Classical Christian School Celebrates 25th Anniversary
As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, what better endorsement could Trinity Christian Academy offer than the summer project of Brandon Snell, a 16-year-old rising sophomore?
Brandon was homseschooled before enrolling at Trinity, and he so enjoyed his freshman year that he took a summer job at the Jessamine County YMCA pool to help his parents pay for tuition.
“The academic and social atmosphere has built me to be the man God has planned for me,” Brandon said.
“Not only have I been influenced in the classroom but also on the basketball team.”
Strong academics and athletics make Brandon a representative of the Trinity ideal – “well-rounded excellence for the glory of God.”
Those are the words of headmaster David Kirkendall, who just completed his first year at Trinity.
As he moves into his second year, Trinity gears up for a 25th anniversary celebration, featuring a big homecoming weekend in October.
A convocation in September will feature Rev. Al Lutz, the school’s founder when he was a minister at Tates Creek Presbyterian Church.
Throughout the year, alumni will be invited to give chapel messages to the school.
Trinity has grown in the past quarter century but remains a tight-knit community with small classes – the ‘13 graduating class was 23.
That allows students to participate in extracurricular activities, including clubs, drama, choir, art and sports.
Those experiences augment the core missi
on at Trinity – a classical Christian education.
The curriculum follows the liberal arts tradition, emphasizing mastery of the written and spoken word. The study of Latin and logic starts in middle school and culminates in rhetoric in high school.
Before a panel of teachers and local experts, upperclassmen must defend a thesis project that requires extensive research.
Topics are wide-ranging, covering everything from the morality of torture, the media’s impact on eating disorders, Title IX and athletics, and the medical definition of death.
Jonathan Sekela presented a memorable thesis in the spring: “Jesus Was a Metal Head,” a plea for tolerance of musical diversity, including heavy metal.
“Trinity was a perfect fit for Jonathan,” his mother Sheila said. “We were very happy with the academic rigor, the emphasis on character and the fact that kids come first.”
Jonathan was a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist and played the lead in the school play, “Life With Father.”
He also was a member of the Math & Science Society team that competed in the NASA competition in Houston.
Jonathan will attend High Point University in North Carolina in the fall, and Trinity sends its graduates to public (Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina) and private colleges (Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt) as well as small Bible colleges.
This year’s graduating class of 23 seniors was offered a total of $1.4 million in scholarships.
Mac McCauley, the father of Anna, a rising senior, relates the following story about the quality of Trinity graduates.
“A UK professor told a friend that he could always tell a Trinity graduate,” McCauley said. “They had manners and they had a well-rounded base to build on. That’s huge when a student makes the jump to college.”
Of course, not all success stories involve college. Alumnus David Tanous loves his job as an auto mechanic for a local dealership.
“It’s thrilling when students uncover and explore what God has called them to do,” Kirkendall said.
Trinity, a pre-K through 12th grade school that graduated its first class in 2003, continues to grow. Enrollment this past year increased from 367 to 385.
The school plans to involve those students more with the community to make lasting connections.
“Trinity will move more into the community with humility to listen as well as to serve and speak,” he said.
When the community encounters Trinity students they should find young people who “know how to think, to write and to speak with others,” Kirkendall said.
“We have articulate children who love God and will serve others to promote the common good of the community.”