First Christian to start school in Dodge City

    Hoping to "raise up a generation of children who can handle the world that's coming," First Christian Church is in the process of opening a Christian school in Fall 2008, said Phil Scott, senior minister at the church.
    "We don't believe that the spiritual, the academic and the physical are three separate entities," said Scott. "We want to raise up disciples in Christ."
    The decision to open a school, to be called Alpha Christian Academy, came at the start of 2008 after many years of discussion. With 11 classrooms already open in the spacious 27,000-square-foot church, Scott said they hoped to start with 75 to 80 students in grades Kindergarten through Eighth.
    "If we reach 100 students, that will be outstanding," he said. "We have room for up to 200."
    An open house will be held at 7 p.m. April 27 at First Christian Church, 711 Fifth Ave., to give parents more information about the school and allow pre-enrollment. Scott said the church will use the time to share its "philosophy of ministry" and give visitors a tour of the facilities.
    "We've been getting an overwhelmingly positive response," he said. "We've already received a large number of calls by people who are interested in sending their children to our school."
    There are still several construction issues that need to be attended to in order to meet Kansas school code regulations, such as fixing exit signs, said Scott. The school will also need to build a gymnasium in the near future, but hopes to rent one out in the meantime.
    The church has already begun to take applications for teachers, and Scott predicted they would have more viable candidates than needed. He said they would wait until pre-enrollment starts before beginning the interview process.
    Although his background is only in church leadership and not education, Scott said he will serve as headmaster for the first year. Scott is currently working on his doctorate in church leadership, and came to Dodge City six months ago from a church in Tennessee.
    New schools cannot receive accreditation from the State of Kansas until they have been up and running for three years.

Reach Ashley Nietfeld at (620) 408-9931 or e-mail her at ashley.nietfeld@dodgeglobe.com.