Yes, one Douglas County school is growing right now!
Many Denver-area public school districts are financially-strapped and slashing their budgets – teachers are losing their jobs, school days are being shortened, and some programs are being eliminated altogether. How is it possible that Parker, Colorado’s Southeast Christian School has become the little school that could? Southeast Christian School grew 14 percent last year. Most Denver-area schools – public, charter or private – can only dream of this growth in a booming economy. It seems that family, a belief in Christian principles, and a respect for learning in a nurturing environment, has created student demand. No doubt, this kind of success can be directly attributed to the administrative leadership, as well as to the unsung heroes – teachers.
Southeast Christian School is prospering and growing under the leadership and direction of its capable headmaster, Dr. Vern Walters. Vern is a retired pediatrician and it gives parents peace of mind that a gentle man is on-site, who can diagnose and treat minor emergencies that occur at school – scraped knees, bumped heads, or even a panic attack.
I recently interviewed Vern, and asked what led him to take on the position of headmaster after a long career in medicine. He replied that it was about watching the educational growth of the students. “After being in the practice of Pediatrics for 40 years and seeing children’s physical growth and development, it is exciting now to watch the growth and development of the minds of these students”.
Dr. Walters modestly attributes his school’s success to its stable faculty, who all either has a Colorado teaching license or are eligible for one. One-third of its elementary teachers have master’s degrees in several areas, including reading and special education. All middle school teachers have one or two master’s degrees. This talent pool has resulted in SAT class-specific scores (beginning with kindergarten) of 1.5 to 2.0 years ahead of the national average and the middle school grades are 2.5 to 3 years ahead of the national average. 75 percent of Southeast Christian’s 7th and 8th grade students are ranked in the top 25th percentile, and the remainder score in the top 50th percentile of the Douglas County mandatory Explorer ACT College preparedness test.
The school’s growth has resulted capacity issues, and a need for expanding the existing facility for middle school and a possible future high school. Southeast Christian is currently working with the Parker Building Division for the project with a projected target the fall of the 2011-12 school year. The Town of Parker has been extremely cooperative in this endeavor.
Congratulations to Dr. Walters, the extraordinary faculty and the parents and students of Southeast Christian School. Oh, and here’s to the power of prayer!
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4 Comments
I was pleasantly surprised to find this article when I was doing some research on when and where SE Christian School might be expanding. We have 2 children who attend SE Christian Preschool and our experience has been wonderful. We just enrolled for another year and my son will begin Kindergarten in the fall of 2011. Our hope is that our children will be able to attend SE through High School. The teachers and staff are outstanding! Not that they need an endorsement from us, but if you are curious or think SE Christian may be a good choice for your little ones, I encourage you to attend an open house or visit the school for more information. We could not be happier with the quality education our children are receiving in an environment where they feel loved, safe and cared for. Yes, we are Christian and that is a major reason we want our children to receive a Christ centered education, but not at the expense of them receiving anything other than the highest quality academics. At SE Christian, I believe they are getting the best of everything. Praise God for that!
What a great article!
What a wonderful article — thank God there are still Christians in the teaching/administration field. If I had a child, it would certainly go to this school!
May Southeast Christian School use this article, with your permission, for promotion purposes? We appreciate it! Please let me know–
Mike