No Pain, No Gain — Let’s Gain

This year, Judah decided to dish out pain in its new AP and dual credit classes. The classes are pushing students to lift their maximum mental bench weight. And guess what? We like it. Because we are getting more mentally ripped than ever before.

​Starting this school year, eight new academic courses have made their way to Judah, all of which provide opportunities for students to potentially earn college credit while they are still in high school. These courses range from science courses like Dual Credit Chemistry, Dual Credit Physics, and Dual Credit Environmental Biology to social science courses like Dual Credit Psychology and AP Comparative Government to history courses coming next year like AP United States History and AP World History. The courses even include practical college success advice in courses like Dual Credit College Strategies. 

The new courses started with a simple question among Judah leaders: “What can we do to make things better?” The first thing that came to mind for many was strengthening the academic curriculum. Mr. Porter has walked the halls of Judah as a student before. Now he walks the halls as superintendent. Graduating in 2007, he experienced a much different era of the school. He said, “I came from a time when the academic bar was set very high. Over the last five years, I have seen how we’re aggressively driving more and more toward academic excellence.”

Mrs. Llano, for her part, believes that more opportunities for college preparation can help students achieve their fullest potential while providing a fitting reward in the form of college credit. As principal over the school, she wants Judah to be the best academic experience for everyone. She said, “Our school’s goal is to help students reach their highest potential. If college is in their future, then these dual credit and AP courses will better prepare them for the opportunities to come.”

Three of the new courses — Dual Credit Psychology, Dual Credit Physics, and Dual Credit Chemistry — offer college credit through Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Taylor is one of the oldest Christian liberal arts colleges in the United States and maintains an exceptionally strong academic reputation. Judah’s guidance counselor, Mrs. Miller, reached out to Taylor proposing the joint classes. She will coordinate the new AP courses’ springtime AP exams as well.

As the teacher of the Dual Credit Psychology course, Mrs. Miller knows the challenge that students and teachers alike face. She said,  “Teachers always need to be asking themselves, ‘Why teach AP? Am I ready for this?’ It’s important to know the content so well that you can help students master the college-level skills and prepare students to pass a three-hour AP exam and get college credit for that class.” The same goes for dual credit classes. Dual credit teachers must have a master’s degree and considerable training in the

subject they are teaching to be approved by an accrediting college like Taylor.

Of course, even when teachers work hard to run their classes, it won’t mean anything if no students show up. But they did! Junior Nathan Lance said, “More college opportunities, all these possible college credits. I feel like I could go to college more prepared from that. In building college-level study skills, I set myself up for college. With Judah offering all these APs and dual credits, I feel like I can go at a pace that’s my speed.”

Junior Ezra Nuesiri believes that, along with college preparation and possible credit, students yearn for the joy of obtaining knowledge. She said, “We want advanced classes that encourage us to explore the world around us.” Junior Peighton Joines added, “It’s all about how much effort you put into it.” If you want the gain, you take the academic pain.

Not all the work to develop these new courses was done by human hands. Mrs. Llano urges teachers to focus on the “Christian” aspect of Judah Christian School. She said, “This is God’s school. Our job is to be the best in our profession, serving God and His kingdom. That is Judah’s mission: to provide a Christian and biblically integrated education for students. As long as we keep that goal in mind, we’ll be able to adapt.”

Mr. Porter echoed this sentiment: “Fostering a biblical worldview among our students, showing them how everything they learn links to Christ, is invaluable. I want teachers who are passionate about their work, invest in kids, and are Jesus-focused in all they do and teach. The Lord will take care of the rest.”

All these new classes are a step in the right direction for Judah. Already, we are seeing the effects they are having in the more mundane parts of school. Sophomore Caleb Brashear said, “I’m usually pretty lazy in my homework, so it does force me to be more productive.”

So pass the mental protein powder. We’re bulking.

—Evan Stephens, class of ’29, & Michael Oshimokun, class of ’26