A Letter From Our Founder
Dr. Carole Adams
The story of StoneBridge School begins with the mother's heart. In the summer of 1980, several teachers who were mothers praying for the solution to the perplexing question of how to educate their children, began to conceive a vision for something that did not fully exist - a school that would be a Christian school from the internal to the external, in spirit and in letter, in philosophy, methodology, and curriculum - a Principle Approach® school. God allowed me to carry the vision and began to bring many others to share it, putting their energies into the incomparable complexity of establishing a school. Our task was enormous, as was the vision. We were inspired to found education on a Biblical model in which character would be the prize and which would embody the ultimate mission of restoring the Christian character of the Republic.
We studied, we wrote, and we designed curriculum. We created policies, procedures, special days, communication tools, and the Goal Sheet. We wrote manuals and expressed the individuality of the school in brochures and materials. We developed the tutorial approach, the notebook method, and strove to articulate the mission in all areas of our endeavor. We built our first buildings. It was an exciting time and we were driven by the energy of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. For seven years, we conceived and delivered - women all, bringing to life an ideal. This was the "creation phase" of the history of StoneBridge School.
In 1988, we began the second phase. Two events triggered this phase: the death of Verna Marie Hall on November 16, 1987 and the hiring of the first male teachers and administrators. Verna's death shook us to the core and, in effect, gave us a sense of "promotion" and the mandate to take the work to new levels. Hiring male teachers and administrators changed the school forever, bringing it out of the nursery and into the mainstream of institutional development and governance. In the following seven years we developed the administration of the school, developed the teacher apprenticeship program, achieved accreditation, opened a second campus, established the board and the governance of the school based upon a constitution, established the high school and graduated the first senior class. From 1988 to 1994 we completed the "governance phase" of the history of the school.
In 1994, we began the third phase of establishing StoneBridge School - the "development phase." This phase is characterized by the refinement of curriculum and instruction, establishing internal systems to perpetuate the spirit and mission of the school, and by establishing an institutional development program. We hired a development director, began strategic planning, learned to develop funds and balance our budget, and began the search for land for a new campus. This third phase of the establishment of StoneBridge School is now two-thirds complete and much has been achieved.
God took the earnest in the hearts of several ardent mothers and made it into so much more than we could then see. This is our 20th year. God has done great things. From 31 students and a rabbit named William (for William Shakespeare, of course), we have grown into an educational community of 425 students and 81 faculty and staff. From the first teacher notebooks compiled by novice-but-inspired 'red book' owners, we have now a published curriculum, The Noah Plan, being used by home schooling parents and Christian schools all over the world. From the dream of seeing the Principle Approach bear the fruit spawned by a Biblical philosophy of education, we now see graduates who excel and exemplify the fulfillment of Proverbs 22:21. From the first baby steps in the Principle Approach we took in 1980, we now see teachers developing into master Principle Approach teachers who are truly forming the character of leadership in the next generation. We have experienced God's faithfulness! And God has built our faith for so much more!
The bold phrase found in our mission statement - " restoring the character of the Republic" - we now see happening one child at a time, and all over the nation. The Lord is doing a great work internally and externally. The way we have chosen is not the easy way; but it is the way of Truth, and it is our duty and obligation to our Lord, to our children, and to the generations to follow.
- Dr. Carole Adams, Founder of StoneBridge School