American Spirit Academy

EAST LIVERPOOL - While the date has been pushed to January, high school students at East Liverpool Christian School will still find themselves attending classes downtown.

But that's not all.

Students anywhere in the world will be able to earn an Ohio high school diploma through the school formerly known as the East Liverpool Christian School (ELCS).

The expanded school has a new name, a new location, and a new blend of classroom and online instruction in four distinct K-12 programs - all while keeping its Christian focus.

"This is going to be a school like no other," Craig Newbold, a member of the ELCS Board of Directors and President/CEO of the American Spirit Initiative, said. "It provides new options including a classical high-performance Latin program, career outcome tracks, and an online international studies program and adds a huge catalog of online courses to the Christian School's traditional values-based classroom instruction."

The effort was unveiled to the community during a public session July 22, at the school's new downtown East Liverpool location at 114 W. Fifth St.

About 80 ELCS parents, students and teachers attended private meetings to learn details about the school's changes.

To achieve the new look and a new future, some 250 Lincoln Interactive online courses are now available to students through a partnership with the National Network of Digital Schools. Based in Beaver, Lincoln Interactive opened its first Ohio office in East Liverpool three months ago.

Newbold said the new school - called the American Spirit Academy (ASA) - will raise the bar of educational excellence in the Upper Ohio Valley.

"The school's graduates will possess polished habits of mind, deep cultural literacy, solid competency in math and science and singular abilities to write and speak. They will be sought after by the most selective colleges and universities," Newbold predicted.

The first floor of the American Spirit Building at along West Fifth Street will be the home and campus base of the new school.

Grades 9 through 12 was expected to move to that location for classes this fall, but construction delays have forced a postponement.

"We should have building permits next week," Newbold said. "The school is up and running at it's current location (in Glenmoor) and will be moving down here as soon as the updates are done."

A building next to the ASA location has been razed along with a home behind the building. The plan is to add a greenspace to make the area more attractive and a benefit for students.

Newbold as extensive plans for the current ASA building including an elevated glass walkway that would connect the building to another across the street.

The high school students will be the first to move to the downtown location with other grades remaining at the school's Glenmoor location.

From the first floor, ASA is to evolve into a multi-building campus. A new entrance to the building will be constructed from the courtyard.

Other current tenants of the recently modernized, 25,000-square-foot, three-story building are to remain there temporarily, including the New Life Technical Institute and Soaring Eagle Inc.

Newbold said as approved by the nine-member school board, the Christian School's mission, values and program will remain intact within the new school as one of four K-12 academic tracks:

- The EL Christian Studies Program, a nondenominational but distinctly Christian school built on a classically based educational model, with Judeo-Christian values, a Biblical foundation, religious teaching, state standards and the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) elements considered core technological knowledge in an advanced society. EL Christian Studies Program courses will continue to be taught by state-certified teachers in a classroom setting, but a wide variety of state-approved courses taught online by Lincoln Interactive teachers will now be available. All classes will be asynchronous, meaning students complete coursework at their own pace, at school or home, under the guidance of certified instructors.

- The High Performance (Latin) Program, a classically based model of arts and sciences with required instruction in not only English but also Latin, Spanish and Chinese, with a comprehensive eight-year program in English grammar and literature, and strong math and science components. This program sets very high standards and is not for the average student, said Newbold.

- The International Studies Program primarily will utilize Lincoln Interactive's 250 courses to prepare students for post-secondary education. Innovatively, it will allow students anywhere in the world with Internet accessibility to receive an education based on State of Ohio standards. Students earning the required number of high school credits can travel to take the Ohio Graduation Test in person, and with a passing grade will receive an Ohio high school diploma.

- The Career Readiness Program will provide an education to state standards through primarily traditional classroom instruction. Students choose outcome-based pre-employment tracks to gain practical skills through apprenticeships, preparing them for gainful employment upon graduation.

The American Spirit Academy's four program tracks will be eventually be organized within three distinct units: the ASA Learning Edge Pre-School for children aged 3 and 4; the ASA Lower School for grades K-6, and the ASA Upper School for grades 7-12.

The East Liverpool Christian School was founded in 1974 and is a private tuition school chartered for kindergarten through grade 12 by the State of Ohio. It currently enrolls 164 students and employs a faculty and staff of 39.

Jeff Nutter is the ELCS superintendent, and Charles Leedy is chairman of the school board, which will retain control of the school and be responsible for its operations.

Newbold said the board does not foresee significant changes in interscholastic athletics and other extracurricular activities currently available to Christian School students. If anything, those opportunities should expand as new students are attracted to the school.

Newbold said the school's agreement with Lincoln Interactive provides for NNDS representatives to promote the American Spirit Academy outside this region, including to faith-based and home-schooling organizations and conferences whose families will find a state-accredited high school diploma to be of great value.

Lincoln Interactive is owned and exclusively distributed by the National Network of Digital Schools, a nonprofit foundation providing management services and curriculum to 50 schools, both private and public, in six states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.