Cornerstone's Educational Philosophy

CCA's commitment is to provide an environment where our students can maximize their intellectual virtues under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The goal is to produce students who are inoculated from intellectual predators, who are able to defend their faith, and who are fully equipped to provide a redemptive answer with gentleness and respect.

Our methodology is multisensory, oriented to all learning styles, and full of Christian nurture. Our students will receive superlative teaching to ensure they have every opportunity to fulfill God’s plan for their life.

Our goal is to make learning fun, interesting, and meaningful so the student is engaged in the learning process. By doing this, we maintain uncompromising standards while at the same time make learning easier and more productive. Our teachers are specifically called to minister at CCA and are empowered to teach using the gifts God equipped them with. The effect is an environment where students love learning, experience academic success, and enjoy the benefits of a rigorous preparatory education.
CCA also believes in a workload that is versatile and caters to a healthy family environment. All students have the opportunity to meet the expectations of the challenging curriculum with ease; and those families who crave even further enrichment have the opportunity to do extended study in any or all areas.

At CCA, we take a Christ-centered approach to developing strong athletes who are ready to meet the next generation. Our program utilizes and synthesizes all the educational virtues to maximize performance on the field, in the classroom, and in daily life. Dedicated, prayerful leadership is devoted to developing athletes who are coached to nothing short of excellence.

Already this year CCA students have participated and competed in cross country, volleyball, and archery. Also planned for this year is fencing, basketball, spring league sports and summer camps. In the coming months and years, we will expand our sports program to accommodate our rapidly growing student body. By next year we will join TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) to bring consistency to our game schedule and athletic policies.

But Cornerstone athletics is not only about athletes on the field. We want every student to have an opportunity to participate in what God is doing through athletics. For students who do not feel called to be athletes, we encourage alternative ways to be involved through para-athletic programs that help our students develop and improve managerial, organizational, team work, and leadership skills. They will have the opportunity to train as team managers and team trainers, and further their education in kinesiology, sports medicine, physical therapy, and first aid/EMT.

Aesthetics, the virtue of appreciating and reflecting the beauty of God’s creativity, is an integral part of our comprehensive educational program. At CCA, we are working to expand our fine arts programs to help train students to reflect this creativity. The type of development in aesthetic areas will lead our students to more creative thinking, strategizing, appreciating order, and proficiency in higher order thinking. Students who master aesthetics perform better and smarter in their studies, perform better on the athletic field, respond with fresh ideas in ministry, and have a creative edge over their peers.

At Cornerstone, we seek to produce students who will take the lead in the aesthetic expressions of the next generation and use it for the Kingdom of God. We plan to expand our fine arts program to include art, music, dance, rhetoric, graphic art, drama, and beyond. Students will wield their aesthetic skills as an effective tool for pointing others to the Savior. To accomplish this our students will be trained to define the aesthetic expressions of the next generation, from websites to art galleries, and from writing to witnessing.

All the educational virtue in the world is worthless unless it is solidified with the development of a genuine relationship with God that produces fruit. At CCA, God is preparing next-generation disciples who will act as His instruments to affect the nations for His glory. For this reason, any educational program is incomplete without engaging students in spiritual development and ministry opportunities.

However, our students are not taught to seek these opportunities simply because they are available. Our desire is for students to learn to discern the Lord’s voice and respond accordingly. In this way, they learn that their works are empowered by the Spirit, contribute positively to God’s kingdom, and give all the glory to the Creator.

The spiritual/moral area of our discipleship program is an opportunity for our students to take what they have learned in the classroom and use it to minister to the world. These opportunities include mission projects, community service, character development, chapel/higher ground, and worldview/apologetics training. CCA students learn to serve the Lord on His terms and for His glory.

At CCA, we understand that unforgettable learning is experiential learning. Consequently, we are committed to providing the best quality in experiential immersion learning for students at all levels. Our students have many exciting opportunities to make learning concrete, from classroom experience to day trips, from overnight exploration of famous sites to languge immersion in foreign countries. Here is just a sample of the opportunities our students will have this year:

• Medieval Times (grade 4, November)
• Model United Nations - U.T. Austin (grades 8-12, January 16-18)
• NASA - Houston (grades 7-8, January)
• Dallas Museum of Art - King Tut Exhibit (grades 2, 3, and 5, February)
• Overnight Outdoor Science Exploration - Collin County Adventure Camp (grade 7 science, April)
• Worldview/Apologetics Immersion - Collin County Adventure Camp (grades 9-10, spring)
• Summer Immersion Spanish - Costa Rica (high school, May-June)