Sayers Classical Academy
Our Story
How It All Began
An Unexpected Opportunity
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For the Lawson family, homeschooling was an unexpected opportunity we are grateful to have received. Despite the total lack of curriculum, support, and truancy concerns (homeschooling was not legal in 1977), to our delight, every year was an incredible year of learning and trusting God in ways we never imagined. We realized the extreme cost we had paid for a private Christian education did not provide the academic or community experience we had hoped our children would receive.
As in most homes, I, Mrs. Lawson, had the day-to-day responsibility of homeschooling. My desire to meet our children's academic needs compelled me to spend months researching educational pedagogy and curricula. The daily interaction with my children deepened my love of learning.
Before long, I discovered classical methodology! I was instantly drawn to it and sought to understand the depth and beauty of a history-based idea-oriented educational model with a pedagogy that teaches students how to learn and think. I moved forward on the path of classical learning, trusting its promise to teach us how to grow both in knowledge and wisdom.
"The aim of educations is make the pupil like what they ought and dislike what they ought. We always pursue what we love and when we love that which is good, we cause earth to reflect heaven." - Aristotle
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Classical Education
I implemented classical pedagogy and methodology into our history, literature, Latin, and composition studies.
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I loved every aspect of learning and teaching but soon realized I had a growing problem. It took me five times longer to prepare to teach than to teach. To my surprise, this was especially true with Latin and math. The solution was to hire a tutor, but I was shocked at the cost.
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Private Group Tutoring
I had an idea. I would find a Latin and math tutor to teach one class per week to groups of students, with families sharing the cost. I would take care of the logistics, secure a location to meet, provide the curriculum, and find the students. I spoke to a local homeschooling group explaining how this method would be cost-effective and reclaim a mother’s time by lowering the time spent preparing to teach, test, and grade.
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​ “That is the one eternal education to be sure enough that something is true that you dare to tell it to a child.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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Parents liked that their children were not away from home nine hours a day, five days a week. The children enjoyed learning in this setting, and the students challenged one another and increased their interest in the subject.
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“Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to the next.” - G.K. Chesterton
Reflecting
Aligning to Classical Roots
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason so few engage in it.” - Henry Ford, Inventor
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I began to understand that classical education is not the taking of a class here and another one of interest later. Classical education requires every student to follow a prescribed course of study, with students in a particular grade studying the same disciplines together.
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Students who read great books, write on the same subjects, and exchange ideas form relationships from noble ideas rather than shared interests. I had to offer an authentic Classical Christian Education to realize my vision.
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Classical Christian Education presents its students with opportunities to think deeply and understand what it means to be wholly human, combining the works of the mind, soul, and spirit.
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“Intertwining the life of the mind with biblical truth encourages students to press on in their studies and prepare to live a full and useful life for the glory and purpose of God.” - Sandra Lawson, Founder
Part-Time vs. Full-Time
SCA Believes in Parents
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“Don’t underestimate the intellectual abilities of your children nor your own ability to meet the needs of your child’s education.” - Sandra Lawson, Founder
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SCA is devoted to homeschooling families seeking an exceptional Classical Christian Education while having their children home more than 50% of the time.
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5-Day Week Schools
It is eye-opening to realize that children ages 6 - 18 are out of the home and under the influence of others for 5.5 + years of their 12 formative years.
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A Different Road
SCA equips and provides a way for parents to reclaim this lost time - and allow them to be more present and intrinsically involved in their children’s lives.
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“Christ, Classics, and Community are more than a motto; it states SCA’s foundational principles. Over the past 30+ years, our dedication to these principles and homeschooling families remain firm.” - Sandra Lawson, Founder
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If our vision resonates with you, please come and experience the delights of an exceptional Classical Christian Education in a caring community where parents are supported and friendships last a lifetime.
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Two Promises
Giving a Legacy
“A proper classical Christian education is a gift your child will open for the rest of their lives.
I make two promises.
To the parent: You will get more for your money than you paid for.
To the student: I promise I will not waste your youth.”
- Sandra Lawson, Founder
Present Day
Continuing a Legacy
As with every vision, it comes to fruition through the work of many. My family worked tirelessly and continues to serve the community. Dear friends and dedicated families have also worked faithfully and joyfully for the SCA community. Above all, God has blessed our efforts! And we are grateful.
“The heritage of the past is the seed that brings forth the
harvest of the future.”
Our Mission
Authority of Scripture
Mission Statement
Under the authority of Scripture and the lordship of Jesus Christ, Sayers Classical Academy assists Christ-centered parents who seek to be intrinsically involved in their children’s day-to-day development, both academic and Christian growth, in their God-given mandate to educate their children (c.f. Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 and Ephesians 6:4) by providing a distinctively Christian, rigorous, and affordable academic experience.
Statement
of Faith
Being Like-minded
Sayers Classical Academy strongly commits to upholding the Statement of Faith in every interaction. Intentionally unstated within the Statement of Faith are the secondary doctrines.
Every staff member, tutor, and family of SCA agrees to this Statement of Faith. Staff, tutors, and those holding leadership positions have the additional responsibility to uphold these principles in all areas of influence with students.
The Bible is the only inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God.
There is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ is true God, was born of a virgin, led a sinless life, performed many miracles, had a vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, was resurrected bodily, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will personally return in power and glory.
Man was created in God’s image, and being descended from Adam, inherited a sinful nature and is totally unable to save himself from the natural consequences of sin; therefore, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary.
Marriage is a union between one man and one woman, bound by covenantal commitment, and serves as the foundation for both the family and society.
Men and women are saved and justified by faith alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and by accepting Him as Savior and as Lord are born again by the Holy Spirit becoming children of God. In union with Christ and through the present indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the believer is enabled to live a life pleasing to God.
Both the saved and the lost will be resurrected. Those who did not place faith in Christ will be resurrected to damnation, but those who did place faith in Christ will be resurrected to eternal life in the presence of God.
SCA resolutely confirms that it is the parents’ sole responsibility to teach the fullness of the truth of God’s Word to their children regarding baptism, communion, the Sabbath, eschatology, and other biblical truths.
Therefore, an emphasis will be placed on the primary doctrines such as biblical inerrancy, the Trinity, salvation through faith alone, and Christ as Lord.
Rhetoric students are required to fulfill a year’s study of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology where they develop a deeper understanding of primary and secondary doctrines.
Family & Tutor Reflections
SCA parents recognize the value of their child’s education.
SCA recognizes the value of their tutors’ experience.
Time Tested Curriculum
My family has partnered with SCA to home educate our children for seven years, and I have tutored chemistry for two years. My daughter has completed a year in the logic stage, and my son is entering into the final year of the grammar stage. I have been impressed with how the well-established and time-tested curriculum builds on concepts from year to year, and it has been excellent preparation for the logic stage and beyond. My children have thrived on the consistency of the curriculum, and it has simplified teaching them at home as my familiarity with the curriculum has grown. Additionally, it has been a joy to tutor students in the rhetoric stage and experience the fruit of their labor in the early years. These students are able to make connections and more deeply understand the truth, beauty and goodness in the world that reflects our creator God. What a blessing it is to be intrinsically involved in my children’s education and in the education of other SCA students as my family and our community seek to know Jesus Christ more fully.
Kristen Olberding
SCA Tutor & Parent of 2
An Invaluable Experience
Teaching at SCA while I was a student at Southern Seminary was an invaluable experience, and I am thankful to have been a part of the school and the community. The experience allowed me to grow as a teacher by forcing me to learn how to communicate with an audience of various ages. I also learned that it does not matter how well I think I explained something if the person in the classroom or the person reading the material at home does not understand what was said. At the end of the day, I learned that if the student does not understand what I said in the classroom, I failed at my job. This translates into the church, the classroom, or the business world because we are only as good as what we communicate.
Eric Rutherford, Author & Blogger
Entrusting The Faith
SCA Tutor
The Perfect Blend
Our years at Sayers have been some of the best of our lives. When our oldest child grew old enough to begin her formal education, we knew that the Lord was leading us to homeschool in order to ensure that we were able to instill all that was necessary. The leadership and tutors here have taken so much of the “heavy lifting” off of our shoulders with curriculum and implementation of material which has freed us to give time and attention to some of the weightier matters of education such as spiritual formation and character development. Eight years later, our three oldest children can enjoy the benefits of a rigorous, Christ-centered classical education. More importantly, they love being with their mom and dad (and we love being with them!) in large part because we have spent these years learning together at the feet of our Savior.
Ryan & Mindy Whitley
SCA Parent of 3
The Entire Package
When we evaluated the entire Sayers package, from what they teach our children, to how they teach our children, we found Sayers just to be the premier choice in the Louisville area for us to utilize.
Jason & Karen Allen
SCA parent of 5
What You and They See
What I love about Sayers is the
mission statement. It rings so true to what you see at Sayers. The first line of it is under the authority of Scripture and the lordship of Jesus Christ. You see that in everything that’s done. You see that in the tutors and the teachers. They see the same types of things in their tutors as they see in their parents.
Tim Byron
SCA Parent of 3
Sharing the Gospel
What a joy it was to tutor at SCA during my seminary years! A flexible schedule allowed me to remain devoted to my classes. The work helped me provide for my family. The teaching made me a better learner. But more than anything, I had the privilege of sharing gospel and life with these kids.”
Dr. Aaron Menikoff, Senior Pastor
Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA
SCA Tutor
The Perfect Blend
We really loved the educational process, as well as the educational outcomes for our kids. The reason that we picked Sayers is because it offered us a perfect blend of the homeschool experience and also the private school experience.
Kent Evans
SCA Parent of 5
An Amazing Privilege
Teaching at SCA is an experience unlike what one might expect interacting with middle and high school age children. The kids at SCA are serious, disciplined, and eager to learn. It is an amazing, privileged environment for a teacher to be sharing knowledge in any subject with the expectation that it will be rightly tied to the God who created this world and His Son who is redeeming it. I fondly remember the years I taught at SCA watching children mature into well-rounded, gospel-saturated, educated young adults, and I still enjoy the privilege of interacting with many of them and their parents long after our time in the classroom.
Jeff Moran, Service Fund Testing Analyst
Humana, Louisville, KY
SCA Tutor
An Honor & Joy
Teaching at SCA was an enriching experience both academically and spiritually. The classroom experience taught me how to communicate better, and the classical model helped me understand the process of education. Spiritually, I built friendships with students that continue to this day. It was an honor and a joy to partner with godly families and learn from them.
Dr. Keith Goad, Pastor
Jefferson Park Baptist Church, Charlottesville, VA
SCA Tutor