School ensures all students reach their full potential
Over the past decade, Cara Milne has witnessed her children bloom and grow into their best selves at school.
While it was the faithbased component at Calgary Christian School that initially attracted them to enrol, it’s the quality of education and the experiences they’ve received that kept them there.
“I think all teachers love their students, but I feel like our kids are known at a personal level and therefore supported and cared about in deeper ways,” says Milne, who has two daughters in grades 9 and 11 at the school.
“Smaller class sizes give them the space to be themselves, to ask the big questions about the world and reflect on the answers. The kids are getting way more encouragement to push themselves than what I had as a kid.”
From the passion projects students are encouraged to pursue on the side to off-campus team-building, weekly guest speakers and service-based trips to Belize, there’s no shortage of opportunities for students to expand their horizons.
“We’re proud of the conversations we have around here for what education can look like,” says secondary school principal Jadan Barthel.
“We work hard to create a safe and caring environment where students feel like they are enough. Maintaining respect for diverse opinions while providing accurate information is important — we try to support students in the pursuit of their own faith. We want them to decide for themselves what that looks like and those topics are not always easy to talk about.
“Once you start believing in yourself, some pretty cool things start to happen and it just underscores the rest of the work we do.”
The recognition that the Christian experience comes in many forms is underscored by the diversity of the community. Made up of more than 125 congregations, the student body represents nearly 20 denominations and independent churches, as well as more than 30 countries.
The school started as a private school in 1963 and is now an alternative program within the Palliser division, serving families seeking a faith-based education for children from kindergarten to Grade 12.
Academically, Barthel says they take on a rigorous approach to academics with a focus on critical thinking, developing soft skills and relevance to modern-day life.
“We’re living in a world changing faster than it ever has,” says Barthel. “As we consider the needs of employers, the dynamic of the workforce and where it’s trending — we’re seeing a shift towards a culture that promotes courage, communication and creativity.”