Sunrise Christian Schoolhouse is a private school set to open this fall in the heart of Dripping Springs off Roger Hanks Parkway and Old Hwy 290.
SCS was founded by a local Dripping Springs family, James and Sarah Kuykendall, who are parents to 7-year-old twin girls, Eden and Emery, and a 5-year-old son, Ancil. In searching for a private school for their twins, the Kuykendalls quickly realized there were limited options beyond preschool and kindergarten for families in the area.
In collaboration with local, Christian educators, James and Sarah stepped out in faith to create a community where like-minded families can connect and support each other and a school that offers a distinctive academic experience focused on providing students with a firm foundation through a Christ-centered, classically inspired education.
Classical education isn’t a particularly new way of teaching; rather, it has its roots in ancient history and dates as far back as the time of Aristotle and Plato. It was the way in which most of our Founding Fathers were educated. As the co-founder of Classical Academic Press, Dr. Christopher Perrin states, “The renewal of classical education is not a nostalgic return to the past. It’s a recovery of those ideas and methods that have always created the future.”
This approach aligns instruction and curriculum to a child’s cognitive development and is based on the “trivium”: the grammar stage (focused on knowledge), the logic stage (focused on reasoning) and the rhetoric stage (focused on articulation and expression). The main objective of a classical education is to teach students how to learn rather than what to learn, thereby giving students the tools to become life-long learners.
During the grammar stage, the mind is a sponge for knowledge. These early years are filled with learning facts and information. SCS’s goal is to provide students with the building blocks for a strong education through a well-rounded academic experience enriched by biblical truths.
The school will serve students in first through fourth grade with hopes of adding additional grades in the future. Parent involvement is welcomed, and there are plenty of opportunities for families to be a part of school life. Classes are intentionally set to have a low student to teacher ratio (10:1), allowing for opportunities to focus on the whole child. As first grade teacher Emily Weyel states, “My hope is to plant, nurture and grow a passion for education in your students. In my classroom, we ask questions. We discover and explore.” The teaching staff at SCS are highly passionate and experienced educators whose focus is to provide a quality education that will help their students thrive.
At the core of the school’s heart is the desire to leave a positive impact on the Dripping Springs community. Community service and volunteering are built into the school’s programs to encourage good citizenship among students. James and Sarah lead the way by setting an example with their own involvement in local nonprofits and organizations. “Dripping Springs is our home. We want to raise the next generation to understand the importance of taking care of our neighbors as we serve one another,” says James.
Sunrise Christian Schoolhouse is currently enrolling students. For more information, please contact them at 512-500-7447 or admin@sunrisechristianschoolhouse.org.
