Our Approach
Christian
Our students and staff believe that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10) Therefore, we integrate Scripture in all our academics and activities. We seek the truth for our answers; we respond and refute with goodness, and we appreciate and display beauty in our work.
Every week our students memorize Bible passages, attend chapel, study God’s Word, and pray for the nations. They study theology from Early Learning to Rhetoric through catechisms, Christian doctrine, and apologetics.
Here is an example of how this plays out and is connected. As a school, all students are being catechised on such questions as Who is God? How and why did God create us? In Early Learning, students are learning that God is a ‘Big-God’, the Creator of all, and is Perfect in all his ways. Students in Grammar and Logic are learning that God is big enough to handle any question or circumstance, that he created them and each other without mistake, and his perfections cover their sinfulness through the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. In Rhetoric, students are learning to give a defense of the goodness and greatness of God’s perfections seen most clearly in the sinless Savior’s death and resurrection as the greatest news in all the world.
Classical
At Cornerstone we utilize a classical approach to education, serving students in grades Pre-K through 12. Classical education has been around for thousands of years and began with the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. The goal was to cultivate virtue in the leaders of their society. Now, many years later, we have the same goal as we seek to develop leaders that are pursuing wisdom and living out a virtuous life. Classical education uses a language-rich approach, built on the foundation of the Trivium. The Trivium describes three stages of learning that students go through in their educational journey.
Grammar Stage
The grammar stage seeks to give students a foundational knowledge of many subjects, with the intent that they will go more in-depth with those subjects in later stages of the Trivium. In this stage, students are gaining the basic vocabulary and ideas of a specific topic. Students in the grammar stage will engage in a lot of memorization through recitation of facts, singing, chants, and repetition.
Logic Stage
The logic stage allows students to deepen their understanding of subjects through thinking critically and asking good questions. We urge students at this stage to ask “why” and “how” so they can really understand the truth of something. Typically, students at this stage love to engage in arguments. So we teach them how to argue using logic and wisdom. Students will participate in many Socratic discussions during this stage, developing their critical thinking skills.
Rhetoric Stage
While in the rhetoric stage, students will learn the art of communication. Rhetoric is the skill of persuading others toward truth. This stage focuses on guiding students to form and present their original thoughts through debates and presentations. Our rhetoric students develop into persuasive and influential speakers and writers. The end goal of our rhetoric program is to produce leaders who know what they believe, and to equip them to engage intellectually in any topic, having been trained to think.
Collaborative
You can’t do it alone and you don’t have to do it alone. At Cornerstone, we collaborate. We communicate and work together for the educational and spiritual development of your family. In regards to education, we provide the curriculum and training to our families and on-campus instruction two days a week. In regards to spiritual development, we disciple our students in the formation of Christian character and disciple our families through the trials and triumphs of life. We work together for joy in the classroom and joy in the household.