Mission Moment

Dear Covenant Families, 

Admissions season is upon us, and we can’t wait! Over the next few months, we will meet over 300 prospective families during tours and open houses, host hundreds of applicants here on campus, and send volunteers to their homes to conduct family interviews. It’s exciting and invigorating to meet the next generation of Covenant families!

Parents, you are the heart of Covenant admissions. Last year, 97% of our applicants were referred to us by an existing Covenant family. Your influence is immense. Prospective families are drawn to Covenant because of you and your children. That’s how my family found Covenant.

Seventeen years ago, when my oldest son Jack was four, choosing a school was daunting. I didn’t know anything about educational pedagogy. Frankly, I didn't even know what the word pedagogy meant. What I did know was what kind of families I wanted to parent alongside and what kind of man I wanted Jack to grow up to be. I wanted my kids to be attentive and relaxed. I wanted them to be deep thinkers and winsome. What I wanted was a Charlotte Mason-inspired classical Christian education. I just didn’t know it yet. Like so many do when making a decision, I looked to families I wanted ours to emulate and found out where they sent their children to school. One of those families was our very own Melissa Hill. Her children were already at Covenant, so I signed up for a tour. What I found was a gem in the middle of Dallas. Covenant was where I wanted to raise our family.

The early years were like drinking from a fire hose. Learning about classical Christian education, the Trivium, and Charlotte Mason is no small feat. It was overwhelming but worth it! After having been a Covenant parent for 17 years and a Covenant employee for six years, I am still constantly learning about the educational feast that Covenant presents to our students. 

When families consider educational options for their children, existing families are what they want to emulate. I know this because I hear it every day. Our best marketing tools are right here on campus, the children running around our playgrounds and sitting around our Harkness tables. If you know a family that would be a great fit for Covenant, tell them about us. Share with them what you love about Covenant, what your children have learned here, and the community you have built. Let them into your world; into Covenant’s world. By the time I meet prospective families, 97% of them have already talked to one of you. The power of your personal testimony is essential to attracting the like-hearted families we hope for.

I often get the question, “what is classical Christian education all about?” Well, that’s not a short answer, but what I most want people to know about Covenant is:

1- We are unabashedly Christian. I have heard Rhetoric teacher, Michael Golden, say “even if a Bible is not open in a class, God’s Word permeates every conversation.” Isn't that beautiful? God’s Word is the basis of everything we do at Covenant. 

2 - We are training students to be lifetime learners. This educational journey never ends. It starts in Explorers and continues throughout our lives. Lean in. It’s not too late for you to be a lifetime learner also. Read the books your students are reading, memorize scripture with them, or simply savor the art they create.

3- We are shaping affections. As the world throws rubbish at our children, Covenant is pointing them to the good, true, and beautiful: the beauty of God’s creation in nature studies, the beauty of the order that math creates, and the beauty of a really good book.

So, I am calling on each of you to be our ambassadors. Tell people about classical Christian education. Tell them about Covenant, this hidden gem in the middle of Dallas—well, maybe not so hidden anymore, but a gem nonetheless! 

Non Nobis,

Jennifer Peterson
Director of Admissions