Why a Private School?
Since Pinnacle Classical Academy was founded in 2010, it has always been private. That was an intentional decision made by the board, knowing that their mission and vision for the school would be compromised if the school attempted to operate as a public school. Due to the school’s Christian mission, being private probably seems like a given. That does not, however, make it any less important. Neither does it mean that schools with Christian convictions always choose to stay private.
Most schools we are familiar with are public, and being a public school does come with some major benefits. These schools immediately have access to a broader and deeper pool of resources: staff, training, security, facilities, etc. The most obvious benefit is the guarantee of significant funding. Most private schools can only dream of having the financial backing of the average public school.
This reality means that one of the greatest challenges private schools face is funding. For public schools, finances is about making a responsible budget and using the resources that you are given well. For private schools, that same financial stewardship is necessary, but private schools must also generate the funds on their own. So, private schools seek to build a healthy donor base, increase enrollment, and raise tuition as needed to compete in the market.
If the matter of private vs. public only involved money, then the decision would be a no-brainer: become public and take the money. The question is, of course, much more complex than that because with government funding come regulation and oversight. Public schools are subject to curriculum directives, hiring standards, standardized training and benchmarks, and considerable other input from external sources. This leads to the school being made in the government’s image, rather than being able to determine its own.
A number of schools over the years started as private, Christian institutions though they no longer hold any of those prior convictions. While this usually starts as simple mission drift (without fundamental changes in structure), the death knell is often the conversion from private to public. While such a transition has financially saved many institutions, it has resurrected them in forms unrecognizable to their prior existence.
These mutations are quite common among higher education institutions (e.g. Harvard and Princeton). Many universities today champion secular ideology despite deeply Christian roots. Their journeys provide valuable warnings for schools like Pinnacle. The road toward secularism begins with small compromises in mission and doctrine but produces drastic mission drift further into the future.
Pinnacle’s mission says, “Pinnacle Classical Academy seeks to glorify God through the Christ-centered classical training of children.” Likewise our vision statement says, “Pinnacle Classical Academy seeks to graduate students instilled with a lifelong love of learning, equipped for service in love to God and man.” The mission statement gives Pinnacle its why, and the vision statement gives us its how. Both are paramount for our operation of the school.
These statements are fundamentally irreconcilable with the Department of Education’s mission that says, “Our mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” This mission statement doesn’t sound so terrible on the surface but has critical absences that are inexcusable.
The Department of Education fails to situate the objectives of learning under the glory of God. Learning has zero eternal worth if not done with a desire to honor God. True learning cannot even take place apart from a Christ-centered view of the world. A secular education is built upon lies and half-truths that warp the mind and soul. Students who discover the complexities of the cell without marveling at its Creator only increase their obligation to that Creator’s judgment.
The Department of Education’s mission statement also fails to identify the proper aim of education: to equip the student with the tools of learning. Secular education instead focuses on achievement and preparation. As a result, grades and test scores dominate every public discussion and strategy on education. These two metrics are how success is measured. It’s no surprise then that teachers are pressured to teach toward these two methods of analysis. If you were judged by how well your students perform on standardized tests, why wouldn’t you focus on preparing them for those tests all year? American education doesn’t have a teacher problem or a student problem; it has a mission problem.
This brief detour (or tirade perhaps; forgive me) is precisely why Pinnacle is and always will be a private institution. Despite the financial challenges it brings, despite the additional work it requires in developing tools and resources, and despite the practical result of limiting our pool of potential students, being private is the only thing that lets Pinnacle stay Pinnacle.
We do not have to bow to curriculum directives from the Department of Education. We are not required to submit to the whims of teacher labor unions. We get to teach in the way that we know to be best for our students. We have the freedom to prepare our students for a life of learning, not working. We are able to focus on mastery of material, rather than memorization for a test. Ironically, when we do all these things, our students tend to score better on tests and be better prepared for their jobs as well. These benefits are all due to the passion of our staff and the effectiveness of classical, Christian education.
The only reason we can continue to be both a classical and Christian school though is because we are private. If the jenga piece of private operation were removed, the whole tower would come crumbling down. Little Rock doesn’t need another public school. Little Rock doesn’t even need another Christian school, but it does need a private, classical, Christian school. Without your support, Pinnacle would never survive as a private institution. Thank you for helping us continue to form lifelong learners and disciples for Christ.
Duncan Collins
Headmaster
