When we all first heard about this virus we could not have imagined the current situation we face today. However, God could. Not only could He imagine this taking place, but we can trust that behind what looks like a total crisis is God Himself. He's still there and we can trust that He uses all things for His purposes and that His love for us is unmatched. He will faithfully guide us through success and calamity. Our job is to keep our eyes on Him, trust Him, and become faithful and sincere followers of Christ. I pray that this is a time of finding the hidden treasures of the day (Isaiah 43:3). Let this be a time that we each start afresh in our faith, draw close to God, renew or strengthen our commitment to Him, resolve unforgiveness or anything else that pollutes our hearts and hinders our journey. This is a time to reprioritize our lives, renew our relationships with our families, repair offenses with our children, and enjoy faith and family. Assuredly, there will be challenges during this time, even stresses. Let us remember that He will faithfully care for us and cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). Easter isn't about dressing up, making an annual pilgrimage to a church building, or even truly about fun traditions, such as hunting eggs. Easter is about the redemptive opportunity of a fresh start in life that only comes through faith in Christ. It is about the power of having a new life. The power of Easter is available to us every day and this crisis should especially cause us to begin anew.
School Announcements:
Returning to School: It has been announced that public schools will not return to their campuses this year. Private schools will be allowed to choose for themselves, once the Governor's directive prohibiting the gathering of 10 or more indoors (except for businesses and churches practicing social distancing) is lifted. At that time, we will evaluate again to determine if we can return to campus to finish out the year. It is our hope that we will be able to do so as quickly as possible.
School Events: Beyond Spring Follies, which should have occurred last night, we have important events on the schedule for May. These include our Honor and Awards Ceremony, Water Day, and our first ever Commencement. We are committed to making sure these events happen--even if delayed. For now they are all on hold and we will schedule new dates as soon as possible.
Testing Canceled: Every year Legacy Academy participates in the same benchmark testing that public schools do. While we are not required to do so and we do NOT teach to the test for a single day, our students score above national, state, and local averages every year. In spite of this, we believe the tests to be of little significance in the total measurement of how a student is doing. We only administer them because it is helpful if a student moves off to a new location. We will not be administering the tests this year given the COVID-19 situation.
Virtual School & Distant Learning: We understand that this is a challenge for teachers, students, and parents. For Upper Level students, it is critical that they attend all of their classes on their normal schedule every day. Too many students have been late to class or missed a class. It is very difficult to teach the class and keep everything moving forward under those circumstances. Parents, please help us ensure students are in attendance at every class. If there is a true technology issue, please let us know and we will work on a solution.
Pre-K & Kindergarten: Legacy Academy is a state licensed daycare. This allows us to serve students under school age and to provide additional daycare services if we ever decide to do so. Daycares have remained open through this crisis with new precautions such as taking temperatures every day, such as not allowing any guests to enter the classrooms, etc. We will explore this option IF there are enough of our families interested in doing so. If you have a student in Pre-K or Kindergarten, please complete this survey HERE.
Our Campus: The company that previously rented the former Lockesburg Pre-k/daycare building and the bus barn/shop from us has closed their Southwest Arkansas location. Please pray for their employees. While we hate to lose the rental income for the school, we are excited to have control of the facilities and know that they will offer us additional avenues for serving our students. This could include expanded Pre-K offerings and with the shop building will include more vocational course work, such as mechanics, welding, woodworking, and agriculture.
Help Needed: Just a reminder that ALL Legacy families commit to volunteering at least 10 hours a year. We need everyone's help to keep the school running in the most cost effective way possible. There is so much mowing and weedeating to do at this time of year. There is power washing, bulb changing, floor buffing, and more work to be done! Also, we really need help finishing up getting the old campus ready to sale. Please email academy@legacymail.org or call the office 870.642.8937.
Next year: We will soon send out re-enrollment forms for next year. We have already had a great level of interest and inquire for new students next year and are excited about it. Be on the look out for your form for next year! Also, we need to hire several new teachers. If you know of anyone that would be a great addition to our team, please tell them that we have openings!
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