Dayspring Christian Academy will use its open house to show visitors what's special about the school.

"What I would want current parents and prospective parents to understand is we are not training children. We are training adults," headmaster Dan Stone said. "We're training future adults. These children all have a future adulthood, and we are trying to partner with their parents to build into them what they need to be God-fearing and successful adults. We want to be able to demonstrate the different ways we do that."

Dayspring will host an all-school open house Thursday, March 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school, 120 College Ave., Mountville. Families will be able to tour the school and visit with teachers and can register for the open house by going to http://www.DayspringChristian.com or calling 717-285-2000.

"We want parents to understand that Dayspring is a place where their kids will be loved and they will learn things," said admissions director Karol Hasting. "They will learn to be independent thinkers and forever learners and capable of doing things they think are hard and (will be) unafraid of that."

Hasting cited an example from the recent Speech Meet semifinals, where second- and third-graders presented poems, passages of Scripture, and political addresses.

"Students stood in front of a roomful of people, made eye contact, and recited the work flawlessly with good inflection," she said. "It's a good skill, and they learn not to be intimidated by things that seem hard."

Dayspring, founded in 1987, is one of many Principle Approach schools in America. "The Principle Approach is America's historic method of education that places God's Word as the foundation for every subject," said Stone. "It teaches children to reason and think critically and logically and to make biblical applications to all areas of life."

Stone stated it is the kind of education that dates back to Colonial times when the Bible was the primary source of all learning.

There is a strong emphasis on primary source research, public speaking, persuasive writing, classical languages, and classical literature, Stone said. Middle school students study Latin, and high school seniors take New Testament Greek.

"The Principle Approach is the special sauce, if you will," Stone said. "It's a very distinct way of doing things, and it is what makes us who we are."

The Foundation for American Christian Education (FACE) is the parent organization of the Principle Approach. Dayspring is a model demonstration school, meaning schools implementing the Principle Approach send teachers and administrators to observe Dayspring.

The school's Principle Approach curriculum includes many in-depth field study experiences, including time in Plymouth, Mass., to study the Pilgrims; Boston to study America's founding; Gettysburg; the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky; and Washington, D.C. As a culmination to the Principle Approach education, seniors travel to Israel for a nearly two-week field study.

Students also take trips closer to home. "One of the ways we live this type of education is to take the kids out of the building," Hasting said. "We have more than 60 field studies from preschool through 12th grade. So they learn in the classroom, and they go learn on location."

Dayspring offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities, including Lower School and Upper School sports: soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross-country, track, and golf. Through partnerships with McCaskey High School, Columbia High School, and Penn Manor High School, students can participate in those schools' sports, including football, baseball, swimming, lacrosse, field hockey, and tennis. Additionally, courses and clubs include Lower School, middle school, and high school choirs; performance choir; and art. Students in fourth grade learn to play the ukulele while fifth-grade students all learn to play the violin. Students in grades six through 12 also have opportunities to try many new experiences through a wide array of clubs, ranging from STEM to athletics to music and art.