Providence Christian School to Celebrate 25th Year of Service
As a former business major, Robin Lewis had no idea that her career path would lead her to found a school.
“With the birth of the first of our four children, my desire for a beautiful and foundational Christian educational upbringing for our children became a passion for all children,” Lewis said.
Today, Providence Christian School is entering its 25th year, with 414 students and 62 faculty and staff members. But the school had some humble beginnings.
The 1989 opening took place in facilities rented from Northwest Bible Church. After a few years housed at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension on Greenville Avenue, the school got its permanent address on West Lovers Lane.
“We will always be grateful to Northwest Bible for giving us our start,” Lewis said. “My greatest desire then and now is that every child receives an inspiring and remarkable educational experience.”
That unique experience is what Providence has built its reputation around. In the school’s history, there are a number of parents-turned-faculty and vice versa. Amy Wood started as a teacher at Providence, and now has three children attending there.
“I was very intrigued by their whole system,” she said. “The administration, the other families, and the teachers — they just made this profound impact on the way that my husband and I parent, and just the way we live our lives.”
That impact is something that stays with children much past eighth grade.
“My 30-year-old son is beginning a Ph.D. program in history, and he gained his love of history at Providence,” admission director Eileen Morse said.
The school is based on a classical learning structure, meaning curriculum is centered on grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Latin and Greek studies are included in the Greco-Roman model that dates back to the Middle Ages. Of course, the classical structure has been modified to accommodate American culture and a Christian influence.
“We are first and foremost grateful to God for his hand of blessing on our school throughout the years,” said headmaster Tony Jeffrey, who has been with the campus since 2005.
Because the doors opened on Sept. 6 that first year, a special “chapel of thanksgiving” service will be held on that same date to honor the anniversary. Other celebrations through the year include Grandparents Day in November, and a “Grand Celebration” in March. No doubt, the plans are all worthy of the years of success.
“We have just completed 14 years at Providence and have seen our three children grow academically and spiritually,” board president Tommy McBride said.
As for Lewis, she hopes the school will continue to provide high-level education and produce articulate leaders.
“The teachers who pour their lives into these children are my heroes,” she said.
