Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children

The Importance of a Christian Education at the Kindergarten Level

In the last fifteen years Word of God Christian Academy has had 16 graduations, and been a stepping stone to dozens of young men and women on their way to college.  Home of two Bill Gates Millennium scholars, high level academics,  a Christ-Centered curriculum, and an outstanding athletics program, Word of God Christian Academy has an impressive record. 

But years before the students were blessed with scholarships and prestigious awards, they were small children.  Evidence can be found in the Word of God that a Christian Education should begin as early as possible.  Word of God Christian Academy is one of the few Private Christian schools in our area that provides an education from Kindergarten all the way to High School graduation.

Proverbs 22: 6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” 

Isaiah 54:13 says All thy Children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

 Isaiah 28:9 says,“Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.”

My own daughter is 5 years-old.  She and her friends are not always agreeable, but for the most part, they can absorb and can regurgitate just about anything.  If she repeats it, it has a place inside her.  Since she has reached this stage I have learned that five year-olds have a greater capacity to learn than I even thought and (2) we have to be very careful about what they are exposed to during these years. 

Nationwide, there are over 6 million children enrolled in Private Christian Schools.  Schools like Word of God Christian Academy have a lot to offer families with small children.  The National Center For Education Statistics (NCES) finds that parents often look to private schools as an extension of the home in promoting the values they embrace, and private schools respond. A recent NCES survey found that promoting religious/spiritual life was second only to academic excellence in the goals of private school principals. (from www.nces.ed.gov)

Word of God Christian Academy provides a safe learning environment with classes about half the size of the average public school class of the same age group.  Yvonne Williams, a kindergarten teacher at Word of God Christian Academy says, the students thrive when allowed to learn in a safe and supportive environment.

“I have experienced so many wonderful outstanding live changing benefits in the students that have been in my class.  Students that did not have any writing experience were able to write in cursive with continued practice.  Students with speech problems were able to get one on one tutoring.”

Rachel Hargrave, a kindergarten teacher and a parent of a former kindergärtner says, my son benefited from the one on one attention from the teachers, the structure assists my son with organization. The structure has helped my child stay disciplined and well behaved.

Word of God Christian Academy has been in session for less then one month and the dedication of the teachers to the children's development in the fundamentals of education as well as in the Word of God is already showing.  The structure is promoting focus in the children and the challenges they have already faced have shown me an awesome preview of what my child is capable of as she grows.  In addition to learning to write in cursive, my daughter's kindergarten class has committed to memory, the Pledge of Allegiance (to the American Flag and the Christian Flag), four Bible verses, several songs, prayers and seven short poems.  The setup also commands parental involvement.  For homework one evening, one of our assignments was for me to listen to her recite the Poem “Who Has Seen the Wind?”  Once I had the hard copy in front of me, I casually asked the question, “Who has seen the wind?”  My child stood up and proudly bellowed, “Who Has Seen the Wind?” by Christina Rossetti” and proceeded to recite the eight line poem with choreography she'd learned.  She then proceeded to entertain me with various other poems she'd learned from a cute verse about a little turtle to a catchy rhyme about being polite.  She is developing as a student, as a person and as a Christian.

At the heart of the matter are the Founders, Bishop Frank and Pastor Joe Nell Summerfield.  As Pastors of Word of God Fellowship Church, outstanding leaders in the community, successful business people, parents of four children and partners in life for more than three decades, the Summerfields are driven by their love for  people and their desire for the success of the family that God intends.  Word of God Christian Academy is there to do the work that God has commanded...that our children should be taught of the Lord as much as possible.  When we're together in our house and my daughter lifts her hands and sings to the Lord, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You..I will trust in You...I will trust in You,” I know it is true.  Great shall be the peace of thy children.

Sonya Dawson