beings physically, intellectually, morally, and spiritually with properly ordered affections, tastes, and capacities, allowing them to serve their families, communities, and churches. For more on classical education, see: “Our Classical Approach: Schola.”
Because it is a gateway into a whole world of beauty, wisdom, and truth. We want to open that gateway for students by exposing them to Latin and enabling them to access these great treasures of the church, of theology, philosophy, science, and more. Entering the world of Latin is about much more than gaining the side benefits of learning root words or improving SAT scores. As good as those side benefits might be, they are not compelling ultimate rationales for Latin because those secondary benefits can be achieved in other ways. For more on our approach to Latin, see: “Why Teach Latin.”
Schola, in both Latin and Greek, means leisure. But not in the sense we use it today to refer to things like entertainment or leisure-time activities. Rather, leisure in its historical usage refers to a restful and rooted approach to life and learning that allows you to attend to the world with a receptive and joyful posture. This concept guides our whole approach, as our goal is to love learning and one another in a way that prevents the objectification of others and avoids the reduction of education into a pragmatic measurement of productivity. For more on schola, see: “What is Schola? School and True Leisure.”
We hold our students and families to a high standard when it comes to digital technology use, desiring to help form family cultures that have clear technology boundaries that significantly limit their children’s access and use. This is not because we think electronic entertainment or digital devices are inherently bad, but because such things so easily malform us at the level of desire and attention, and even at the level of the brain and the body. We desire to counteract this with a better yes, with robust real-life experiences as we fill our children’s lives with richer and more lasting, beautiful, and wondrous activities and practices. Over time, children who heavily invest their energy and thought in the shallow pleasures of electronic entertainment and the online world will find those pursuits to be at odds with ASCA’s education and culture. Their tastes, habits, and preferences will not be well-attuned for a deep enculturation and love of what is permanent and lasting. For an education in virtue, wisdom, and faith to be effective, what takes place at school must be in harmony with what takes place at home—especially in a hybrid school model where teachers and parents are partnering in the education and formation of children in on-campus and at-home environments. For more on our tech-minimal approach, see: “The Blessings of Being a Low-Tech School.”
This is the classic question asked by the 2nd century church father Tertullian: "What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem?" Throughout the history of the church, the question of how Christians should relate to secular works and other cultures has been addressed. The traditional and historic view that we take here at ASCA is that God's Word is our ultimate foundation and final authority. Our primary focus is on forming our children in their Christian inheritance. And, being secure in this foundation enables us to exercise discernment as we encounter works of art, literature, science, and more from other cultures and worldviews. C.S. Lewis liked to say that Christians are more free than anyone else to find pieces of the truth in these sources because Christians know Christ, who is the fountain of all truth as He is the way, the truth, and the life. We can see, for example, in Greek myths glimpses of virtue, but also its distortion and corruption and where their understanding fell short. In philosophy we can confront ultimate questions about God and man, which the Christian tradition fully answers. In folklore and legends from cultures around the world we can see hints of biblical themes, which Justin Martyr called seeds of the Logos. In reading a series like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings we come to see that evil is really evil, but even more so that good and truth really exist and are worth fighting for and will ultimately prevail. Imagination plays a vital and often overlooked role in the formation of Christian virtue. In all of this, there is of course, the exercise of Christian prudence and wisdom as we encounter these types of sources with discernment, balancing when the literature is age appropriate, but always allowing our Christian inheritance to take primacy.
It should also be noted that human creativity is not the sole possession of Christians. All humans are made in God’s image and can express their creativity and intellect through art, literature, science, and the like. And though our creative efforts are distorted due to our fallenness, the Christian can properly understand, appreciate, and interpret them in light of God’s Word. We compare and contrast worldviews, and draw distinctions between truth and error. And most of all, we focus on what is good, true, and beautiful as Scripture reveals.

We also recognize that there is a measure of Christian freedom in these matters and that parents are ultimately responsible for the education of their children. We respect differences of opinion and encourage families in our academy community to do the same.

Admissions Questions

See our Admissions page for tuition schedule.
Everything! It is our commitment to not nickel-and-dime families with unending fees. The application fee gets credited toward tuition upon the student’s enrollment, and all required curriculum and teaching materials is included in the cost. Two school uniform polo shirts are even included in the tuition (families will need to have appropriate pants for their children, i.e., khakis, skirts, etc.) The only additional costs are potential costs for some of the school field trips (see below).
Some field trips throughout the year will cost. Families will have to pay for these trips; but the trips that cost will be optional. Also, a parent from every family will not be required to attend the field trips as long as the appropriate arrangements are made.
We do not for three reasons. First, as a hybrid homeschool academy offering a supplemental education program, in which families legally are homeschooling, we are not eligible for the funds. Second, there is a potential that with state money come additional strings over time. We want to insulate ourselves from that potential risk and ensure we have a sustainable model without becoming dependent on state money that could dry up at any time. We follow the rationale and example of institutions like Grove City College, Hillsdale College, and Luther Classical College in taking this position. And third, regarding SC state funds, we would not be eligible since the academy is in NC.
No. While we don’t shy away from our Lutheran confession, the Academy welcomes families from other church bodies. God is the source of all truth, goodness, and beauty, and we rejoice in the things we share with our brothers and sisters in the historic Christian faith, such as creeds, prayers, and hymns. Our primary chapel service – Matins – has been prayed by the church for centuries. The seasons, feast days, and commemorations that form the church year are shared by many Christian traditions, not just Lutherans.

In the younger grades, the distinctives of our Lutheran confession are portrayed in positive terms, not in a comparative way or in contrast with other traditions. Our theology classes at the elementary level focus on Bible literacy and the story of redemption as it unfolds through the Old and New Testaments, which is something that all Christians value. In the older grades, the Academy’s classical approach will spark respectful conversations that will increase students’ knowledge of their own confession and those of other Christian traditions. These dialogues will create a deeper appreciation of the Christian faith, the strengths and contributions of various Christian traditions, and equip students to engage with the world accordingly (John 10:14-16, 17:20-21). It is also important to note that having these types of interactions can provide meaningful conversations for families, as you, the parents, take the lead in guiding your children in discernment and coming to understand differences between brothers and sisters in Christ from a variety of traditions.

We also recognize that it is impossible to teach in a neutral way. Everyone teaches with a point of view. So, we openly acknowledge and positively affirm that we are teaching from within a tradition: the historic Christian faith as passed down to us in Scripture and upheld in the creeds and expressed in the confessional documents of the Lutheran Reformation.

Christian education today is a real opportunity for meaningful interdenominational work. This fits well with our functioning as a discipleship model (also called covenant model) academy, where families affirm their agreement with basic Christian doctrine and moral teaching, and agree to live accordingly. Our school culture is worth protecting for the good of all our students. For more on our Admissions Process, see here. For more on Lutheranism, see here.

Procedural Questions

Students attend on-campus Monday and Wednesday. 
Our teachers offer guided lesson plans to assist parents in their teaching during the at-home days Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. 
We provide flexibility for families in this regard. We desire that parents be involved in the life of the academy, especially in attending chapel each on-campus day when possible. Parents can stay on campus (perhaps finding a quiet corner or unoccupied room to read or do work) to be involved in snack, recess, and other group activities. Parents can serve in various volunteer roles throughout the year. Parents can also drop their children off if they prefer. Actual classroom time does present some unique dynamics, however. The handbook states:

At ASCA, we recognize that education is a partnership between the family, the teachers, and the church. Our hybrid approach enables us to honor parents’ God-given responsibility in education, while recognizing that during on-campus days, parents delegate their educational role to teachers to help them fulfill their vocation as parents. This is vital to maintain for on-campus days to alleviate the following concerns:

Unclear Authority Structure: If parents are present in class for every on-campus day, it presents a problem for the student regarding who to look to as an authority. It also presents a problem for the teacher in who is responsible for addressing the student’s misbehavior. The whole situation becomes very confusing even for adults, let alone children.

Space: Our classroom space is limited. We want the classroom to be a place of beauty, order, and restful learning—with room for students to breathe.

To help alleviate these potential challenges, our policy regarding parent/guardians in the classroom is as follows: 
- Parents are welcome to schedule a classroom observation. This must be coordinated with the teacher and headmaster for an agreed-upon day. 
- Parents can request a meeting/conference with the teacher at any time for any reason. 
To help parents become more comfortable and confident in their teaching role for their at-home days, parent trainings will be held prior to the academic year and support throughout the year will be given to facilitate continued growth and collaboration.

Recess will be supervised by at least two adults at all times. During the day, exterior doors will be locked, with all teachers having keys to bring their students back inside after outdoor activities.
Yes. An education oriented towards truth, goodness, and beauty deserves something more than gym shorts, hoodies, and flip flops. As we form students in mind, body, and soul, we want our dress and decorum to reflect that. Taking the effort to put on appropriate clothing says to ourselves and others that what we are doing here matters; it becomes part of the ritual and routine of preparing for a great school day! The uniform is a polo provided by the academy (each student gets two polo shirts for the school year), and pants/skirts are provided by the family since those are items that have broad use beyond the school (and hopefully the polo will too!).
Yes. Teacher aides will be used at certain points during the day when an extra adult in the classroom will be beneficial. Aides will be volunteers who pass a background check and agree to abide by the instructions provided by the academy and the teacher they are aiding. Church members and academy parents are eligible to be aides and will have to be approved by the headmaster.

Facility Questions

Part of our philosophy and approach is that bigger isn’t always better. Having small class sizes can be a wonderful blessing for students as it allows for more individual attention, less stress, and building closer relationships between teacher and student and student to student. Our current facility can handle approximately 30 students. If enrollment surpasses this, we will pursue other avenues like building expansion, mobile units, etc.
Ideally, we would like to keep our class sizes at 10 or less. This allows for a nice blend of individual attention and the benefits of whole-group learning as well.