My wife and I have had children at Mentor Christian School for the past seven years. We are so thankful for MCS and for the teachers and principal (Mr. Davis) who have devoted themselves to the school and our children. What a blessing!
Mentor Christian is a small school, and on the surface such a small size can seem a disadvantage (i.e. less extracurricular activities that precisely fit your child). However, that same small size offers so many benefits that are not even conceivable at other larger schools - teachers who intimately know your child and his/her abilities and challenges, a mentoring program where sixth graders are paired up with kindergartners (great for the kindergartner who gets a "Big Brother/Sister" and great for the sixth grader who learns to step into responsibility for themselves and for others), easy and appreciated communication with teachers, and a principal with a ready ear to listen.
The level of academic achievement for students really astounds, given the various backgrounds of the students, and is a real testimony to the dedication and love the teachers have for students. Each year, the school easily outperforms public school performance in testing, and, believe it or not, even outperforms other private Christian schools. It's no surprise then, to see how well MCS students do on the ACT - scores for the past years have always been well above average. My sister-in-law, a teacher in South Carolina, was helping my fourth-grader with his homework, and was surprised at the level of the material - she felt it was a year or two ahead of the fourth grade curriculum in public school!
What we have most appreciated about MCS is that our children are being educated in an environment where God's truth is taught, and lived out. The teachers and principal are declared Christians, and though not perfect, they strive to Christ-likeness in the classroom and in their lives. Likewise, most of the parents are also Christians, and we form a community where we are, for the most part, like-minded about the moral, academic, and social environment we want our children in. That by no means insulates them from the world - just about all the sins of a public school are at MCS - but it does mean that sins will be addressed using the truth of God's word. I don't expect Mentor Christian School to make my children Christians, but I do expect MCS to help my wife and me, as their parents, grow them "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord". That MCS is doing, and doing well.
I would have given Mentor Christian School five stars, but its small size does hold it back from reaching its full potential. I don't know why more Christians don't enroll - why have humanism, secularism, evolution (especially evolution - so wrought with scientific deficiencies), and outright perversion pushed down your child's throat 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? I know MCS has been around for a long time, and in decades past I've heard that it had a much different approach to education - more military school than the grace and love that is there now. But rumors and gossip still persist (even among Christians who should know better!) that I think scare off parents, or at least make them feel like it would be a bad choice for their children. Well, we've been there seven years, and the teachers aren't waiting to pounce on our kids for "violating the rules", the girls can wear pants, and make-up, etc., teachers and students are smiling and laughing, parents love to volunteer as room moms, coaches, librarians, and fundraising leaders - the people that are there love being there. If you're considering MCS, don't listen to the people that don't know anything about it other than rumors or impressions from 25 years ago. Talk to the parents and the children that are there now.
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