Explore Crossroads
Our Mission
We are a covenant community nurturing the whole child to love God, love learning, and serve others.
About Us
Crossroads Christian School is a covenant Christian school in the Charlotte Mason tradition that has been educating children for over 30 years. We offer smaller classes, shorter school days, and parental involvement to nurture the whole child to love God, love learning, and serve others. Our unique schedule maximizes learning while balancing family time, providing a rich and wonderful educational experience. The development of godly character is an essential element of a CCS education so that our graduates enter high school with deep spiritual roots as well as personal and academic habits to help them grow into the adults God calls them to be.
We believe God has given parents the primary responsibility of educating their children, and thus the school is to function as an extension of the home. CCS provides a structured academic program with professional teachers four days per week and a flexible schedule on Fridays to allow families to choose what works best for them.
All students attend classes Monday through Thursday and have a flexible homeschool schedule on Fridays. On some Fridays, students may attend scheduled group study and activity sessions at school to complete their work, or stay home to complete assignments. Special events and field trips are mostly reserved for Fridays in order for us to maximize learning time with classroom teachers.
Kindergarten classes meet from 8:30 to 12:30 four days a week, Monday through Thursday with a flexible Friday schedule. First and second-grade classes also meet four hours a day on Monday through Wednesday, and have enrichment classes on Thursdays until 2:45 plus a flexible Friday schedule. On Thursday afternoons, first and second grade parents take turns teaching a variety of assigned topics, bringing their own experiences and prepared lessons to their child’s classroom. Through field trips and ideas from supplemental materials made available at school, parents share the joy of learning with these young first and second graders!
Third through eighth grades attend school from 8:30 – 2:45 four days per week. On Fridays, students participate in planned activities or field trips, attend scheduled optional group study at school, or are at home with their parents doing assigned work. We believe this offers families the best of traditional education and homeschooling for a balance between school and home life.
We are delighted that you are considering Crossroads for your child. Crossroads is a covenant community nurturing the whole child to love God, love learning, and serve others. Everything we do at CCS is filtered through this purpose. Our philosophy of education is inspired by Charlotte Mason, a prolific writer and educator at the turn of the twentieth century. Miss Mason believed, as we do, that education should go well beyond college prep, career prep, and standardized test prep. As persons, created in the image of God, children are capable of learning and delighting in so much more!
Our covenant community is made up of Christian parents, where both parents commit to our statement of faith and our desire to educate our children at school and at home. Our classes meet four days per week with flexible Friday schedules, allowing families to experience learning together. At CCS, we learn through relationships: experiencing things together with hands-on activities, reading stories about real people instead of facts about them, exploring God’s creation, going on field trips, doing service projects, performing experiments, and more.
Our prayer is that more families can experience the peace, freedom, and joy that Crossroads can provide. CCS provides a great balance between school and home all the while well-preparing children for academic excellence in high school and college.
You are invited to come to Crossroads to experience the joy of learning while taking a tour. We are happy to answer any questions you have about our program and look forward to hearing from you.
Core Values
Covenant Community
A personal relationship with Jesus Christ and belief in the authority and relevance of the Bible unites our community.
Extension of the Home
An understanding that God has given parents the responsibility to educate their children; therefore, the school functions as an extension of the home.
Nurturing the Whole Child
A philosophy of education in the Charlotte Mason tradition guides our curriculum and instruction.
Heart of Service
A heart to glorify God and serve others as image-bearers of Jesus Christ.
Statement of Faith
1. We believe that the Bible is the only Word of God consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. It is verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, which stand exclusively with no additions, and is the supreme and final authority in faith and life.
2. We believe there is only one living and True God eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
3. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man and lived a perfect, sinless life.
4. We believe God created man in His own image and created them male and female. In the beginningman was innocent of sin, but then sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. He thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God. All human beings are born with a sinful nature which is in enmity against God.
5. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His death on the cross, His righteousness and His resurrection.
6. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life there for us as our Prophet, Priest, King, and the only Mediator between God and man.
7. We believe in the personal and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ where He will make all things new.
8. We believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, and all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit. They thereby become children of God and the Holy Spirit indwells all believers.
9. We believe man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life in Heaven. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.
10. We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been instituted by Christ for His Church. While they possess no saving power in themselves, they are to be practiced by the Church until His return.
11. We believe the church is the body of Christ. Its mission is to make the gospel known to every person and to teach those who become disciples all things which Jesus commanded so that they may adequately serve Him.
12. We believe that God has ordained marriage as the union between one biological man and one biological woman.
13. We believe we are to walk in wisdom and holiness towards unbelievers, seeking to show the same posture of sacrificial love, grace, and mercy that Christ has towards us in the gospel, regardless of the unbeliever’s current lifestyle choices or past sins.
14. We believe that in doctrinal issues there must be unity in the essentials (as defined by 1-13) and liberty in the non-essentials, and in all things love.
Who is Charlotte Mason?
CHARLOTTE MASON (1842-1923) was a British educator who devoted her life to improving the lives of children. She held the radical belief that all children, regardless of their socio-economic class, were capable of achieving at the highest levels when nurtured in the right environment because they are image-bearers of Christ. Miss Mason was a reformer in Victorian England when children were to be “seen and not heard.” Her work was truly ahead of her time, and is affirmed as we discover more about the way children learn and under what conditions.
Today, her six volumes on education are a practical treatise that is helpful in responding to factory-style government education where skills and standards are held in higher esteem than children and knowledge. Her teaching is also an admonishment to modern private schools that are more concerned with scores and sports than character and Christ-likeness.
Charlotte Mason’s soul-nurturing, habit forming, developmentally appropriate methods are transformative in the lives of children and foster a life-long love of learning driven by natural curiosity. Mason advocated for a broad curriculum which she called “an abundant feast” of the best literature, art, science, math, music, and ideas. A Mason education involves nurturing children in the right atmosphere, training them in good habits, discipling them with scripture, and making relationships with things, people, and books so that knowledge becomes intrinsic and useful as part of God’s plan for each individual life.
At Crossroads, we have adapted Charlotte Mason’s student motto, “I am. I can. I ought. I will.” to help our students understand who they are in Christ, what they are capable of through Him, what they should do with their time, and what they will do with their lives. The CCS motto is “I am a child of God, created in His image. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I ought to serve with excellence in thought, word, and deed. I will strive to complete all God’s plans for me.” We utilize Charlotte Mason’s methods and distinctive practices of narration, dictation, habits training, nature study, picture study, and composer study in conjunction with our quality curriculum that meets or exceeds state and national standards.
atmosphere
Children are created in the image of God and are naturally curious, creative, and capable.
… expressed through a class structure that provides succinct, focused lessons, and a positive and peaceful environment, driven by the delight of learning.
… expressed through classroom design and décor that takes into account the educational value of a nurturing, home-like environment.
discipline
Children flourish in an environment that is structured, but developmentally appropriate. and are well-served by forming good habits.
…habits of caring— for one another, for materials and resources, and for the living world.… habits of attention, obedience, self-control, perseverance, and doing their best work.
… habits that focus on the attitude of the heart—in conflict resolution, in relationship restoration, and in response to correction.
life
Children who learn at the appropriate pace and level and who are nourished on ideas and living books will develop a lifelong love of learning.
… where no separation exists between the sacred and the secular. All truth is God’s truth.
… best pursued through contact with real things—the best books by the best minds, real life experiences, actual objects, and opportunities for exploration and discovery.
relationships
Children acquire knowledge by making relationships with people, places, things, and ideas. They are able to express and use what becomes intrinsic rather than simply memorized or assessed.
… relationships that the child has with the realm of ideas, the created world, people, and God.
… relationships create a vibrant and relevant learning experience when connections are made across subjects, with hands-on experiences, explorations in nature, and in touch with people.
Children
…are created in the image of God, and as image-bearers, they are spiritual, moral beings.
…have an inherent curiosity about the world around them. The process of acquiring knowledge is as natural to them as breathing.
…are rational beings. They are able to deal with complex ideas, generate original ideas, and connect with newly encountered ideas.
…have unique perspectives and learn in different ways. Their strengths and weaknesses, interests and experiences, culture and background serve as places from which to begin their education.
…learn and live best when part of a community where they are valued, respected, encouraged, and held accountable.
…need guidance, discipline, and the consistency of routine. Authority and obedience are fundamental principles having their source in the authority of our Creator. This authority must never be abused to manipulate children by guilt, influence, fear, or undue play upon any natural desire (such as to be well-liked by one’s teacher).
…have great potential as builders and shapers of their world. They are responsible beings, able to effect change in themselves, their families, and the larger community.
Our History
Crossroads Christian School was founded when a group of parents were looking for a Christian education unique to any other school in the Fayette County, Georgia area. Some of these families, many from a homeschool background, attended a meeting where they learned about the philosophy and educational model of Perimeter School.
The principles introduced at this gathering resonated with them – a school where all parents were devoted Christ followers actively engaged in their children’s education, where school days were shorter so children could spend most of their time with family and enjoy God’s creation, and where each child could learn and grow as the individual God created them to be.
One founding parent says that they began to pray God would send them teachers, and he sent them three! So in the fall of 1991, Crossroads Christian School began its first year, with a first grade class, a second grade class, and a combined third and fourth grade class. From there the school grew, and now for more than three decades, Crossroads has continued as a covenant community nurturing the whole child to love God, love learning, and serve others.
Philosophy of Crossroads Christian
Crossroads Christian School exists primarily as a ministry of Christian parents and teachers to their covenant children.
- We believe God has given parents the responsibility for educating their children, and thus the school is to function as an extension of the home. Young children need to spend most of their time at home in order to internalize family values, to learn by working, experimenting, and observing within the home and God’s creation. Parents should take the primary role in the educational experience.
- We believe man can have a personal relationship with God and have eternal life through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. This good news will be shared with the students of Crossroads Christian School and we deeply desire that each student develop a true and meaningful relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- We believe that all truth is God’s truth, and God has inerrantly and infallibly revealed His truth exclusively in the Bible. God’s truth should be integrated into a balanced curriculum in such a way that students will learn Christianity as a way of life. The development of godly character (heart) takes precedence over the accumulation of knowledge (mind).
- We believe that content and teaching methods grow out of definite philosophies and religious beliefs. Since God gave His people the responsibility of subduing this world, the study of history, science, math and all areas of knowledge is a Christian endeavor to be pursued from a perspective that gives reverence to the Creator.
- We believe that God gives different gifts and even the same gifts in different measure. Since every child is different, individual attention should be given to each student based on spirituality, maturity, intellectual capacity, and learning styles.
- We believe godly teachers perform a most honored and vital ministry in the education of our children. The teacher represents the parent at school and should direct the students to submit to the truth and love of Christ. Teachers and parents will work in harmony in educating the children. The teacher should love to teach, love the children, and desire to continually grow in his or her ability to teach creatively and in his or her relationship to Christ.
- We believe that prayer is vitally important as we seek to support one another and aid our children in their spiritual and academic growth. To demonstrate our real dependence upon God for the complete growth of our children, parents and teachers will unite once a month in prayer that God might be glorified in our covenant children.
A Conversation on School Philosophy
As described by Bobby Scott & Randy Pope of Perimeter School. CCS and Perimeter are members of ChildLight Schools, a larger association of schools in the Charlotte Mason tradition.