commited by grace to serve christian parents in the education of their children
 
Philosophy of Education

The MISSION of Perimeter School is to exhort students as image-bearers of Christ to recognize their position, potential, and privileges as covenant children, and their calling to grow in maturity and obedience to God. Perimeter School exists in PURPOSE to assist the members of Perimeter Church to carry out their parental responsibility to nurture, educate, and equip the covenant children for works of service to the Kingdom.

Principles That Determine What We Do As A School

1. God has given parents the primary responsibility for the education of their children, and thus the school is to function as an extension of the home.

2. The homes served of the membership of Perimeter Church are given priority in admission of their covenant children, should such families/students meet all other criteria.

3. Covenant children are to be trained and nurtured primarily by their own parents, but also receive assistance and encouragement from the entire body of the school, reflecting the commitment of God's people to support one another.

4. Children are a precious gift from God and made in His image. As such a child is a fearfully and wonderfully created person to be respected, nurtured, and treated as an image-bearer with responsibility to God.

5. God, after establishing the world, gave His children the "creation mandate," the responsibility to subdue the earth and gain dominion over all His works.

6. God, after man fell into sin, gave the "redemptive command" that those who come to a true knowledge of God by repentance and faith will be able to enter a relationship with Christ which will enable them to understand the Truth and glorify Him.

7. At the fall, the image of Christ in man was broken. As God disciplines those He loves, children need consistent instruction and discipline from parents and teachers to develop godly character, behavior, and thoughtful habits that assist them in learning and living.

8. Understanding the Truth involves the acquisition of wisdom through the fear of God, not just the accumulation of knowledge. To deprive a child of truth is to deprive him of life. Thus the reality of God's grace must accompany a commitment to integrity, diligence and moral purity.

9. Glorifying God involves children living abundantly for Him and serving others in their present vocation as students, not just preparing for a future occupation.

10. Academic achievement should not overlook the healthy development of the whole child in a proper environment. Young children (especially up to the age of 9) are better nurtured spiritually, emotionally and intellectually by their parents in their home. Among numerous benefits, the home provides opportunities to:

a. Spend time outdoors to explore and play safely.
b. Stimulate learning by doing, experimenting and observing.
c. Develop responsibility through working with parents in cooking, cleaning, gardening, and other household projects.
d. Model and imitate family values, rather than those easily adopted by children in other settings.
e. Have security, acceptance, and love from parents that cannot be duplicated by other caregivers.

11. Respecting the proper development of the child, formalized education need not begin before age 6. The school day of grades 1-3 should be considerably shortened to allow more time at home.

12. Relationships are best developed and learning is accelerated in small groups. Therefore, the school designs its program to best produce such by keeping class sizes small and promoting a family atmosphere and a parental role of teachers.

13. Both teachers and parents should be continual learners themselves, as education continues through all of life. Thus education is modeled as well as taught.