Journal

I am so excited to be back inside the walls of Summit Classical Academy! As a Teacher Assistant, I will be able to work with students in small groups and provide additional support where needed. The teachers at Summit have done a phenomenal job of teaching two grades at once and learning how to teach in a classical Christian school. They love their students and put a lot of time and energy into their lessons. The students, teachers, administration, and families are the most friendly and positive community of people to be around.

I took the fall semester off to travel and spend time with my family. Previously, I taught kindergarten for four years and taught one semester of the SCA homeschool co-op, which was first and second graders. I have taught some of the students every year of their schooling so far, which is so fun! Now that I get to spend my mornings at Summit, I will be able to assist in all of the classrooms. This could be taking small groups to review the concept of the day, playing a game to supplement what the students are learning, or providing guidance on their assignment. Students will receive even more opportunities for direct instruction and small group lessons. I will also be able to provide the teachers with more breaks while I take students out for recess. I was lucky enough to have an assistant teacher for two years while I taught kindergarten, so now it is my turn to give back and bless the teachers with extra help.

I am looking forward to the spring semester at Summit Classical Academy and am so thankful everyone has welcomed me back with open arms. In the few days that I have been at school this semester so far, I can see how well the students respect authority, treat others with kindness, and love God with all of their hearts. It will be an amazing spring semester witnessing God’s beauty in this school.

– Stephanie Fiechtner

In the midst of this crazy year, many parts of “real” life have had to shift online. It is incredible that technology has advanced so much that not even a global pandemic can stop the world in its tracks! While this year has highlighted the many wonderful things technology brings to the table, it has also revealed negative aspects of spending increasing amounts of time using technology. We’ve seen that most adults have trouble staying off of social media, video games, etc. If adults cannot help becoming addicted to technology, how much harder is it for children who might not yet know how to control their actions!

While technology is a very useful tool, it can be dangerous for the development of children academically, socially, and spiritually. There are only two main industries that call their customers “users”: the illegal drug industry and the technology industry. This label (“users”) is definitely not an accident. The internet and technology as a whole are very easy to become addicted to. When anything completely takes over a person’s life, like technology often does, the results can be very detrimental to their well-being, especially if that person is a child. Hundreds, if not thousands, of peer reviewed research articles comment on the negative effects of children using technology in their formative years to adulthood (0-18). Children are the most easily susceptible to becoming addicted to technology and can be sucked in by its luster and charms. With its constant bombardment of notifications and achievements, the use of technology actually encourages and enables attention deficits and hyperactivity in these children. It has been proven that if children consistently use technology in their formative years, their attention span will decrease, their creative abilities will be limited, and their social awareness will be inhibited.

Those who have impairments such as ADHD are at a much higher risk of becoming addicted to technology. The heavy use of technology, which is “only” a few hours a day, has been strongly correlated with heightened levels of depression (75% of people studied), anxiety (57%), symptoms of ADHD (100%), obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (60%), and increased hostility and aggression (66%). Additionally, when a child suffers from any one of these ailments, the heavy use of technology can dramatically increase its severity. If a child has ADHD, the vibration of a phone or watch can become an additional distraction from their work. Children who use technology are having their brains trained to get notifications regularly, change what they are doing rapidly, and not be able to focus for nearly as long. Heavy use of technology has already had dramatic effects on people’s ability to focus: the average human attention span has actually gone below the attention span of a goldfish in the past ten years.

However, there is good news! The brain is malleable, so it can be reprogrammed and adjusted. One of the very best things that a child can do for their verbal skills, manipulative skills, judgment and reasoning, and their creative, social, and problem-solving intelligences is play. True free play, where children are creating their own rules and story lines, expands their brain in a much more positive way than technology does. Creating something, painting, drawing, building, doing puzzles, reading a book, playing a board or card game, and other fun activities can help children learn how to properly behave, increase their attention span, and benefit their mental health.

While technology does not (and frankly cannot) be completely removed from children’s lives, there should be limitations to its use. The simple act of reducing a child’s screen time to one hour a day is likely to drastically change his or her behavior and mindset. At first, this change might have side effects like a real drug withdrawal: millions of people just in the United States are addicted to technology. Stay strong, though, as children should be given every possible tool to become successful. Success is not only defined by what they can do but by the process they utilize to get to their end goal. Working together to limit technology will help our children’s minds become sharper, equipping them to improvise, adapt, and overcome anything life throws their way. 

Train up a child in the way they should go,
[a]And when they are old they will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Written by: Addison Fraser

We are excited. We are humbled. Above all, we are GRATEFUL. 

Thank you for your support!

See what our parents are saying about Summit Classical Academy. We are helping children reach their summits and partnering with parents in the education of their children.

Our mission is: We will build community and serve our community by partnering with parents in the education of their children, striving to develop all aspects of the student’s potential. We will provide a classical Christian education, a peaceful and inspiring environment, and a high standard of expectations for our students, teachers, and leaders, all for the glory of God.

Here at Summit Classical Academy we know that each child has different strengths and unique characteristics that make them special! The Classical methodology teaches children how to think, and not what to think. They gain the tools to reach their own Summit, in Christ, based on their personal gifts!

Please enjoy our students telling you about their summits!

No one says it better or cuter than our students! Please consider contributing to our mission of community in Christ while providing a top notch classical education. We hope you enjoy watching this video as much as we enjoyed making it!

What does a Warrior Ambassador do?

Warrior Ambassadors help us get the word out about Summit! We want to make this as fun and easy as possible for you and your network. From November 6th – 20th we will be hosting special chapel celebrations, featuring amazing videos of our children and parents, and releasing wonderful stories and informational pieces about what makes Summit special. Here is what we ask you to do:

Scroll to the bottom of our website and join our community!

Follow this LINK to find out more!

If you have any other ideas about ways that you and the rest of our community can act as Warrior Ambassadors, please email our Board at [email protected]. Thank you for coming alongside us in this endeavor!

The goal of Christian and classical education is to equip students to evaluate knowledge in the light of Scripture, achieve academic excellence, to be thoughtful, and glorify God. Classical Christian education develops in the student a desire to know God more and to share the love of God with others, not only in word but also in action. Students develop a passion for seeking wisdom and knowledge, and have an intellectual foundation built on the tools of learning and utilize them in all walks of life. Skills are developed that promote students to courageously engage the culture to proclaim and express the love, grace and mercy of Jesus to a world that is broken. Discernment guides students as they look at the worldview of the surrounding culture and assess what lines up with Scripture, and are able to clearly see the deceptions that do not. They are able to carefully consider an idea without blindly accepting it. Using knowledge, reason, and discernment, they are careful to ponder ideas in light of God’s Word before accepting it as true. In this classical model, Christ is central in all aspects and the purpose of acquiring knowledge is to grow in wisdom and virtue.

Hello! My name is Cindy Houghton, and I’m thrilled to be a part of Summit Classical Academy. I have lived in Colorado for 26 years, but I grew up in Texas. I have been married to my college sweetheart, Richard, for 29 years, and we are blessed with four amazing children. We have entered the empty nesters phase of life, but enjoy having our children close by. Three live in Colorado, and one lives in Arizona. We also have a fur baby, Harley, who we spoil daily. 

I studied at the University of New Mexico where I received my bachelor and master’s degrees in Elementary Education. Throughout my teaching career, I have worked in public and private schools, but my heart and passion fit with classical Christian education. It is my happy place. At Summit Classical Academy, we teach from a distinctly Christian worldview as faithful worshippers of the God who is at the center of every aspect of our lives. Children should be taught that there is no separation from God in any area of life. Deuteronomy 11: 18-20 reminds us to fix God’s Word in our hearts and minds and to talk of it with our children throughout the day. God is intertwined in all of work, school, home and play. 

As a Christian educator, I can help students see that knowledge apart from scriptures is imperfect.  I believe it is imperative to be a teacher who instructs with excellence; after all, we serve an excellent Creator. I trust that the parents of my students have given me permission to come alongside them in their role as their children’s primary educators. It is my goal to stimulate both a love of learning and good habit formation necessary for a student’s independent study. 

Since God is the author of love, He gives me love for my students and a desire to be the best teacher I can be. The true goal of education is to love God in everything and in all ways. My deep desire is to elevate God in my classroom and to demonstrate how to love Him with heart, mind, body and strength.