Dayspring Christian Academy

Dayspring Christian Academy began in 1986 as a Christian kindergarten class based on the Principle Approach® method of education. Since 1986, it has blossomed into a preschool through twelfth grade school.

Dayspring Christian Academy is growing in enrollment due to the current interest in Biblical education by many families living in Lancaster and York County. We have started the 24-25 school year with 384 students. We continue to have 2 sections per grade of kindergarten through 8th grade. Our goal will be to have 408 students maximum in our current facility so that when our new campus is finished, we can begin to grow to a 600-student school.

The school is the fruition of the divine vision of Dr. Michael Myers. Dayspring’s mission, based on the Principle Approach to education, is to “partner with families and churches in equipping students to:
Acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of life,
Demonstrate a biblical world view,
Become citizens of excellence in Christian character and scholarship, and
Restore America to her Christian purpose.”

This is accomplished through the Principle Approach. One hundred sixty years ago, the American people allowed education to be taken out of the Christian home and school where it had produced men and women who were God-fearing, Christ-honoring and Bible-loving. Today our nation is paying the price. In a society overrun with violence, immorality, greed, and selfishness, what can American Christians do to repair this very real damage to our foundation? Using the historic, biblical method of education that helped forge our nation, Dayspring Christian Academy offers a refreshing answer to families who seriously desire to turn the tide of mediocrity and decay. The Principle Approach, revived in the 1960s through the Foundation for American Christian Education, draws from the classical Christian tradition by providing formal instruction in logic, rhetoric, Latin, and New Testament Greek. Classical literature at every grade level provides an enriched and highly developed vocabulary. The Principle Approach is reflective by nature, challenging students to reason from the principles of God’s Word to everyday life and to articulate them soundly in writing and speech. Through the Principle Approach, children are educated to impact their world for Christ in a dynamic and meaningful way. At Dayspring Christian Academy:
• The Bible is elevated to the position of central resource, unifying the biblical principles that govern a subject with its correlative ideas and facts.
• The heritage of classical Christian scholarship in biblical reasoning and writing is restored to the level that was characteristic of the American founding generation.
• The vocabulary and rudiments of each subject are identified, both biblically and historically. The biblical origin and purpose of a subject in every grade level of education is recovered.
• The providential view of history is taught, identifying causes and effects from God’s perspective rather than man’s. The history of America and her form of government are seen as inseparable from the history of Christianity.
• A spirit of unity and harmony is produced with a diversity of teachers, students, and subjects, while promoting the God-given individuality of each.
• The notebook is developed as a record of a living curriculum, taught, and modeled by the teacher, as well as researched and reasoned by the student. The notebook becomes a resource for future learning, while providing evidence of lasting scholarship.
• The Christian character and scholarship necessary to support a Christian republic are produced in students, teachers, and parents alike. This moral fiber enables them to separate from progressive and secular philosophies and methods and to avoid producing a character which is ripe for governmental socialism, secularism, and post-modernism.
• We are pleased to continue the centuries-old tradition of excellence in classical, Christian education through the Principle Approach at Dayspring Christian Academy.
Dayspring’s programs include preschool, full academic classical programs for children in developmental kindergarten through twelfth grade.
In addition, Dayspring strives to provide each student with a Principle Approach education that points each child to Christ. At Dayspring, we see each child as a unique individual, created by a loving Creator, and valued as such. It is because of this that Dayspring has created the P139 Program based on Psalm 139:14 and designed to teach students at all levels who require alternative or differentiated methods of instruction, so they may work to their potential. Currently we serve fifty students within our student population that require the P139 program.

Dayspring holds membership with Association of Christian Schools (ACSI) as well as works closely with the Foundation for American Christian Education (FACE).