Mission Valley Christian Academy celebrates 20 years
Elizabeth Anderson
Gracie Larivee, 6, reads a story with graduating Mission Valley Christian Academy senior Abby Lake.
Elizabeth Anderson
Mission Valley Christian Academy celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Elizabeth Anderson
Carolyn Hall places a stone of remembrance beneath the flagpole at Mission Valley Christian Academy.
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POLSON — The Mission Valley Christian Academy held its 20th anniversary memorial open house and barbecue Friday, May 23, on the last day of school. The gathering also served as a tribute to honor teachers and to highlight accounts of what was learned over the last school year.
Chris Bumgarner just completed his second year as director and headmaster at the K-12 school, where he has developed a musical program as part of the educational curriculum. During the celebration, Bumgarner and students performed several renditions of biblical songs, featuring guitar and the student choir.
The memorial also held a ceremony to honor teachers and members of the MVCA by having 20 of them places stones of remembrance for its anniversary.
The MVCA, a classical and Christian school, opened up its doors 20 years ago at the Community Fellowship Church in Ronan. As it grew, three different Ronan churches served simultaneously to house the lower, middle and upper schools. The school serves as a member of the Association of Christian Schools International, and opened the Polson facility in 2008.
Diane Gilliland, former teacher and co-founder of MVCA with husband Mark, said “when the school began we just didn’t know where it was going to end up, but here they are with their own building 20 years later and things are going well.”
There are currently 63 registered students, an increase from 37 students enrolled from last year.
“We have smaller classes with ability to provide and teach students based on where they are and let them progress to wherever they want to go,” said Carolyn Hall, teacher and advisor at MVCA.
Jerry Roylance, Pastor of Community Fellowship expects the enrollment to increase throughout the summer and to continue to meet the needs of education for the students.
“More and more it seems that we are gaining momentum,” Roylance said. “I look forward to the future of what that will develop into as these graduates develop careers of their own and gain influence in different spheres, and in different ways be able to help us gain momentum here. I’m sure that will be a developing part of the overall picture.”
As the school gains momentum, the hope is that students like senior and teacher’s assistant Abby Lake, 17, will come back to contribute to the school. The teachers, she said, encouraged her to be her best.
“For me, honestly, it was the closeness that you get with your teachers and that they expected so much out of me,” said senior and teacher’s assistant Abby Lake, 17. “They were always so gracious and willing to help me with anything, and I was able to give so much more than I ever thought I would.”
For right now, the immediate thing in the next two years is to get accreditation, according to Bumgarner.
“In five years we hope to have additional classrooms, in 10 years a multipurpose room, and in 20 years just general expansion,” he said.
