Skip to main content

Uncategorised

Classical Works

Make A Pledge

Welcome to our classical book donation project! We are passionate about literature and believe that classical books are a crucial part of our cultural heritage. Our goal is to collect and preserve these timeless works, making them available for future generations of readers.

We are seeking donations of classical books in any language or format, from the works of ancient Greek and Roman authors to the great writers of the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. Your generosity will help to ensure that these important works are not lost to history.

Please fill out the form below to pledge your donation. Thank you for your support!

Select Titles

Please select each of the books you wish to donate. TIP: Press and hold Ctrl (PC) or Command (Mac) and click to select multiple titles.

Donated Works

Thanks to your generosity, we've already received pledges or donations for the following titles.

Read more …Classical Works

  • Hits: 1460

McKinney-Vento Services

McKinney-Vento Services

Definition of McKinney-Vento Act:

42 USC § 11431 – STATEMENT OF POLICY the following is the policy of the Congress

(1) Each State educational agency shall ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths.

(2) In any State that has a compulsory residency requirement as a component of the State’s compulsory school attendance laws or other laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youths, the State will review and undertake steps to revise such laws, regulations, practices, or policies to ensure that homeless children and youths are afforded the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youths.

(3) Homelessness alone is not sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school environment.

(4) Homeless children and youths should have access to the education and other services that such children and youths need to ensure that such children and youths have an opportunity to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held.

If your family is in a temporary or inadequate living situation due to a loss of housing, your child might be eligible for certain educational rights.

Eligibility for McKinney-Vento Services

If your family lives:

  • in an emergency shelter or transitional shelter
  • in a motel, hotel, or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation
  • doubled-up with other people due to loss of housing or economic hardship
  • in a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
  • in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
  • migratory children living in the above circumstances
  • unaccompanied youth living in the above circumstances

Then, your child might be able to receive help through a federal law called the

McKinney-Vento Act. Unaccompanied homeless youth are ensured the same educational rights that the McKinney-Vento Act provides for other homeless students.

McKinney-Vento Rights and Supports

Your McKinney-Vento eligible children have the right to:

  • receive a free, appropriate public education.
  • enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
  • enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents.
  • enroll in the local school; or continue attending the school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is your preference.
  • receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if you request this.
  • receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to your children’s needs.

*If the school district believes that the school you select is not in the best interest of your children, then the district must provide you with a written explanation of its position and inform you of your right to appeal its decision.

Resources from NCHE:

Common questions regarding services under the McKinney-Vento Act?

  • Who is the local homeless education liaison for Pinnacle Classical Academy?

Laura Beth Richardson

  • How can I contact her?

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  • For information or questions about eligibility or services please contact:

Laura Beth Richardson; Student Success Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Breanne N. Miller; K-8 CounselorThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Caswell Martin; 9-12 CounselorThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

  • Who is the State Coordinator: Lisa Phillips, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

State Data:

https://hepnc.uncg.edu/about/

http://profiles.nche.seiservices.com/StateProfile.aspx?StateID=33

Read more …McKinney-Vento Services

  • Hits: 6864

Careers

Join Our Amazing

TEAM

Pinnacle Classical Academy is a public charter school (K-12, 1,083 students) located near Charlotte. Our average ACT score ranks among the top 10% of all public school systems in North Carolina.

Whether you have majored in education or in a subject area like history or science, we welcome applications from persons with a strong work ethic, a commitment to excellence, and a passion for teaching.

Current Employment Opportunities

Substitute Teacher (Grades K-3)

Substitue Teacher (Grades 4-12)

For an application or possition details, please email
Dr. Shelly Shope at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Please check the Pinnacle Job Board throughout the year as openings will be posted as they occur. Applications will be kept on file for the current school year. A new application will be required if you wish to reapply for the following school year.

  • Dr. Shelly L. Shope

    Headmaster

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
    (704) 740-4040

  • Jeff Ziegler

    Dean of Academics

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
    (704) 740-4040

  • Wendy Clary

    Dean of Elementary Education (K-3)

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
    (704) 740-4040

  • Angela Brooks

    Dean of Secondary Education (9-12)

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
    (704) 740-4040

  • Laura Beth Richardson

    Dean of Intermediate Education (4-8)

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    (704) 740-4040

Why Teach at Pinnacle Classical Academy?

There are over one hundred charter schools and over one hundred school districts in the state. You could teach for any one of them, so what makes Pinnacle Classical Academy such an attractive option for an educational professional?

A Growing and Flourishing School

Pinnacle Classical Academy is the only charter school in Cleveland County. Since opening in the fall of 2013, the surrounding community has embraced the school and its mission.

  • Freedom to Teach

    At Pinnacle Classical Academy, our teachers are given the opportunity to actually teach the curriculum. The school day is designed so that teachers are given maximum classroom time for instruction without the all-too-common interruptions for assessments or having students pulled out numerous times during the day.

  • An Advanced Curriculum

    At Pinnacle Classical Academy, we utilize the Hirsch Foundation’s Core Knowledge content-based curriculum in ELA, Reading, Social Studies, and Science; for mathematics, we utilize Singapore Math. In addition, at Pinnacle we emphasize STEM through a dedicated STEM Lab, along with cultural arts and 21st-century skills.

  • Parental Support

    At Pinnacle Classical Academy we have incredible parental support. Our parents are genuinely involved in the education of their children and have a vested interest in the success of the school. Parent volunteers, our parent organization PEAK (Parents Encouraging Academic Knowledge), and the dedication of the parents of all students truly helps Pinnacle stand apart.

  • A Collegial Atmosphere

    The teachers at Pinnacle Classical Academy have developed a saying, “We are family.” This motto is demonstrated on a daily basis throughout the school. Teachers work together to ensure student success and achievement, and teachers work together to build each other up. Many schools talk about developing Professional Learning Communities, but at Pinnacle our teachers live up to that vision.

  • Opportunities to Grow as a Professional

    One thing that most teachers crave is the opportunity to grow. At Pinnacle Classical Academy we believe that not only should each student reach their potential, but teachers should as well. Through professional development, mentoring, and opportunities to expand knowledge and skills, teachers at Pinnacle have the ability to grow in the profession and take an active role in teacher-leadership.

Pinnacle Classical Academy is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, handicap, national origin, race, religion, or gender.

Read more …Careers

  • Hits: 24148

Core Values

Our Core Values

At Pinnacle, ten core values represent our overarching beliefs, and the core of our teaching. Values provide the context for how we make decisions and operate our school, as well as the values we intend to instill in our students. Values enable us, as individuals, to live, be successful and achieve happiness. At Pinnacle, our values enable us to achieve our mission and purpose.

These ten values are consistent with one another and integrated into a sound framework of staff and student character, judgment, success and happiness. To fully act on one of these values, one must also act consistently with the other values. Our focus on values grows from our belief that ideas matter and that an individual’s character is of critical significance.

Our values are integrated into not only how we operate, but into what we teach.

Character

With regard to character, honesty is the bedrock value. Without honesty there is no trust. Without trust there is no organizational or societal growth, because there are no relationships. Honesty is not relative; rather, it is an absolute value. Integrity is about living out honesty and other values on a consistent basis.

  • Honesty

    Being honest is simply being consistent with reality. To be dishonest is to be in conflict with reality, which is self-defeating. A primary reason individuals fail is because they become disconnected from reality, pretending that facts are other than they are. To be honest does not require that we know everything. However, we must be responsible for saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

  • Integrity

    Because we have developed our principles logically, based on reality, we will always act consistently with our principles. Regardless of the short-term benefits, acting inconsistently with our principles is to our long-term detriment. We do not, therefore, believe in compromising our principles in any situation. Principles provide carefully thought-out concepts that will lead to our long-term success and happiness. Violating our principles will always lead to failure.


Judgement

Judgment is about thinking clearly and making rational decisions for yourself. It is about dealing with the facts, the reality. This means exploring the facts yourself, not basing your decisions on public opinion. It’s about taking the facts and the appropriate time to use reason and having the courage to make independent decisions. Independent thinking supports sound judgment, personal responsibility, and creativity.

  • Reality (Fact-based)

    What is, is. If we want to be better, we must act within the context of reality (the facts). Businesses and individuals often make serious mistakes by making decisions based on what they “wish was so” or based on theories that are disconnected from reality. The foundation for quality decision-making is a careful understanding of the facts.

  • Independent Thinking

    All students are challenged to use their minds to the optimum to make rational decisions. In this context, each of us is responsible for what we do and who we are. While we learn a great deal from each other and teamwork is important at Pinnacle, each of us thinks alone. Each of us must be willing to make an independent judgment of the facts based on our capacity to think logically. Just because the “crowd” says it is so, does not make it so. Each of us is responsible for our own actions and personal success or failure. In addition, creativity is strongly encouraged and only possible with independent thought.

    Creativity is not about just doing something differently. It is about doing something better. To be better, the new method/process must be judged by its impact on the whole organization and whether it contributes to the accomplishment of our mission. There is an infinite opportunity for each of us to do whatever we do better. A significant aspect of self-fulfillment, which work can provide, comes from creative thought and action.

  • Reason (Objectivity)

    Clear thinking is not automatic. It requires intellectual discipline and begins with sound premises based on observed facts. We must be able to draw (and teach to draw) general conclusions in a rational manner from specific examples (induction) and apply general principles to the solution of specific problems (deduction). We must be able to think (and teach to think) in an integrated way to avoid logical contradictions. We cannot all be geniuses, but each of us can develop mental habits to ensure that when making decisions we carefully examine the facts and think logically without contradiction in deriving a conclusion. We must learn to think in terms of what is essential (i.e., about what is important). Rational thinking is a learned skill that requires mental focus and a fundamental commitment to improving the clarity of our mental processes.


Success

Success is about productivity, working together as a team, and a sense of justice. We value individuals who will produce at an individual level. Success is about the commitment to get the job done and doing what needs to be done. It’s about going beyond the call of duty. We also recognize that individuals often accomplish results working with and through others, through teamwork. Successful individuals support their team and fellow associates to ensure the team accomplishes all it can. In a free enterprise system, and a capitalistic society, we believe justice should prevail. Those who produce the most should earn the most.

  • Productivity

    PCA is committed to producing thoughtful students, who in turn are productive individuals. The tangible evidence of our productivity in the short term is student performance in various testing and achievement models, and in the long term, success in college and career.

    It is through the long term productivity of our alumni, their success in life, that Pinnacle will ultimately be judged. Our mission is dedicated to producing the mental resources necessary for our students to become productive individuals, thus successful in their lives and careers.

  • Justice (Fairness)

    Individuals should be evaluated and rewarded objectively (for better or worse) based on their contributions toward accomplishing our mission and adherence to our values. Employees who contribute the most should receive the most; just as students who achieve the most should receive the highest academic awards.

    If we do not reward those who contribute the most, they will leave, and our organization will be less successful. More importantly, if there is no reward for superior performance, the average person will not be motivated to maximize his productivity.

    In evaluating other people, it is critical that we judge based on essentials. At Pinnacle we do not discriminate based on nonessentials such as race, gender, nationality, etc. We respect individuals and value the diversity of their backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We do discriminate based on competency, performance and character. We consciously reject egalitarianism and collectivism. Individuals must be judged individually based on their personal merits, not their membership in any group.

  • Teamwork

    While independent thought and strong personal goals are critically important, our work is accomplished within teams. Each of us must consistently act to achieve the agreed-upon objectives of the team, with respect for other facility, while acting in a mutually supportive manner.

    Our work at Pinnacle is complex and requires an integrated effort among many people to accomplish important tasks. While we are looking for self-motivated and independent thinking administrators, faculty and staff, these individuals must recognize that almost nothing at Pinnacle can be accomplished without the help of their team members. One of the responsibilities of leadership in our organization is to ensure individuals are rewarded based on their contributions to the success of the total team. We need outstanding individuals working together to create an outstanding team.


Happiness

While good character and sound judgment typically lead to success, ultimately, most of us are searching for a sense of happiness for those we care about and ourselves. Happiness is the result of finding a purpose in life that drives us to be passionate about its accomplishment. We search for the answer to the key question in life, which is “why am I here?” When we find clarity about our purpose, we begin to see the answer to this life-changing question.

Happiness, then, is about a sense of self-esteem and pride in how we live our lives. Self-esteem is our internal value or intrinsic scorecard of how we live our lives. When we seize opportunities to take action and do the right things to accomplish our purpose, we earn positive self-esteem. We take pride in our success, accomplishments and how we live life. By developing positive self-esteem and taking pride in our work, accomplishments, and life, we can ultimately achieve happiness, and teach our students how to achieve happiness in their lives.

  • Esteem (Self-motivation)

    We expect our faculty and staff to develop positive self-esteem from performing their work well. We want individuals who have strong personal goals aligned with a clear purpose and who expect to accomplish their goals within the context of our mission.

    A necessary attribute for self-esteem is self-motivation. We have a strong work ethic. We believe that you receive from your work in proportion to how much you contribute. Although there are many trade-offs in the context of life, our faculty and staff need to be clear that Pinnacle is the best place, all things considered, to work to accomplish long-term goals. Individuals are motivated by a dynamic and integrated set of physiological safety, social interaction, self-esteem, and self-actualization needs. We strive to create an environment where our associates have a substantial amount of their needs met while helping accomplish the PCA mission (i.e., they are motivated by their work). When this occurs, our faculty and staff can be more productive and achieve their personal goals as well as their students.

  • Pride

    Pride is the psychological reward we earn from living by our values, performing meaningful work, and accomplishing positive results. We take pride in helping our students achieve success. Sharing knowledge is important work. We believe in celebrating our successes. Each of us must perform our work in a manner such that we can be justly proud of what we have accomplished. High achievers commit fully to this end. Pinnacle must be the kind of organization with which each employee, student and parent can be proud to be affiliated.

Read more …Core Values

  • Hits: 13174

Athletics

PCA Eagles Athletics

Pinnacle Classical Academy boasts a growing number of sports teams!

Find us on Facebook!

PCA Sports Teams

  • Archery

  • Baseball (JV & Varsity)

  • Basketball (Men's & Women's)

  • Cheerleading

  • Cross-Country

  • Golf

  • Soccer (Men's & Women's)

  • Softball

  • Swimming

  • Volleyball

Learn more about our eligibility policy here: PCA Athletics Eligibility Policy

Pre-participation Physical Evaluation

Coming Up...

Setting up an athletic account with DragonFlyMax: 

If you are wanting to play a sport PCA, please set up an account through DragonFlyMax.com. Once you set your account up, you will have to complete and submit all the required documents that are found in DragonFly. 

  1. Visit dragonflymax.com and click the 'Log In/Sign Up' button.
  2. Click 'Sign Up for Free' then follow the prompts to create your Parent account with your own email address. ( Note: please do not create an account with your child’s name or contact information — you will get the chance to add your child soon!)
  3. Verify your account with the verification ID sent to your email address.
  4. Click 'Connect to your school' to select 'Parent' as your role and search for your child's school.
  5. After selecting your child's school, click 'Join' to request access. An administrator at your school will approve your request.
  6. Click 'Set up your children' and follow the prompts to add your kid(s) and fill out their participation forms.

 There are tutorials within DragonFlyMax.com under 'Resources' if you need assistance.

Eagles News

All Eagles Athletics News

Meet Our Athletic Director

Brandon Gosey is an educator and coach with 14 years of experience in the Cleveland County and Rutherford County Schools. A graduate of Western Carolina University, Gosey has worked as head coach of East Rutherford High School's varsity cross country and track teams and Coordinator of Isothermal Community College's Adult High School. Since 2014, he has served as an elected member of the Rutherford County Board of Education.

"Research shows that exercise leads to improved motor skills, better thinking and problem-solving abilities, stronger attention skills and improved learning," said Gosey. "As the newly hired Athletic Director, I am excited to bring a holistic approach to learning that includes both the mind and the body."

"Pinnacle Classical Academy offers numerous opportunities for students to engage in physical activity and healthy competition," Gosey added. "It is my desire to work closely with our coaches, administrators, families, and student body to provide opportunities for all students to engage in athletic opportunities that will improve their physical fitness, mental clarity, sportsmanship, and academic success."

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Read more …Athletics

  • Hits: 30769