President's/Superintendent's Report
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No
Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School Award for 2004
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Valley Christian High School (VCHS) received
the No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School Award after a strenuous
application process. Questions involving various aspects of
VCHS including curriculum, professional Development, demographics,
assessment scores and VCHS’ sharing its successes with
other schools and the community were addressed. VCHS ranked
in the top 10% on the National Stanford Achievement Test.
VCHS students and staff celebrated the award at a ceremony
held October 21, 2004 on campus. A representative from the U.S.
Dept. of Education Martha Wilson, Vice President
of Association of Christian Schools International Taylor Smith, VCS Board
members, City Councilman Forrest Williams and several other
Council members were present.
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| Dr. Joel Torode, principal, and Mrs.
Judy Marc attended the celebration and award ceremony in Washington
D. C. in November to officially receive the award and plaque.
Valley Christian High School is honored to receive this award. |
VCHS Awarded National
Honor
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Dr. Clifford Daugherty, President and Superintendent of Valley
Christian Schools announced at an all school spiritual retreat
on Monday, September 20th that the U.S. Department of Education
had awarded the “No Child Left Behind” Blue Ribbon
School status to Valley Christian High School. Word came from
Dr. Mary Jane Pearson of the U.S. Department of Education, on
Friday, September 17.
Valley Christian High School stands alone as the only private
high school in California to receive the prestigious Blue Ribbon
Award this year and is among only four private high schools
in the entire nation to earn the honored distinction. |
| Including public schools, Valley
Christian High School is one of 39 high schools in the entire
nation to achieve Blue Ribbon status.
To make application for Blue Ribbon status, Valley Christian
High School was required to show evidence that student scholastic
achievement scores are among the top ten percent in the nation.
Math and reading scores of the nationally administered Stanford
Achievement Test were submitted for review.
Valley Christian Schools continues the Quest for Excellence™
in full view of the theme, “And whatever you do, do it
heartily, as unto the Lord . . .” Col. 3:23
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| After Dr. Daugherty’s
announcement, Valley Christian Schools’ Board Vice
Chair, and chair of the Board Academic Committee, Mr.
Michael Ainslie, delivered the following comments to all
school administration, faculty and staff:
September 20, 2004
U.S. Department of Education
2004 No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools
Program Award |
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It is my distinct honor and pleasure to be with
you this morning to personally extend my congratulations to
you all for this superb achievement. The Board is so proud of
you!
The US Department of Education has chosen to bestow upon this
fine institution the honor of being a 2004 recipient of the
No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon School award. Few schools
qualify to be considered for, let alone win, this honor. In
the final analysis , this is an honor, which is all about you,
the teachers and the administrators, who work tirelessly to
make this school what it is and what it has become. I hope that
for at least a
moment, you can pause and bask in the glow of this great achievement
in a very personal way. Understand that it’s the individual
effort that you have given to your school, to your students
and their families that make our school deserving of such a
distinguished award. |
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One of the odd things about us folks who are
called by the name Christian is that we are motivated by
an audience of ONE. Our goal is to see Jesus honored and
exalted in everything we do. When the occasional applause
of man comes our way, we are careful to do a few things
to make sure we don’t lose our perspective. First,
we pause and thank God and we thank man for the encouraging
feedback. Second, we remind ourselves that it is by and
for Jesus, our Commander in Chief, that we are called to
serve regardless of whether we receive the applause of men.
And finally, we ask the Lord to show us how we can use this
tribute to better achieve our eternal mission. In the end,
it all comes back to simply being a good steward of the
favor our government has shown toward our school. |
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I especially like the name of this award, the
No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon School award. Blue is the
color of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth
and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence,
intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
I also like the fact that this is called the No Child Left
Behind award. To me, this award serves as a reminder of the
individual and collective passion and determination of our faculty
and administration to do everything they can in and through
the medium of education to ensure that no child is left behind
in terms of eternity. So let us draw upon this award as a reminder
of the very reason this school was founded over forty years
ago; the very reason we choose to serve the Lord at this school;
that is to fulfill the great commission through education so
that no child is left behind when, as the old hymn says, the
“roll is called up yonder”.
We are reminded in 2 Peter 3:9 that “The Lord is not
slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance.”
Again, my congratulations to all of you and may God richly
bless you as you continue in His service at Valley Christian
Schools.
Michael Ainslie Vice Chair, VCS Board Chair of VCS Board Academic
Committee |
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Following Mr. Ainslie’s comments, the Spiritual
Retreat audience was addressed by Jonathan Burton. Mr.
Burton is the Senior counselor and a member of the High
School Administrative Team. Excerpts from his remarks
follow.
While I am very excited about this significant academic
recognition, I am particularly excited that we are able
to announce it at this spiritual retreat. At first glance,
an academic honor may not seem very spiritual, but I am
reminded of Luke 2:52, which
refers to Jesus’ development through his teenage
and young adult years: “And Jesus grew in wisdom
and stature, and in favor with God and men.” In
God’s view, spiritual development without concurrent
intellectual, physical and social development leads to
an unbalanced lifestyle. For people to have the greatest
opportunity to make an impact for God’s kingdom
and to bring glory to our Heavenly Father, they need to
demonstrate maturity in all areas of their lives. It is
good for us to have excellent academic programs. It is
good that we have tremendous athletic programs and one
of the finest music programs around. It is good for us
to strive for excellence in all our programs. And, it
is certainly good for us to |
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| challenge our students to grow
in their walk with Christ. But, for us to do well, we must excel
in all these areas. So, as we take these few minutes to celebrate
our academic success, I also look forward to this day of spiritual
challenge and renewal, as we all move forward in our God-appointed
task of fully training young people to glorify God and make
an impact for His Kingdom.
Jonathan Burton Senior Counselor, High School Administrative
Team
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