MT. CALVARY LUTHERAN
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We know choosing a private education is a very important decision, one that needs to be done confidently. Please contact us if you have unanswered questions. We would love to answer them!
Ph 909.861.2740 • [email protected]
Mt. Calvary Lutheran School utilizes the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) assessment tool, which is a nationally standardized testing product. This assessment is given annually in the fall, giving teachers a diagnostic tool that allows them to evaluate the students’ strengths and weaknesses.
The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills test advantages lie in the fact that first, the ITBS can be administered across wider groups of children than the SAT, second, there are additional unnecessary restrictions placed on users of the SAT that do not apply to our school, and third, the ITBS evaluates higher order thinking skills while the CAT tests rely more heavily on rote memory.
Yes we do! Mt. Calvary Lutheran School offers financial assistance to qualifying families. We utilize Financial Aid for School Tuition (FAST), a third party service, to help determine financial needs of families. Using an outside agency such as FAST allows MCL to protect families and give them complete confidentiality and to provide third party objectivity.
Find out more at the bottom of our Tuition & Fees page.
Safety is essential at Mt. Calvary. In addition to having a facility that is located on a hilltop and off the street, our faculty and staff devote time talking about safety, evaluating our current safety procedures, and how we can make Mt. Calvary a safer place for our students. Some of the safeguards we have in place include:
- Required Life Scan and fingerprints for all faculty, staff, coaches, and people who spend time with our students.
- A detailed crisis plan that includes intruder/lock-down procedures, earthquake, and fire drills.
- All of our faculty and staff are certified first aid and CPR administrators.
- Security cameras monitor all incoming and outgoing traffic.
Our school does not involve the use of merely one academic curriculum. We work hard to evaluate and employ the best curriculum available that either meets or exceeds the California State Standards. For more detailed curriculum information see our K-8th Grade Academic page.
All of our educators are professionally trained in the academic discipline of education, and all of our teachers hold (at minimum) a B.A. degree from a regionally accredited university in addition to a Lutheran teacher’s and/or California Teaching Credential. Over 25% of our teachers hold a Master’s Degree in Education.
Yes, we do. We use the “Saxon” math Kindergarten series, but we adjust it to the appropriate age level of each classroom. We do have a strong language program as well. We have introduced interactive computer activities which reiterate what the children are learning during class time such as matching shapes, colors, sequencing, word building, letter sounds and identification.
We have snack twice a day, once in the morning between the hours of 10:00 and 10:15 am and then again around 3:30 pm. Lunch is served depending upon the classroom between 11:45 and 1:00. If your child indicates that they are hungry during the day, the teachers will give the child a snack if needed.
No, we are licensed for pull-ups/diapers. We require that only pull-ups with Velcro sides are used at school. We do take the 2-3 year olds to the bathroom every 30-45 minutes throughout the day to minimize accidents. We do ask that you bring plenty of changing clothes for your child to keep at the school in case he/she has an accident including shoes and socks.
No, you do not have to be Lutheran to be a part of our school. MCL school and preschool is open to any family who wants their child to have a Christ-centered private education. We teach that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and without Him we cannot go to Heaven. We teach that we are saved by the grace of God and by His grace we will enter the gates of heaven, we teach forgiveness, love and mercy.
We use the “One in Christ” curriculum which allows us to have our “Jesus Time” at the beginning of each day. On Wednesday mornings we join the elementary school for Chapel, which is held in the Family Life Center. We teach the child how to pray several times throughout the day, before school, snack and lunch times, naptime. We do sing praises to God regularly throughout the day. We do encourage the parents to help their child fill out a prayer request form so we can pray for the needs in our children’s families. We also encourage the parents to bring their child to church three times a year when our children sing in our “Joyful Noise” preschool choir for our church congregation.
We have a 1:12 teacher/student ratio. We have 2 teachers per classroom, so one room may have up to 24 students.
Each classroom has different scheduled times for outside time. Each classroom is scheduled for 1 ½ hours per day. Depending upon the classroom schedule, the children usually go outside for 3 – ½ hour segments throughout the day.