We have 4 Pillars at Walnut Grove that influence everything we do. They are:
Academics:
We provide an amazing accredited academic program utilizing 100% certified teachers.
Faith:
We provide an unapologetic uncompromising Christ centered approach to education.
Relationships:
We develop lasting relationships between the students, teachers, staff and parents through intentional communication. We keep our class sizes small to allow this kind of relationship to happen which allows us to provide an encouraging environment where your students can strive for more.
Schedule:
We provide our students and their families an opportunity on Fridays to invest themselves in activities in which they are passionate about.
We’re proud of all four pillars. But the one that we probably don’t highlight enough is our academics.
There are some aspects of our academics that people expect to be in place. For example, we are fully accredited by the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools (SCACS) and the National Council for Private Schools Accreditation (NCPSA).
As you would expect, our teachers undergo regular classroom observations to make sure they are creating learning environments where students can flourish and to be certain we are hitting our academic standards. Additionally, there are educational field trips and we routinely bring in expert voices from the community to aid in the creative instruction process. But there are other aspects of our academics that you might find unexpected (and these often seamless integrate with the other pillars): With Fridays off from formal education in school, many students invest themselves in academic activities that they are passionate about. This results in well rounded students who are leaders in their school and community.
Our academic learning environments are another area of surprise. Most of our classrooms are not like other school’s classrooms. We’ve done much work to create environments that are highly conducive to learning psychology.
If you weren’t reading this newsletter, you might not know that we have a high emphasis on the Arts as part of our academic rigor. And you might also not realize that our students’ standardized test scores average 1.5 grade levels higher than the national average.
We keep our class sizes to a low student-teacher ratio, with an average class size of 13 students per class in elementary and 15 students per class in the upper grades.
We offer honors and college preparatory classes at the high school level. Qualifying juniors & seniors can enroll for dual credit through a partnership with Winthrop University.
As you can see, our commitment to academic excellence is at the heart of who we are as a school. Encouraging students to achieve their full potential academically, spiritually, relationally and in their schedule for the growth of God’s kingdom, is the goal of WGCS teachers and administrators.