Reflections on Starting a
By John Roberts
Publisher’s Comment
Voucher systems, educational
tax credits and other such systems that would provide parents with a financial
choice when it comes to educating their children, have been bantered around the
halls of state legislatures and Capitol Hill for years. If and when some type
of system is instituted either at the state or national level allowing parents
to use their own tax dollars to send their children to a school of their
choice, I suspect that there will be a mass exodus from the public education
system. Again, when and if that should ever happen (which I sincerely pray that
it does) our nation will need a lot more Christ centered schools than we have
right now. The following article is an
excellent testimony from a Christian school administrator who went through the
process of developing and opening a Christian school. It is my prayer that this
testimony will encourage others to do the same.
This
past fall
 John Roberts |
The decision to begin Second,
the sponsoring church (Covenant Presbyterian Church) is filled with
young families, with more than 110 children age 4 and younger among
regularly attending families. Many of these families will be seeking a Christian
education for their children. Third,
the church seeks opportunities to serve the community; in all things
the church seeks to be “not for ourselves, but for Christ.” One of the ways that the church is able to serve
God’s people and the community is through |
The statements
were written by a committee specifically charged with this task and approved by
the church’s Session (board of elders).
The school’s vision is comprehensive in nature, but centers on three important
points. First, Covenant is to be filled
with the grace of Christ. The underlying
tone of the school is critically important and all those involved strive to
exhibit God’s grace. Second, the school is to have an “aggressively challenging
curriculum.” The school is not simply
for those children who might be labeled as “talented and gifted.” But instead, the school desires to challenge
each student individually to achieve their highest academic performance. Third, the school seeks to produce a group of
students reflecting God’s Kingdom who will impact the culture for Christ. These three points form the core of
It was then time
to begin the work of making the school a reality. In July 2002 a steering committee was put in
place to direct this effort, with each of the steering committee members
charged with leading a sub-committee responsible for an area of school
development. In addition, a school
administrator was appointed from the church staff.
Through the
startup period it became clear that those driving the school forward did so
with great care and passion. Many have
the desire to start a new Christian school, but until a group of people become
passionate about what God has laid in front of them the start of a new school
will only remain a dream. This passion does
not arise from within the individual, but comes from long hours of prayer and
the knowledge that God is calling people to this purpose.
Also critical to
the startup period were the approximately 50 people who have played important roles
in the process. These folks have served in
every imaginable way, from committee members to furniture movers. Starting a school is a major undertaking and is
difficult to accomplish without a good deal of intellectual and physical support.
As the school’s
start date approached, the steering committee became the school board. The committee structure followed. Board committees include: personnel, education
(curriculum), finance, facilities, admissions and marketing. Each of these committees was filled with members
who believed in and supported the clearly articulated vision of
Without a doubt, an excellent staff is critical to the
start of a school. Because the school
was new the board was prayerfully determined to seek experienced, gifted
teachers. The kindergarten teacher came
to Covenant from a sister school (with the blessing of her former school) with
25 years of experience and an excellent reputation. The preschool teacher came from another sister
school (also with their blessing) with seven years of experience and a solid
reputation. Experienced classroom teachers
as well as specialty teachers (Spanish, music and art) with a passion for the
school’s vision have led to a great start for Covenant.
The board’s education
committee was given the responsibility for choosing curriculum for the new
school. This can be a daunting task. Some schools will choose only Christian
curriculum which, while narrowing the field, still presents many options for a
curriculum committee to evaluate. Some
schools may choose to select the best curriculum from both Christian and
secular publishers. The curriculum
committee at Covenant spent long hours evaluating materials from numerous
publishers and consulting educational professionals in order to reach their conclusions. The committee then provided curriculum recommendations
to the school board which they adopted.
Any new school start
requires a level of financial support. Covenant Presbyterian Church began to set
aside funds for a school several years ago when the potential need was first
identified. In addition, church and
school staff, as well as school volunteers, met with potential donors, casting
before them the vision for Covenant and successfully seeking their financial support.
Parents want to
know that their children will be in classrooms that will meet their educational
needs. The facilities committee was made
up of a contractor and two educators as well as the school administrator. Current classrooms were assessed, needs
identified and the process of putting school classrooms together was
begun. Even though school did not begin
until August 2003, the classrooms were in place by December 2002. This allowed parents who were considering
Covenant to see their child’s classroom as it would look on the first day of
school. Demonstrating wide ranging
support for the start of the new school, teachers from both Kirk Day and Twin
Oaks “decorated” the classrooms.
The admissions
committee was initially responsible for both the marketing and the admissions
process. This has since changed, with a
board member specifically responsible for marketing the school and a board
member responsible for the admissions process.
The major responsibility of the marketing committee is simply to make it
known that Covenant exists.
Another of the
critical elements for starting the school was the development of a parent’s organization. A dedicated parent volunteered to start
Parents at Covenant School, which was active in developing a biblical sense of
“school community” even before the start of the school year. In June and August picnics were held for
Covenant families, giving them an opportunity to get to know each other. Getting to know each other was important as the
school’s children come from seven different churches. The parents group has since sponsored many
successful events designed to build community within the school and to assist
the school in achieving its mission and vision.
The startup has
not been without its bumps and bruises. Experts
in the field of education, especially those that had started schools in the
past, indicated that many difficult decisions would need to be made and that,
at times, these decisions could be divisive.
But out of the process of developing the school has arisen school
leadership and families dedicated to glorifying Christ through
John Roberts is the School Administrator of Covenant Christian School
located at 2143 N. Ballas Rd. in St. Louis, MO and holds a Master of Divinity from
Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Covenant Christian School is a
new pre-K and kindergarten which opened in the Fall of 2003. For more
information about