An in-depth look at Roseland Christian School, presented by Christian Home and School magazine. Used by permission.

"Roseland Christian School is giving students an excellent education on the Southside of Chicago," says Principal Wendi Waddy. "We're like family; we share in the joys and sorrows of parents, students, teachers, staff, and administrators." The school is located in the Roseland community, which struggles with urban issues such as drugs, gangs, and poverty.

Members of Christian Reformed churches in the area organized the school in 1884, but by the late 1960s they started moving out as the African-American population began to move in. However, the school remained open as a mission to the new community, and today the student body is entirely African-American. Students now come from churches as diverse as Episcopalian and Church of God in Christ.

Roseland Christian offers a full curriculum, including art, music, computer, Spanish, library, and P.E. instruction—all with a biblical focus. In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the school a 4-year grant, which Christian Schools International administered. Part of the funds went toward increasing the use of technology in instruction. For instance, students in preschool through third grade use Fast ForWord Language, a computerized, auditory-processing program that helps children recognize sounds using audio and visual clues that improve their reading and verbal comprehension.

Last February each class chose an African country to focus on. Their studies concluded with an African Fest to which parents and friends were invited to see what customs, foods, cultural events, and natural resources are found in each country.

Bill Dykstra teaches fifth grade and particularly enjoys teaching science. "All creation sings God's praises; the trouble is that so few of us take the time to listen," he says. For instance, last winter he was driving a bus route on a very cold and snowy morning, picking up students for school. Behind schedule already, he was frustrated to see little Abram slowly walking toward the bus, one slow, giant step after another. He was about to reprimand the boy for his deliberateness, when the awed kindergartner exclaimed, "Look at my footprints!" Dykstra paused to view the splendid footprints and to appreciate how beautiful the neighborhood looked in the falling snow. "I want to be Abram to my science students," Dykstra says. When he speaks of God the Creator, Dykstra says to his students, "Look at his footprints!"

The results are encouraging. Eighth graders this spring scored at the 10.5 grade level in the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Graduates know the value of education at Roseland Christian. For instance, Essie Hall graduated almost 20 years ago and says, "The quality of education my peers and I received at Roseland was first-class." Nevertheless, she says that her best memory of the school is "the sense of family that was fostered." She has joined the board of directors to help create similar memories for students today.

Roseland Christian School faces the normal enrollment and tuition-cost challenges and continues to seek teachers of all ethnic backgrounds who love to teach with a strong, biblical perspective to members of God's family in the Roseland community.