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A FLEETING THOUGHT
Parental responsibility cannot go unheeded, nor can it be shifted to day-care centers, nor to the schoolroom, nor even to the Church. Family responsibility comes by divine decree. Parents may violate this decree only at the peril of their eternal salvation.
--A. Theodore Tuttle (Ensign, Jan. 1973)
SECURED SERVICES
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CURRENT EVENTS
Liahona is looking for a Science Teacher.
If interested, please submit a resume.
Return DVDs to
801 North 300 East
Pleasant Grove, UT 84062
DVD Mail Out:
Week DVDs
Freshman Level -
Intermediate Level -
Senior Level -
DVD Returns: When sending back DVDs, please put your RETURN ADDRESS on the box or inside with the DVDs. We cannot credit you for returning DVDs if we do not know who sent them.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
PLAN AHEAD:
ACCREDITED Distance Education Students:
Your Grade Reports will be
mailed out mid-July
DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENTS:
2008-2009 Enrollment forms will be available in a few weeks
July 28, 29 30
Clean New School
10am - 8pm
(We need help so we can move in!)
Please call the office to sign up for a
2-hour cleaning shift
New Student Math Placement Test
August 15
10 - 12 at the new School
Back to School Parent Meeting
August 23
7:00 pm at the new School
Carson Smith Assessment Testing
August 25
10 - 12 at the new School
First Day of School
Aug 27
Labor Day Holiday
Sep 1
Youth Conference
Oct 6-10
Thanksgiving Break
Nov 24-29
Christmas Break
Dec 19-Jan 4
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Our Philosophy!
- Education should remain under the direction and guidance of parents
- Academics should be integrated with LDS doctrine and Principle
Liahona was founded in 1997 to assist parents in educating their children. Parental involvement is an important foundation to a child's educational success. Parents can delegate their authority to educate their children, but they can't delegate their responsibility. (D&C 88:119) We believe that parents have a vested interest in the ultimate welfare of their child. No one else knows better than a parent what strengths, talents and weaknesses a child has or how to create learning opportunities and environments which are uniquely best for that child. In recognition of this, Liahona's program provides an academic framework designed to be adjusted by parents to suit the needs of their particular children.
Our program exemplifies John Taylor's advice to:
Get the best of teachers, men and women of intelligence and education who are not only moral, but good Latter-day Saints; men and women who are not only capable of imparting to our children the rudiments of education, but who are also capable of teaching them the laws of God as he has revealed them for our guidance. (JD 21, Aug. 8, 1880)
Most importantly, our classes combine the temporal in the context of the eternal. For many students, revealed knowledge, LDS truths, values and principles are often relegated to "church or seminary" with little understanding of how they apply to academic subjects and thought or real life. Our goal and desire is to combine academics and revealed knowledge into one whole, equipping students to fulfill their heritage and mission as children of God.
The Need for Change!
Here at Liahona, we hear numerous stories of students' struggles in the public school system. There are many wonderful public school teachers, but they are strapped to a system which asks them to assume the impossible burden of meeting all the physical, emotional, and academic needs of 30 or more students per class, on a daily basis. Administrators are busy with government regulatory paperwork and worried parents end up feeling patronized and ignored. Add to these concerns, growing evidence that the public school system is producing students who are morally confused, emotionally alienated, lack understanding of our constitutional republic, schooled in relativity, humanism and whatever else is the current "socially correct" fad of the day.
In many places it is literally not safe physically for youngsters to go to school. And in many schools - and it's becoming almost generally true - it is spiritually unsafe to attend public schools. (Boyd K. Packer, Oct 9,'96, Symposium, BYU)
Despite federally mandated reforms such as: Goals 2000, America 2000, and No Child Left Behind, plus a yearly national budget of $44.5 billion, American students' scores in core academic subjects continue to drop.
In 1998, 60% of twelfth-graders were not reading proficiently. (www.nochildleftbehind.gov 2002)
In 2000, only 29% of 4th-graders scored proficient or better on the NAEP science assessment, as did 32% of 8th-graders, and 18% of 12th-graders. The percentage of 12th-graders who were "below basic" increased from 43% to 47%.
Just under 20% of 12th-grade student were proficient or better in Math. (National Center for Education Statistics Nov. 2001)
Two-thirds of American 11th-graders could not place the Civil War in the correct half century. To half of them the names Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin were unfamiliar. (Nat. Assessment of Ed. Progress, 1985)
"My people are destroyed," said Hosea, "for lack of knowledge...." (Hos. 4.6) Early LDS church leaders warned members of the possible consequences of a federal school system.
It will be a great temptation to many people to send their children to the free school that will now be supported by our taxes, but of what value is learning if it is acquired at the expense of faith. (George Q. Cannon, Juv. Inst., Vol. 25 p.243)
For Latter-day Saints, who value education and recognize both earthly and eternal consequences, this state of affairs is particularly distressing. Well you now have options! Liahona offers a new direction for your student's education.
Not only will Liahona's program support your academic goals, now you can be confident that those academics are presented through the light of revealed knowledge and truth. You no longer have to filter out false ideas and theologies included in some programs. Nor do you have to worry that this is just another "Seminary" class. Strong academics are enhanced and application to real life better understood when students see the correlation between their religion and the world around them.
Just the Basics!
Students may attend Liahona Academy in Pleasant Grove, Utah or take the DVD Distance Learning program. Both Liahona programs are ACCREDITED by
Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS).
Students may enroll in the full accredited track, the home school non-accredited track or a combination. The non-accredited track relies on the student's portfolio and ACT or SAT score for college entrance. (Liahona student's generally score several points higher than their public school counterparts.) The accredited track supplies students with transcripts and diplomas thus eliminating the worry about a high score on the ACT or SAT.
Those attending the academy may enroll in a full or partial schedule of classes. Those in the distance learning program may enroll in one or all of the three core academic classes of History, English and Science. All students may participate in yearly youth conferences and super trips. Please refer to the "How It Works" section for more details.
Because our basic philosophy and academic design comes from a home education background that parents, not a bureaucracy, should be in charge of our children's education the following information is for those who presently home school or are considering the idea.
Home Education!
Whether you are a first-time home school parent or one who's "been around the block" a time or two, every parent keenly desires to give their children the best education possible. You are in good company. Approximately two million students in the United States are currently home schooled, including about 200,000 Latter-day Saint students and the number is growing rapidly. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the top five reasons U.S. parents decide to home school their children are:
1. Can give a better education at home. The Southern Regional Education Board surveyed 826 campuses in 15 states and discovered that 1/3 of all freshman need remedial training in reading, writing, or math and are not ready to begin regular college courses. (Washington Times, Aug. 7,1991)
2. Religious reasons. 86.5% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. Yet, roughly 90 % of American children attend a government school where religious beliefs are constantly undermined. (City University of N.Y. poll ‘90)
3. Poor learning environment at school.
4. Family reasons.
5. To develop character/morality. (NCES 02 - 03)
We understand that home education requires taking responsibility for, commitment to and sacrifice on behalf of our children. It also takes self-discipline and diligence from our children. Home education is something that all CAN do, but not all should. If you have decided home education is the right choice for you, we congratulate you for taking "the path less traveled" and feel that you have embarked upon a journey from which your children will reap great benefits.
The Good News for Home Educators!
Contrary to the national trend, home educated students are succeeding in major academic areas.
Standardized test results for 16,000 home educated children, grades K - 12, were analyzed by researcher Dr. Brian Ray. The categories included reading, listening, language, math, science, and social studies. Nearly 80% of home school students achieved individual scores above the national average and 54.7% achieved scores in the top quarter of the population, more than double the number of conventional school students. (HSLDA, May 31, 02)
But what about college? Are home schooled students accepted and are they prepared? Prominent schools like Harvard, Yale and BYU as well as most local community colleges, now have flexible transcript criteria, accept parental evaluations and portfolios in place of traditional accreditation or GEDs. Whether a public school student or home school student, scoring well on the ACT or SAT is a key ingredient to being accepted to the college or university of your choice.
Home school students who reported their status on the 1999 SAT scored an average of 67 points above the national average. Home school students taking the ACT scored an average of 1.7 points higher, compared to the national average. (HSLDA, May 31, 02)
Home schoolers are academically, emotionally, and socially prepared to succeed at college. (National Survey of Admission Personnal, Dr. Irene Prue, 97)
Home schoolers bring certain skills - motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be responsible for their education - that high schools don't induce very well. (Jon Reider, Stanford Admissions Senior Assoc. Dir.)
Finally, there is the "socialization" issue, which is the objection most often heard by home school parents. Socialization is an important part of a child's education. However, what type of socialization should be considered. The idea that a child should be sent to school to develop independence and improve social skills, assumes that the socialization going on at school is positive and not merely conformity to negative peer pressure. Most of a child's socialization skills are developed by age 6 and are learned in the home. To increase socialization skills and the ability to interact appropriately with all ages and social classes, home school parents can make sure their students are heavily involved in church youth groups, community activities, 4H clubs, scouts, music and art lessons, sports participation, educational co-ops and field trips. These varied experiences provide exposure to other cultures, lifestyles and nurture leadership.
Conclusion!
We strive to help parents raise children who exemplify the following remarks by Spencer W. Kimball,
We must train statesmen, not demagogues; men of integrity, not weaklings who for a mess of pottage will sell their birthright. We must develop these precious youth to know the art of statesmanship, to know people and conditions, to know situations and problems, but men who will be trained so thoroughly in the arts of their future work and in the basic honesties and integrities and spiritual concepts that there will be no compromise of principle. (BYU, Oct. 10, 75)
For more about our program, please refer to the "How It Works" section. As you seek the best educational opportunities for your child, we hope that we may be of assistance.
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