But what does that really mean, and how do we do it?

Our children live in a bewildering world—where technology paradoxically connects users to the other side of the globe, while heightening feelings of isolation, a world where the virtues have less and less meaning; where politics decreasingly serves the public good; where any sense of heritage increasingly crumbles into chaos; and where increasing violence and economic instability renders the future uncertain.

So how can we equip our children to live well in this world? 

At Canterbury Christian School, we believe that to address the problems of the present, we must look backward as well as forward. An education rooted in the accumulated wisdom of thousands of years is still available. It is the education of our forefathers—the education which has shaped leaders for generations, and is still doing just that.

The goal of a classical, Christian education is to cultivate the whole person. This education stands on three legs: outstanding academics in a tutorial-style setting, a rigorous and broad arts program, and (last but most importantly) true spiritual formation.

Our highest goal is that our students know and love the truth. Our small size allows our teachers work individually with students on a daily basis, training them towards mastery. Daily, our students grapple with the best that has been written and thought, finding their own places within that tradition. They learn the difference between “self-expression” and “the self expressing truth, beautifully.”

We believe that the arts are essential to a sacramental attitude and worldview. The musical arts (choir, and orchestra), the fine and manual arts (drawing and hand tools shop), and the dramatic arts shape our students’ loves. As knowledge transforms the mind, so beauty woos the heart, and goodness draws desire.