Grace Christian School in West Kittanning is celebrating its 21st year in existence this weekend.
Grace Christian School in West Kittanning is planning a fund-raising banquet this Saturday, November 2, at 6:15 PM at 10th Street Station in Ford City.
School Leader Darlene Edwards said the event is semi-formal and there is no cost to attend.
“The school’s tuition covers about 80-percent of our needs, so we had to come up with some other ways to meet our budget,” Edwards said. “The banquet has been a very beneficial way of doing that.”
Although the event is normally by invitation only, Edwards said they have opened it up to people in the area because of their keynote speaker.
Dr. Paul McNulty
“We are really excited to have Dr. Paul McNulty, the President of Grove City College. Since there are a lot of Grove City graduates in this area, we thought he would be a real good choice since he really has a heart for Christian schools. I’m excited to hear what he has to say.”
Prior to returning to his alma mater in 2014, McNulty spent more than three decades in Washington, D.C. as an attorney in both public service and private practice. In 2006, the United States Senate unanimously confirmed McNulty to the position of Deputy Attorney General, the second in command at the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Chief Operating Officer of the department’s 100,000 employees. He also served from 2001 to 2005 as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and was a leader in our nation’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11.
In addition to his many years at the Justice Department, McNulty worked for more than ten years as a senior attorney in the U.S. Congress. From 2007 to 2014, McNulty led the global corporate compliance and investigations practice for Baker McKenzie, one of the worlds largest law firms, and has received numerous recognitions for his expertise in business ethics. McNulty is the co-founder of Faith & Law, an organization dedicated to helping congressional staff better understand the implications of the Christian worldview for their calling to the public square.
Edwards said that this is the 21st year that the school has been in existence. They currently offer classes for three-years-old through 12th grade.
“The high school has more than doubled since I started,” she said. “It seems like there is real interest for our Christian families to send their kids to the high school. We have 74 students, of which 31 are in the high school. I think when I started seven years ago, we had 8, 9, so we have had significant growth.”
Edwards said the school also works with Lenape Tech as well as advanced classes through BC3. High school students are able to take college classes. She said Grove City College is also working with BC3 to accept credits earned at Grace Christian.
Darlene Edwards
“I don’t think they know the extent to what we are able to offer,” Edwards said. “This year we added soccer in our sports program. Several of our kids had never played before and it was girls and boys together and it turned out really good. The kids really loved it. And we also started girls volleyball last year.”
Edwards said the school also offers standardized courses in music, art, computer, physical education, and other core subjects.
She said the fundraising banquet will provide stability to their budget for their educational programs.
“I know in the long run that the school is helping our community because you have stable people graduating who have hearts that give and serve.”
For more information, contact the school at 724-548-4019.