Our Mission
PLA is a Christian school where we believe children are loved and uniquely designed by God for great purposes. We meet our students where they are, understand them, and give them the highest level of support in their life journey.
Our Vision
The Prodigy Way nurtures students who:
Pursue God, explore, value relationships, love learning, serve, and innovate.
Our Guiding Principles & Priorities
1. Christian School. Prodigy is a Christian school that supports the development of a personal relationship with Jesus. Staff and students are encouraged to live according to the tenets of the Christian faith.
2. Strong Foundation. A strong foundation in reading, communication, and math is essential for students to achieve optimal growth in all content areas.
3. Parent Partnership. Parents are the number one educator and the primary influence for their children. The professional educators at Prodigy value a close partnership and clear communication with parents.
4. Gifted Teachers. Prodigy employs highly qualified, talented teachers who are expert in providing rigorous and inspired support based on a combination of student interests and national standards. The needs of each child are met in a relational, creative, and engaging way.
5. Whole Child. A learner thrives when all of the facets that make the child who he is are supported. Therefore, we intentionally nurture intellectual, emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual growth.
6. Authentic Learning. Our goal is that students receive many opportunities to engage in activities that involve real-world problems. Project-based learning resembles the work of professionals, uses open-ended inquiry, develops thinking skills and metacognition, and allows for students to become increasingly independent with learning.
7. Community as Classroom. Students at Prodigy frequently access local community resources, go places, meet people, learn what they do and why, and fulfill service projects to benefit others. We believe learning is best when it is active, authentic, and engaging.
8. Valuing Each Individual. Each child is unique and dynamic. Children have different learning styles and have different strengths and weaknesses. They thrive when learning is appropriately matched to their abilities and knowledge base.
9. 21st Century Preparation. Students need to know how to ask the right questions and access a variety of resources. They will be at an advantage in their future if they are proficient communicators, creative thinkers, confident leaders, compassionate servers, and effective collaborators.
The Prodigy Difference
1. Multi-Age Grouping. Having two grade levels together provides for a dynamic exchange of learning between students. In the children’s future, it is highly unlikely that they will fulfill careers with only same-age peers. Placing students of different ages together promotes opportunities to exercise service and leadership. The emphasis is on the individual ability of each child, not a one-size-fits-all approach. As students and teachers develop positive relationships, the teacher has more insight to tailor learning to each child. Therefore, it is beneficial to have the students with the same teacher for two years instead of only one.
2. 4-Day Week. PLA has a 4-day school week with days beginning at 8 am and ending at 4 pm, Monday through Thursday.
3. Low Ratio High Relationship. The ratio of children to adults is typically 8 to 1. If the many volunteers are factored in, the ratio is even lower numbers of students per adult. This is an effective arrangement in a gifted educational program in which the adults really get to know the whole child as an intellectual, emotional, relational, and spiritual being. Healthy, positive relationships equate to optimized learning opportunities.
4. Individualized Instruction. A key facet of the Prodigy program is adapting learning to fit the child. The highly qualified team of educators ensure rigorous content, development of effective learning skills, and strong relational growth for each student. Parents are also invited to have a strong voice in determining goals and support elements for students.