Students with learning differences will soon have a new place to grow and thrive in southern Denton County.
Liberty Christian School in Argyle will be accepting applications for a new “Warrior Learning Center” on Monday, March 21, for the 2016–2017 school year.
The center will have space for 30 elementary-aged students with specific learning differences, as well as high functioning autism spectrum disorders.
Dr. Rodney Haire, president of Liberty, said that he wants to meet the needs of families who desire an exemplary private school Christian education for their children who have great potential but learn in a different style.
“Each of our three new classrooms will have 10 children, a certified special education teacher, and an aide,” he said. “The aide’s top responsibility is not only to help facilitate learning but also to help encourage; we will celebrate even the smallest of victories. And can you imagine what praying for each student and teaching them to pray for each other will do?”
The Warrior Learning Center will first meet the needs of students in kindergarten through fifth grade, then students will be supported through the school’s Alternate Teaching Style (ATS) program in Middle and Upper School.
“For too long, parents with children who have learning differences have not had the opportunity for a top quality Christian education for their children,” said Haire. “Liberty also has a great leader for this learning center in current Upper School Vice Principal Blair McCullough, who will work to launch this new addition to Liberty Christian’s offerings.”
Haire said that the academic curriculum in the Warrior Learning Center will be almost identical to that which is taught in the regular classrooms, because the goal is to mainstream the center’s students.
He pointed out that regular curriculums even have different levels of difficulty too, such as AP and regular level. A curriculum that is specifically designed for each student’s learning style will be taught, plus a full offering of extracurricular activities for each age level.
“When we were in the planning stages for the center, we visited the 25th-ranked special education school in the country in Dallas,” said Haire. “We weren’t concerned about the curriculum or staff, but we wanted to see how the students were integrated in nonacademic settings. That school was challenged in those areas; we will not be – not at all. We already have art, music, athletics, and everything else right here on campus.”
Haire added that when graduates walk the stage, they are committed believers in Christ and are prepared to excel academically at the university of their choice – and carry with them great memories because they were at Liberty.
“The philosophy of Liberty is that at our core is Christ,” said McCullough. “We wrap that in a rigorous academic curriculum encircled by extracurricular offerings so that students can thrive doing what they love to do. We call that ‘The Warrior Way.’”
Liberty is a nondenominational Christian school that embraces the families of its students, as well as the students themselves. To that fundamental core idea of family, the parents of potential students in the new center will be asked by LCS counselors how best to meet their child’s educational, emotional, and intellectual needs. By doing so, each student’s learning path will be customized.
“With this announcement, I feel like a child on Christmas morning,” said Haire. “Liberty Christian is known throughout the country as a great school, and the Warrior Learning Center will be a part of that tradition.”
As an additional level of professional expertise, a psychologist will serve as a consultant to the Warrior Learning Center.
Potential Warrior Learning Center families will need to submit their applications and schedule an interview on or after March 21 through Mrs. Carmen Goodson at 940-294-2127. She will be able to answer questions and set an interview time for families.
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