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It is critical to keep our focus as we move into our beautiful new facility. I have 5 areas that I feel that are vital for the success of PCS. If we do well in these areas, we will do well as a school.

First, we must stay true to the Classical & Christian educational model. There are other good educational models, but I am I convinced that the Classical and Christian philosophy not only provides a great education, but more importantly, prepares students to be lifelong learners that will impact their culture for Christ. Because this educational philosophy, which was very prevalent in our society 100 years ago, has not been emphasized today, we must educate our teachers. We put a priority on providing our new teachers the opportunity to take courses to understand Classical & Christian educational philosophy as well as providing in-services on it as well. It is time and money well spent to ensure our teachers will be consistent in our teaching philosophy.

The second key is to attract good students and parents. Do not get me wrong, we do not want to be an elitist school, but we are not a last chance option for those who can not handle other schools. Nothing undermines the educational process, not to mention the culture of the school, more than an unrepentant student and parents who do not support the school if discipline is needed. We desire students and families who are committed to our vision of bringing forth students who will impact our culture for Christ. Because of this, we have significantly upgraded our admissions process to better identify those students and parents who identify with our vision.

Another critical aspect to the success of PCS is excellent leadership. There are many people in leadership positions in the school, but it starts, first and foremost, with the Headmaster. The founding families had the great insight to make their first hire, the Headmaster. This is the widespread recommendation of the experts regarding starting schools, but, unfortunately, it is a rarity that this actually happens. It is even more rare is to have a Headmaster stay at a school for 7 years. Yet, at PCS we have the great fortune to have Troy Wathen as our first and only Headmaster since the school started in 2000. Troy has done an excellent job in guiding the school through the inevitable challenges of a new school to become the vibrant, growing, school of 270 students. His leadership last semester in guiding us through the Accreditation process, as well as the move, was superb. His commitment to Christian education is further seen through his desire to get his Doctorate in Christian Education at BIOLA University’s Talbot School of Theology. We are helping him financially to achieve this and we believe that this is money well spent.

The fourth key is to attract and retain high quality teachers. It is imperative that we do this. Most parents will gladly send their child to a one room, bare-bones school if the teachers are excellent. But there is not a building nice enough for them to send their child to a school with bad teachers. There are many aspects to attracting and retaining excellent teachers, but if we do the first 3 keys, we will go a long way in achieving this goal. Teachers love to see students excited about learning and the Classical & Christian model has been proven over the ages to motivate students. Also, if the classroom is filled with good students, the job of teaching is much more rewarding. Further, everyone wants to have a great boss and supportive leadership. The final aspect is paying our teachers well. This is where we have to constantly seek the proper balance. We want to pay our teachers well, yet we realize that parents have finite resources to be used for tuition. The best way to ensure both of these needs are met is to receive donations. Our auction last year was a resounding success and we are planning a golf tournament on October 23rd to also add contribution income. I want to further challenge those of you who work for companies that match donations, in many cases dollar for dollar, to consider a gift that qualifies for your company’s matching program. One of the benefits of our recent accreditation is that many companies require accreditation to qualify for their matching gifts. So we hope that we will receive much more in matching donations this year. All these points are vital for us to attract and retain teachers who love their subjects, their students, and their Lord.

The final key is creating a culture that is winsome, uniquely Christian and desirous of excellence in everything. Frankly, we will have failed as a school if we graduate students who are National Merit Finalists, all-state athletes, mock trial winners, and acclaimed artists yet have a cynical, critical spirit that reflects the worldly pop culture and rejects true Christianity. Again, there is not a magic pill that makes this happen and all of the above keys are part of achieving this type of culture. Just having a Bible class and a chapel does not achieve this. It must be a recognition that Christ is Truth and that we can not separate the sacred from the secular. We must have a biblical worldview that sees everything through the prism of Christ. Then we will have a culture that is infused with a desire to do well academically and where students and staff encourage each other to love and good deeds.

In summation, we must stay true to the Classical & Christian educational model. We want quality students and parents who share our vision. It is vital to have excellent leadership and attract and retain high quality teachers. Finally we desire a winsome, uniquely Christian culture so that we will graduate students with a biblical worldview that will truly impact their culture for Christ!