Triad could be the next school to join a national program that allows students to participate in Bible-based lessons during school hours.
During its first meeting of the year, the Triad Board of Education heard a presentation from Brady McCoy about LifeWise Academy.
McCoy, the youth pastor at Riversong Worship Center in North Lewisburg, asked the board to authorize the program that would allow students to be transported off campus for Christian classes.
If authorized by the board, Superintendent Vickie Maruniak said the district would begin offering the program to second graders next fall.
He explained that, as of the end of 2023, there were 276 schools with LifeWise Academy programs in 15 states. McCoy said more than 150 are expected to launch in 2024.
The religious classes are voluntary for students to participate in and they must have parent permission to do so, McCoy said. He said parents can remove their students from the program at any time.
McCoy added that the program is privately funded without taxpayer dollars.
He said the classes must occur off-campus and would likely be held at either his church, Riversong Worship Center, or Fellowship Baptist Church, each of which he said are “five and a half minutes away.”
Elementary School Principal Lee Claypool said it takes approximately four and a half minutes to load the entire elementary school onto buses.
Between boarding the buses and travel time, Claypool said she expects about it to take about 10 minutes for transportation each way.
McCoy said he and a group of local pastors reviewed the curriculum, which is created by the LifeWise Academy rather than local individuals.
“We really looked hard at the curriculum,” McCoy said. “It stays out of the weeds.”
He described the Bible-based programming as “character education.”
Board member Chris Meredith said he reviewed the sample curriculum and it “looked really solid.”
McCoy said LifeWise specifically designs its curriculum to fit into released time programming. He said there is one larger, core lesson that is accompanied by smaller lessons to reinforce the message.
He noted that elementary school students at Triad would have a 50-minute window to participate in LifeWise, including transportation time.
“They actually start the lessons right on the bus,” McCoy said.
The travel time would be used for reinforcement lessons like songs or games and the core lessons would be taught during the 30 minutes students are off campus.
Claypool said the programming would launch with second graders because their class schedule has an additional five minutes between their “specials” – music, gym or library/tech classes – and lunchtime.
Those who participate in LifeWise would do so during their lunch, recess and handwashing time, which accounts for the total 50 minutes. Students would receive a packed lunch at the church.
Still, when asked by board members, Claypool said her biggest concern is ensuring the program does not bleed over into actual instructional time for teachers.
In response to a question from Board member Mike Perry, McCoy said LifeWise would likely host one class per week when launched.
Other board members asked questions revolving around student safety.
McCoy said the vehicles used to transport students for LifeWise Academy must pass the same inspections as regular school buses.
Likewise, he said there are protocols established at the site of the program for active shooter, tornados and other safety issues.
Meredith said he would like to “replicate school safety (measures) at the church.”
If the program is approved, Maruniak said the district would visit both potential churches and establish a clear safety policy that must be followed while students are there.
McCoy said, if the board grants approval, LifeWise Academy would hire a program director to coordinate with the school and establish all appropriate protocols.
Maruniak said a measure that would approve the program will likely appear before the board at its February meeting.