Covenant Classical School

“Tag!”

On a school day back in 2007, I remember a mom enthusiastically say this to me as she tapped me on the shoulder during afternoon pick-up. The tag-team image has stuck with me through the years as a great visual to express how parent/teacher partnership works here at CCS.

Parent Partnership is one of the key components of life at Covenant, and it is one of my favorite things about the mission of our school. Why? It is vital to the success of the student. We, as teachers, are in partnership with you, as parents, in the training of your children to help them learn the ways of wisdom and to walk in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

This is no small task for either party — and one that is impossible apart from God. Reliance upon the Lord is paramount.

This partnership a beautiful triangle of trust. It is not just between the parent and teacher, but also with the student. This gives strength to the parent/teacher/student relationship because it forms a team approach. We are all on the same side. Students learn that both their parents and their teachers are working toward the same aim. And, they learn that the aim is good. Students learn a powerful message: “Both my parents and my teachers are for me.”

Partnership may look different from child to child and family to family. It may occur in a variety of ways, such as: working through academic struggles, affirming biblical truths, holding students accountable, building students up, speaking encouraging words, giving extra time to work on a subject or concept, tutoring, and more.

Partnership also evokes the imagery of lots of walking alongside. Coaching. Helping. Encouraging. Challenging. Loving.

Also, partnership at school provides a beautiful balance of accountability and care. Consequences, albeit sometimes painful in the moment, can help forge deeper character. Sometimes that involves doing hard things. But sometimes the things that matter are hard. For example, learning a long — but theologically-rich — passage of Scripture or getting 10 points off a late paper so that you can learn responsibility before the stakes are much, much higher. These valuable lessons become invaluable later in life.

At home, this could mean learning Scripture verses, having designated reading times, practicing the timeline, listening to recitation pieces, carving out the time and space for homework, establishing routines and organization that allow for follow through (and sometimes failures), praying and reading the Bible together, and even practicing math facts.

Undergirding it all, students are receiving the same message at home and school: "We care about you!"

It is a joy to be on mission together with you: Seeking the same purposes, goals, and expectations, and living out our mission together through our motto: In all things Christ preeminent.

We love your kids. We thank you for your trust. We take this trust very seriously.

The teaching of your children is a big deal and a high calling that we as teachers do not take lightly.

Thank you, parents, for trusting us with your most precious possessions, your children.

We are already looking forward to the next school year so at the end of each day, we can give you a hearty “Tag, you’re it!”

by Stephanie Boss, CCS 5th Grade Teacher