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When Prayer Rock Academy students studied the ancient Greeks last year, they learned about city states in history class, read about the life of Paul in their Bible class and drew Greek temples in art class.
“First we look at ‘What does God have to say about it?’ and then we look at how it connects to other learning,” said Prayer Rock Academy curriculum director Cheryl Sieker. “All learning disciplines are highly integrated in all that we do.”
The small private school began last year and expects to at least double its enrollment to 12 students this fall, growing out of the room it used to use at North Roseburg Evangelical Free Church to its new home in the Umpqua Community Center.
The first- through sixth-grade school was born out of the desire of five area families for a different kind of education for their children.
Prayer Rock Academy teaches a classical and Christian curriculum. The classical element of the school, which Sieker said differentiates it from other Christian schools, is rooted in the trivium, a three-part learning model. Sieker said the first stage, in grades one through six, takes hold of children’s ability to learn the basic fundamentals of each subject area.
Sieker said that someday she hopes the school will expand to teach children logic in the second stage, grades seven and eight, and rhetoric in the third stage, grades nine through 12, to allow young adults to effectively communicate in the world.
Students at Prayer Rock Academy learn Latin and, at their new site, will attend classes in combination first and second, third and fourth, and fifth and sixth grades taught by one part-time and three full-time teachers. The whole school will come together for P.E. and chapel.
Sieker said that as the school grows, class sizes will be limited to 12, allowing for more one-on-one teaching and a better-focused learning environment.
“We don’t want to get too big too fast,” said Brian Clark, Prayer Rock Academy headmaster. “We want slow, methodical growth. We want to be faithful to God and to families.”
The school teaches etiquette and manners. Children stand when an adult enters the classroom, the boys open doors for the girls, and students stand when answering questions during formal class time.
Sieker said the students’ parents are an integral part of making the school possible. Last year the school relied on tuition and donations provided by the students’ families to start Prayer Rock Academy. A mom watched the children play each day during lunch, giving the teachers a break. On Sunday Sieker announced it would cost $228 to purchase a net for the upcoming school year’s tennis lessons, and a family immediately volunteered to pick up the tab.
“It’s great to see how God has pulled us together to make this dream a reality,” Sieker said.
Sieker said that students averaged in the 95th percentile on standardized testing nationwide. The school follows the traditional academic calendar and costs $4,000 per year with tuition breaks for siblings.
Prayer Rock Academy teachers will spend August organizing, cleaning and rearranging their new classrooms.
While teaching about the ancient Greeks in Bible, science, history and art classes last year, Sieker said she got goose bumps when a second-grader said, “Mrs. Sieker, it’s all connecting.”
“For her to realize it herself was beautiful,” Sieker said.
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
“First we look at ‘What does God have to say about it?’ and then we look at how it connects to other learning,” said Prayer Rock Academy curriculum director Cheryl Sieker. “All learning disciplines are highly integrated in all that we do.”
The small private school began last year and expects to at least double its enrollment to 12 students this fall, growing out of the room it used to use at North Roseburg Evangelical Free Church to its new home in the Umpqua Community Center.
The first- through sixth-grade school was born out of the desire of five area families for a different kind of education for their children.
Prayer Rock Academy teaches a classical and Christian curriculum. The classical element of the school, which Sieker said differentiates it from other Christian schools, is rooted in the trivium, a three-part learning model. Sieker said the first stage, in grades one through six, takes hold of children’s ability to learn the basic fundamentals of each subject area.
Sieker said that someday she hopes the school will expand to teach children logic in the second stage, grades seven and eight, and rhetoric in the third stage, grades nine through 12, to allow young adults to effectively communicate in the world.
Students at Prayer Rock Academy learn Latin and, at their new site, will attend classes in combination first and second, third and fourth, and fifth and sixth grades taught by one part-time and three full-time teachers. The whole school will come together for P.E. and chapel.
Sieker said that as the school grows, class sizes will be limited to 12, allowing for more one-on-one teaching and a better-focused learning environment.
“We don’t want to get too big too fast,” said Brian Clark, Prayer Rock Academy headmaster. “We want slow, methodical growth. We want to be faithful to God and to families.”
The school teaches etiquette and manners. Children stand when an adult enters the classroom, the boys open doors for the girls, and students stand when answering questions during formal class time.
Sieker said the students’ parents are an integral part of making the school possible. Last year the school relied on tuition and donations provided by the students’ families to start Prayer Rock Academy. A mom watched the children play each day during lunch, giving the teachers a break. On Sunday Sieker announced it would cost $228 to purchase a net for the upcoming school year’s tennis lessons, and a family immediately volunteered to pick up the tab.
“It’s great to see how God has pulled us together to make this dream a reality,” Sieker said.
Sieker said that students averaged in the 95th percentile on standardized testing nationwide. The school follows the traditional academic calendar and costs $4,000 per year with tuition breaks for siblings.
Prayer Rock Academy teachers will spend August organizing, cleaning and rearranging their new classrooms.
While teaching about the ancient Greeks in Bible, science, history and art classes last year, Sieker said she got goose bumps when a second-grader said, “Mrs. Sieker, it’s all connecting.”
“For her to realize it herself was beautiful,” Sieker said.
You can reach reporting intern Desiree Aflleje at 957-4211 or by e-mail at daflleje@nrtoday.com.
