Partnering with parents for godly character formation through educational excellence.
ENROLLMENT BEGINS SOON
Enrollment for kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades will begin on February 1st. Early bird registration is $50. Beginning March 1st, registration will be $150. Refunds will be issued if class minimum sizes are unmet.
ABOUT OUR PROGRAM
Woodland Elementary is a half-time, classical Christian school that will begin its first year in the fall of 2023. Our hope is to grow to offer kindergarten through fifth grade, serving twelve to fifteen students per class.
If you are interested in any of these grades or have questions, fill out an interest form or contact us at headmaster@wcnola.org
F.A.Q.s
Why Christian? We believe the gospel changes everything, including education. Rather than producing children who are successful according to the world’s standards, our goal is that they might be formed in the image of Christ. That is, the purpose of education changes from getting good grades to godly character formation. That means we want more than simply a Bible class and a weekly chapel. We want the gospel to be the foundation of all that we do and the motivation for the joyful pursuit of excellence in education.
Why classical? Classical education is a model that focuses on the development of character, what the ancients called paideia. Their goal was to form a particular kind of person—someone who was virtuous and could master the various subjects. While we are happy to dispense with many of their ideas about what a virtuous person is—preferring biblical characteristics to Greek ones—the model is easily “baptized” to suit Christian educational ends. At the grammar (elementary) stage, this involves the gathering of facts—the facts of history, math, science, language, etc.—through memorization, song, worksheets, discussion, and even play!
Why half-time? With the Bible as our guide, we believe the primary responsibility for paideia (character formation) belongs to the parents (and to grandparents!). Because of that, we are committed to parents having a more active role in the education of their children. In other words, we want to partner with parents in the education of their children, not substitute for them. Our goal is to lend structure and expertise to the education process while forming a community into which each family can be woven. Practically, that means children spend less time at school and more time at home with parents who are guiding them through their work.
What curriculum do you use? Our school uses Memoria Press, an ecumenical Christian publishing company that focuses on developing classical curricula for elementary through high school. Their elementary curriculum has a strong reputation, and because it is a complete curriculum, it is better integrated across the subjects. You can check out their press here: www.memoriapress.com.