S.C.A
A University-Model School® is a blend of the most positive aspects from traditional public and private schools as well as home schools, to give elementary through high school a highly successful, college-preparatory education, set in a Christian environment. The key is professional classroom instruction partnered with caring parenting at home.
The immediate goal of the UMS is quality, cost-effective, college-preparatory education accomplished in a way that gives parents more time for imparting the faith and values they hold precious. The ultimate goal is that of producing wholesome, competent men and women of character who make a positive difference for Christ in the next generation.
National Association of University-Model Schools®
The National Association of University-Model Schools® (NAUMS, Inc.), a distinctly Christian organization, was started in 2002. The goal of NAUMS, Inc. is to promote this unique model and to provide support and assistance to existing and developing University-Model Schools (UMS). Thereby, answering the need of so many Christian parents in search of a better educational model for their children. In order for a school to be a University Model School, it must be certified by NAUMS as such.
Concept & Philosophy of Education
University-Model Schooling (UMS) was developed as a result of two guiding concerns: to offer students the opportunity to acquire a high degree of academic achievement, and to preserve and strengthen the God-ordained family relationships in which the Christian faith is most effectively fostered. The structure in which these two concerns are brought together, is the University-Model School, which provides an academically challenging education while at the same time integrating the home and school with the common goal of discipling children.
According to information gathered by well-known pollster George Barna, the most critical period when 94% of all boys and girls come to a saving faith in Christ is before the age of 18; 90% before the age of 14! Only 6% will make that soul-saving decision between the age of 18 and their death. Since parents are the most influential factor in this decision, it is vital that models of education exist that recognize the significance of keeping parents involved with their children during the early, critical years of their children’s education.
Unfortunately, if there is a breakdown in the preservation of parental influence during a child’s educational years, then it will likely be measured in lost souls. The key to success for the UMS model is the integration of a biblically based, parentally guided, Christian faith and a sound, teacher-facilitated, academic environment. The Bible gives parents authority and responsibility for raising their children with the goal of becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. In matters of education, that parental authority and responsibility, although not surrendered, may be shared with an educational institution when the parents consider it desirable or necessary. In such cases, a University-Model School will assist, and not supplant, parents in their work of training and educating their children.
Parents will retain the oversight of their children’s educational progress and will determine the manner and extent to which they will be involved in the academic institution. Parents will help place each child in the proper stage of academic progress. Parents will also be involved in the out-of-class instructional responsibilities of their children’s courses based upon each child’s age and stage of academic development. In addition, parents will continue to build into their children those character qualities that reflect their own understanding of the Christian faith.
The University-Model School, on the other hand, will operate under the umbrella of parental authority by offering a challenging academic track in the context of Christian values. The school will unapologetically speak and teach in a manner consistent with the school’s statement of faith, emphasizing the necessity of a personal relationship with Christ and growth in Christ-like character. The school will also help parents properly place each of their children in an appropriate stage of academic development.
In addition, the school will develop and implement academically challenging, college-preparatory courses that integrate an appropriate level of parental involvement into each student’s out-of-class study. The school will encourage and expect the student to learn the material assigned and will provide regular feedback to both the student and parents concerning the student’s progress in each class enrolled. Finally, the school will integrate the Christian faith and a biblical worldview into the context of the various subject areas offered, to the end that Christian character-building will receive support and enhancement outside the home.
University-Model Schooling is designed for those families in which parents take an active role in the oversight and implementation of their children’s education. As the level of parental involvement progresses from being a private tutor in the elementary years, to a guide for dependent study in Junior High, and to more of a course monitor in the Senior High courses, parents are expected to continue exercising loving and active responsibility for their children all the way through graduation. In partnership with these committed parents, the school is then able to integrate the home and school effectively toward the common goal of Christian character development and solid academic preparation for college. Spirit Academy is guided by the following principles:
Love and Glorify God Love and Glorify God as He is revealed in the Holy Bible. “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17). “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). The Holy Bible is our standard of truth and final authority for faith and practice in all matters relating to this ministry. Our chief aim is to love and glorify God through everything we do.
Help Fulfill the Great Commission Help Fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). The governing imperative verb of Christ’s Great Commission in Matthew’s gospel is “disciple” or “make disciples.” Members of Christ’s church, therefore, are commanded to make disciples among all peoples by “going, baptizing, and teaching.” They are to do so in the confident assurance that all authority is given to Christ and that He will always be with them. This ministry seeks to build up the body of Christ by cooperating with Christ’s Great Commission purpose, encouraging all men, women, boys and girls to be both personal disciplined followers and public character witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere they go.
Affirm, Encourage, and Equip Parents Affirm, Encourage, and Equip Parents in their God-given opportunities and responsibilities. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deut. 6:5-7).
The first two instructions to God’s people after the original giving of the Great Commandment was that they (1) keep God’s commandments in their hearts and (2) teach those commandments in their homes. Parents are God’s first plan, His single most effective agents for spreading the Gospel to children and discipling young believers. The vast majority of Christians come to a “saving faith” in Christ when they are children, under the influence of their parents.
Furthermore, the successful sharing of parents’ faith and values is best facilitated when actively-involved parents take the time, seize the opportunity, and employ the tools needed for developing close, loving, and nurturing relationships with their children. The parent-child relationship is paramount, and this ministry must make provision for the time, opportunity, and tools needed for these relationships to flourish.
Whether the issue is instilling positive traits (e.g. respect for authority, personal integrity, honesty, dependability, loyalty, and commitment) or avoiding negative consequences (e.g. teenage suicide, substance abuse, adolescent violence, sexual promiscuity, and teenage pregnancy) parents must take their proper place on the front line, and a close relationship is essential for success. If the influence of parents ever breaks down, the cost will be measured in lost souls. The percentage of children who come to faith later in life is so small, and the consequences of a negative, neglected childhood are so great, that the positive influence of parents early in life must command our utmost attention and priority.
It is vital, therefore, that the role of a University-Model School be to affirm and support the importance of parental influence and responsibility. Parents in a UMS must maintain their comprehensive responsibility over their children, and the school’s role and responsibility must be considered secondary.
Educate with Excellence Educate with Excellence in a Christ-centered environment. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24). Children, like their Lord, are to keep “increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Likewise, “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding” (Proverbs 3:13). Also, “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; instruct a righteous man and he will add to his learning (Proverbs 9:9). If we are to teach and instruct students “as working for the Lord,” the standard of our performance can be nothing less than excellence.
Integrate Home and School
Integrate Home and School in age-appropriate ways throughout the curriculum design and student activities. NAUMS supports the Christian, University-Model School® that exists to assist parents with the modern-day difficulties of preparing their children for college while also recognizing and supporting the parents’ unique role in communicating their faith and values. For parents to succeed in their all-important task of discipleship, it is essential for families to experience meaningful time together — time together that is important for all age levels, but especially for the younger children.
Traditional school systems, by their very structure, tend to rob parents and students of this most precious commodity. UMS gives time and access back to parents in exchange for their commitment to be academically and relationally involved with their students outside of class according to the college-preparatory, curriculum design. Such involvement, when lovingly and joyfully administered, leads to greater opportunity for parents to succeed in teaching their most important “subjects”: faith, hope, and love. This good-faith partnership between parents and teachers makes home and school integration for a family-strengthening, quality education both possible and practical.