The House System at CDA

The House System is a student government model that originated in boarding schools in British Commonwealth countries. It has since spread to schools and colleges worldwide. CDA adopted the House System in 2007 to encourage student leadership and to promote relationships across grade levels.

Under the House System, students are divided into different Houses, which compete against each other in areas such as academics and athletics, while also cooperating on service projects and chapels. New Rhetoric School (high school) students and 8th-grade students are inducted into their House during a spring ceremony, and regular meetings with faculty leaders are held to promote collaboration. The House System is a practical way to put the school’s mission statement into daily use and to foster a sense of community among students.

The House Systems at Collin County, Dallas, and Flower Mound campuses all offer unique opportunities for student involvement and leadership.

Collin County’s House System provides leadership opportunities for students while building House traditions and culture. With a minimum of 32 elected officers and various roles and activities, every student can find a way to be involved. House students donated and dropped off 700+ lbs. of food to Frisco Family Services. The year culminated in an epic competition where the losing House presidents freely sang karaoke and served ice cream to everyone.

House also helps new students find ways to belong, and it expands opportunities for friendships beyond the classroom.

The Dallas House System uses a rotating schedule of athletic, artisan, academic, and chapter events. Their service project was a coin drive to raise money for backpacks with a local church. An egg drop, homemade projectile launch, and trivia were part of their science fair challenges. An athletic competition called “The Game” (think soccer meets Quidditch) raised points for each House. Artisan Day competitions included poetry, art projects (the winner made a handmade outfit), and acting challenges. Each Friday, every student leads, serves, or participates in a different way, creating leadership opportunities in real-time on campus.

At Flower Mound, students lead and govern their Houses, which offer a wide range of activities such as pep rallies and chapels incorporating Logic and Grammar students, several local service projects, a rousing Alfred Cup debate to determine if Batman or Ironman was the superior superhero, and good-natured battles from frisbee and speedball to trivia and Mario Kart in the gym. The House System encourages

personal growth through responsibilities given to student officers, spiritual and leadership seminars, and camaraderie building opportunities.

The future for the CDA House Systems looks bright. Collin County plans to keep House feeling intimate and connected but expand the ways students can be involved.

Dallas anticipates seeing daily participation and collaboration across all sections in the future. Flower Mound hopes to see House move from a Friday event to a larger school-culture impact.

As Rhetoric School students reach the culmination of their education at CDA, the House System will have proven to be a way

for them practically to walk out their faith and practice their leadership skills. This system helps to develop ethical servantleaders and wise thinkers who will shape culture for the glory of God, in line with the school’s mission statement.