BEREAN ACADEMY is committed to a vision of education that is academically challenging, well versed in the history and traditions of our culture, contemporary and relevant, and fully submitted to the Lordship of Christ in all fields of endeavor. Our mission is to provide a new generation of leaders for the Church, men and women who think clearly and express themselves to the Church and the world with a full appreciation for the Christian ideals of truth, virtue and beauty.

 

Is not the great defect of our education today... that although we often succeed in teaching our pupils "subjects," we fail lamentably on the whole in teaching them how to think: they learn everything, except the art of learning. 

-Dorothy Sayers

FROM BEREAN'S POLICY GOVERNANCE MANUAL:

Berean Academy is an assembly of families training up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  The school exists to produce virtuous scholars who will bless the world for Christ.  We do this by:

1. Elevating God’s Word as the standard in the reading, understanding, and enjoyment of the world’s great ideas in the arts and sciences;

2. Employing the methods of the classical trivium, including memorization, logical thinking, and debate;

3. Maintaining a board, administration, and faculty called to the work, who model enthusiasm for learning;

4. Encouraging students to pursue truth, faith, and virtue under the Lordship of Jesus Christ;

Accordingly, in the curricular program at all levels, as well as through extracurricular activities and examples set by faculty and staff, the School will strive to:

1. Teach all subjects in the curriculum as parts of an integrated whole with the Scripture at the center (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

2. Provide a clear model of biblical Christian life through the School staff and Board (1 Corinthians 11:1)

3. Encourage every student to begin and develop a personal relationship with God the Father by faith through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:40).

4. In a manner consistent with Article 5 of the By-Laws, emphasize the classical Trivium, that is, the grammar, logic, and rhetoric of all subjects, specifically including the following:

a. Instruction in reading through the use of phonics;

b. At least nine (9) years of Latin or Greek instruction [beginning in the Grammar School and] with at least three (3) years in the Dialectic and two (2) years in the Rhetoric stages;

c. At least one year each of formal logic and formal rhetoric;

d. Training in classical and modern Western history and literature;

e. Training in writing (both prose and poetry), grammar, spelling, and composition;

f. Training in the Scriptures, to include a well-integrated scriptural understanding of all subjects;

g. Training in mathematics, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry as a minimum;
h. Training in general science, biology, chemistry, and physics;
i. Training in biblical apologetics;
j. General instruction and training in the arts and music throughout the Trivium;
k. Regular evaluation by documented, annual administration of an appropriate, nationally recognized, standardized exam.

5. Encourage every student to develop a love for learning, language, and literature, and to achieve his or her maximum academic potential.
6. Foster an atmosphere whereby students learn to love their classmates, respect their teachers, and serve others in the community.
7. Provide an orderly and secure atmosphere conducive to maintaining this mission.
8. Prepare students not only to survive in a non-Christian world, but to challenge, influence and take the lead in enthroning Jesus Christ as Lord over every area of life and culture.