Community Christian Education Program (CCEP)
An alternative program of Edmonton Public Schools in partnership with MCS Foundation
The Community Christian Education Program is
an alternative program for children Grades K – 9. Founded on the Christian worldview, love your God, and love your neighbour as yourself, this program seeks to teach students how to live their Christian faith in the context of their local and broader community.
The program is designed to nurture excellent character, leadership, academic and spiritual outcomes in students through the use of faith-based strategies, value-rich role modeling by staff, and parent partnership. Students are encouraged to actively demonstrate these outcomes through leadership opportunities in their school, community service options in their neighbourhood and extra curricular involvement.
Spiritual Foundation
The Community Christian Education Program simply defined, is an integration of faith and learning. At its foundation is the Christian Bible and the belief that God is central to our humanity. The CCEP is interdenominational and embraces students and staff from a variety of church backgrounds and heritages. It is unabashedly evangelical because sharing the strength of the Christian faith with others and contributing toward community enhancement is fundamental to the mission of the program. Appendix 1 outlines the mission statement of Meadowlark Christian School and the doctrinal statement of the CCEP.
As an alternative program within Edmonton Public Schools, the Community Christian Education Program partnering with parents and the EPS Board will seek to uphold all aspects of its Mission and stay true to its doctrinal beliefs by emphasizing the following:
- The Community Christian Education Program will demonstrate its spiritual foundation in every part of its operation.
- Prayer will have a major focus.
- Knowledge of God, the Bible, and its relevance will be integrated at appropriate opportunities.
- Practical outcomes of the Christian faith will be explored.
To be a caring community committed to developing excellence in:
- Learning – through academics
- Students will be encouraged to realize their full academic potential as an individual uniquely created by God.
- All students will be encouraged to develop creative and critical thinking through the proper use of Biblical criteria for evaluation.
- Living – in Christ
- Students will experience the invitation to accept Christ as Saviour and to live for Him.
- Students will be encouraged to make informed Christian choices based on Biblical criteria.
- Students will learn a Christian view of life, work, personal relationships, family and marriage.
- Staff will demonstrate Christian values in the classroom by living with integrity.
- Leading – by serving others
- Students will be challenged to become leaders at school and in the community. They will be involved with various service projects to help them gain an understanding of what it means to be a contributing member of society realizing the dependence we have on one another.
- Students will be challenged to good citizenship through developing the understanding and appreciation of our Christian and Canadian heritage of responsible freedom, human dignity and acceptance of authority.
- Students are encouraged to take part in public speaking opportunities in wake-up calls and assemblies to share their perspectives.
- Staff will demonstrate effective Christian leadership.
- Loving – with strength of character
- Strong emphasis will be placed on the students receiving character education: honesty, kindness, loyalty, perseverance, integrity, tolerance, respect, equality, stewardship, and community awareness
- Individuality is not only respected but celebrated.
- Students are taught to be responsible for themselves, others, and property, and to treat everyone with love and respect.
- The goal is to highlight the positive traits in each student and to build, develop, instruct, and guide in those areas while also helping him or her to develop strength in weaker areas.
- Staff and students work together to create an environment in which each person feels safe and encouraged. Staff will model care and concern for students. Conflict resolution will be demonstrated and taught using an effective Biblical model which encourages open communication, quick settlement, and discretion of the parties involved.
Programming
The Community Christian Education Program will provide excellent educational programming through an efficient and effective model that includes the Alberta Learning Curriculum with alternative programming expansion:
CCEP will operate within the context of its mission: committed to developing personal excellence.
- Students will be required to achieve academically at their grade level unless testing reveals significant learning problems that preclude that. However, striving for personal excellence will always be the challenge, hence the mission statement and the “Four L’s” – Learning, Living, Leading, Loving.
- Student needs will be identified and addressed appropriately so that each student has the opportunity to meet the challenge of personal excellence.
- Parents are partners; therefore, CCEP has an extensive communication plan to keep parents informed of student progress in all areas, especially academics.
- Through the admissions process, parents will be fully informed of the school’s spiritual and academic programs before they enrol their child. Parents and students are asked to make a commitment to support the mission of the school.
- The principal will monitor academic achievement, the spiritual quality of the school, the ability of the students to relate the Bible to learning and how the mission of the school is being fulfilled and share these results with the MCS Advisory Council.
CCEP will offer a program that has a strong leadership and service focus: to be a caring community.
- Students will be given opportunities to serve as leaders within the school community.
- Extra curricular activities will be provided to enhance student commitment to their community.
- Students will be encouraged to participate in a service option which enables them to volunteer in the neighbourhood community and provide a valuable service.
CCEP will include spiritual programming.
- Staff and student devotions and discussions within regular classroom situations will include a spiritual focus.
- Chapels, retreats, P.D. Days, staff meetings, assemblies, and school presentations will include a spiritual focus.
- Bible study and memorization will be regularly incorporated.
- Purposeful discussion of Christian morals and beliefs, as they are involved in the different subjects, will be encouraged.
- Use of Divine creation, as an alternative to the theory of evolution in the study of origins, will be a standard. Evolution theory will be taught as required.
- Resources and materials used in the education program will be chosen consistent with good and moral subject matter.
- Various groups associated with the school, ranging from council members to administrators, teachers, staff, parents and students, will be involved in regular prayer times.
CCEP will make regular program revisions.
- Teachers are encouraged to be collaborative in planning programs and to attend program development.
- The principal will lead teachers in ongoing development of the program.
- Teachers will have opportunities for professional development.
Staff
The Community Christian Education Program teaching staff and administration will be professional and knowledgeable faith-filled Christian educators. Each teacher must hold a valid Alberta Teaching Certificate and must make an affirmation of the philosophy of the school, agreeing to support the objectives of Christian education in the school. It is expected that all staff will clearly exhibit their enthusiasm, competence and commitment to personal excellence in education in CCEP.
Teachers will structure learning environments that challenge students to personal excellence, creative and critical thinking, and the proper use of Biblical criteria for evaluation in the integration of Christian faith and learning.
- All teachers are expected to be Christian leaders and role models by emphasizing development of personal excellence in the “Four L’s” - Learning, Living, Leading, Loving and supporting the mission of the school.
- All teachers will be purposeful about discussion of Christian morals and beliefs as they integrate these naturally into the learning of different subjects.
- Teachers will demonstrate in their lesson plans the integration of faith and learning.
- All teachers will visually display the “Four L’s” - Learning, Living, Leading, Loving, and reinforce them, naturally and appropriately, throughout the program.
- Teachers will encourage students to articulate the mission of the school and strive to demonstrate it in their own lives.
Teachers will demonstrate competency within their subject areas.
- All teachers will possess or develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to offer the Alberta Learning curriculum within a program that reflects the CCEP mission.
- The principal will require teachers to exhibit a love of and commitment to lifelong learning.
- Teachers will evaluate student progress with methods appropriate to the mission goals of CCEP within the framework of EPSB assessment guidelines.
- Teachers will find ways in which to integrate faith and learning with the proper use of Biblical criteria, no matter what subject is taught.
- Teachers will be able to demonstrate how their teaching matches the learning styles and abilities of their students.
Community Focus
The atmosphere of the Community Christian Education Program will be characterized by acceptance, appreciation, respect and dependence upon each other. Individuals will demonstrate God’s love for one another, seek God’s direction on a daily basis, and be encouraged to develop meaningful relationships within the context of Christian values and expectations. The desire to build a strong community of outward focused individuals with strong inward character will permeate the program.
CCEP teachers, staff and students will develop meaningful relationships with each other.
- Teachers will plan devotions for every class on a daily basis and student participation and interaction will be valued.
- Teachers will be able and willing to counsel students who are in need of assistance.
- Teachers will give extra academic help to students as needed.
- Teachers will develop healthy mentoring relationships appropriate to the age of their students.
- Students will grow in friendships with each other and will be challenged to develop strong interpersonal communication and positive conflict resolution skills.
Student success will be acknowledged and celebrated.
- Procedures and policies for rewarding student achievement will recognize a diversity of abilities and gifts.
CCEP will provide a safe environment for all students.
- Discipline policies will require teachers to impose consequences for inappropriate behavior that are fair, consistent and immediate.
- Each teacher will develop a classroom discipline procedure that is consistent with school and division policy.
- All students will be required to speak and behave in a manner that supports Christian expectations.
- Students will be taught to respect and care for each other.
- Teachers/Administration will consult with students in order to improve the school’s atmosphere.
- Teachers will periodically review student behavior expectations and discipline procedures with parents and students.
CCEP will partner in education with the home.
- CCEP will partner with parents in every phase of the student’s development, especially as it relates to the school program.
- The program will assist parents in keeping up with the changing culture, its effect on the home and implications of this change on their children.
- CCEP will encourage families in Christian growth and help them develop faith-filled homes.
CCEP will partner with the neighbourhood community.
- CCEP will partner with the neighbourhood community to meet various practical needs.
- Students will be challenged to good citizenship in the community.
- CCEP will give students growth opportunities through community interactions.