TABLE OF CONTENTS
As of January 1, 2008
This handbook is a living document; therefore, it is
subject to change at any time. Changes
will be made as deemed necessary by the administration of ABM
Ministries/Lighthouse Christian Academy in order to most clearly define and
explain the policies, rules, and regulations.
It is expected that anyone who finds himself within the boundaries of
this handbook fully comply with its content.
PURPOSE......................................................................................................................................... 2
STATEMENT
OF BASIC BELIEFS............................................................................................. 3
PARENT
ORIENTATION.............................................................................................................. 5
COMMUNICATION........................................................................................................................ 6
MAIL
AND PACKAGES................................................................................................................ 7
PHONE
CALLS............................................................................................................................... 8
VISITATION.................................................................................................................................. 11
ACADEMICS................................................................................................................................. 13
SIGNIFICANT
DATES................................................................................................................. 16
CONDUCT
AND DISCIPLINE................................................................................................... 17
MEDICAL....................................................................................................................................... 20
FINANCES...................................................................................................................................... 23
DRESS
AND GROOMING.......................................................................................................... 25
PARENT SUPPORT GROUPS................................................................................................... 29
CIVIL
LAWSUITS........................................................................................................................ 29
CHRISTIAN
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT........................................................................ 30
WITHDRAWAL
/ DISMISSAL.................................................................................................. 38
APPENDIX
A. GIRLS REQUIRED CLOTHING LIST.............................................................................. 40
B. BOYS REQUIRED CLOTHING LIST............................................................................... 42
C. DIRECTIONS TO LIGHTHOUSE
D. SENIOR EXPENSES............................................................................................................. 46
E.
BIBLE MEMORIZATION LIST........................................................................................ 47
F. HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR THE HOME...................................................................... 51
G. CHRISTMAS SHOPPING................................................................................................... 52
H. SCHOOL BREAK................................................................................................................. 53
I. SCHOOL SUPPLIES............................................................................................................ 54
J. ACADEMIC SPECIFICS
FOR HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS…….……………55
K. SAFETY
MEASURES FOR LIGHTHOUSE CHRISTIAN
ACADEMY & CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH.......................................................... 65
L. GRADUATION
ETIQUETTE............................................................................................... 71
M. SELF-CONFRONTATION ……………………………………………………....73
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
* To provide a college
preparatory academic program that serves both the student of high academic
ability, through an accelerated progression to college-level courses, and the
student of more modest abilities, through a flexible curriculum, that allows
the time for mastery of fundamental concepts and skills.
* To provide an environment of
faith that nurtures Christian values of respect for authority, of Biblical
self-image, and of Christian service.
LCA’s specific objectives
and programs in all areas of school life (academic, religious, social,
athletic, musical and extracurricular) are designed to nurture in our students’
growth, respectfulness, discipline, leadership, and creativity. All objectives and programs are subordinate
to and supportive of the twin goals of the school, developing to the fullest
potential in each student academic scholarship and Christian principles.
Exemption from State Licensure: As a residential care facility operated
entirely by a religious organization, LCA is exempt from state licensing;
therefore, is not inspected or supervised by the state of
Racial Non-discrimination:
Lighthouse Christian Academy (LCA)
and Christ Community Church admits students of any race, color, national and
ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally
accorded or made available to the students at the academy. It does not discriminate on the basis of
race, color, or national ethnic origin in administration of its educational
policies, admission policies, or any other academy-administered program.
Accreditation and
Memberships: LCA is accredited through the Association of
Christian Children’s Ministries International, the Missouri Association of
Christian Child Care Agencies, and the
STATEMENT OF BASIC BELIEFS
“But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned
and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the
holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works.”
II Timothy 3:14-17
I. THE
SCRIPTURES:
We believe that the
Bible is the eternal, infallible, inerrant, verbally inspired Word of God. We believe that it is essential to proper
living on the earth and that it is the only guide to salvation, and ultimately
to Heaven. (Psalm 12:6,7; II Timothy 2:15; II Timothy 3:14-17) (See NOTE at bottom of next page)
II. THE DEITY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:
A. His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,
35)
B. His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; Peter
2:22)
C. His miracles (Acts 2:22, 10:38)
D. His substitutionary work on the cross (I
Cor. 15:3; II Cor. 5:21)
E. His bodily resurrection from the dead
(Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; II Cor. 15:4)
III.
THE FALL OF MAN:
Man was created good
and upright. For God said, "Let
us make man in our image, after our likeness." However, man by voluntary transgression, fell
and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is
separation from God. (Genesis 1:26,
2:17, 3:6; Romans 5:10, 19)
IV. THE SALVATION OF MAN:
Man's only hope of
redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
A. The Conditions of Salvation:
It is received by
repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir
of God, according to the hope of eternal life.
(Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11, 3:5-7)
B. The Evidence of Salvation:
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the
Spirit. (Rom. 8:16)
The outward evidence
to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12)
V. LOCAL CHURCH MEMBERSHIP:
A. We believe that the Holy
Spirit baptizes individual believers into the church, which is the body and
espoused bride of Christ. We believe
that this baptism is the spiritual identification with Christ's death,
burial, and resurrection. We believe
that this baptism takes place at the instant an individual places personal
faith in Christ and is born again. (I
Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; Romans
6:3-4)
B. We believe that water baptism
by immersion is a public testimony of the individual believer's identity with
Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
We intend to baptize every believer professing personal faith in Christ
at LCA. Any believer baptized by the
pastor of
VI. MORAL STANDARDS:
We believe that God
has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of
a marriage between a man and a woman. We
believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, beastiality,
incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s
gift of sex (Genesis 2:24, 19:5-7,13, 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30, 20:13; Romans
1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that the only legitimate marriage
is the joining of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; I
Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23).
NOTE: When examining a King James Bible it is best
to look at II Timothy 3:17 as a “test verse” to assure that the Bible will be
acceptable. Look for the word
“thoroughly.” If the word is
“thoroughly”, it is not correct and you will need to find a King James Bible
that reads “throughly” in II Timothy 3:17.
PARENT ORIENTATION
The Parent Orientation
Program consists of three parts:
I. PART ONE: Tour,
Interview with Students, Interview with Staff
A. The tour will enable the
parent to view the dormitory,
B. The interview with students
is an opportunity for parents to hear testimonies and to question current
students concerning the Lord's work in their life since coming to LCA.
C. The interview with staff is a time to discuss
the basic content of the Parent Handbook.
At least three (3) hours
will be invested in PART ONE.
Upon completion of PART ONE
of the Parent Orientation the final decision will be made as to whether the
parent wants to enroll the student and ABM/LCA is willing to accept the
student.
II. PART TWO: Parent
Orientation Package
The Parent Orientation
Package provides two video cassettes and a fill-in-the-blank workbook called a
PACE. The first video, The Great
Commandment, presented by Dr. David Gibbs, Sr. of the Christian Law
Association, addresses Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
In this video, the Scripture is applied to current settings emphasizing
the parent’s responsibility to train their children to love God. The second video, Presenting School of
Tomorrow, introduces parents to the Howard family, who, with a growing
staff, created the world’s first values-based, high-tech, individualized
curriculum and program that gets results.
The PACE is designed to give parents a small learning experience similar
to that of their student. The Five Laws
of Learning presented in this PACE show the parents the basic
After receiving this
material, parents should set aside a time together to complete the Parent
Orientation. All of the instructions
should be carefully followed as closely as possible. When finished, the videos and the PACE are to
be mailed back to LCA.
The videos may be
purchased. Contact the LCA School Office
for information.
III. PART THREE:
Video Cassettes
Additional videocassettes
produced by A.C.E.,
* Changing the World One Child at a Time
* Who Will Save the Children?
Each of the videos may be
purchased for approximately $12.00 per video.
Contact the LCA School Office for information.
The entire Parent
Orientation Program should be completed as soon as possible after the student
is enrolled. This will enable the
parents to better understand, assist, and support the ministry of LCA, and thus
to help their child.
Helpful Resources For
The Home Appendix F, is included in
the back of the Parent Handbook. Many
resources of continued encouragement in addition to the Parent Orientation
Program will be found there.
COMMUNICATION
“That the
communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every
good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Philemon
6
“As cold waters to a
thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” Proverbs 25:25
All communication with the
student should be positive in nature, and supportive of school policies and
procedures.
Do not rehash
"old garbage" (i.e. student's past problems, etc.).
Avoid references to
pop culture (i.e.
Be straightforward;
avoid ambiguities or insinuations.
Never counsel the
child concerning his instruction at LCA.
Do not criticize.
Avoid maintaining
contact with negative influences.
Extremes to avoid in all
communication:
I. Do not correct your child
now. This is a new start, not a
punishment. You should not say, "We
told you that if you messed up again we would send you away." ABM/LCA is a God-given opportunity, not
punishment.
II. Do not apologize. Do not feel guilty or express guilt to your
child. This is often seen in an over
abundance of mail, packages, or gifts.
You have given your child an opportunity for which he/she will be
grateful later. You should not feel a
need to apologize for this.
III. There are two topics that
will demand that your child be removed from ABM/LCA. It will be your actions that put you in this
situation. This removal will be
considered voluntary since you were aware of this policy and chose to disregard
it.
A. NEVER tell your child
when he/she is coming home. Never
discuss information regarding visits with your child. Our influence is undermined at this point.
B. NEVER keep
secrets. Do not attempt to hide any
information concerning your plans or your child's attitude/behavior from ABM/LCA
staff.
IV. Guard against a "Bad
Guy / Good Guy" image. Do not
say concerning any situation, "We would, but LCA will not let
us." After establishing ABM/LCA's
position on a given matter, take advantage of the opportunity to assume the
authority. Say, "We have decided...
” This puts you and ABM/LCA on the same team, and helps to re-establish you as
an authority.
MAIL AND PACKAGES
“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far
country.” Proverbs 25:25
Each student is required to
write a one-page letter to parents each week.
A second letter may be written. The
parents must provide self-addressed stamped envelopes (SASE). In the case of a broken home, both parents
may provide SASE. The student may write
both parents unless court order documents prohibiting contact are provided to
LCA. If SASEs are not provided,
unnecessary handling of mail may result in loss or delay of outgoing mail.
All mail that did not
originate with the parents must be mailed to the parents and screened by the
parents, prior to forwarding to the student.
Business mail (Tuition, etc.) should not have the student's name on the
envelope. Do not mix student mail with
business mail.
The staff of LCA read all
mail. The students' outgoing mail will
not be censored in any way. Be prepared
to read, "They starve me."
"They beat me."
"They work me." "I
hate this place." "You must
come get me," etc. Incoming
student mail should have the student's full name on the envelope. Incoming mail may be returned to the parent
if content is not in the best interest of the child. A note of explanation may accompany the
returned mail. All written communication
must be in English, both incoming and outgoing.
It is best that students
not receive more than a total of five letters over any two week period. One letter per week from parents is
sufficient. Letters from grandparents
and other family members are acceptable.
Students will not be allowed to keep more than five letters. Contact with or information about old friends
should not be maintained.
LCA must be notified in
writing whenever the parent’s address or phone number changes. This is to be accomplished as early as
possible when a change is anticipated.
Photographs that are sent
to the student must meet LCA dress and appearance standards. Women must be modestly dressed. Tops and blouses must cover cleavage and have
sleeves. Make-up must be minimal. Jewelry must be small and understated. Men must be dressed modestly in long pants
and shirts. It is best that photos be
limited to those of the family, which would include family pets.
United Parcel Service (UPS)
stops here every day, Monday through Friday.
Federal Express and Roadway Packaging System also service us. Packages from home should include personal
hygiene items, school supplies, clothing, and gifts. No alcohol-based products may be sent
(mouthwash, face cleanser, etc.). No
aerosol products may be sent.
SHIPPING ADDRESS: ABM Ministries, Inc.
“Student Name”
R. Rt. 3,
PHONE CALLS (STUDENT AND STAFF)
Students:
Please use (573) 223-2025. (Times
referenced below are Central Time.)
Students must speak in
English
Phone Call Hours:
Monday through Friday
(except Wednesday) 3:00
p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
First Phone Call:
Three (3) weeks from entry
date.
Subsequent Calls:
Students can receive calls
every other week, after the first three-week call. The length of time between phone calls may be
LONGER than two weeks but not LESS than two weeks. Special services or activities may pre-empt
any phone call requiring that it be rescheduled. A visit interrupts the phone call schedule;
two weeks must pass for first year students before a phone call is received
after a visit. Parents call in; students
do not call out, except in an emergency.
Length of Calls:
Ten (10) minutes. A timer is suggested to assist in keeping
within this limit. Pay close
attention to the ten (10) minute time limit. Many students are awaiting calls. Your attention will allow all to have equal
opportunity while showing support of the rules to your child. Both parents may have seven (7) minutes
each in the case of a broken home, unless court order documents prohibiting
contact are provided to ABM Ministries, Inc.
Both parents must call on the same day.
In the interest of your child, please work together on the phone
call schedule.
Birthday Calls:
After the initial three
weeks a student may receive a one-minute call on his birthday without
interrupting the regular phone call schedule.
BE PREPARED FOR THE
FIRST PHONE CALL!
On the first call you may
hear, "How could you do this to me?
You must come get me! You are
ruining my life. I cannot stay
here! How long do I have to stay?",
etc.
YOUR RESPONSE:
"Dear daughter/son, we
called to tell you how much we love you and how much you mean to us. We are not going to discuss this with
you. If you continue, we will hang up
the phone."
CHILD'S RESPONSE:
"You can't hang up on
me! ..."
YOUR RESPONSE:
"CLICK!!" Do not debate,
explain, or counsel. Simply hang up.
SECOND PHONE CALL:
She/he may regroup and try
again. "I can't believe you hung up
on me! You must talk to me about
this! They tell me I must be here for
over a year, maybe even two years! I
can't do this! You're ruining my
life!"
YOUR RESPONSE:
"Dear daughter/son, we
called to tell you how much we love you and how much you mean to us. We are not going to discuss this with
you. If you continue, we will hang up
the phone."
CHILD'S RESPONSE:
"You can't hang up on
me! ..."
YOUR RESPONSE:
"CLICK!!" Do not debate,
explain, or counsel. Simply hang up.
THIRD PHONE CALL:
New tactics may be
attempted by the third call. Demanding
did not work, so conformity may. Folks,
please don't hang up. I am sorry for the
way I behaved before. I know that I have
been a disappointment to you. But,
really, you will not need to leave me here for a whole year. Can't we discuss this like adults?"
YOUR RESPONSE:
"Dear daughter/son, we
called to tell you..."
CHILD'S RESPONSE:
"Please talk with
me. I'm being nice. At least tell me you will think about
it"
YOUR RESPONSE:
"CLICK!!" Do not debate,
explain, counsel or tell her/him that you will think about it. Simply hang up.
Continue this until you
have control. It takes two parties to
argue/debate. Take control. Do not allow your child to take charge of the
conversation. You ask the
questions. Answer only the questions
that you choose; ignore the others. Do
not be afraid to say, “I am not discussing this with you.”
The telephone not only
helps to put you in control of your child, but it also helps to re-establish
your authority.
When asked, "Why don't
you call more often?" or "Why do you only talk for 10 minutes?",
do not say, "Because it's the rules of ABM/LCA." It is much better to say, "We have
decided to call this often," or "We have decided to limit our calls
to no longer than 10 minutes."
Establish your authority.
Family medical emergency
or death in the family:
In the unfortunate event of
a medical emergency or death within a family, it will normally be expected that
the pastoral staff of LCA be allowed to inform the student. This will be accomplished in a caring,
prayerful way, which will provide necessary information without creating an
opportunity for the student’s emotional manipulation of the family. Whether or not a student should be brought
home in such situations must be decided on a case-by-case basis. However, this is generally strongly
discouraged. After all is said and done,
if the student is not safe and secure in school, nothing else will matter. The risk to the student’s opportunity to
continue in school must be the first priority.
Staff:
The LCA Staff usually
prefer to communicate with parents by telephone. The time required to construct written
responses causes us to discourage written communication in most situations. We will call COLLECT when we call
you. We request that you remove any
blocks that would hinder this option.
Parents are expected to inform ABM/LCA in writing whenever there is a
change in phone numbers or addresses.
Pager numbers, “800” numbers, cell phone or mobile numbers should also
be made available too and changes kept current with ABM/LCA.
Phone Call Hours: Monday through Friday (Except Wednesday) 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
We will be better able to
serve you during the normal business day.
It is understood that there will be times when you must reach LCA staff
outside of the normal business day. Call
whenever you feel you need to reach us.
Parents should call to
speak with Brother or Mrs. Musgrave at least once a month. This contact will serve as an opportunity for
the parents to receive the administrator’s perspective of the student’s current
progress. It is best to attempt to reach
administrators early in the day.
Academic information is
best requested between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Please allow us to be brief
and concise with you in our communication.
If necessary, an appointment may be scheduled to allow more detailed
discussion.
Maintain a professional
relationship with LCA staff. The
effectiveness of the ministry to your child can be adversely affected when
staff and parent relationships become personal.
Please address our staff men as "Brother" or
"Mister" followed by their first name and our ladies as
"Mrs." or "Miss" followed by their first name. Our founder and pastor should be addressed as
“Brother Musgrave” or “Pastor Musgrave”.
Our staff will extend the same courtesy to you.
VISITATION
"Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:58
During the initial
twelve-month period, policy allows for parents to visit their student at three-month
intervals. Visits may be farther than
four months apart but not less than three months apart. We strongly urge you to plan visits during
our scheduled academic breaks.
* The two weeks after graduation;
* Two weeks in early August;
* Two weeks during the Christmas
season.
These are the routinely
scheduled academic breaks. See the
current school calendar for the specific dates.
Extended visits planned for dates other than the scheduled academic
breaks are strongly discouraged and must be specially coordinated with ABM/LCA
staff.
The first visit at four
months should be for no more than three days.
Therefore, it is not necessarily important for it to be during a
scheduled academic break. A three-day
weekend works well. It is suggested that
you arrange to pick your child up on Friday morning and return by 5:00 p.m.
Sunday evening. If the first visit is
not scheduled until the end of the fifth or sixth month, a period of more than
three days may be workable. It will
always be recommended that every effort be made to miss a minimum number of
school days when planning visits.
Visits planned for students
from broken homes must be carefully coordinated between each parent and ABM/LCA
staff. Whenever possible, it is best
that separated parents come together to visit the student just as married
parents do. If this is not possible, we
suggest that the parents divide a three-day weekend between them. If absolutely necessary, it may be possible
for parents to visit on consecutive weekends.
The varying circumstances in these situations demand individual
attention so as to ensure proper opportunity for both parents while considering
what is best for the student.
Students are not allowed to
return to their home state for the initial twelve months. Any other location familiar to the student
should be avoided as well.
The dates of all visits
should be closely planned and coordinated with the assistance of ABM/LCA
staff. Tentative visit dates are to be
scheduled with ABM/LCA as early in advance as possible. There are some activities that require
student attendance. Visits will not be
scheduled on these dates.
The ABM/LCA staff may
recommend that a child's visit be delayed.
Your support, if that should occur, is expected.
For students remaining
beyond the initial twelve months, visit schedules may become more
flexible. The progress of the child will
be the determining factor in scheduling those visits.
RETURNING HOME TO STAY:
Whenever it is decided that
a student is to withdraw from ABM/LCA, the parents are responsible to provide
for the return to the home of all of the student’s personal possessions. If a student is to travel home by car, all of
the belongings are to leave when the student leaves. If a student is to travel by air,
arrangements may be made to have the belongings shipped by UPS. Students are solely responsible to collect
all personal items to be taken home or shipped home. ABM/LCA accepts no
responsibility to return home any personal items left or forgotten by a student
after the student has withdrawn.
ABM/LCA provides
transportation to and from the
A fee of $150.00 per trip
will be charged for transportation to or from the
STANDARDS TO BE
MAINTAINED DURING VISIT:
Whether on campus with us
or off campus with family, nothing should change for the ABM/LCA student. ABM/LCA standards of dress and entertainment
are expected to be maintained by ALL as long as your child remains a
student at ABM/LCA. We request that
anyone visiting with our students maintain these same standards. If you have a question concerning the
appropriateness of dress or entertainment, please call to clarify before the
visit.
Plan to attend church while
on a visit. Church attendance is
expected whether on or off campus.
Parents are expected to worship in all of our services on the first
visit. After the first visit, parents
are expected to worship in all of our services if within a fifty-mile radius of
See
Appendix H for additional information on visitation conduct.
ACADEMICS
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15
Although academics play an
extremely important part in the preparation for each young person's future,
SPIRITUALITY is the key to true success (Romans 8).
We use curriculum from four
sources. Our primary curriculum comes
from Accelerated Christian Education's
Placement is based upon the
results of the diagnostic test, not on chronological age/grade. For example, a fourteen year old student who
is in the ninth year of school would be expected to be in high school freshman
English. If this student's diagnostic
test indicated that he did not have mastery of English on a sixth grade level,
we would place that student in the sixth grade level in the
Each course in
Computer Based Courses:
Computer training is
desired for all students. This training
is provided indirectly through computer based programs, such as