Dear DC Homeschool Families,
Over the past several years, Dayton Christian has watched interest in its traditional K-12 program significantly grow as more families seek Christian education for their children. This growth has caused us to consider our institution’s purpose and reevaluate the programs we offer.
Beginning for the 2022-2023 school year, we will no longer offer the homeschool EXCEL program for Grades K-5. The homeschool program will solely focus on Independent Studies for Grades 6-12 next fall and continue to offer high-quality instruction for homeschool students as well as access to athletics, arts, and student life.
This decision was not made easily and came after much prayer and discussion among our leadership team. We support the God-given call for parents to home educate, but as an institution, we have to consider the impact of the EXCEL program's recent instability.
The benchmark for an educational program's healthy retention rate is set around 92%, but we have only retained 72% of our students in EXCEL over the past few years. This enrollment trend has continued into this school year with at least one student from the program withdrawing for every week we have been in school.
We want to operate with excellence as we respond to the demand in our K-12 traditional program and continue to partner with homeschool families. Focusing on the Independent Studies program for Grades 6-12 will enable us to do that by tapping into our existing educational structure and freeing up current EXCEL classroom space for our elementary division, which has seen a 25% increase in the past year.
We are committed to the Independent Studies program and are excited about its growth potential. Students within this program are a huge asset to Dayton Christian as many play integral roles in our athletics, arts, and student life activities. Plans are currently underway to invest in this program by dedicating more resources to those who market, recruit for, and manage it.
We realize the decision to phase out the EXCEL program may have a significant impact on your family which is why we were committed to sharing it with you as soon as possible. Our hope is that this gives you adequate time to prepare for the following year while ensuring that we finish the 2021-2022 school year strong.
We are thankful for families who have turned to Dayton Christian as a partner in their homeschool journey and look forward to the new ways we can serve home educators as their children navigate the middle and high school years.
