After the process was delayed by a year, Sarnia Christian School will be introducing Grade 9 classes this fall.
Director of High School Development Nathan Johns admits they started the recruitment process just a little bit late last time around.
"By the time we held our first open house in April, many families had already made decisions on where their students would attend high school," said Johns. "Rather than launching with a limited enrollment, we chose to pause and take some time to build a stronger foundation."
Johns said they've been working with a number of other Christian schools that are also implementing high school classes.
"There's a school in St. Thomas that did the same thing, so we're developing relationships with them," he said. "They say it's a feasible goal. The whole vision of this is actually in response to the parents at Sarnia Christian School. Three years ago, we had solicited the opinions of our families to ask if they wanted a high school program and they said yes."
Johns said they have about seven students who have verbally expressed interest, and he expects many more to come forward.
"For the past three years, we've been vetting the program and making sure it's aligned with the Ontario curriculum and that it's a Christian world view. Everything we're trying to build here is a response to what we feel is a need in the community," he said.
Johns said there are many advantages to Christian-based learning.
He said they focus on student directed learning, which has proven to be beneficial.
"That doesn't mean students will be in control," said Johns. "The teachers facilitate information, they learn all of the core curriculum information they need but then they can represent it in a way that they're passionate about. No student is just sitting down and looking at work sheets, they can present the information in a way that is meaningful and impactful to them."
The plan is to add one grade each year until they're offering a full high school program up until Grade 12.
The high school students will make use of the secondary campus at Living Hope Christian Reformed Church, located next door to the Exmouth Street facility.
Those looking for more information are invited to a couple of upcoming open houses.
They're being held at the church on February 7 from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. and on March 5 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
