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n January 2003, I found myself, mother of three boys, searching for a Kindergarten that would be right for my oldest son. As a shy six-year-old, I knew that a large, public school classroom probably wasn’t ideal, nor was I excited about the fact that Kindergarten was only a half day. New to The Woodland, Texas community, I was told of a small, private Christian school that offered a Pre-K and Kindergarten program on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. An avid learner, I wanted to be heavily involved in the educational process of my children, and this seemed like a nice option compared to the other models. January/February 2011
Travis, my oldest son, thrived in this atmosphere, along with my other children. Because the model was so effective, I asked the director of the school to consider extending this type of schooling to older students, adding grades 1st and 2nd. The director wasn’t interested, but as you can probably guess, Mom didn’t give up. Taking a chance that other parents might be interested, I began to speak with other families. Months later and expecting my fourth son, this group of parents met to discuss the need for a new alternative in education in ourr community. The need grew out of our shared desires to be serious and active in carrying out our unique responsibilities as parents in the total education of their children. The known alternatives at the time were traditional public (including charter), traditional private, and homeschooling. Collectively, these parents had experienced all three. They had discovered that, while each had its positive aspects, all were in some way less-than-ideal for their family’s needs or life situations. Prayerfully, we agreed to work together to start a new school that represented a different alternative – one that incorporated positive aspects from the others while embodying its own special set of distinctive elements. That’s when we discovered NAUMS, the National Association of University Model Schools. We visited Grace Prepartory in Arlington, the first UMS school, for a New School Seminar in July of 2004. After more prayer, we agreed to pursue a UMS for The Woodlands area. It seemed appropriate that we should begin sharing what we learned with other parents who, like us, were seeking better ways to educate and raise their children. The result of these efforts was the formation of Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy (LPCA) in Spring, Texas, a UMS with plans to serve students in grades Pre-K through 12 from Spring, The Woodlands, and the surrounding areas. Legacy Prep was officially incorporated in May of 2005 and opened for its first day of classes on September 7, 2005. We began with only 43 students, and, now in our sixth year, have nearly 200 children in grades Pre-K through 8th. Plans are now in place to add two high school grades, ninth and tenth, in the upcoming 20112012 school year. God has blessed Legacy with a servant-minded staff, an active parent community, and students who are prepared on a daily basis to become character witnesses for Christ. Our motto is Isaiah 6:8, which says, “Here am I! Send me!” We are determined to partner with parents to equip our children to be unafraid to make a difference in our community, and eventually, in the world. UMS THE AUTHOR You can reach Audra May at amay@legacypca.org. You can catch up on all that Legacy Prep has going on at www.legacypca.org.
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