Scripture, Relationships and
Holistic Development:
The Marks of a Home & School Hybrid Teacher

From its very beginning, NorthPointe Christian’s Home & School Hybrid Program has been led and taught by highly qualified, passionate teachers who love God’s Word, their students, and the integration of Scripture, family, and community in a student’s learning environment. Nearing 15 years of serving homeschool students and families, the Hybrid Program has become known not only for its educational rigor, but each teacher’s commitment to the holistic success of each student in their classroom. 

In addition to a personal relationship with Christ, each Home & School Hybrid teacher is marked by several core commitments: providing students with a biblical foundation, building strong, education-enhancing relationships with families, and developing students holistically for lifelong learning and service to Christ.

Providing a Biblical Foundation

At NorthPointe Christian, our commitment to educating students in accordance with God’s Word doesn’t stop at our name. Rather, Scripture and biblical truth is integrated across the entirety of our curriculum, including each subject taught in the Hybrid Program. Each year, a team of administrators from NorthPointe re-evaluate the Hybrid Program’s curriculum for biblical alignment and values. 

Every day – both at home and at school – students study the Bible, memorize Scripture, share prayer requests, and are taught to integrate their faith into other subjects throughout the school day. Most importantly, NorthPointe’s teachers are committed to sharing their own testimonies and faith journey, and encouraging their students to do the same. One Hybrid teacher recently shared that, after losing two family members in the same year, her students offered encouragement, prayer and support to her as she grieved, and their joyful personalities uplifted her on difficult days. The biblical foundation offered in the Hybrid Program not only provides personal growth in Christ for teachers and students, but also sets the tone for the relationships built between teachers and entire families.

Building Strong, Education-Enhancing Relationships with Families

Because the Hybrid Program serves students and families from Kindergarten through 8th grade, some families opt to utilize the entire program for each of their children. When families choose this route, it allows the teacher to build a relationship not just with the individual student, but with the student’s entire family. Because of the combined-grade classes (Kindergarten/1st, 2nd/3rd, 4th/5th, 6th-8th), teachers often have students in their class for 2 or 3 years, allowing them to ‘pick up where they left off’ and build on existing relationships the following school year. Some Hybrid teachers have taught 2, 3 or even 4 children from the same family over time! Having these long-term relationships with entire families allows Hybrid teachers to form strong partnerships with parents and witness the ongoing growth of many of their students. Several Hybrid teachers have shared that, even after a student had left their class, they would be invited to students’ athletic events, senior presentations, and graduation open houses!

The interpersonal relationships built between teachers, students, and students’ families significantly contribute to a student’s educational experience. Hybrid teachers recognize and deeply appreciate the parents’ desire for hands-on involvement in their child’s education, and provide ample opportunities for parents to get involved outside of Monday and Wednesday homeschool days. In addition to classroom volunteering requirements, parents are offered the opportunity to chaperone field trips and participate in other classroom events. 

The combination of this parent involvement allows for open communication between parents and teachers that enhances the student’s educational experience. Parents trust the teacher (and NorthPointe) to set a rigorous, biblically-faithful curriculum, and teachers trust parents and students to follow the lesson plan they’re given each week. Open communication permits parents to ask questions and teachers to share feedback, allowing them to create an enriching learning experience for their student, whether it involves supplemental tutoring in difficult subjects, or adding additional, challenging work to academically gifted students. 

Holistic Development for Every Student

In addition to their commitment to a biblical foundation and strong family relationships, Hybrid Program teachers are dedicated to the holistic development of each student in order to prepare them for lifelong learning and service to Christ. The integration of the Bible into each subject contributes to the spiritual development of each student. A combination of at-home and in-school learning promotes the social and emotional development of students as they learn in community with classmates and family members. Throughout the school year, teachers offer students opportunities to lead activities (prayer, Bible lessons, project presentations, etc.) and partner with Hybrid students from other grades, developing their leadership skills through hands-on work.

Most importantly, the Hybrid teachers are committed to each student’s academic growth. The collaborative, communicative relationships between teachers and parents allow them to offer additional, challenging work for academically gifted students, or create ways to supplement students who might struggle in certain subjects, such as math or reading. Beyond this, Hybrid teachers are committed to helping students take ownership of their education. This involves asking good questions (both at school and at home), pursuing extracurricular hobbies, and using larger projects or unit studies to help students pursue the topics and subjects they’re interested in. For example, a teacher leading a unit study on Ancient Rome might assign each student an emperor to research, but allow each student to come up with a creative way to teach the class about the emperor. A more creative, artistic student might create a painting, drawing, or sculpture, while a writing-oriented student might write a paper or create a poster. Combined, these academic opportunities allow each student to grow their God-given skills, talents and interests in order to use them for lifelong service to Christ.

At every grade level, Hybrid teachers are committed to integrating Scripture, family and community into a student’s learning environment. Nearly 15 years of the Hybrid Program’s existence has demonstrated the success of students, due in no small measure to the teachers’ commitment to provide a biblical foundation, build relationships with families, and holistically develop students for lifelong learning and service to God.

Curious about what teachers, parents, students, and program alumni have to say about the Hybrid program? Stay tuned for additional blog posts to come and will be linked below. 

Interested in a tour or more information about the Home & School Hybrid Program? Get in touch with NorthPointe’s Admissions Team at admissions@npchristian.org. We would love to share more about this program with you!