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1st - 12th Grade Learning Center

From the preschool classes to Kindergarten, we are teaching our students to become independent learners.  This comes to full bloom in our Learning Center.

Through the use the student-centered curriculum, Accelerated Christian Education, your child learns to work, think, and learn independently.  Our trained teachers facilitate this learning process and provide one-on-one tutoring to students when they experience difficulty learning a new concept.  Students are taught to set educational goals for themselves, and they appreciate the feeling of success at completing these goals.

This is also a mastery based program.  Students must master key concepts before moving on to new material, ensuring that they are learning the vital information they need to be successful students. Students also have the opportunity to participate in our Music and Art programs.  The students’ work is showcased in our spring art show and in our Christmas and spring concerts.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • ACE stands for “Accelerated Christian Education.” It is more than just a curriculum, though! It is a system of learning that provides an alternative for those looking for a more individualized approach for their child.

  • ACE actually has been around for over 50 years! Its founders, Dwayne and Esther Howard, sought to create a Christian curriculum that was helpful for a variety of learning styles, and that would promote individualized learning. It is an excellent format for smaller schools, and is used by over 6000 schools throughout 145 countries.

  • Good Shepherd seeks to provide a quality alternative for families in our community. We desire to provide a solid academic option for the children of our staff and of customers who find our school a loving, safe, and well-monitored environment. Since it is designed for small schools, it has given us this option.

    There are many things about this curriculum that make it attractive. It is an individualized approach. Each child is working exactly on the level that they need to be in each subject. This allows a child to move forward at a higher speed than he/she would be if he/she were in a curriculum being taught to a group. It also allows a child that needs more time to learn concepts to have the time needed to do so. This individualized approach also allows the child to develop independence under the watchful care of teachers who are ensuring that he/she is learning the material and who are there to help students with difficult concepts when they need it.

  • Yes! At Good Shepherd, we believe that each child is an individual, and that it is important to have their needs met in this way. When a child requests time with a teacher, or a teacher sees that they are struggling with a concept, the teacher is able to work one-on-one to make sure that they understand the material.

  • Another foundational element of this curriculum is that it is mastery-based. While many schools are accustomed to moving on in the curriculum without assurance that everyone knows the material, ACE requires an 80% grade for the student to move forward in the curriculum.

    The ACE curriculum is also character-building. The designers of the curriculum have scoured the Bible for 90 character traits of Jesus, and utilize various elements of the curriculum, including memorization, to encourage such character traits in the students.

  • Yes, as a whole system, ACE instills many real-world skills in a unique way. Its mastery-based approach allows children to experience failure, and to become accustomed to learning from it instead of being paralyzed by it.

    Its heavy emphasis on goal-setting becomes a very valuable trait as students move on in life.

    Its heavy emphasis on grammar and writing also develops fundamental, lifelong skills that are necessary for success.

    The program also trains students to type, to speak in public, and to problem-solve. Since the core curriculum is such a sound foundation, we are able to enhance it with music, art, and other college preparatory skills, such as paper-writing, group discussion, debate, and lecture auditing.

    The classroom structure, which combines all the age groups, allows children to develop an ability to work with people of all ages, instead of just their own age group.

  • All students that enter our Learning Centers are screened by the principal. Our standards of behavior are very high, and all older students in the classroom are expected to be role models for the younger students. We have been blessed to see this pattern during our entire history – our older students develop leadership skills, and our younger students learn the importance of good role models and experience the validation of relating to them.

  • Please feel free to call our Harrisonburg office at 540–564–1744, or our Waynesboro office at 540-932-2060, and set up an appointment with the Director for more information