Midland Classical Academy partners with families to develop Christ-like leaders. The educational philosophy of our school is that parents are the primary educators. At MCA parents are invited and encouraged to be involved in their student’s journey. While the educational outcome cannot be guaranteed we believe the single biggest factor in a child's education is the extent to which the parents are involved. When parents enroll their children in MCA, they are committing themselves to engaging minds, pursuing Christ and discovering greatness as much as their children.
MCA provides and requires its parents to serve a certain number of hours at either the Grammar or Upper School for each family. This benefits the families in several ways. The work parents perform for the school helps keep tuition costs low and fosters community within the larger school family. Working together gives parents opportunities to meet other parents, tutors, and students. In addition to these things, parents who complete service hours with excellence, model how to be a servant-leader. There are few things parents can do to effectively communicate more simply and clearly to the eternal importance of educating young men and women for Christ than volunteering their time and talent in this endeavor.
The Grammar School serves families with children in K-6th grade. MCAG provides families structure and support through curriculum, pacing, and accountability within a hybrid model where classroom teachers partner with parents in the homeschooling educational process. Ultimately, the parents’ level of involvement and commitment to teach their child at home determines the success of a student’s learning experience. Students attend class on campus two and a half days a week, while the remaining days of the week parents teach their child at home. Lessons are introduced at school and assessed in the classroom, but learning mainly happens at home within a nurturing parent-child relationship.
For more specific information, see our Grammar School Overview video.
When parents enroll their children at MCA they are committing themselves as much as their kids. This is especially true at the Grammar School where the K-6th grade students are in class only two and half days a week and are at home doing schoolwork under parental supervision for the remainder of the week. At the Upper School, parents may have less direct involvement, but their role is no less vital. It is imperative that Upper School parents be aware of what is going on in their teenager's life academically, socially, and spiritually.
Communication between parents and tutors is essential and takes place regularly at MCA. Parents and tutors proactively communicate with one another for the benefit of the student. Our tutors are in the habit of informing the parent with accurate information so that the parent can fulfill their role. Parents are promptly informed when their child consistently or dramatically fails to meet expectations. Likewise, because of the highly relational aspect of our educational environment, tutors should be made aware from the parents of any issues or factors that affect the student’s performance. Parents need to communicate with their children about what goes on at MCA. Sometimes class discussions over complex issues may need additional sorting out at home. The best environment for the student to succeed is one where she knows that she is loved by her parents and tutors – and that her parents and tutors are on the same team. When children are “dropped off” at school by uninvolved parents, it is much more difficult for them to succeed. They are left without a rudder, and unless they manufacture academic discipline and drive without support from home, they will struggle to meet the demands of our school. The bottom line is that it is of immeasurable benefit to have the school and parents working in harmony in the educational development of each child.