Our mission statement begins, “Cedar Classical Academy assists parents in the education of their children.” Hearkening back to this mission, we liberally use the phrase “parental partnership.” In this essay I want to define parental partnership philosophically, give examples of what it looks like practically, give examples of what it is not, and highlight the kinds of parents with whom we love to partner.
A Philosophical Definition
Philosophically, parental partnership means having a shared mission and two-way trust. We trust parents to be mission-minded—to be all-in for the mission of the school. Our mission is classical, our mission is Christian, and our mission is also uniquely Cedar. We trust parents to champion the mission of the school, from the curriculum to Christian discipleship to the honor code. We trust parents to be committed to carrying out the mission and seeing the fruit of it in their students.
Trust is two-way. Parents also trust Cedar’s staff to be the kind of people worthy of operating in loco parentis for a huge part of their student’s week. Parents trust that we take that authority seriously and that teachers value this privilege.
Practical Examples of Parental Partnership
Discipline
Parental partnership requires parents and teachers to be on the same page about discipline. Parents are not surprised or defensive when discipline happens in the classroom and are ready and willing to address things at home. Teachers, like parents, are concerned with the heart of the student and not merely behavior modification.
Involvement
Parents are in the classroom literally and figuratively. Some parents physically volunteer in the classroom and on field trips. All parents stay informed about what their student is learning in class.
Communication
Teachers tell parents what is going on individually with a student and in the class as whole. Parents tell teachers about relevant things happening at home that might inform the way a school day looks.
What Parental Partnership is Not
Parental Partnership is Not Homogeneity
Not all parents and families need to look the same, volunteer the same number of hours, donate the same number of dollars, attend the same number of events, attend the same church, or prioritize the same activities.
Parental Partnership is Not Ubiquitous Agreement
Partnering with Cedar does not mean always agreeing with everything Cedar does. Being partners means that we are equipped to deal with conflict and disagreement biblically, gracefully, and efficiently.
Parental Partnership is Not Parental Governance
Cedar Classical Academy is an independent school with a self-perpetuating governing board of directors. The governing board speaks with one voice, so individual board members do not have authority to make decisions. The governing board has one employee—the Head of School—so the governing board does not have authority to hire or fire teachers or staff. In these ways, the school follows best practices for classical Christian school as outlined by our various member organizations. Because of this, parental partnership does not mean that the school caters to parent opinions that are not mission-crucial. Parents are most closely partnering with individual classroom teachers in their own children’s education, not with the staff and board in forming and executing the strategic direction of the school.
Parental Partnership is Not Only For Moms
Moms are sometimes logistically more free to be in the school if they work in the home, but we are partnered with dads, too! Dads come in to drop off students and stay after for fellowship. Dads read literature books that the students are reading. Dads come to extracurricular events. Dads come to school and start snowball fights (true story!). A dad knows what his student is learning at school and is no less a partner than his wife who might have more face time at the school itself due to her weekly schedule.
Parental Partnership is Not Usurpation of Parental Authority
Teachers do not seek to usurp the authority of parents. We are given authority by the parents and we uphold parents, under God, as the ultimate authority in a student’s life.
Parental Partnership Does Not Just Happen
Parental partnership is not an accident. It is intentional on both sides. Teachers work hard to uphold this crucial facet of our mission, and parents, among other things, must be intentional about not being content with their student’s generic summation of his day. Parents in partnership with the teachers press into the education and are not taking an easy way out by sending their students to full time school.
The Kinds of Parents We Love to Partner With
Parents Acquainted With Discipline
We love to partner with families who have high expectations for their students’ character and virtue. Families who expect first time obedience, eye contact, and the virtues of joy and grit will experience the least amount of friction with our teachers who also expect those things.
Parents Who Clean Up Their Messes Quickly
By “clean up their messes,” I do not refer to personal hygiene—although we value that here too! Instead, I mean that when disagreements, differing opinions, or un-overlookable conflict of any kind arises, parents are committed to handling these instances according to Matthew 18:15, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” To this end, we love to partner with parents who hate gossip and are quick to overlook offenses and who go to the source of conflict without harboring bitterness.
Parents Who Value Both Moral and Intellectual Virtue
Parents at Cedar desire truth, knowledge, and wisdom for their students, and desire that their students grow into, as our mission statement asserts, self-governing men and women who joyfully serve their God and neighbor. Partner families who love Cedar expect their students to have a robust knowledge of God, human, nature, and the world and to grow in godliness of character. To that end, Cedar families embrace the challenge of homework and carve out time and space to make this a priority.
Parents Who Are Scrappy
Cedar families are scrappy. As a newer school, parents have been asked to be flexible, gracious, and welcoming of uncertainty and sometimes inconvenience. For the first four and a half years of the school, our community set up the school every Monday morning and cleaned it up as if we were never there every Friday afternoon. We develop new policies each year. Parents can feel like they are on the ship as it is being built. Parents who partner with us take ownership of that and are excited about being a part of the beginnings of what the Lord is doing here.
In Conclusion
If this sounds like the kind of partnership that could be right for your family, we would encourage you to visit and apply. Cedar Classical Academy is serious about helping parents fulfill their Biblical duty to bring their children up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. We would love to partner with you in your daily work of reaching your children for Christ and, in time, sending them out for His kingdom. Sic Semper Draconibus!