We set ourselves apart in the four areas in which we strive to motivate our students to excellence:

Spiritual Excellence

Our Students are encouraged to know God as a person, not as a doctrine.

Our Teachers and Staff motivate students to find joy in the pursuit of knowing God as they model their own joyful relationship with Him.

  • Bible curriculum is chosen for its emphasis on knowing God.
  • Students are taught that God desires us to experience an abundant life of joy in union with Him who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
  • The goal of the chapel program is to draw students to an experiential encounter with God’s Spirit through worship and the Word.
  • Denominational distinctions are not promoted.  Excel integrates both charismatics and non-charismatics.
  • No one church has any more influence over Excel than another.
  • Part of Excel’s mission is to reach non-Christian students and families with the gospel of Christ, with the belief that it’s the love of God that draws people to repentance.
  • Reliable, understandable translations of the Bible are used.

 

Moral Excellence

Our students are taught to follow behavioral rules as they make the transition to manifesting the fruits of the Spirit from within.

Our Teachers and Staff actively motivate students to find joy in developing a life of righteousness, as they themselves model a life of joyful righteousness.

  • Students are encouraged to hold themselves accountable in their relationship with God by taking responsibility for their own actions.
  • The condition of the heart is emphasized over behavior. Why a student does what he does is more important than what he does.
  • School leadership will seek to differentiate between biblical absolutes and cultural preferences in setting moral standards.
  • The dress code is based primarily on biblical guidelines of modesty and deference.
  • The study of social studies, history, and literature emphasizes how God’s moral law, or the lack thereof, influences our world.
  • The development of student leadership is encouraged so that students are held responsible for making moral decisions for their school.

 

Relational Excellence

Our Students learn to relate to teachers, staff members, and other students with love and respect.

Our Teachers and Staff actively motivate students to find joy in relating to one another in a godly way by demonstrating true Christ-like character in all their interactions, treating students and each other with the highest degree of respect.

  • Students are taught in an atmosphere of love and joy.
  • Conflicts are mediated in such a way that students learn the meaning of compassion and forgiveness.
  • The Excel “Principles of Discipline” are followed by all staff.  Successful discipline:
    • is done in love, with patience and gentleness, yet with firmness
    • deals with the why of the problem and what the proper behavior should be
    • affirms the student’s worth in God’s eyes and does not demean the student
    • is reasonable, not retaliatory, and is not done in anger or in haste
    • is consistent, not erratic, and does not play favorites
    • trains the student in accepting responsibility and making wise decisions
    • is characterized by the student learning to act from a godly heart
  • All students have the right to learn without disruption in a physically and emotionally safe environment.
  • Extracurricular activities of sports, music, dances, talent shows, etc., are promoted and encouraged as being important for learning relational skills. To that end, Excel desires to be a large, full-service, K–12 school.
  • Excel has a contemporary and culturally relevant environment, without compromising biblical absolutes, so that contemporary students feel their culture is valued.

 

Academic Excellence

Our Students are given the opportunity to excel academically to the best of their ability, even if they struggle with learning problems or are unusually gifted.

Our Teachers motivate students to find joy in learning as they themselves model the joy of discovery. They take upon themselves the mandate that “If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.”

  • The curriculum promotes critical thinking, wisdom, logic, and learning how to learn.
  • Current events and contemporary issues are emphasized throughout the curriculum.
  • Intensive phonics are the basis of all reading and spelling programs.
  • Cultural literacy is integrated throughout the grades.
  • Instructional methods include all modalities of learning: auditory, visual, kinesthetic, group interaction, etc.
  • Hands-on learning takes preference over workbooks.
  • Unit studies take preference over straight textbook teaching.
  • Each aspect of the curriculum is carefully chosen by the teachers under the supervision of the principal—the philosophy being that those who are doing the teaching should have the greatest say as to what works for them.
  • Curriculum choices are based on experience, research in proven teaching methods, and Excel distinctive.
  • The amount of homework assigned takes into account the importance of family time, church commitments, and extracurricular activities.
  • Students who try but fail are given the opportunity to try again because our goal is that students learn the material.