How Does a Small School Setting Help My Child Succeed?
Parents are faced with a plethora of decisions when selecting the right education for their child. Of course, parents must first decide whether they want their children to learn in a public or private setting, but there are many other considerations as well, especially when a parent opts to put their child on the private school track.
Every private school is distinct. Some private schools have thousands of students while others have hundreds or less. As a parent, it’s important to acknowledge that the size of a school can have a substantial effect on your child’s education. In many cases, parents find that their child can benefit from a small school setting that affords students more one-on-one time with their teachers.
Are you looking to enroll your child in one of the best private schools in Clearwater, FL? The students at Lakeside Christian School benefit from a highly focused, small school setting featuring teachers dedicated to student success who take pleasure in helping children achieve their academic, social, and career-minded goals.
More Opportunities for Inspiration
Private schools that have embraced a small school setting typically allow students to engage with their teachers on a more personal level. In other words, students gain valuable one-on-one time that simply can’t be facilitated by schools with comparably larger class sizes. When your child has the ability to communicate with teachers directly, they can ask more questions and get hands-on assistance working through the problems they find the most challenging. The teacher also benefits from the chance to learn more about your child and develop a curriculum to maximize their academic success.
Close-knit Community Learning
In a small school setting, your child will feel a stronger sense of community. They are less likely to feel lost in the crowd and will build closer relationships with faculty, staff, and students. When your child has the opportunity to build strong relationships, they are more likely to succeed as they work together with others to work through problems. Outside of school, these relationships often blossom into lifelong friendships. Also, a close-knit community can help boost student confidence while encouraging them to share their thoughts and ideas more openly. Your child is attending school to obtain a high quality education, but they are also there to develop socially. In a small school setting, they can benefit from both.
If you would like to learn more about Lakeside Christian School, an affordable private elementary school in Clearwater, FL, please give us a call at (727) 239-7808 or schedule a tour of our campus.
3 Benefits of Touring Private Schools Before Enrollment
Your child’s education is an important part of their growth and development. You want the best for your child, to provide them with the opportunity to grow and flourish so they can become leaders in their communities as they get older, but you also need to balance their educational development with their overall well-being.
There’s a good chance that you’ve already read about the benefits of private education, and if you are taking the initiative to secure a more tailored approach to your child’s education, you will want to be certain that you take the time to tour any schools you are considering. Remember, if you are worried about the cost of private education, Step Up For Students participating schools in Clearwater, FL, like Lakeside Christian School, offer scholarship opportunities to help low-income families afford private school.
1. Get to Know the Staff
When you tour a private school, you can introduce yourself to the school’s staff and even meet a few teachers. You can see what life in the classroom is like and get a firsthand look at how the school’s teachers are helping children learn. The school’s staff will be your support system during your child’s enrollment and your primary point of contact for helping you and your child deal with any issues that may arise.
2. Check Out the Facilities
For your child to obtain a high-quality education, they need to feel comfortable learning in the facilities provided by the private school you select. Has the school taken proactive measures to create vibrant learning spaces that spur your child’s interest and encourage them to embrace learning? Are their facilities well-maintained? These are some of the questions you will want to ask yourself as you tour private schools.
3. Learn About Scholarship Opportunities
Touring private schools not only allows you to get a better idea of what day-to-day life is like at the school, but it also gives you the opportunity to learn more about how the school can help you make private education a reality for your child. For example, some schools can help low-income families afford a private education because they have partnered with Step Up For Students in Clearwater, FL. One of the Step Up For Students scholarships, the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) scholarship, helps low-income families send their children to private schools.
If you would like to learn more about Lakeside Christian School, one of the Step Up For Students participating schools in Clearwater, FL, please give us a call at (727) 239-7808 or schedule a tour of our campus.
Autism Awareness Month
“When it comes to people with mental or physical disabilities, we need to help them to achieve what kind of dreams they want,” he added. “And when it comes to autism, we always have one goal and that is to thrive. We need to thrive.”
This quote comes from Parker Neilson, as quoted by Fox 31 news in an article you can find here. If you watch the video and read the article, you’ll find that Parker is a senior at Lakeside Christian School, and has been diagnosed with autism. He now gives back to the community that has helped him grow and thrive.
It’s inspiring, to say the least.
It’s Autism Awareness Month, and we wanted to share Parker’s story here in order to encourage families that also have children with autism. Lakeside Christian School does not specialize in teaching students with special needs, but we do strive to include students with many different abilities (including those with autism) like Parker. We believe that every student is made in God’s image and we’d like everyone to take a look at LCS to see if their child could benefit from our program.
Parker began attending LCS in 3rd grade, where he received the foundation he needed to find success in high school. Parker now attends part time and is also home schooled, but both Parker and his parents credit LCS with helping to prepare him to “thrive,” as he said.
Your child will fit perfectly somewhere. Why not take a look at Lakeside Christian School and see if that somewhere is with us. Call us and schedule your personal tour today!
Mentoring Month
“The Best Education”
“I highly recommend LCS to anyone who wants the best education for their child.”
This is a real quote from a real parent of a student at Lakeside Christian School. Is this something you can say about your child’s school? If not, we’d love it if you checked out LCS.
Here are some things you’ll find at LCS:
- We offer an incredible education: we’re closing academic gaps and propelling students ahead in both reading and math, starting in kindergarten!
- Our environment is safe, secure, and close-knit. We take great care to protect our students and create a place in which they feel comfortable and ready to learn.
- A Biblical worldview is our backbone. More than anything, we want our students to know Christ.
- It’s affordable. Yes, we’re a private Christian school. Yes, we offer a top-notch education. Yes, we have a close-knit, safe environment. But we also work with every family’s budget in order to make LCS affordable!
Call us today and come for a visit! We’d love to meet you.
Why Enroll in a Christian School?
ACSI commissioned The Barna Group to do a nation-wide large scale study regarding why parents enroll their children in Christian schools. These were their top six reasons and things they looked for:
1) safe environment
2) teachers who care
3) academic excellence
4) accessible staff
5) intentional about developing character
6) affordable
Lakeside Christian School meets all six of these, and then some. Let’s look a little closer:
1) LCS has worked hard to make the building safe and secure, to build a safety plan, and to fight bullying.
2) Our teachers are among the best, brightest, and most loving you will find. They see their work as a calling rather than a job, and their students as their reason for doing what they do.
3) At LCS, we used best practice instruction and tested curriculum to build an academic program that not only pulls students up to grade level, put also accelerates many beyond grade level. Students are frequently evaluated in order to give them the kind of education they need.
4) Our teachers not only care, but are easily accessible via email and scheduled meetings. They are happy to communicate with both parents and teachers whenever is desired.
5) LCS’s number one goal is to show the love and character of Christ to our students, that they may know Jesus Christ as their Savior and grow to be more like Him.
6) Unlike many private Christian schools, LCS strives to be affordable for all household incomes. We will work with every family to make LCS affordable for you.
When your options are public schools, expensive private schools, and public charter schools, why wouldn’t you check out LCS? Call us today and schedule a tour.
Online Schooling < LCS
There are a number of options from which each family can choose the school that will best meet their needs:
Public school
Private school
Charter school
Online school
Home school
We’ve already discussed the perils of Florida public schools, the expense of private schools, and the cons of charter schools. If you missed those posts, check them out here. Home school is great, if parents feel up to the challenge. This leaves online school.
Whether from home or another location, whether one student or a handful, online school is where students complete their education in front of a computer screen. For some, they consider this ideal. They can home school without learning how to teach the material to their child. But online schooling is simply not a good option if you hope your child will become college and career ready by the end of their time in high school.
Consider this:
Jason Burns wrote an article for Michigan State University last November. This article outlines a Stanford study that determined online schools to be ineffective. He writes, “According to this report, the academic growth of students who attend “online charter schools,” where a majority of instruction takes place over the internet, falls far behind the growth of students who receive their education in traditional settings.”
The article details the fact that students who attend online schools are often an ENTIRE SCHOOL YEAR behind in math, and about HALF A SCHOOL YEAR behind in reading. These facts cannot be shrugged off. How will your child be college prepared when they may be an entire year behind their peers?
This is just one article of many that highlights the ineffectiveness of online schools. Think carefully about your child’s education. Convenience and low price might be appealing, but in the end is like buying a cheap, old car. This car might look like it will do what you need for much less than other cars. Yet if it doesn’t get you where you need to go, it’s worthless, and a waste of money. In that way, your child’s education needs to get them where they want to go. An online education won’t do that.
We encourage you to take a look at Lakeside Christian School. Unlike public schools, we have high-quality academics. Unlike other private schools, we can make it affordable for you. Unlike charter schools, we have control over what we teach and how money is spent. Unlike online schools, we use best practice teaching. Unlike home school, we offer the complete school experience- including sports, fine arts, and chapel.
Your child’s education is of utmost importance. Call today to set up a tour of Lakeside Christian School, and let us show you how we are different.
To read more about the failure of online schools, read the original quoted article here.
Stuck Like Glue
Parents are happy with what we are doing at Lakeside Christian School.
How do we know this? We have an over 90% retention rate. Perhaps it’s purely academic: we are closing learning gaps among our elementary students. This means we are bringing most of those who were behind, up to and above grade level. Or it’s our desire to prepare all students for college and career, starting LONG before high school begins. Maybe it’s the fact that we teach each class and every subject from a biblical worldview. Or it could be the environment- safe and secure, with loving staff and a family feel. It could be any number of things, like our athletics or drama program, for example. But we believe it’s most likely the unique combination of all these things that makes Lakeside Christian School such a special place.
Schedule a tour today to find out what’s different about Lakeside Christian School, and why our families don’t just attend; they stick around.
Can You Afford a Private Christian Education For Your Child?
The primary reason parents do not place their children in private school is the sticker shock. Most parents will scoff at the price and never take another step in that direction, for fear that it is completely unattainable.
At some schools, that may be the case. Not at Lakeside Christian School.
Take a look at this checklist. If you can check off most of these things, you should look into LCS:
- You live in the greater Clearwater area.
- You desire an excellent education for your child.
- You either need your child to catch up to grade level or need to see how far ahead you can encourage your child.
- You are looking for a safe and secure learning environment.
- You want qualified educators using best practice instruction in your child’s classroom.
- You desire (or at the very least aren’t opposed to) your child’s classes taught from a biblical worldview.
Obviously a private Christian education such as this will be more expensive than public school or charter school. But like most things, you get what you pay for. It is absolutely worth it to invest in a private education for your child.
You really should see it as an investment. When you invest in an education like the one your child could receive at LCS, it will pay off with a child who graduates ready for college and career with a wealth of knowledge and, Lord willing, a solid biblical backbone to prepare them for real life.
But what if it’s an investment you just can’t afford?
Then you haven’t spoken with LCS yet.
Here are some quick details:
- FACTS financial aid provides us with detailed information that helps LCS offer a scholarship that reduces our regular tuition.
- Step Up for Students scholarships provides massive assistance. At this point in the year, they have closed new applications, but we can offer tuition that works for the year, then you can apply for Step Up for Students next year.
- At LCS, we are able to meet individual needs 9 out of 10 times, and make tuition work for each family.
A private education is well within your reach when you consider Lakeside Christian School. You don’t have to settle for less than the best when it comes to your child’s education.
Call Lakeside Christian School today to schedule a free tour!
LCS Fine Arts Quick Facts
1) After years of success in the early 2000’s, followed by a hiatus, the LCS chorus returned three years ago. In those three years, the group has grown from 7 to 18 students and has received an Excellence award at the ACSI chorus festival each of the past three years.
