Lindsey Burwell is a mom who had a kindergartener last year when she heard that Great Hearts was opening Great Hearts Christos, new private Christian academies. While she thought the concept of merging of classical education and Christian values was an amazing idea, she said she didn’t necessarily feel a pull to transfer from her existing school to the new private schools.
“It really wasn’t until I had a friend wanting to tour and I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll come with you and check it out.’ No intentions on changing at all but as soon as we walked in, there was just this overwhelming knowing this is where we needed to be, but I didn’t say anything. I actually let my daughter lead the way and we took the tour,” recalled Burwell. “My daughter, she tugged on my sweater, and she was like, ‘mom, this is where I want to go to school. I want to go here.’ And so, we talked about it, we prayed about it, and it’s been truly the best decision we’ve ever made.”
She said that the class sizes were a main factor for her and her daughter’s decision. “When we walked through for our tour and we saw the small class sizes, I knew my daughter would fit in so well and be able to flourish in that type of a small group environment, so it was the small class sizes, and it was truly just the presence of loving and peace and just that feeling when you walked in it. It just gave us a knowing that we needed to be here.”
Burwell feels that the intimate class sizes not only give her daughter more instruction time with her teacher, but also allows for a stronger community for her daughter to thrive in socially. “She just loved the idea that she’s going to be able to get to know all the kids and not just be lost in the midst of all the kids in a school. We were very drawn to the small class sizes and just the overall feeling of the school. There’s just so much love and peace and acceptance and it’s just undeniable awesome!”
But the small community feeling doesn’t end with the students. Burwell says she herself has formed friendships with the other parents as well. “What has been the most surprising is how much of a family it has felt so fast. Just right from the beginning, everyone has come together – all the families – to love each other and it just really feels like just a small close-knit family.”
Above everything that Great Hearts Christos has to offer, Burwell most enjoys the impact that the school has had on her daughter’s spirit. “When I pick her up every day, I mean she will pull her backpack or folder out and be so excited to show me what she’s learning and talk about her day non-stop. We get home, she can’t wait to start doing her homework and she just has like a giddiness about her, and I genuinely know it’s because when she’s at school, she feels so seen, she feels loved, she feels accepted, and it’s totally transformed this confidence inside my daughter [that] I really have never seen before.
Burwell encourages families who are considering the education that Great Hearts Christos has to offer to just take the leap of faith! “There’s not been one parent I’ve met that has regretted [enrolling their child here]. We all talk about how it’s completely changed our lives.”
Christos Academies are a separate, faith-based, non-profit, private school arm of the Great Hearts organization committed to creating and offering the best ecumenical Christian academies in the country. Because they are private schools, the Christos Academies’ programs can, and do, integrate Christ-centered faith formation along with the proven classical model that has made Great Hearts academies the national leader in classical education.
The Great Hearts Christos staff and parents like Burwell would like to invite you learn more about Great Hearts Christos during a personalized tour of our schools. Sign up for a tour of our Phoenix Campus and/or our Gilbert Campus. It could just be the decision that changes your life.
Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jason.moore@greathearts.org.