WHY The Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg?
Looking across across a field of rolling hills and fresh spring grass, bordered by a crisp white fence, speckled with a variety of horses grazing, is a view that brings peace and comfort to most onlookers. The power of those majestic horses, content, and serene paints a scene of duplicity, especially for those who know the power of a horse, much less many horses herded together. They are given enough space to run, frolic with companions or stand alone and find independence when needed. Now, think of the pony rides you may find at a state fair. A huge metal ring latched to a metal pole in the ground provides the structure. The horses are chained to metal arms reaching off the main structure. The horses carry riders, walking in a forcefully controlled circle, heads down, necks sloped, around and around for hundreds of riders a day. It is difficult to watch the grace, power, and freedom of these horses be diminished to the mundane.
These two landscapes depict in metaphor why the Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg exists, a light in the darkening reality of today’s educational environments. The power, grace, and freedom of childhood need boundaries, not breaking. Our goal is to create the free, peaceful pasture in the classrooms at the Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg. We stand in awe of the individuality of each child standing as a one-of-a-kind creation whittled by the hands of God. The environment is not without limits and guidelines, but these boundaries are respectful, purposeful, and carefully chosen by the teachers and the students together. The goal is to provide the children with such respect that they begin to internalize boundaries and requirements and it becomes a fence line they can trust. If the fence were removed the children would continue in their learned inner-discipline because they know what is safe and good.
Within the class room, when the inner order of the children has been established, they are allowed the freedom to explore, develop work habits, become self-directed, make decisions about their education and proceed at a pace that brings success for each individual child. The students receive the respect joyfully and as a natural consequence they love learning and they love coming to school. They love the teachers and know that the teachers love them and actually care about their success. They sense that the teacher really cares and tries so hard to actually understand them. This alone is enough to keep a child engaged and excited about learning. Since each teacher works with students for three years, the student really gains a wonderful relationship and an incredible trust is formed. Many graduates come by to visit because of their love for the teachers and what they remember in their hearts.
Upon entering the class room, a visitor would find the room sprinkled with children joyfully working on their own assignments created for each child. There are no rows of cold, metal or plastic desks; the class room looks like an extension of the home. Wooden tables and shelves, warm carpets, beautiful artwork, lamps, huge bright windows, freshly painted walls in inspiring colors, and wood floors create a comforting environment.
Some children are working at quiet single spaces, alone, peacefully concentrating. Other children can be found working at a table with a friend collaborating on a task or working near a friend on individual work. Some children may also be sitting on the floor, where their bodies can move more freely, working with manipulatives and hands on materials that make learning fun and concrete. The head teacher is usually found working with one child at a time, sitting on the child’s level, eye to eye, introducing a new concept, bringing encouragement, or helping the child to discover his or her mistakes on the work and how to fix them. The lighting is soft, natural light and there is a quiet hum of communication as this little community works together to create a positive work environment for one another.
As a Christ-centered environment, God is glorified in the humble, simple, magnificence of childhood. Our world wants at every turn to take away the beauty of childhood. Children are motivated by a continuing cycle of leaning and discovery through focused lessons and through mistakes. The energy, creativity, spontaneity, compassion, and faith that bubbles out of children is something that as adults we all admire, yet these are the very qualities that our world and traditional education (including all other private, christian and public schools), aim to still in children. Everyday, childhood offers new gifts to us and without a respectful, orderly freedom, these gifts go unwrapped, unnoticed daily. Our teachers are trained to look keenly for those gifts and embrace them and the child, helping to build the child up into a creative, compassionate, focused, challenged, faithful member of his or her community. Jesus is lifted up, the word of God is studied and allowed to live within Lighthouse Academy.
The Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg is not focusing energy, time, resources, finances and hopes on the “bigness” of private education and has no desire to grow into a large school. There are no massive fund-raising campaigns, black-tie dinners, construction pledges, etc.. We do not have the pool, the auditorium, the fancy computer lab or the big gymnasium. All of these growth efforts would distract us from our primary goal which is to inspire the love of learning and prepare children to serve in this world, but be not of it. We are a humble ship with small sails on the mighty seas of education and we are pleased that God has given us this vessel. Your child may not visit a fancy computer lab once a week or get to play field hockey on a school team or even eat in a cafeteria, but he or she will learn how to budget his time, understand logic and reasoning instead of memorization, know what to do when they are faced with new challenges, be able to discover solutions independently, show compassion to those who are in need, give back and serve their community with a joyful heart, learn to love and feel loved and encouraged, learn to build self-esteem and walk away with the confidence that he or she is a divine creation, loved and held by the Creator God who will not let him or her go.
Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg is a school for those families who have the courage to choose the non-traditional path, a path of exploration and discovery. The Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg is a school for those families who seek to see their child soar as an individual and embrace serving as a member of a community. The Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg is a learning environment for families who want to enter into the school halls and be embraced as a part of a larger family. We are a small school that makes the time to understand and love each family. At Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg your child’s spiritual, emotional, academic, and social needs will be nurtured and grow to great heights.
We encourage you to come visit. Read the testimonials. These are just a small sample of many amazing stories of incredible success. We have been faithfully serving our community for 30 years and can’t wait to meet you. Jesus Christ is our foundation and He is daily welcomed, discussed, worshiped and loved inside the Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg. Come and see why the Lighthouse Academy is the right choice for your family.
One Response to “WHY The Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg?”
Wow. That’s beautiful.