Since July is winding down and the kids will be headed back to school, it’s time to look at yet another academic opportunity in Tyler. Good Shepherd School has been serving Tyler and the East Texas community since 1979. The private Tyler elementary school offers all grades from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The school’s focus is on providing a Classical, traditional Anglican, education to its students.
Good Shepherd is a “Reformed Episcopal School.” Theologically, it holds tightly to its roots in the English reformation, but it remains a conservative Episcopal school. The school uses what it calls the “medieval trivium” consisting of Grammar, Logic and rhetoric, to teach the students to reason critically and communicate their ideas clearly.
The curriculum is a mix of texts selected by the teachers and staff as most useful and effective for those classrooms. This classical approach seems to be an effective one, since the students emerge with a well rounded education. With around a hundred thirty students, the teacher student ratio is low, a plus for many parents seeking a more personal tutorial experience for their children.
The students also attend daily chapel services. The liturgical services teach the Our Father, (or the Lord’s Prayer), the Ten Commandments, the Christian Creeds, etc. The purpose of these services is to instill in the students an appreciation of the historic traditions of the Christian faith. The school hopes to provide the students with a world view grounded in reason and scripture, which he or she will hopefully carry throughout their lives. Even though the school itself is Anglican, the student body contains families from a number of different denominations.
While the education offered at Good Shepherd is excellent, the extra curriculars are admittedly light. They do offer some limited programs like basketball, and baseball. G. S. also partners with other area schools in order to offer greater athletic opportunities to its student body. For parents whose concern is largely academic however, this is not a huge trade off. If you would like more information contact the office at (903)592-4045, or see the website at www.gsstyler.org. Good Shepherd School is located at 2525 Old Jacksonville Rd. Tyler TX