CURRYVILLE – One-on-one interaction is a secret ingredient for the education of the students at Pike County Christian School.
“My passion is for one-on-one encouragement,” Rose Land, third and fifth grade teacher, said. “I try to make learning fun for them by being active.”
Frank Welch, director of missions for the Salt River Association, said that the school was formed for that reason. “In 2006, the association began studying the feasibility for starting a school and a camp,” he said. “At first, we searched out the possibility of offering a Bible class in the public school as an elective class. But, when that didn’t work out, my wife said, ‘You need more than that.’”
“It started at Peno Baptist Church,” Welch said, “after the church voted unanimously to start a school for kindergarten through twelfth grade. We formed a steering committee and other individuals with an emphasis on prayer.”
After three years at the church, the school group looked to move into a larger facility. “The Board went together to purchase an old elementary school,” Land said. “It was a real blessing,” she said. “Some of the rooms were too large for our school, so we put up dividers.”
Welch said the teachers of the school are the real blessing. “The school was a step of faith for all of us,” he said. “We have a group of teachers who love children and are educated to teach them. Sharing God’s love is always their motivation. They only receive a small stipend for all of their hard work.”
Love is Land’s motivation. “It is the difference we can make in a young person’s life,” Land continued. “This school is an opportunity to speak into a life with encouragement and to teach the Lord. We never know how long that we’ll have a student, so we love them and work with them while they are here. We want to reflect Christ and show the children how to love people.”
According to Welch, community support has grown for the school since the beginning. The recent fundraising auction listed a long list of support and donations from community businesses. “People are seeing the difference it is making,” he said. “The school draws people in unity. Many parents and grandparents give testimony to the difference they see in their children.”
“People who come to our events see the love of Christ,” Land said. “We have fundraisers and family fun days. We want our young people to see our lives and know we are real. We want them to understand that Christians can have fun.”
The fundraisers are important to the school. “Some of the families in our area have it rough,” Land said. “We have not raised our tuition of $125 a month since we started. We don’t want funds to be a barrier for them to attend.”
Land also said that COVID-19 provided an opportunity for the teachers to demonstrate loving care. “When we had to close in March,” she said, “we sent home weekly assignments and the teachers called during the week to communicate with the students. The last two weeks of May, we came back to finish up and hold graduation. We practiced social distancing, but we were able to give the students closure.”
“We have students from all walks of life,” Lane concluded. “We want to show each student the love of Christ and they in turn want to show that love to others.” ν