Press Release

This went out late last week, and it reiterates what I’ve already posted on this site. Nevertheless, here is an official release regarding the operations of Atlas School.

Atlas School Press Release: For Immediate Release

September 15, 2005

A Christian Boys School In Downtown Moscow

Atlas School is a small Christian boys school that meets in the Nuart Theater at 516 South Main Street in downtown Moscow. The school has met there for four years after being started in 2001 to meet the needs of a number of home schooling families that desired a more structured learning environment for their sons. Currently there are 15 students enrolled at Atlas, and over the four years of its existence, it has never had more than 18. The school continues to serve the needs of home schooling families and is structured with this kind of flexibility in mind. Classes meet in the mornings from 7:45 to 12:30, and a number of the students attend classes part-time. The headmaster, Toby Sumpter, is a graduate of New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, and he continues his studies in theology at Greyfriars Hall, a ministerial training seminar offered through Christ Church also in Moscow.

The boys at Atlas School study many of the same subjects that are offered in most schools like math, science, reading and writing. But there are several things that make Atlas unique.

Atlas focuses more attention than most on classical languages. Boys begin studying Latin, Hebrew and Greek fairly early in the curriculum with the goal of being able to read classical texts fluently by the time they are in high school. These languages are also taught as living languages, spoken and acted out through stories and plays. Until about an hundred years ago, this kind of literacy was assumed to be standard for educated men.

Atlas School seeks to be a learning community, a familial atmosphere where education takes place. Since we are serving home schooling families that already put a lot of emphasis on the importance of having a strong family culture, Atlas seeks to continue that sort of personal interaction among teachers, students and families. One example of this is the feast that Atlas students and teachers celebrate every Friday at the end of school. Mothers take turns cooking meals, making side dishes and providing deserts for the students. Students recite poetry, sing songs, tell one another jokes, and a “head boy” is chosen from all the students, a young man that has excelled in some particular ways in the previous week. Occasionally, fathers or men from the community are invited to join the meal. The fellowship that occurs around this feast is a picture of what Atlas School intends to be doing the rest of the week studying literature, Latin, or Algebra.

Atlas School is also a worshiping community. While the school has no denominational affiliation, all faculty and board members are baptized and professing Christians. Central to the mission of the school is that of training young men up to be Christian fathers, husbands, workers, and citizens. For this reason Atlas students begin every morning with a short prayer service where Psalms are sung, prayers are said, and Scripture readings are heard. There the students and faculty commit themselves to the ancient Christian faith and prepare themselves to courageously confront the future.

Students also take part in sports. Through a National Lacrosse Association grant, Atlas has acquired full sets of equipment for its team. While the team is still young, after two years, many of the boys are beginning to excel at the game. Other sports such as football and basketball are in the works for the coming years. Not only is Atlas committed to challenging the minds of their young men, it also believes that young men should learn courage and strength on the mock battlefields of athletics.

Atlas School seeks to aid the Christian community in Moscow in educating young men who are intelligent, brave, and full of good humor. Atlas School is thankful to be in the Moscow community and hopes to continue to serve families for many years to come.