Welcome to Lafayette Christian School!

My name is Abe Vreeke and I have served as the principal of Lafayette Christian School for the past ten years. In 1968 I graduated with a secondary education degree from Calvin College, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My wife and I spent the next 16 years as missionary teachers in the country of Nigeria. During those years I earned a Masters Degree in Church Education.  In 1984 we returned to the United States where I worked as a principal of a Christian school similar to Lafayette Christian. In 1989 we returned to missionary service, training new missionary and doing the work of the Nigeria Field Director.  During those years I also helped administer a 1st through 12th grade school for missionary children.  In 2000 we moved to Lafayette. Lafayette Christian School has been a wonderful school to lead and administer.  The school has been a great blessing.

Standardized test scores tell us that academically we provide an excellent education. Our graduates come back to tell us that they were well prepared for high school and that the Christ-centeredness of what they were taught helped them make positive and wise decisions.  Many are now leaders in their church and community. This is in line with our mission statement: Lafayette Christian School excels in Christ-centered education and equips each unique child to love and serve God in all of life.

I invite you to browse our web site.  I trust that it will confirm for you the excellence of our education.  I hope you will also gain a picture of how we function.  Let me give you a few principles that guide us.

1. It takes a community to educate a child. 

• We have very dedicated, well trained and experienced Christian teachers.  They are college graduates, about 1/3 hold masters degrees, and they are licensed. Teaching is not just a job, but also a ministry to which God has called them.
• Our parents are an integral part of the education process.  Besides daily encouragement, parents help out in the classrooms, volunteer for special activities, and conference with teachers as often as is needed.
  
• Our school is parent owned.  All parents are eligible to vote for school board members as well as have a voice in major policy and financial decisions.
  
• Our Board and its subcommittees are made up of parents.
  
• Many former parents, as well as alumni, provide both prayer and financial support to keep tuition as low as possible.
  

2. Christ must be the center of this education in order to provide meaning to what the children are learning.

• Bible is taught as a subject at every grade level.
• School begins each morning with devotions and prayer.
  
• There are weekly chapels where local pastors are invited to speak.
  
• Children are encouraged to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.
  

3.Music, art, and physical education are essential components to a well-rounded education.

• General music is taught as a subject in all elementary grades.
• All students are encouraged to participate in a 5th grade beginner’s band and a junior high band.
  
• All junior high students must participate in the junior high choir or take music appreciation classes.
  
• Music performances such as band and choir concerts, the Christmas program, and Grandparents’ Day are important learning experiences.
  
• Art is taught in all grades through 6th grade. Drawing electives are offered to 7th and 8th graders.
  
• Physical Education is taught twice per week at all grade levels.
  
• 4th through 8th grade students may take part in the following teams: cross-country, soccer, volleyball and basketball.
  

4.Technology will be integrated at all levels of the education process.

• Keyboarding is taught in 5th grade.
  
• In junior high, students are expected to use computers for both research and typing of large projects.
  
• Scheduling, grading, calendars and communications will be more and more delivered electronically.
  

5.Since each child is unique, we individualize curriculum to meet the ability levels of all children.

• We provide a resource room and a computerized reading lab for students who struggle in specific areas.
• Teachers challenge students to work and learn beyond normal expectations
  
• The school works closely with the Greater Lafayette Areas Special Services (GLASS) to help identify children with learning disabilities and provide learning assistance.
  

After you finished your tour of our web site and want to meet one of our teachers or the principal, please call the school at 765-447-3052.  We would be honored to meet you, give you a tour of the school, and answer any questions.

Yours in His service,


Abe Vreeke
Principal