‘A beacon in our valley’
How one local church gave the Covenant School hope
Covenant School first grade teacher Kellie Reifenberger wiped away tears as she reflected on a year of trauma and healing.
She’s struggled at times, but she said her faith in God has never been stronger thanks to one special church that has served as a temporary home for her school in the wake of tragedy.
“In the darkest of days we have to look for the light,” she said. “Our alma mater at Covenant says we’re a beacon on a hill, and these people have been a beacon in our valley.”
Wednesday will mark one year since a mass shooter, armed with two assaultlike rifles and a handgun, killed six people at the Nashville Christian elementary school on March 27, 2023.
The victims were head of school Katherine Koonce, 60; custodian Mike Hill, 61; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and 9-year-old third-graders Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs, the Covenant Presbyterian Church pastor’s daughter.
Police killed the shooter 14 minutes after the initial 911 call.
In a building riddled with bullet holes and traumatic memories, Covenant staff scrambled to find a space where they could finish the school year and provide some version of a normal routine for students.
Five miles east of Covenant’s hilltop campus, leaders at Brentwood Hills Church of Christ sprung into action and offered up their building.
Founded in Nashville in 1955, Brentwood Hills had long supported its community with local missions. This was their biggest mission yet.
The 1,000-member congregation moved meetings to free up space and converted small Bible study rooms into classrooms with books, bulletin boards and other supplies.
The Tennessee Department of Education granted approval the use the church as a temporary school, and within weeks, the hallways were filled with roughly 200 Covenant students and staff.
It was cramped, but they were together.
“From day one they have been so welcoming and loving,” Reifenberger said. “They immediately wrapped us up and said, ‘You have a home here.’” Covenant is now preparing to bring students back to the school’s original building in April after nearly a year on the Brentwood Hills’ makeshift campus. In interviews, Reifenberger and several parents said they are profoundly grateful to Brentwood Hills for providing a safe and healing space. While they will continue to face challenges, they said they feel ready to return to Covenant’s campus and move forward.